So, here is a summary of the article. If you want to read the full article, you can click the link above.
1. Patience
Give yourself a long enough
training runway to properly prepare. With more time, you can increase
your running happiness meter and evolve into the best runner you can be.
If your upcoming race is a new distance for you, give yourself time to succeed. A
little extra time allows for life's inconveniences (illness, travel,
aches, pains) and will keep your long-distance running on track. Practice patience and evolve
into your best runner.
2. Planning
Use a planner (digital or paper) and plug in your life schedule
first. Include your travel, obligations you can't get out of, holidays,
and other events that may be potential training obstacles (including
your cycle, girls). Then begin to plug in your training around it. While
doing so, consider your busiest days, your calmer days, and develop
your training days with the flow of your life.
If Mondays suck the life out of you, schedule an easier paced run
that day and balance the energy demands so you can recover efficiently
and train harder on a lower stress day. There is an
optimal training recipe for everyone and all you truly need to do is
create your plan with the flow of your life. When you do, you'll recover
quicker, improve faster, and run stronger.
3. Cross Train
Cross-training runners have shown to have fewer aches, pains and injuries. They
develop balanced strength and maintain a constant level of
motivation through the season than runners who don't cross-train.
Cross training allows you to maintain a high volume of training,
while lowering the impact on your body.
Modes that are similar to running such as cycling and
elliptical (or the ElliptiGO) are great to mimic the running motion but
don't have the impact forces on the body. This allows you to recover
faster. More importantly, add
an activity you enjoy as you'll look forward to it and it will
translate to a more satisfying training lifestyle down the road.
4. Run Mindfully
Some days
will be perfect: you wake up fresh and can't wait to run; your running
clothes match (including your socks) and you feel like you can run
forever. Other days, will feel like you wonder why you're even trying to
run: your breath is labored during the walking warm-up; your iPod dies
in the middle of your workout and every mile feels like 10. This is the
life of a marathon runner.
The key is to maximize every workout to push on the days you feel like a
super hero and ease up on the throttle on those challenging days. When
you adjust in the field, you allow your body to run at the right effort
on the day and recover more rapidly -- setting yourself up for a
stronger run down the road. Run by your effort, by your breath and how
you feel rather than a pace on your watch. Pace is the outcome; effort
is the focus. Your pace will vary based on sleep, recovery, fuel,
stress, fatigue, and more. Your effort will be your north star and guide
you through a high-quality workout and efficient recovery.
5. Take Note
As you create, modify, and tweak your training plan, keep track of all
the details along the way. It's a great way to stay motivated as you'll
see your progress in time and an effective means to optimizing all the
secondary training variables including number of hours of sleep each
night, your diet and the changes you make along the way, what you eat or
drink while running, stress level, travel, mileage on your shoes,
flexibility, strength and more. Long-distance running is the staple
ingredient for your training, and these variables flavor your recipe
giving it structure, stability, and success. Whether you use a manual or
digital log, keep tabs on the details—because with every mile, you're
creating your marathoning style.
These are great tips that I have been using during my marathon & ultra training. I hope you find them useful and can implement them into your training.
Happy Runnings.
Andi
