are you really ready for the 2016 marathon

Spring returns to the earth, and all things revive;

Various regions are also about to welcome the 2016 marathon in the warm and blooming March;

I believe many people are already gearing up;

But, are you really ready to face the marathon?

If you haven't started adjusting your condition to adapt to the high-load endurance race, if you haven't found suitable race equipment, if you don't know how to adjust your body to the best state through scientific and reasonable rest and diet, then let's take a look at what we should do to prepare for the marathon a month later!

(1) Good Mentality

A good mentality is essential for participants to face the race. Maintaining a positive and healthy mindset not only allows participants to calmly and comfortably complete various preparation plans before the race but also makes them more effective during the race.

Most participants will suffer from 'pre-race syndrome' before the race, with main symptoms including depression, physical discomfort, feeling that all old injuries are recurring, and sometimes even symptoms of colds or diarrhea. This not only affects the physical and mental health of the participants but also disrupts our original training plan.

The occurrence and duration of these symptoms vary from person to person. Whether it is the first time participating or having some race experience, participants may experience this. Some may show these symptoms a week before the race, while others may suffer from 'pre-race syndrome' a month before the race, lasting about 1-2 weeks and generally worsening as the race approaches.

However, except for real injuries or colds, most symptoms are caused by nervousness or anxiety, not by our body itself. Therefore, participants need not worry about 'pre-race syndrome'. Maintaining a normal mindset is very important. Meditation, reading, communicating with other runners, or listening to some soothing music can help calm nervous emotions to varying degrees.

(2) Reasonable Training Plan

After a winter break, many participants have not had proper running training for a long time. At this time, it is not easy for participants to complete such an extreme sport as a marathon. Therefore, reasonable training before the race is particularly important to get the body into the right state.

Many participants train excessively every day to achieve better results in the race, with a large amount of training and long training hours. This training method is incorrect and will negatively affect the race results due to overtraining. Therefore, when making a training plan, attention should be paid to its reasonableness.

According to past experience, the 1-2 months before the race is the golden time for participants to train. Participants can start their training according to this time frame combined with their own situation. In the early stages of training, the daily exercise volume does not need to be too large; after a week of continuous training, participants can gradually increase the daily training volume to a stable value; and in the 2 weeks before the race, they should enter the adjustment period and appropriately reduce the daily training volume.

In the mid-term training, participants can develop a weekly cycle training plan. For example: on Monday, participants can do light recovery exercises without rushing to run; on Tuesday, do an easy run with not too much intensity; on Wednesday, choose to rest or do core training; on Thursday, do interval running, 3×1600 meters, with slow running of 800 meters between each 1600 meters, maintaining pace for each 1600 meters, and the remaining kilometers can be used for warm-up easy running; on Friday, do an easy run; on Saturday, rest or do core training; on Sunday, do a long slow run.

To achieve better training results, maintaining sleep is also crucial while completing the training plan. Especially before the race, it is important to maintain 7 hours of effective sleep every day, which is significantly effective for rapid recovery and maintaining physical strength.

(3) Balanced Diet

Long-distance running training consumes a lot of nutrients in the human body and increases hunger, but participants still need to strictly control their diet and avoid overeating.

Healthy nutrition and diet management are also key to achieving good results.

Before the race, participants should maintain the same amount of food intake as usual. In addition to maintaining daily healthy eating habits, such as eating breakfast, balancing staple and non-staple foods, eating less fried food, and drinking less beverages, the diet should be as vegetarian as possible, mainly consisting of carbohydrates, such as rice and noodles. The intake of vegetables and fruits should be more than meat, and less acidic, spicy, pickled, fried, and smoked products should be consumed. Fat intake should mainly come from vegetable oil. Do not drink white wine, and other alcoholic beverages should also be consumed less. One day before the race, glucose can be taken in moderation.

(4) Race Supplies

Suitable running shoes and comfortable clothing are essential for participating in a marathon. In addition to these, auxiliary items such as band-aids and energy bars are also very important.

To prevent missing important items due to haste the day before the race, these race supplies need to be prepared in advance. For items like running shoes that require a certain break-in period, we need to prepare them as early as possible.

Let's see what items we need:

Running shoes:

Running shoes for a marathon should be soft, wear-resistant, have good sole rebound, and be suitable for long-distance running. They need to be fully broken in at least a week before the race.

Clothing:

Participants should choose comfortable, soft, and well-fitting cotton clothing. Additionally, due to the strong winds in March, participants can also wear a light, windproof jacket.

Hat and glasses:

Hats that have been broken in during training can not only provide shade but also prevent sweat from flowing into the eyes. Glasses can be chosen based on personal needs, such as UV protection, wind protection, or prescription glasses. It is important to choose hats and glasses that fit well to prevent them from falling off during the race, and they also need to be broken in before the race.

Waist bag:

A waist bag can be used to carry some race supplies, such as band-aids and energy gels. When choosing a waist bag, it should fit well and not be too large. If you need to carry a phone or watch, choose a waterproof waist bag.

Band-aids:

Band-aids can be applied to areas prone to chafing or injury before the race and used to treat possible blisters or wounds after the race.

Vaseline:

Apply Vaseline to areas prone to friction, such as underarms and groin, before the race. Participants prone to blisters can apply a small amount to their feet, but not too much to avoid slipping.

Functional drinks:

Functional drinks can relieve thirst caused by nervousness and effectively replenish trace elements lost by the body.

Disposable raincoat:

March has frequent rainfall, and the temperature is relatively low in the morning. Preparing a disposable raincoat can help block the wind before the race and prevent getting wet due to rain during the race, which can affect the race.

Energy gels, energy bars, glucose injections:

Drink two glucose injections before the race. Energy gels or energy bars can be taken according to individual needs. Some people do not need them, while others may supplement them during long-distance runs. When preparing race supplies, choose lightweight items without sharp edges. Additionally, if participants want to stand out in the marathon crowd with special outfits, it is recommended to choose simple, lightweight outfits that do not burden themselves or affect other participants.

Have participants started preparing these items? If you have, then look forward to a fun and passionate marathon a month later!

Original title: Marathon, Are You Ready?

(Images from the internet)