Prepping for the Distance

Fitness is becoming a lifestyle for many and when keeping up with one's health, we try to challenge ourselves daily and what better way to do so than with a marathon.

In challenging ourselves one has to ensure the mind, body and soul are ready for this tumultuous task. Fitness trainer and owner of TrainFit Club, Stokely Rose gave Flair a few tips on how to get ready for a run.

 

Step 1

 

When you have decided that you are ready to take on a marathon, you must know whether you are physically able to do so. Many people go into training without doing a medical and getting clearance from a doctor, which is not the best idea, as it can cause your body more harm than good. Rose believes everyone should get a check up from a doctor to know if their bodies can both endure the training and the event.

 

Step 2

 

Start walking and practice running.

 

Step 3

 

Mimic the marathon holistically - length and terrain. If you are walking, then walk. If you are running, you run the distance. If you are doing a morning run, then you do so, and if it is a night, follow suit. You would need to get your body not only adjusted to running a 5k, but also the terrain and atmosphere.

 

Step 4

 

Help build your endurance. You can build your endurance by running or walking up a hill, doing this will build your leg strength. Sand training is also a method of building leg strength and endurance. Rose noted that running of walking 2k in the sand is like doing a 4k. The sand will be building a resistance which makes it harder to run on and more effective at the same time.

 

Step 5

 

Weight-lifting though, not a necessity, will assist you with preparation for a marathon. This can help with building strength once done properly. If you become too muscular, then you might not be able to manage your body weight and become winded easily, so just do enough to be toned.

 

Step 6

 

Ensure that along the way, you are eating healthy. Diet is the most important part of every fitness programme. One must eat properly consuming enough carbohydrates, which is a great source of energy and drink a lot of water. This is especially important for marathon day.

 

Note for marathon:

 

After the run, ensure that you replenish by drinking a lot of water, Rose told Flair. It is best to sip during the run rather than taking long drinks however, it is dependent on each individual. While this might be the case, everyone who does any form of a marathon should ensure they drink as much as possible after to give the body back what it lost.

Stretch before and after, especially after the run, so that you can cool down. It is important that you cool down the body, do not just lie in the spot where you finish. You have to ensure that you are back to the place you were when you started spiritually and just throwing down yourself can make you feel very overwhelmed.