As the first month of the year rolls around, everyone is eager to shape up and achieve their goals or resolutions. Often on the list of many ambitious people is the dream of running a marathon. The task certainly seems daunting and requires serious training and resolve to complete. If you are keen on trying out one of the many marathons that are coming up in the UAE, then you’ll need a plan that will soon have you running with the best of them.
There are many resources for runners online (such as www.running.about.com). They emphasise it’s crucial to integrate an intense regime of physical activity into your daily life. For the serious takers, they suggest heavy activity six days a week, which would include a mix of cross training, fast running and very slow running. Slow running is when you are able to have a conversation while you move.
Exercising alone won’t get you to the finish line; you need to follow a strict and healthy nutritional plan in order to help your body get into shape. This means cutting out the junk food and sugars and stocking up on proteins, complex carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables.
‘What you eat is just as important as your training. When I won 3rd place in the 1999 European Championship of Fitness & Body Building, I had a very strict diet that had almost no fat in it,’ says Francesca Cataldo, who is currently the spa and recreation manager at Le Meridien. While running a marathon doesn’t require you stay away from fat altogether, you should keep rigid guidelines. Carbohydrates should make up nearly 65 percent of your daily calorie intake, and these should come from starchy vegetables, potatoes, steamed rice and whole grain pasta or bread. Protein is also an important element that should make up 20 percent of your diet; however it is important that you find sources that are low in fat and cholesterol. These can be lean meat, fish or poultry.
Although anyone can train for a marathon on their own, it’s advisable to get a trainer or check in with one regularly. ‘When I wanted to compete in different sports, I always relied on my trainer to keep me focused and to keep motivating me. It can be very easy to miss training sessions or get lazy when you are on your own, but when you have someone pushing you, it pays off better in the end,’ Francesca adds.
While training for running might seem to be focused on the body and its capacity, in truth it requires a lot of mental discipline. Francesca tells us that you should always be clear about why you are going on this journey, because if the reasons are shallow, often people will just give up.
Many resources mention how runners will often hit a wall; a point where the body simply cannot go on. The experience can be extremely painful, with some runners describing it as having their muscles shut down. However, it is said that we can overcome this wall and this is where the mind comes in. Runners need to train mentally as well; they need to identify their goal and they have to be utterly convinced that they can and will achieve this.
While this entire experience and journey might sound painful, in truth there are enormous benefits to running. No matter how unfit a person is, they can become a runner with training. Unlike other sports, runners often note quick improvement with regular training. Seeing immediate results spurs people to keep going. Then there is also the elusive ‘runner’s high’ that you may hear of. Runners all describe reaching a point of sheer euphoria when they run and this experience becomes utterly addictive. Medical research has proved that running releases endorphins; chemicals in the brain that make a person feel euphoric and happy.
Ultimately, those wishing to run a marathon should be motivated and serious about the task. The intense training required will weed out those less than completely committed, however the rewards for the dedicated will be well worth the journey.
If you are interested in getting out and pounding the pavements, why not join one of the city’s running clubs (such as the Abu Dhabi Striders www.abudhabistriders.com) and making some friends along the way.
Take to the track
For those serious about running those Ks, there are numerous races being held in 2013 across the UAE, including:
February 8 Tri Yas (Abu Dhabi)
March 8 Zayed Sports City 10K Race 3 (Abu Dhabi)
October 12 Zayed Sports City 10K Race 1 (Abu Dhabi)
November 9 Abu Dhabi Striders Half marathon and 10K (Abu Dhabi)
To learn more about these races and other upcoming ones, visit www.premiermarathons.com.
