The first step to running a marathon? You’ve gotta be a little crazy. Once you’ve got that under your belt, you’re ready for the rest.
It’s estimated that about .5 percent of the United States population has run a marathon. While that’s not a very high number, it’s safe to say that every single one of the people in that percentage would have liked to know how to get faster on their run.
Anyone can do it. It depends if you’re up for the challenge.
Top Tips on How to Get Faster for Your Marathon
In case you were wondering, a marathon is 26.2 miles. A typical mile time is about ten minutes.
So, that’s about 260 minutes for your marathon, if you never stop, and you keep the same pace throughout the entire race. That’s about a four hour marathon time.
No matter if you’re above or below that mark, you’ll still want to know how to get faster. It’s actually more simple than you might think.
Better Shoes
If you run your marathon in shoes that don’t fit properly, you run a lot of risks. Not only will it likely slow down your mile time, but you’re doing a lot of damage to your knees.
If they don’t fit properly in the toe area, minute pressure can even result in one of your toenails falling off, a common running injury caused by poor shoe choice.
Getting the right support for your arches is also imperative. Many running stores offer an assessment of your feet and can pair you up with the shoe that’s going to be the best for you.
If you don’t have the right shoes, you just don’t have the right gear. Don’t be caught lagging on race day.
You can use a calf compression sleeve to give yourself better muscle support that you can use along with properly fitting shoes.
Interval Training
If you’re an experienced runner, you might know this phrase well.
When you alternate between jogging and sprinting while you’re training, you can help build up your endurance. You improve your acceleration and your cardio, and you can control when you’re feeling best to do an increased run as well.
Jumping Rope
There’s a reason that you see people training for about every sport jumping rope. It’s because it works.
Many boxers jump rope as a way to improve their speed and get fast feet. Fast feet is what you want when you’re trying to learn how to get faster.
Breathing Exercises
As you run, experiment with what type of breathing works best for you. You’ll notice when you naturally slip into a rhythm that’s best for you.
Inhale with both your nose and your mouth. This allows you to get the most oxygen to your muscles, which is something you want.
Belly breathing might also work well for you. Fill up your stomach each time you exhale instead of your chest. This can help your breathing stay more relaxed and calm as you run.
You Are What You Eat
If you’re eating junk food, you’re not feeding your body the proper nutrients it needs to fuel you for your marathon. Skip the junk food and the candy, because it’s only going to slow you down.
You need to fuel your body. A specific diet plan according to your gender and age will help you get where you want to be.
But in general, pasta and whole grains are going to sustain you for a long time and provide you energy. A burger might sound good at the moment, but you will not thank yourself for your choices halfway through your run.
Don’t Forget Leg Day
You can’t train for your marathon by doing cardio alone, no matter how much you might wish for that to be true.
When your muscles are stronger, they’ll power you through your race. You don’t want to get too bulky, but strong, lean muscles will propel you through that finish line.
Lifting weights have also been linked to weight loss, which can also help you shed seconds off your time. If you’re a healthy weight already, maintain your weight. But if you have a few pounds to lose, once you shed them you could find yourself running a whole lot faster.
Don’t Look Down
When you’re looking down at your feet while running instead of training your eyes on the road, you could actually be losing precious seconds.
For one thing, you’re going to want to be able to see what’s in front of you to avoid obstacles. You should focus directly in front of you for about thirty to fifty feet. Psychologically, it will also help you know that you’re actually getting somewhere.
Drink Caffeine
Yep, we said you are what you eat. You are also what you drink. And when you drink caffeine, you’ll be giving yourself what might be a much-needed energy boost.
Many of the snacks that they hand out during your race (yes, there are snacks handed out before, after, and during most races!) have caffeine in them. It will help power your energy forward and keep you going on the course.
Not to mention, most marathons usually take place early in the morning. You might need that caffeine for more reasons than only running – you’ll want to stay awake.
It’s important to get enough sleep the night before the race so you can count on having a completely functioning reaction time. But throughout your training, you should be getting enough sleep to properly fuel your body. If you’re not getting enough sleep throughout the training process, you could be depriving your body of the energy it needs to give you a faster marathon time.
Being Prepared Is the Best Time
It’s not all about how to get faster. If you think you’re going to be ill-prepared for the time goal that you’ve set for yourself, the most important thing you can do is be realistic.
As has been proven time and time again, injuries can put you on the sidelines and ensure you’ll never have the mile time you’re looking for, because you might stop yourself from being able to run entirely.
Get ready, get set, stay prepared. See you on the trails.
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