Part of every marathoner's goal is train and stay injury free. Following is some good guidance that will work for runners training for any length of race.
1. Rest every 3-4 weeks. Besides keeping track of your weekly mileage in which you gradually increase mileage, the body can use some rest from the pounding of running. Every 3-4 weeks, depending how strong you are feeling, reduce your mileage for the week. I suggest reducing by 20% for intermediate runners and around 30-40% for novices.
2. Don't forget weekly mileage. No matter how strong you are feeling, it's not recommended to increase weekly mileage by a lot more than 10%. Also, I do not think it's wise to increase the length of the weekly long run by more than 2-3 miles each week. Sudden mileage increases in excess of 10% each week can increase injury risk. To be able to avoid injuries while you add miles, take an additional day off every 4 weeks. It helps to make your scheduled long runs longer, but relaxation will help you heal faster.
3. Do hills and strides before starting up speed work. If you haven't been doing speed also known as track or interval) work, then you won't want to all of a sudden complete 8 hard laps round the track. When just beginning a marathon or half marathon training plan, it is best to finish a minimum of one 5 mile easy run weekly with 100M strides. These strides should at 80% effort. I suggest finishing roughly 8. You may additionally incorporate high knees, butt kicks and karaokes (a side ways, mix step drill that will help IT band and groin muscle strength). I additionally recommend hillsides before track work. Choose a 100m to 200m incline and increase it 3-4 occasions once per week.
4. Warm-up just before training runs. Start each run or interval session with a little light stretching as well as 4-5 minute jog. You may also transition to the faster pace with 4 short accelerations/strides. As the legs warm-up, build up your pace gradually. While you finish all of the your strides and also have been jogging for 4-a few minutes, you need to have the ability to hit your ultimate goal pace.
5. Regularly run fast. This does not always mean each time you headout, go fast. Rather, you have to regularly complete track and hill work. Should you only do speed work monthly, your body won't get used to faster running. On the "flip side" an excessive amount of speed work leaves you prone to injuries. One speed workout weekly will help you get faster and grow injury free. Don't forget, whenever you do speed work, always warm-up first.
6. Stretch before and mostly immediately after runs. Stretching following a run, when your muscles are warm, helps to combat all the contractions you have with each and every step. Following a high exertion effort, avoid stretching intensely. Stretching a tired muscle too much could tear muscle tissue and actually increase time to recover. In these cases, stretch lightly.
