Choose the date of the marathon
Maybe it will be this year’s, or maybe the one planned in a few years? It is never too late. Remember – the path to your destination is the most beautiful, so don’t break down when yours is located in the distant future. The most important thing is to have a dream and pursue it.
It will change and rearrange your whole life, but when you cross the finish line, you’ll be the happiest person in the world. You will finally feel what the words mean – I am proud of myself. Then you want more, but that’s only after that.
Where to start, how to assess your level? Can’t you do it? Ask experienced colleagues. You don’t have them? Find out if there are running groups in your city. There will be someone who can advise you on what time you should aim for. Such a meeting can also be the beginning of good acquaintances, and those in the running world are extremely valuable. Joint trainings are a great opportunity to exchange experiences, support, and then the opportunity to share joy. It is worth hiding your embarrassment in your pocket and going out to people. The loneliness of a long-distance runner does not mean alienation.
“Marathon runners are a specific group of athletes. Each of us knows how much effort it costs to run and prepare to overcome the distance. Everyone takes care of a young competitor who starts this trial for the first time. They provide advice and instructions so that he only finishes the run. ”
(Bogdan Nowak)
Once you have specified your goal – start preparing. It’s best to train with a training plan ready. This one, well composed, will guide you smoothly through all the necessary elements, and on the day of take-off you will feel that you have done a great job and you will definitely be fine.
True – every runner has responsibilities, such as work or family, but also has his own free time. Maybe it will be hard to rearrange your life at the beginning and find a free hour a day for training, but you will definitely get a few times a week. It is enough. However, if you think about a marathon, you are surely an experienced runner that you know perfectly well how running organizes your life and gives it rhythm.
It is worth keeping in mind the goal – the marathon. Record your workouts and keep a running diary. Such analysis is primarily the monitoring of progress and excellent mobilization. Visualize how much work you put into the preparations, whether they go according to the plan, whether you are consistently carrying it out and whether you accidentally miss compulsory classes. After years, you will be able to come back to it and analyze the good and bad sides of the training methods used.
My Dad meticulously noted his runs in gray notebooks. A table with a ruler and penned dates, stamps, kilometers, starts, comments, summaries. I use technology and more and more popular internet journals.