Prior to my first marathon (London 2010), I found some
interesting articles on ‘Thing’s you’d wish you known prior to your first
marathon’. These are from random sources off the internet, I hope those
doing their first marathon will find them useful.
Cut your toe nails one week before hand (very serious)
Carry lucozade pouch lids and water bottle lids as they
are provided already open
Boys should tape
up their nipples.
Smile and enjoy it
Make your main target to enjoy it, then start thinking of
target times for future marathons - you will be hooked!!!
Re the Vaseline, I put some on my forehead to stop the sweat
running into my eyes and it worked really well until on the embankment I poured
a little water onto my head to cool off as I often do, and it just washed pure
salt into my eyes-agony!...NEED A SWEAT BAND
Don't EVER go for a time on your first go. Very important.
Get to the start early and enjoy the moment.
Grease everything. Bodyglide is better than vaseline, but
you can top up as you go round from the nice ladies with handfuls of vaseline
held out.
Most importantly ...Have a number of goals from 'best I
could ever hope for' to 'gone pear shaped'. Adjust you aims and expectations as
the race goes on. If you only have one aim then you may be badly disappointed.
For all that training, time and effort you should be able to take many
positives away.
That it's OK to be glad when it's over
Also I untucked my vest from my shorts at one point-couldn't
get it back in the way I wanted it for miles.
The tiniest thing that would be inconvenient in a 10k
becomes a major problem at marathon distance.
Everything is magnified mmm just thought regarding the
vaseline how shall I say this depending on boxer shorts and chaffing you might
need to put a bit on your errr... groin area and I'm not just talking about
your legs.
Be prepared to cry at the end. In front of all your hard as
nails mates.
If you wear a bum bag, make sure it doesn't wear a large
hole through the skin in the small of your back. It stings a bit afterwards.
I had a 50p piece in the key pocket at the back of my shorts
(can't remember why). I was left with a 50p shaped abrasion.
Grease everything. Bodyglide is better than vaseline, but
you can top up as you go round from the nice ladies with handfuls of vaseline
held out.
Enjoy it! Not just the Big Day but the training and the hard
work and effort, be proud of yourself.
Be organised - plan everything, think about what energy
drinks/gel you will use (poss do your last LSR as a pre-race 'dress rehearsal'),
what you will wear (in cold and hot conditions), have you packed safety pins
etc, pre race transport, anyone to look after a warm top for the end etc!!! The
minor details can make a difference.
Plan what pace you set out at and STICK TO IT!!!! Re-assess
that if needed and do that fairly early (I knew after 3 miles last year that I
needed to slow down just a teeny bit, only 5 secs per mile but it made a
difference) Have three time goals in mind, it's impossible to know what will
happen on the day.
I did have time in mind for my first attempt last year and I
got within 2 minutes of that time so it can work, even on your first marathon.
Granted though I had done a lot of training.
Believe you can do it, I think this matters more in the
marathon than for shorter distances, you have to have that mental strength in
the last 6 miles no matter how fast you go or how much training you have done
that you can continue at that pace until the end.
Be prepared to laugh and cry and feel elated and it all to
feel slightly surreal afterwards. Be prepared to feel knackered the week
after!!! Be prepared to feel a bit flat the week after that! And practise going
down the stairs backwards!
Plan Ahead
What time will I get up, what am I going to wear, when will
I have breakfast, what will I have for breakfast, how will I get to the start,
what time should I arrive at the start, how shall I pass the time while I'm
waiting at the start, what is a realistic target/pace, what should I do if I'm
struggling with my intended pace, what fuel (e.g. gels, lucozade) should I take
and when, how will I adjust my target if it's very windy or hot?I write all of
this down (now is a good time to do it) and review this list from time to time,
and wherever possible practice my race day routine. Why bother with all this
obssessional nonsense? Because on marathon day you're going to be very nervous and you're going
be asking yourself, can I do this? If you have a well worked out, familiar
routine, it's going to be easier for you to calm your mind with the message
that this just another run, and most importantly you can concentrate on
enjoying the whole occasion. It will all be over in a flash.
There is no such thing as too many gels. Especially if the
buggers fall out of our belt during the race..
My personal mantra after bitter experience is : Don't stop,
stretching will not help the pain go away.
You need to be able to easily engage in conversation until
at least half way; if that's hard you're going too fast.
You do not HAVE to eat and drink. Plenty of people don't. I suspect that sports drinks and gels are
probably the single biggest cause of people having a bad day. Regardless of what you've done in training,
treat your digestive system with extreme care during the race.
Nip tape and vaseline, under your arms as well as between
the legs. A thin layer over the whole
foot also prevents blisters.
Make sure you have run a long run in your chosen kit for the
day at least once so that you don't end up carving a groove into your body
during the race.
I wish I'd understood about pace a bit more and I wished I'd
been brave enough to look at my watch in the last few miles as I might just
have squeezed out a little bit more oomph and got under the 5 hour mark.
I also wish I'd looked more closely at the temperature
beforehand as I was far too hot and didn't realise how hot I would get. I hadn't worn my charity vest before the race
as I only got it a few days before which was very annoying.
I didn’t realise how emotional I would feel when I turned at
the statue at the top of the Mall to see the finish line in front of me.
Be prepared to cross the finish line with tears running down
your face.
Bought myself a CamelBak for my next marathon (4 weeks
later) and it was miles better. Finished in 3:43!
For those who are treading the roads of London for the first
time. On race day think legs. What! I hear you say. Think about it. You get out
of bed, you have to get to the start. You may well have had to take the train.
You have to walk from the station to the start area. Now you
are getting nervous and you are walking around looking for friends or charity
areas. You want to go to the loo, and you are forced to stand in a queue. You
have a coffee and you are still standing !!!.
You change and then at last you go to your start pen.
What!!! Still 30 minutes to go and your still standing. Yippeee the gun goes
of. Hang on you haven’t moved. It could take anything up to 10 minutes before
you actually cross the start line. THEN you have to run 26.2 miles.
The moral of the story is keep off your feet as much as
possible on race day. Take an old shirt, jacket, binbag, anything to sit on
wherever you can. If you don’t you will wish you had. Trust me I learnt the
hard way.
If you are a plodder like me don't drink too much during the
race. It may be fatal. And get your energy in early: after 20 miles your tummy
will probably stop absorbing much.
Don't rely on your support crew being exactly where you
expect them to be. Have a fall back plan.
If you have done the training and the long runs, you WILL be
able to finish. But at around 17 to 20 miles a little gremlin will appear on
your shoulder suggesting you pack it in and take the underground to the finish.
This is so common that it is recognized as a classic bit of sports psychology!.
If you are a plodder like me, remember that the crowds will
have been there for hours and hours. They will have had a gruelling time. Give
them something back as you hit those last, tough miles. Smile at them, applaud
them, yell things like "Let's have a smile!" and "You can do
it!" and "Not long to go now!" If might sound silly but they'll
love you for it and you'll feel the love
It can take longer than you think to reach to the start. Walk
to the station, waiting for the train etc. as mentioned before better to come
with throwaway old clothes to keep warm while waiting for the race to start.
Carry plasters. I didn't have a single blister in training
but felt one appear at about 6 miles. Interestingly I haven't had one in the
same shoes since...
Take a binbag for while you're waiting to stop getting cold.
Don't worry, everyone else will be doing the same.
Definitely have your name on your shirt - you will feel like
a celebrity
Oh and if you can, carry a phone or a coin. Meeting friends
and family at a letter on horseguards sounds easy, but when there are thousands
of others doing the same it's really not. I just sat down on the floor near the
letter we'd chosen and waited for them to find me.
Immodium plus can be preventative as well as curative......
Take it deliberately
easier than your planned race pace for the first 5K - e.g. if you're planning to
average 9 minute miles over the whole distance, watch the distance markers and
make sure you are doing 10 minute miles for the first three or four miles. You will lose 3 or 4 minutes at the start but
you'll easily make up for it when you're still going strong in the second half
You'll probably have an energy & immune system slump 2-3
weeks after the race so for a couple of weeks, take plenty of vitamin C, eat
well and go to bed early, clutching your hard-earned medal
No caffiene drinks for say 5 days before the marathon, then
on the big day treat yourself to a red bull just before the off - reduces
feelings of fatigue later in the race.
Pee pee and pee again before the start.
After mile 20, it all looks rather different but your only 6
miles from the end and hey you’re a tough marathon runner, so just keep on
going.
Once over the line, keep on walking (to aid
recovery).......and give yourself a big pat on the back.
Also...if it's hot wear sunscreen and sunglasses
Be carefull with the lucozade drinks if you haven't tested
them on your long runs before ..they can upset your stomach .
Take a few compeed blister plasters .
Not done one just yet but on my warm up race my battery for
garmin went - so check battery!
One thing to be aware of is that once you get to about
20 miles your tummy may not feel like absorbing the gels. So it is best to take
your gels earlier on, and rely on muscle fuel reserves towards the end.
But ... sometimes a gel at 23 miles or so can just be the
mental boost you need, if you take it with water.
Take your own toilet paper when you head for the start -
better safe than sorry. Also, I would
suggest queuing for the toilets 45 mins before the race starts, even if you do
not need to go. By the time you have
reached the front of the queue you can guarantee that you WILL need the loo!!!!
If you feel good at 7 miles, do not give in to the urge of
speeding up. If you feel good at 15
miles, do not give in to the urge of speeding up. At 20-22 miles if you still feel good then
you can decide on whether you want to pick up the pace.
Although it can be tough, try and enjoy the last few
miles. You will never get to run the
London Marathon for the first time again so really try to take in the whole
experience and what you have acheived up to this point. The crowd are amazing
and will push you on - make sure you get your name printed on your running vest
as it is a great motivator hearing people cheer you on....
If you're one of those people (like me!) who like to analyse
their splits after the race, then make sure you've got enough space left on
your watch!
Something no-one seems to have mentioned is wearing some old
clothes over the top of your running kit which you can chuck away after you
have put in your kit bag.
I wore an old pair of trousers, cut up the side to mid-calf,
so I could take them off without removing my shoes, an old t-shirt or two and
sweatshirt, a bin bag over the top and and old cap.
This allowed me to put my bag in early, keep warm and get
myself mentally focused rather than rushing around. Once in the pen I could
remove my spare trousers at the last minute. The cap went into the crowd at 2
miles and the t-shirts around the same time. The sweat shirt was tied to the
rails at the start line.
If you can get lip balm in your gel pouch, carry one, last
year asics gave out lip balm that attached to your garmin, it was a life saver
in the heat.
Ian
April 2010
