How To: Train For The Marathon

Congratulations. You’ve achieved half your task. After the mammoth decision to sign up for a marathon, you’ve made it to 14 days to D-Day. And we aren’t going to shy away from giving your due props. Pause for applause.

Now, as you emerge from that glow, let’s come to the second part of your task, training and then running the race. You’ve obviously already been at this for the last few months. We hope! And now, it’s a matter of buckling down and getting through the last ten days, with the correct guidance on what you eat and how you train.

What you eat is an essential part of how you train. Load up on carbs. Good carbs of course, not bad ones. They’re your best friends. They’re your energy and fuel source. “Ensure meals are protein and complex carb centric,” says nutritionist Shonaalii Sabherwal. So, brown rice, amaranth or sorghum (jovar) rotis, fish, eggs, legumes and plenty of veggies, are essential for their slow release of energy. Fruit make for great snacks, and complement the sugars from the whole grains.” Having a banana or sweet potato an hour before your workout gives you energy. And remember, milk, maida, coffee processed foods and sugar, are all kryptonite.

“While training intensely, breakfast must have a complex carb like a whole grain porridge (brown rice can be used) for sustained sugars during the training or before the run”, adds Sabherwal. “You get energy from complex carb sugars. Chew the grain well to break down sugars”.

And now for the actual running. Mix it up, says fitness expert Sumaya Dalmia. “With your regular run-walk-jog routines, mix in Fartlek – unstructured bursts of speed in the middle of a normal training run, to help increase speed and endurance; striders, where you run 20 seconds or so of running at your maximum speed into a basic run; and hill repeats, speed runs up and down a hill, in a park or short flyover. These greatly improve speed and strength.”

Change surfaces to avoid complacency or plateauing. Switch between mud, grass and tarmac. And always “run with awareness”. “When you start running, walk most of the distance and interval-train with a few running spurts, till you increase your stamina and improve your distance,” says Dalmia. Run slowly if you need to. Mix some walking with running. This is your moment, your hour, and you are your biggest competitor.

There are two most important parts of your training. Long distance and endurance runs challenge endurance and aim for maximum distance, not speed. They’re best done once a week, advices Dalmia, and usually on the weekend. The second, rest days, are scientifically proven to be the most effective way to improve how you run, aid recovery, and get you geared up for the next training day.

Post training, give your body a strong protein based drink. Sabherwal recommends a plant-based protein shake with cooked quinoa in a smoothie of leafy greens, to keep the body cleansed and boost protein. “Avoid whey protein”, she adds, “because the milk solids in it, are difficult to assimilate and digest in the long run”. And of course, hydrate constantly with water, coconut water and anything with electrolytes to recoup.

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Source: Jabong