5 things to know before running your first marathon / half-marathon

Last Updated on 2016-05-18 , 4:18 pm

Running a marathon is not easy, it’s like hiking up Mount Everest for some who can’t even complete their 2.4 km runs. It’s a torture to the body and an intense state of mental exhaustion. But why do people still do it? It’s the goal they set for themselves, that they know they will be a better person after they have accomplished it. It’s a mark of honour, a mark of pride, for it may be the first and last time some ever do it. Well, what should you know if you’re preparing for that Sundown Marathon next month, or the ASICS City Relay in August?

1. Planning that training phase
Training before the race is important. It is not only to prepare your body for the strenuous exercise, but also your mind for the long period of focus you need to have. Invest in training gear, find what works for you and get used to your favourite gear. Here is where you need to know that the cost for running a marathon does not stop at the registration fees. Find a group of runners to train with; it’s okay if you are not a good runner, nobody was born a great one. With perseverance and hard effort put into training, results will definitely show!

2. The carbo-loading dinner
The night before the run is crucial. Eat, but do not overeat. Energy consumed more than 36 hours before the run can be consumed, so over-loading yourself with carboydrates may do you more harm than good during the race. Hydrating yourself with glucose or isotonic water during the race will give you effective energy replenishments.

3. Stick to what you have been training with on race day
On race day, don’t change what you have been doing regularly. Keep to your favourite gear, breathe the way you have been breathing during your training, mentally run through and visualize how you will accomplish each stage of the race and what you will be doing to celebrate afterwards.

4. Don’t go out too fast, pace yourself
Who goes out the first isn’t important, what’s important is who finishes. Finishing a marathon itself is a great accomplishment. The results doesn’t matter, the journey does. And when you’ve done it, it’s who is there celebrating your achievement makes it all that’s worth it.

5. You may get post-marathon blues
You have been all set to fight for that goal, to mark numerous clicks of road under your feet, and you have been striving to achieve that goal for months, perhaps even years. Till the day that the marathon is over, you realize: boomzzz, you don’t have to train anymore, and you suddenly lose your purpose in life for just that split moment. Days after marathon should be spent travelling at places or trips you’ve yearned to go to but have had sacrificed due to training.

Only when you’ve rested well, are you then ready for the next charge ahead.