In less than 10 days, I will be completing my first marathon on December 14th in Dallas, Texas. Marathon training has been very tough yet educational but I’ve managed to train in style. If you’re thinking about training for your first marathon, I have three training tips to help you from head to toe!
Hair Styles for Marathon Training
Let’s face it; marathon training is just as tough on your body as it is on your hair. Running 1-2 hours during the week and 3-5 hours on the weekend in rain, wind and extreme sunshine can dry out and damage your hair. I’ve kept my hair moisturized and cute by keeping a healthy regimen and sticking with 2 main hairstyles. These are the easiest styles to maintain:
Protective hair style – Crochet Braids with Marley hair
Natural hair style: Sporty Afros Bun/Puff
Fitness Tip for Marathon Training
There are tons of apps and online marathon training programs but not all training schedules are created equal. Whitney and I are both RRCA Certified Coaches and we highly recommend working with a certified running coach. He or she will help customize your plan, teach proper form and monitor your progress. You can find a local running coach here. If your looking to train for your first marathon, start with a a 5k or half-harathon and work your way up. Here’s a list of running plans to get you started:
5K Training Programs
Runner’s World Train for Your First 5K Plan – Great plan to start with and they help you choose your running shoes!
Cool Running’s Couch-to-5K Plan – For those completely new to running.
Hal Higdon’s 5K Novice Training Plan
Cool Running’s Intermediate 5K Plan – For runners who run 25 to 50 miles per week and expect to run the 5K between 20:00 and 24:00 for men, or 22:00 and 26:00.
Jeff Galloway’s 5K Training Schedule – For all levels of runners. Touted as “low-mileage, injury-free” program.
More 5k Training Programs
Half Marathon Training Programs
Runner’s World Beginners Half-Marathon Plan – You’ve run for at least a year. You can run 5 miles at a time without distress, average 15 to 20 miles a week, and have finished a 5-K, perhaps even a 10-K.
Hal Higdon’s Half-Marathon Advanced Training Plan – If you completed a few half, this is for you. Great “beginner” advanced program.
Jeff Galloway’s Half-Marathon Training Schedule – This is a very well known training program. There are more off days and it focuses a lot on running without injury. This includes training for a run/walk approach for the half-marathon.
More Half Marathon Training Programs
Nutrition Tips for Marathon Training
Source
Nutrition plays a huge part in your performance. It’s critical to track your food intake before, during and after a workout. After being injured for a few weeks, I gained a few extra pounds. As a result, I monitored my weight and food intake even more. The staff at POPSUGAR and Fitbit sent me one of their latest Aria™ scales and introduced me to the Fitbit family.
The Aria™ is a WiFi scale that records weight, body fat percentage and BMI and easily syncs with your profiles and apps. Generally I am not a big fan of scales, but because of my training and Aria™’s ability to track body fat and BMI with a step, this has been very helpful in keeping me accountable. For those of you who are technically challenged, you will be pleased to know within seven minutes I was able to set up the scale, create an account and connect via WiFi all from my mobile phone. You can check out more details on the Aria™ Wifi Scale at Fitbit’s here. Additionally, I started tracking my activity and food with their Fitbit mobile app. Even if you don’t have the Aria™, the app is really worth the download.
Note: Body fat measurements are not going to be 110% accurate. Use this scale to see trends over time.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Fitbit through their partnership with POPSUGAR Select. While I was compensated to write a post about Fitbit, all opinions are my own.
Hopefully these tips help you when training for your next race!