Training Tips Powered By Fleet Feet + Marathoner In Training

1. Dress For Success — When the temperature drops, it is important that you are dressed appropriately. Layering is the most important factor to keep warm, but avoid the temptation to overdress. You want to dress as though it is 20 degrees warmer than it actually is.
2. Holy Shin Splints! — Shin splints are a beginning runner or walker's worst nightmare. You make the commitment to do exercise, and then BAM! your shins are throbbing with every step. Shin splint pain commonly happens when runners are new to an exercise program.
3. Fueling Before, During, and After Workouts — One of the great aspects of the weekly long run is that it serves as an opportunity for you to practice your race day strategy. This includes the amount of time you need from the when you wake up to the start of your workout or race, the fuel you take in before heading out, and what you do during and after your workout or race. Even marathon veterans have to make adjustments from one season to the next.
4. Stretching — Did you know that improper stretching is the second leading cause of running injuries? Studies have shown that morning runners become injured more often than noontime and evening runners, probably due to stretching cold muscles.
5. 5 Surprising Ways To Make Running Easier — Even if you’re not a natural athlete, or running doesn’t come easily to you, if you stick with the sport for long enough, we can guarantee that running feel more enjoyable over time. And once it does, your workouts will start to feel less like work, and it won’t be so difficult to coax yourself out the door. Here are five tips to make running feel easier, fast.
6. Evaluating Your Progress — At the beginning of your training season you likely set goals for yourself. Hopefully your goals are meaningful, attainable and measurable. If not, chances are you haven't stuck to them. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that if you are reading this you have probably stuck towards reaching your goals and are still pushing on towards your goals for your races.
7. Tapering (3 weeks out from race day) — Race day is coming before we know it! Over the past several months you've logged hundreds of hard miles and those miles have prepared you for the task ahead. Know that each long workout, every speed workout, and all the other workouts in between have served a purpose, and you are now physically and mentally prepared to achieve your goal!
8. Running Injured — Ouch! Oh no, you wake up Sunday morning after your Saturday run and your left heel is killing you. You take a few steps and feel like an 80 year old woman who did one too many waltzes the night before. Or, you are out for your run and your knee progressively gets more and more sore. You start to walk and a sharp pain virtually stops you in your tracks. The dreaded sports injury — you ask, "What do I do now?"
9. Race Preparation & Simulation — First time and veteran half and full marathoners alike should make efforts to prepare for and simulate their race before heading to the starting line. There are several things you can do between now and race day the will greatly reduce race morning anxiety.