The Marathon - Long Run Tips
©Great Strides 2006 Shelly Glover
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The Marathon - Long Run Tips |
©Great Strides 2006 Shelly Glover |
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Runner's Handbook Recommended Reading
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Tips Lube Up – Skin abrades between the thighs, between the arms and torso, nipples, along the bra chest and jock seams. Your personal tender spots will announce themselves in your post long run shower. The cringe of raw flesh in hot water is not a sensation you will soon forget. What to do? First try and to eliminate the causes.
If irritation still occurs try petroleum jelly, or water-based lubricants such as Body Lube, Body Glide or Sports Slick. During the marathon petroleum jelly is often available at medic stations and from course volunteers. Foot Blister Buffers – Better to battle off blisters than treat them. Try coating your feet with petroleum jelly, body lubricant or talcum powder. One of these preventatives usually does the trick. Don’t over do it. Too much goop in your shoe, and your feet feel like they are wallowing in pudding. Races as Long Runs – Long races are ideal settings for long runs. A complement of drinks, training partners, measured courses and baggage check make these races a long run fantasy. That is, if you can control your competitive urges and maintain an appropriate training pace. Friend Relay – Just because your training partners aren’t into marathon distances, doesn’t mean you have to do long runs solo. If each training buddy only runs a couple miles assemble them into a relay. They can each run a segment of the workout with you. The change in conversation and infusion of fresh energy keeps you alert and entertained throughout the run. Avoid Excesses – During long runs, novices should limit the challenge to distance. Avoid excess hills, heat etc. Once you are a little more experienced throw in a few additional obstacles for fun. Curb Knee – Some hazards of road running are obvious – oversized trucks, bottomless potholes, and renegade drivers to name a few. But, there are more subtle dangers. Take for instance that neat trick engineers have of banking roads for drainage. Heaping the road in the center and slanting the shoulders works great for shifting water off to the side. The problem for runners is it also shifts our weight unevenly onto one leg and foot. In essence, a runner runs with one leg higher than the other causing excessive wear and tear. Mostly it shows up in the knee closest to the curb, but either leg, knee or hip can have pain. Even out the pressure on your legs by alternating direction of your route. Running on the center crest of the road isn’t such a great idea. It may even out your legs, but while reducing the risk of curb knee it increases your risk of becoming road kill. Beware the Fog Head –It’s easier to detect the lead in your legs than the fog in your head. Fatigue increases slow legs and an accordingly slow mind. Your reactions and reasoning are less reliable late in a long run. I’ve seen fatigued runners race taxicabs across intersections, trip up curbs and forget what mile they are on. Go ahead and laugh. It’s funny until happens to you and when it does remember I told you so, but by then you’ll have forgotten. In the meantime be careful. Meds – Don’t make it a habit of swallowing over-the-counter painkillers or anti-inflammatories to dull injuries or get you through long runs. Take good care of your body. Train it, don’t abuse it. If you have an injury see a doctor and get it taken care of. Have Fun – A little planning can make a long run very entertaining. For example, Try a BBB&B run along Manhattan’s Broadway to the Bronx, Back down to Battery Park, and then over the Bridge to – you guessed it - Brooklyn. Take some cash for drinks and snacks along the way. Cab or train fare is good idea too just in case your adventures get a little out of hand and you need a ride home. Wrap you bucks in plastic or your sweaty dollars droop. Treadmill – Three plus hours on a treadmill is marginally better than running in a blizzard or in temperatures that feel like you are running down the barrel of a blow dryer. But the treadmill has its advantages. Use one to simulate the marathon course adjusting the grade for each hill or bridge on the route. Try taking fluids where the water stations would be and so on. It breaks up the hours quite nicely. It’s not quite the same as rambling through the park, but it gets the job done. Schedule Put long runs on Saturday. If the weather is poor or some other obstacle pops up, most of us have the option of switching the run to Sunday. Stash supplies – Carrying supplies is cumbersome. Try stashing yours en route. Place sealed water or sport drink bottles and food along the course. Loopy Runs – Running a loop course that laps your food stash saves schlepping food along for a ride. The Greater New York Racing Team runs through hilly cinder trails in Westchester where water fountains either haven’t been invented, or would blemish the historically bucolic terrain. Sans fountains, we employ the loop back technique to either a well-catered car or park headquaters.
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