What has brought you here?
Why do you want to run a marathon?
Why are you training for a marathon?
Are you crazy? Most of us are.
Actually the number of marathon finishers have been growing in the thousands every year in the U.S. and all over the world, and now that people are just interested in finishing a marathon instead of trying to win a marathon, the popularity of the sport will eventually grow much more in the future.
Marathon races are lowering their qualifying times every year, so that they could have more participants. Up until two years ago, in 2007, the Tokyo International Marathon had one of the toughest qualifying times just to enter it. This year there were over 100,000 applicants, unfortunately due to traffic safety they could only accept 50,000 on a first-come first-serve basis.
Now, runners from the ages of 18 up to 94 are finishing marathons year after year. Instead of training 6 days a week with speedwork and weight training, finishers are just training one day a week to prepare for their marathons. Instead of running the full 26.2 miles, most are now walking instead of running the full course. Heck, some are even packing cans of beer around their waist so they can drink it as energy drinks, and others I’ve seen running into McDonald’s to grab a bite to eat during the actual race time.
So whoever you are, whatever age you are, it doesn’t matter. I believe that by putting in one workout a week before your first marathon, you will be able to complete it and continue to come back year after year for the shear pleasure of it.
You will find out, by reading my posts on this website that finishing a marathon is a life-changing event. I created this site to help you and actually help myself understand why I run and train 6 days a week to run one marathon a year.
I have been running marathons since 1982, and I have been running one marathon a year, consistently, for the last 11 years….. Soooo I plan to continue training for and running one marathon every year for the next 39 years. I don’t say “Oh, I wish I could run a marathon” because my days of wishing are gone. With the marathon it is all about the doing.
So please join me in my wonderful, and truly enlightening journey of doing and experiencing the marathon. I promise you that you definitely will not be disappointed.
When purchasing your first running shoes or even your 100th pair, you should take great care in selecting the best ones for your feet.
Here are some tips on buying:
1. Ask your friends where are the best running stores in your area.
2. Go to the store after being up on your feet for 6 hours or more, so you should go in the afternoon or early evening.
3. Talk to the sales clerk and say that you are training for a marathon, he or she will usually direct you to what they think is the best running shoes in the store.
4. Try out no less than 10 pairs of shoes, walk in them, jog outside the store, jump up and down with them. Get a feel of what you think is comfortable. Don’t get sucked in by the sales clerk hype, if the sales clerk is a runner, and has done a marathon, then he or she should know something about selecting the right shoes for you. Please do not believe everything that he or she have to say. Listen to your feet.
5. In the beginning, you may end up buying 5 pairs of shoes, so expect to spend about $300. I have been doing this for a long time now, and I usually buy 3 pairs every December in Honolulu. So I end up paying over $200 every time. But don’t forget these shoes are to last you for 365 days. So think of it as a great investment.
Now if you end up buying 5 pairs of shoes, be prepared to probably use only three for the rest of the year. You will notice, actually your feet and body will notice, after a few months that:
- some shoes hurt your knees when running,
- some shoes are giving you blisters,
- some shoes are too tight in the front toes area, so you need a bigger toe box
- some shoes just lost their cushion after 1 month,
Don’t think of this as a waste of your money, think of it as a learning experience about how your body works. Remember this is about taking care your health and enjoying a wonderful life from here on. In a few years time you will learn what shoes are just right for your body.
Now I spend less than thirty minutes in the running store when selecting my shoes. I know what brand works for me. I know in a matter of few seconds what shoes are perfect for:
- Training For a Marathon
- Running a Marathon
I buy 2 pairs for training for a marathon, and I buy 1 pair for racing in a marathon. I alternate shoes every day that I am running so that the shoes will retain their flexibility and cushion. If you use one pair of running shoes for the whole year, you will certainly have problems.
What if that pair starts hurting your knees? What if that pair starts giving you feet problems? What do you do?
Plan to spend an average of about $90 for a good pair of running shoes. It isn’t my plan to spend this amount, it is just that the best shoes for my feet cost this amount. The price no longer bothers me because the reward of running every day for one year and training, running, and finishing a marathon outweighs the price a thousand times.
Money Saving Tip: To save you money, try out the shoes you want to buy at your local running store, remember the maker, model, size and color. Next, go shopping online to find and buy the best deals for these shoes. Enjoy your shopping.
Aloha.
It’s so funny. Most people starting out, usually have a hard time answering this question. Which means if you can’t answer it, then of course you won’t start.
In fact I was asked several times last year in 2008, “Rick, when do you start training for a marathon?“
In my case I have been running the Honolulu Marathon every year for the last 11 years, so of course the answer to that question was quite easy to respond to.
My answer was: “I start training the day after I finish running the marathon.”
The Questions I have for you are:
- Why are you training for a marathon? Is it one of your dreams? One of your lifetime goals? You lost a bet to a friend?
- What date is the marathon race? When is the actual race? How many weeks or months till race day? Now remember, I was young and foolish so I only trained for 2 weeks for my first marathon – but, I have to come clean here, I was able to complete it because, 1) I had been playing competitive sports for almost ten years before running that first race and, 2) I had 2 great friends to encourage me to finish it, even when I wanted to quit at mile 24. That race was probably the hardest marathon in my life because I was not mentally prepared for it.
- Are you training by yourself? It is always best to train with others for your first marathon, that comraderie is important, you will need others to help you show up for a 4 a.m. run, to cover the 3 hour runs, to share in your thoughts of how much you love running.
- Do you have a plan? What will your finish time be? Will you run the first 13.1 miles and walk the last 13.1 miles?
- How much time can you devote to training? Can you run or walk 5-6 days a week? Can you only run or walk on Sundays? Knowing this information can help you focus on how you expect to finish.
The average time to start training for your first marathon is usually 6 months. But, what if your race is in 3 months? What do you do? If you are a competitive athlete, I would probably say go for it! If you are new to sports, then I would say “be patient” and wait for a year if you have to.
You see, I think finishing your first marathon should be the greatest feeling in the world. An experience so wonderful that you can’t wait to come back and do it again the following year. So what this means is that you need to not only physically prepare your body to finish it, but more importantly to mentally prepare your mind to continue going no matter what physical pain you might encounter during the race. The most difficult part of running a marathon is the mental games your mind plays with you. Once you have mastered to control it, then anything is possible.
I remember it like it was just yesterday. Or should I say 23 years ago.
It was a warm afternoon in Los Angeles, in 1986, and I was heading back to the office after a business meeting in Long Beach, California.
While I was getting off the 405 Exit, I noticed to my right was a track and field area. It was owned and I think it is still owned by the big toy maker Mattel Corporation.
Anyway, what I noticed in the middle of that field was a man laying down, relaxing, and just looking up into the sky and enjoying his time in the sun. Right then and there, I said “I want that kind of life, I want to just enjoy the beauty of nature around me and the energy of running.”
I realized I didn’t like my life/lifestyle at the time. I was working 12 hours every day chasing the money. I was eating the wrong foods. I was drinking beer 5-6 days a week with our customers, destroying my body to get that sale.
I realized that I could only run on Sundays a few times a month when I didn’t work or when I didn’t bring work home.
I realized that I could only run during the holidays, which were very few in those days.
I associated a day of running as a holiday because it was when I didn’t think about work, I didn’t care what time I got up. I didn’t care how long I ran. I didn’t have to be anywhere – trying to do this, and do that, running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I always felt free and refreshed.
I must have wanted this freedom so badly, that in less then one year, my dream came true (in what I had thought then) in a bad way. You know that saying where “God closes one door to your life and another one is opened.”
Well, I don’t want to go into the details, but what I had thought was bad on how my job in Los Angeles ended, was actually the start of true blessings entering into my life. Through some miracle I found a profession that allowed me to run every day. I found a profession that allowed me the freedom to run whenever I wanted to, and yes, this profession also provides me a great income. And now…..
Every day of my life, for the last 22+ years, has been a holiday!
Every day is a holiday!!
Running has changed me. It has changed the way I treat myself and others. It changed the way I live. I hope and I know it will change you too. So go put on a pair of running shoes and start hitting the road to a new life.
