The London Marathon - What's the worst that could happen?

If you are one of the thousands of people who watched in awe at the thousands of “normal” everyday people pounding the streets of London today and reckon you have got what it takes, its never too early to start your training.

The inspirational sight of seeing the mass of charity runners taking part in the final Flora London Marathon (before Virgin take over the reigns next year) always provokes widespread interest in taking on the 26.2 mile course and gets people thinking – “you know what, i reckon i could do that!”

Well – why not prove it!

Entering a marathon could not be easier. All you need to do is contact a Charity you feel strongly about and register your interest in running a marathon for them. Although you are not guaranteed to get a place, if you register your interest early enough you are more likely than not to be welcomed with open arms and given a place  – on the condition that you can raise at least £1500 for that charity.

For a list of some fantastic charities to run for, click here and take your pick.

Then all thats left to do, is get yourself to the start line next April and run 26.2 miles!

Starting training early is something very few marathon entrants do, yet i cannot stress the importance of beginning gentle training runs as soon as you can – and what better time than Spring? Its light, still cool enough to stop you from over heating and in my view the best time of the year to run.

So if you’re new to ro running, get kitted up and take to the streets. You don’t have to run fast, far or even that regularly, just set out on a walk / jog for 20 mins or so and ease yourself in to the running mindset. You will be amazed at just how quickly you not only begin to thoroughly enjoy the exercise and the feelig of running but also at how quickly you will be able to run further and further as your fitness improves.

There are plently of sites you can search for to give you runinng tips and advice on how to take on your first marathon but luckily for you fitFAQS is the perfect place for both.

To download the increasingly popular fitFAQS running guides, click here and choose a training plan that suits you. If you are a novice, i’d suggest you download the 10km guide first, then as you get fitter download the half marathon and then marathon guides to really tax yourself and elevate your running fitness to even greater heights.

To really get to grips with how to prepare your body to tolerate the demands of a 13.1 or 26.2 mile run i would strongly suggest that you buy my book “The Marathon and Half marathon: A Training Guide.”

Now in reprint, the book tells you everything you need to know about enduarnce running and takes you from your very first tentative step to the jubilation of crossing the finishing line.

So what are you waiting for?

If you have any tips or you would like to recommend any charities that fitFAQS visitors should run for, let us know by leaving  a comment below.

After months of hard work, late nights and maybe a few too many glasses of a cheeky Australian Shiraz, all the fitFAQS Running Training are here and available for download absolutely free.

The Training guides for 10km, Half Marathon and Marathon distances were written to give runners of all abilities quality information on how to properly train, eat and prepare for a race they may only do once – so i wanted to make them good.

After trawling through the Internet for other similar guides, i have yet to find any which are as comprehensive or detailed as ours and the fact that they are free for download, you’ll hopefully feel makes them that much better. However, they may not be free for long, so seize the opportunity and get downloading.

And the good news doesn’t stop there. Overtime, we will be tweaking and improving the running guides to make all three better and more comprehensive.

Just some of the planned improvements include:

• Video footage of stretches, injury treatment and personal messages to runners.

• More Training drills and workout ideas.

• Core Training and Core Stability

• More in-depth information on Heart rate training.

• More links to great running clothes sites.

• Discount codes for running products.

Exactly, when these improvements will be made is hard to say but once i find another equally good cheeky Shriaz to keep me company, i can assure you, it won’t be long. If you have any ideas on how the guides can be improved, or any additions you think we shoudl include, let us know by commenting below or emaiing us dirext at fitFAQS.

It must be stressed though, that although these  free running training guides are comprehensive, they are no substitute for my book “The Marathona and Half Marathon: A Training Guide.” The 10,000 word guides may be comprehensive but it doesn’t come close to the information you get from my 65,000 word book.

That said, to get you started click here to go the fitFAQS download page and chose the guide(s) of your choice.

Happy Training.

With just 6 or so weeks to go until the big day, you should now be running at least 14-16 miles for your long runs, which means it’s time to get practising with carbo gels.

Love them or hate them, carbo gels are a great way to stock up your blood sugar levels to help prevent you hitting the dreaded wall at mile 18.

By keeping your sugar levels topped up, it means the body takes less carbohydrate (glycogen) from your liver and muscles meaning you keep energy in reserve for the latter stages of the race – and believe me you’ll need all the energy you can get come mile 24!

There are a number of different types of gel so it’s up to you which one you choose but it is vital that you stick with the same make throughout your training and during the race itself. They are all slightly different, so it’s always best to stick with a gel which you have eaten in training and you know you are able to tolerate.

I cannot stress how important it is to practice taking your chosen gel on a number of training runs. Their formula is very rich in sugar and can disagree with some people’s digestive systems – not good come mile 18 of the marathon with no porta loo in sight.

So, now is about the right time to choose your gel of choice and take one with you on your next long run. After about an hour of running, rip the sachet open and “enjoy” the thick, gooey gunk swill around your mouth. It is advisable to wash it down with a few swigs of water, as its consistency is pretty horrid at the best of times and it’s not a pleasant feeling having your mouth coated with a substance with a texture not dissimilar to glue.

If you have no tummy problems after a few training runs and you are happy using the gels, then stick with them and take 3 or 4 with you on race day.

However, if your stomach starts to rumble or your digestive system is simply not happy after ingesting a carbo gel, it might be an idea to leave them and find an alternative way to boost your sugar levels during the race. Jelly babies and dextrose tablets are both good options so practise with them on a run and if all is well, take them with you on race day.

Do not underestimate the discomfort these little sachets can cause on your digestive system. Practise with them a number of times before race day and make sure you can tolerate them – or you might end up in a pretty embarrassing situation.

If you have had a bad experience with Carbo gels, or have any tips for carbo gel virgins, let us know by leaving a comment – we’d love to hear your stories.

An unexpected success

They are words that any author would pay money to hear and after only a year since its publication, i was lucky enough to hear those magical words in an email i received from my publisher this morning,

“Graeme, your book has now sold so well we are going to have to reprint it.”

Ok, so J.K Rowling may not need to worry quite yet that i’ll be challenging her dominance of the written word, but for such a niche publication to be reprinted after just over a year, i’m chuffed to bits.

It’s hard to believe that it is almost 3 years ago that “The Marathon and Half Marathon: A Training Guide” was still a blank Word document staring at me on my computer screen and the prospect of writing my first book suddenly filled me with dread.

Where do you start?

On my first day of writing, at 7am on a pitch black February morning, I remember glancing at the publishers contract stipulating that i had to give them 45, 000 words, write a book applicable to new and seasoned runners for both the half and full marathon distances, obtain all imagery for the book at my expense and get it all to them in 12 months.

I stared back at the blank Word document, buried my head in my hands, and thought,”Oh Shit, what have i got myself into?

For a writer, there is no time more daunting  than staring at a blank computer screen and beginning a new project (especially when it is your first book) knowing that you have little support and that the 45,000 words you are contracted to write are ultimately up to you.

You’re on your own.

Whilst writing the book, it often surprised me how many people expected me to be a professional runner with lightening quick marathon times under my belt – in their minds the minimum credentials required to write a book on how to train for half and full marathons.

The thing is, as far as i was concerned whilst writing the book and still feel today, is that writers of marathon training books with exceptional running ability are probably the worst people at advising the mortal public how to get round the grueling 13.1 or 26.2 mile course.

The mindset and shear bloody mindedness of any athlete with exceptional ability and able to run 5 minute miles for 26 miles, makes it very difficult for them to relate to a novice runner with family and work commitments and aspires to run a marathon closer to a 15min a mile pace.

Where i lacked in physical abilty and running prowess (though a 1:29 Half marathon and 3:28 Marathon isn’t too bad) I feel I more than made up in my ability to relate to the layman and understand the time and physical limitations nearly 85% of marathon runners face.

During my career as a personal trainer i have worked closely with runners of varied abilities and i used my experience at finding out what makes people “tick” in the writing of the book.

My priority was to write the book in a way which sympathised with the challenge of marathon training but in a tone which was neither patronising or condecending, just realistic at the challenge novice runners were undertaking. The fact that the book is now being reprinted, maybe proof that i got it just about right – but then again i may just have got lucky!

The fitFAQS Marathon Training Guide is now in its third year of publication, with the much improved version 3 made available late last year.

To date, the marathon training guide has been incredibly well received by some of the UK’s largest charities, with most of them now eagerly awaiting the publication of the 10K and Half Marathon Guides (which are close, but not quite ready for public consumption quite yet)

The download pages at fitFAQS have also been hit hard and thousands of people have now downloaded the guide directly from the site. From the feedback we have had, from runners of all abilities, it seems the guide has hit just the right note and provided marathon runners with a good overview of how to train and what to expect from the experience.

The thing is, we reckon we can do better.

We are always looking for ways to improve the Training Guide, so we are now keen to get some feedback from you and hear what you think how future editions could be improved.

Any comment or criticisim is welcome, so whatever your opinions we’d love you to comment and hear some more feedback.

Most, though not all runners, could not possibly entertain the idea of setting out for a run without their treasured ipod (or other generic Mp3 player)chocked full of inspirational  tunes.

Listening to great music adds massively to the running experience and can make an 8 miler on a  crappy gray winters day into a hugely enjoyable experience; though after talking to other runners it seems my taste in running music seems to be a world apart from most peoples.

So i thought i’d write this post to see  what music other runners listen to, to keep them company whilst pounding the streets.

Laugh if you must, but when i trained for my last marathon, Snow Patrol featured heavily on my playlist simply down to the their easy listening and melodic tracks, Run naturally being my favourite.

However, i came across one song a year ago which blew me away. Its called Surf Trip, by an unknown band called The Layers.