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Training For First-Time Marathoners
Category: Running & Marathons
Nov 21, 2006
The final stretch
Nerves high, training miles adding up for 1st-time marathoners
Mary Beth Faller
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 21, 2006 12:00 AM
The big day is less than two months away. For first-timers training for the P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon on Jan. 14, this is crunch time. The miles are adding up, and achy runners are starting to get nervous.
The weekly long run is the centerpiece of every good training program, and with the race less than eight weeks away, runners should be pounding out about 16 miles this weekend. Total weekly mileage is 26 to 30 miles right now.
"The injuries that most runners experience now are the overuse injuries, where the repetition of going long is compounded by the fact that they've been training for 10 or 12 weeks," says Brian Collins, founder of the 1st Marathon training program. "Things get irritated and swell."
Runners in his program often experience sore knees from patellofemoral pain syndrome, or "runner's knee," at this point.
"Achilles tendinitis can start to creep up now, and its evil cousin, plantar fasciitis," Collins says. In those cases, the Achilles tendons or foot tissue becomes inflamed and painful.
Andi Felton, a manager at Scottsdale Running Co. who leads the store's group runs, says she sees a lot of iliotibial band syndrome. That's when the ligament that runs down the outside of the thigh becomes irritated.
"It's very painful, and preventable," Felton says.
She recommends lots of stretching to prevent injuries, as well as making sure you're wearing appropriate running shoes.
Collins says beginners need to pay attention to small aches and pains.
"It's not like you go from zero to something that takes you out completely," he says. The formula for injury is RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation, and Collins particularly advocates rest.
"Go by the three-day rule - if the injury doesn't subside by the third day, or gets worse, stop. Talk to your coach or a health professional. If it takes a few days to do that, you're not going to lose anything," he says.
In fact, rest is one of the most important components of training right now.
"You must allow your body to recover," says Felton, who has completed three marathons, including Boston. "You wouldn't lift weights focusing on a single muscle group every day, would you? It's the same idea with running. You have to recover to continue building."