Top 5 Marathoning Tips BY STEVE LONG

1. Know why you are doing what you’re doing…  Motivation  Changes  Setbacks, injury, illness, fatigue  To become better  So you don’t make mistakes  Creates independence  Help others  Because it’s the right thing to do!

2. Long run  Glycogen (energy) depletion  Training effect: empty the tank, so when it fills up, it fills up a little more  Psychological depletion  Training effect: understanding and experience with longer bouts of running  Blood lactate accumulation  Training effect: your body becomes more efficient at reusing lactic acid as a fuel source.  Other biomechanical & physiological benefits  Joint strength, muscle repair, cellular changes, capillary development, etc.

3. Recovery  Training effect  Repair  Build  More important than the workout

4. Goal setting  Process Goals (i.e. mastering your training schedule, reading about marathoning, eating better for the purpose of marathoning)  Help make the process more rewarding  More long term  Future benefits (psychologically and physiologically)  Outcome Goals (i.e. setting a PR, breaking 4 hours, beating your husband)  Motivational  Short term typically  End after the marathon (emotional let down)  Shorter goals on your way to longer goals (Half leading up to marathon)  “Success is a journey, not a destination”

5. Have a plan and stick to it  Progression, progression, progression  A plan is more than just a collection of workouts  Magazine workouts or through the grapevine workouts  Trains multiple systems (aerobic capacity, aerobic endurance, anaerobic capacity, anaerobic endurance, running economy, etc.)  Individual plans are the best (coaches or knowledgeable people)  Train based on current fitness, NOT goal fitness  Stick to training intensities  Faster does not equal better most of the time  Faster may mean way worse

And 1: Keep a training log  And brag!  Digital vs. paper  Motivational  Record of progression  Helps with future training  Keeps you accountable  Visual  What works and what doesn’t  Motivational quotes  Tracks setbacks  It’s proof you did it (time tends to warp accomplishments)  Fun!