Grete Waitz
is the nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon, and the former marathon world champion and Olympic silver medalist. "Running a marathon is easy," she says. "It's preparing for it that's the hard part."
Instructions
1. Be well-trained. Waitz believes that a normal, healthy younger person should not take six hours to complete a marathon.
2. Take a couple of years. Build a running base and try shorter-distance races.
3. Be sensible about your expectations. There's running just to enjoy the scenery, and there's running competitively.
4. Keep to your routine. Don't throw your current training out the window in search of that magic marathon program.
5. Build your long run slowly, the same way you build all mileage.
6. Make sure you get used to running on asphalt, if you aren't already.
7. Intersperse rest and recovery after hard efforts.
8. Plan to run some shorter races leading up to the marathon.
9. Be especially careful to avoid overtraining and injury. When in doubt, do less rather than more.
10. Practice drinking fluids in training.
11. Eat a balanced diet, including the foods that best supplement training and racing efforts.
Tags: Grete Waitz