I am officially training for the Nike Women's Marathon on October 16, 2011.
Luckily I am apart of Team In Training and get to go on this 26.2 mile journey with the most amazing people!
But for now.....it's time to train.
Since it's in San Francisco.....that means it's time for HILLS!
So we will start with some tips from The Marathon Website
Be Prepared:
This might sound obvious, but if you are going to run a hilly marathon course you need to train on hills. Actually your marathon training should always include some hill work as our Marathon Training Program suggests.
You must do this hill work to get your heart rate up and exercise some under-utilized muscles. Running successfully up a long hill is also a great confidence booster. If you can do this regularly, without over-training, you will be mentally well prepared to tackle the marathon – flat or hilly!
Uphill:
Don’t push too hard on the hills, (especially early in a marathon) because you will expend a lot of energy you are going to need later on. It’s much better to relax, slow down and try and maintain your normal running form (stride, posture) as much as possible. Your stride will be shorter of course, and you’ll need to lift your knees instead of pushing hard from the back of your legs. Ideally you will be putting out the same, or just slightly more, effort than running on the flat. This needs practice, which is why you include regular hill training in your marathon program.
During the race don’t try to keep up with others, who seem to ‘storm’ up every hill. They could easily be running into oxygen debt, and if you stick to your hill training routine you will soon catch up with them.
Downhill:
During your training you should focus on downhill running as well as the uphill parts. But be careful, your knees can suffer with too much or to hard downhill running. If you have had knee problems previously my advice is to cut back on this kind of training and avoid the really hilly marathons.
So here we go! I've done two little hill workouts on the treadmill....but after seeing my race route and elevation changes I've realized it is time to kick it up a notch.
Bring it on 26.2.....your hilly ass is mine.
4 comments:
You GO girl - and I´m so glad you got the card! :-)
I´m heading out for a run this afternoon, will be a good one I hope. :-)
I'm looking forward to getting some runs in with you!!
I'm doing this same marathon with TNT!! Team Iowa! :0) Will be my third event with them, forth that I have fully fundraised (dropped out of San Diego last June due to injury!). Found you through Blonde Ponytail.....small world!
Little worried about the hills...HATE to do hill work too! Gonna be an interesting training season!
GOOD LUCK TO YOU and GO TEAM!!!
Nikki....I'm in Des Moines so no flooding AND just down the road from you! We def. need to meet up in Cali! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep posting on what you are doing to train. I'm already "behind" schedule....coming off bronchitis for the last three weeks so no 12 miler for me tomorrow. I'll be happy to get in 6 but that will be a stretch! Feelin' a little down about where I'm at (I'm notorious for comparing myself to others) but I get that my job is to just go train....no matter the miles, just get some done. Anwyay, would love to see how you are doing training, etc.
GO TEAM! :0)
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