Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Tips and Tricks

***Family blog update! {Festival of Trees} and {Little Angels}

You know Janae mentioned you on her blog when you suddenly have 300 hits on your blog in one day. Welcome new readers :).

One of my favorite people on the planet is running her first marthon next year (eeek!).  She sent me an e-mail with a few questions and I figured y'all might want to take a peek at the answers.  First let me say that although having run one marathon could technically make me an expert, consider this advice from a novice that has done a lot of reading and researching and only a little bit of application.

1. Do you think a 4:00 time goal/9:00 per mile pace is reasonable for a first marathon? Yes, but you need to be aware of your paces in previous races.  Use the McMillan Running Calculator to more accurately gauge your abilities.  That being said, there is always room for improvement... and failure.  For your first marathon, I would say to hope for the best and have your goal be to cross the finish line.  I talked a lot about goals in this post.

2. What training plan did you use when you were training for your marathon?  This is the post where I talk all about my training plan that I used for Top of Utah.  It has some good stuff in there. Check it out.
3. How many weeks did you set aside to train?  I was talking to Rachelle, Julia and Janae about this yesterday.  We pretty much decided that it depends on where your base is.  If you have a solid base, then you probably don't need to "train" for more than 2 months.  When I started training for TOU I was already trained up to a half marathon distance, and I trained for 3 months before the marathon- AND I ENDED UP INJURED.  Next time around I plan on keeping my distance up, but I'm going to cut my speed work down a bit- I'll start doing it later and finish doing it a little earlier.
Rachelle, Julia, Janae, Ichabod Crane, and the cutest Annie you've ever seen.
4. What are your thoughts on the Galloway method? FYI- this is a run a mile/walk a .10 method.  For me, I don't walk when I run.  This is a personal decision on how you like to run.  I do, however, walk through every water stop so I can get a good drink.
5. Would you suggest running with a pace group? YES!!!!!  RUN WITH A PACE GROUP!!!!   I really can't encourage this enough.
6. Would you suggest buying new shoes to train in?  Yes.  For the marathon I would suggest running in a pair of shoes that has about 200 miles on them.
7. What are your secrets for avoiding injury?  Ugh.  I have no secrets.  I'm injured frequently.  I do know that I should be strength training more.  I would definitely foam roll every day and stretch every day.
8. What speed workouts would you recommend (if any)?  I love the Yasso's for a marathon!
These completely helped my speed all the way around- from the marathon to the 5K. The reason they work is by teaching you to run fast when you are already fatigued. 10 Yasso's is A LOT. Believe me. You will be plenty tired. And hills.  Hills are awesome and prepare you for so many things.

9. Any last tips?  Just enjoy the ride!  The marathon is my favorite distance because it takes so much blood and guts to train for it- let alone run it.   Find a good training partner and hit the road!

17 comments:

The Hungry Runner Girl said...

They saw the picture and they thought...wow that girl is gorgeous, I want to go to her blog! LOVED the Q & A. I wish I had secrets for avoiding injury too. LOVE YOU!

Teamarcia said...

All great advice!
The only thing I'd add to the avoiding injury part is to get deep tissue massages or active release therapy once in a while so they can loosen up the tight crap in there.
Not that I do this or anything. I always wait until it's too late. :0

Corrie Anne said...

I love your daughter's name! So cute!!

MotherRunner said...

I too need the injury avoidance secret. I'm pretty sure all of the runners who are never injured are secretly eating eggshells or maple leaves and not telling the rest of us.

Rachelle Wardle said...

Great post and wonderful advice. For only running 1 marathon you seriously have it all figured out.

My only advice would be to have fun, enjoy the journey, and don't be scared. Marathon training can be really overwhelming but it is important to take it in stride. :)

Love you girl and had so much fun chatting with you yesterday for a bit. I would seriously love to come up to Heber one of these days. For reals!

ihaverun said...

What a great post. And some great questions from a first timer!

I love Yassos too. And ten is a TON. I think the most I ever made it to was 8.

Amy @ Run Mom Run said...

Awesome tips! Great job! I wish I was as fast at marathons as you!

Falon said...

I think those are some AWESOME TIPS! You're a wise one Amylee.

Coy Martinez said...

Yeah, I think getting massage therapy done once a month would be good. I'm lazy though which sucks considering it feels good and helps. I just hop on the foam roller :) my friend

I'm friends with Julia!! She's so cool! You guys got to hang out at Yogurtland!!? Jealous!

Ali Mc said...

As someone who has never run or trained for a marathon I find this information AMAZING! thank you so much for posting it. I'm going to have to bookmark it for when I'm ready to do one :D

Jamie said...

Great tips! I will keep these in mind when I start training for my first marathon starting in the spring. I can't wait!

Jessica @ www.rerunrunning.com said...

Great answers! I'm pretty convinced that you are a expert! I especially agree with the tip about walking through your water stops so you can actually drink sone and not just choke and go on without ever being hydrated. That was a major fail for me.

Super jealous of all those running hotties hanging out together!! :)

Cory Reese said...

These are great tips to remember. Obviously they're valuable because whatever you're doing is working perfectly!

Christina @ The Athletarian said...

Awesome! So many people ask me for advice and I have only run one full and was injured doing it hahaha. I went about training for it in a very wrong way. When I attempt another one, I'm definitely going to refer to these tips! Thank you!

Jessica said...

Hey Amylee! I've linked to your blog a few times after I found it from Janae;s, and love it! I also live in UT and I was curious - do you run outside in the mornings when it's dark? From your post below it looks like it, and I'd love to, but am scared to :) any tips?

kalie said...

Friend, look how popular your blog is getting! I am so darn proud. :)

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to not only answer my questions but to put up a whole post about it. That is love. I am excited and nervous. And I will be so glad when I cross the finish line. Thank you for being so inspiring.

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

Love this advice and totally would follow it based on your speedy self! I haven't committed to training for marathon #3 ...yet. :)