The Right Way To Increase Your Endurance Before Running A Marathon

Running a marathon takes preparation. Every day you need to increase your endurance in a way that will also decrease your risk of injury while still pushing yourself until the day your race starts. Let’s deep dive into the strategies that runners must do to ensure they can finish a marathon without feeling absolutely exhausted.

 

Keep Your Training Gradual

First things first: don’t overwhelm yourself on day one by trying to run a marathon in record time. Instead, it’s better to work your way up to the longer distances over time and focus on getting a solid pace down at first. This slow progression will ensure that you aren’t pushing yourself to the point of self-sabotage and help you build strength and mileage over time. If you try to increase your mileage too quickly, you run the risk of overtraining which can put a damper on your endurance goals.

Mix In Plyometrics With Your Training

Many think that the only way to train for running an endurance race is to just go out and run long distances. Of course, this is an element of training for a marathon, but not the full picture. That’s because the key to building endurance is to enhance your overall strength.

You can easily accomplish this strength feat by focusing on your core and explosive power to build super strong legs via plyometrics. Doing exercises such as box jumps, high-knee sprints, and jumping rope give your legs the boost in power and teach the body to run with better stride and cadence which is great for running a marathon.

Run Longer and Faster

As you get deeper into your marathon training, it’s important that you try increasing your pace for the last 25% of your long-distance runs. The benefit of kicking it into high gear when you are close to the finish line comes with being able to find that extra strength that will help you increase your overall endurance. This will help you get accustomed to fighting the late-race fatigue that many runners experience and find that last-ditch energy that will carry you across the finish line.

Regulate Your Oxygen Efficiency

As you’re training for your marathon, make sure to also be cognizant of your breathing. If you’re not breathing correctly, it could take the wind out of your sails, decreasing your stamina in the process. When running, try to breathe through both your mouth and nose to get more oxygen in and exhale through your mouth. Controlling your breathing like this will allow you to fight fatigue later in the race and keep your endurance levels high when you need it most.

Keep A Close Eye On Your Diet

Even if you maintain a solid training regimen, you also need to factor in having a solid diet that gives your body the calories it needs to help sustain your training sessions. Feeding your body the right types of nutrients to support the stress you are putting on your body will also help with the repair and recovery of your muscle fibers. By increasing your intake of protein, fresh fruits, and vegetables, you can keep yourself strong and ready to run the race from start to finish.

Get Plenty Of Rest Leading Up To The Race

Even though it may be tempting to run an extra few miles in a session or do two sessions in a day instead of one, you shouldn’t at the expense of your rest. If you’re not getting the required seven hours of rest a night, you’re essentially shooting yourself in the foot. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body and mind won’t have enough time to repair and recover from yesterday’s training session. If you don’t give your body the rest that it needs to recover, you risk overtraining and getting injured before you have a chance to run.