Global Sports: Some Instruction of 10 Week Marathon Program ?

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Some Instruction of 10 Week Marathon Program ?

By Shibalik Sanyal


I've been running since I can remember. My mother always said that I literally went from crawling to running and I've done my best to never stop. Throughout my youth I got involved with soccer and moved on to track & cross country. While my college years were a bit of a rough patch athletically, I tried to stay in decent shape by running 3-4 miles several times per week - but I wasn't even close to being able to race competitively.

After I graduated college, I got my first full time job and within 8 months I was gaining weight on a daily basis, didn't feel good about myself, and was lacking the energy that I was so used to. When I was at the gym one day, I saw a group of people stretching that had just got back from a run. I got to talking to them, and they informed me they were all training for the upcoming local marathon. Even though it was only 6 weeks away, I decided right then and there that I was going to come up with a running schedule that would allow me to cross that finish line. Long story short, I ended up battling several injuries, got about 9 miles into the race and was forced to quit - I didn't have enough time. At this point I was even more down on myself, but I did make a promise that I would complete a marathon.

Before I knew it, I was in my lower 30's, married with one child and another on the way. On top of that I was working full time. While this wasn't the perfect time to begin training, there was a marathon coming up in 6 months that I was excited to begin training for. I figured that with that amount of time, I would be fine. After two months I was exhausted. I was running about 65% of what my highest mileage week would be, and while it wasn't too demanding physically, mentally I was worn out - but I decided to push through. 2 and a half months later and I was still 6 weeks out, I was a complete wreck. Bags under my eyes, limping everywhere I went, and just wasn't happy with my lifestyle. My goal was to run a marathon, not qualify for the Olympic trials.

3 years later and I still hadn't completed a marathon. A race was coming up in a few months and I decided to give it another shot. I got a 10 week marathon program from a friend and I was off and running. I had talked to many people about a 10 week marathon schedule and they said with my background it would be the perfect amount of time. The first few weeks were a bit difficult to get adjusted to, but I knew I only had a few weeks before my milege would start decreasing (taper phase). By the time I was starting to get worn out, it was race day! While I didn't exactly shatter world records, it did help me achieve my running goals, and I can officially call myself a marathoner!

After my experiences, I truly feel like a 10 week marathon program is the best way to go. Marathon training in 10 weeks allows you to maintain a sane lifestyle and still get you to the finish line. If I wouldn't have taken a chance on this program, I don't know if I would have ever accomplished my running goals.




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