Sharyn O’Halloran serves as the George Blumenthal professor of political economy and a professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University. An avid runner in her free time, Sharyn O’Halloran has participated in several half-marathons and marathons.
Requiring more than just building up distance, training for long-distance races also involves avoiding and preventing injuries. Instead of increasing mileage rapidly over a short period, spread your training over a longer span and build up mileage gradually. On average, a 10 percent weekly increase is a safe guide. Additionally, focus on races of reasonable length. Although some individuals can go from never running to completing a marathon, they often emerge injured or burnt out from the experience.
Challenging workouts involving speed work and long runs are a necessary part of any marathon training plan, but doing them back-to-back increases your risk of injury. Interspersing hard workouts with easy ones reduces the risk of fatigue and injury. Although following a training plan is important, listening to your body and altering the plan as needed is significantly more important. Your body needs time to adapt to running regularly, and there is nothing wrong with taking a break for a week if you’re just too tired. Let your body recuperate during that time and be prepared to start training again.