Training Errors

I was reading an article from an online marathon training site and I saw something that surprise me:

"...the greatest challenge of the marathon is not finishing the race but making it to the starting line uninjured and rested."

Other than participating in the running groups, I hadn't thought much about how I should be training. This site helped lay out how I should NOT be training.

One of the problems runners may face is inconstancy in their workouts. Especially, when training for a long distance run, runners should try not to skip workouts. In other words, make a schedule and stick to it! Being inconsistent may cause the runner to tack on extra training days closer to the race to make up for lost ones. This could result in overloading your muscles, which may cause injury.

Next, the site talks about the 10% rule. This rule states that you should not increase weekly mileage by more than 10% each week nor should you increase the distance of the long run by more than 10% each week. This will also help with minimizing injury before a race.

Next, they talk about a Hard-Easy concept of training. This just suggests that after a hard workout or a hard run you should try to take it easy the next day. Running 10 miles on Saturday, then doing a high energy cardio workout on Sunday. This is a wise strategy runners use to train effectively.

The last training error they talk about is not listening to your body. If your body is not ready for a long distance training session or hard weight training, it will tell you. Make sure to give your body the rest that it probably deserves.

Staying away from these typical training errors will help me to avoid injury for the big day!