Get ready for Penang Bridge International Marathon

A message from Mr Jean Pierre Lautredoux our PBIM 2008 Full Marathon Champion (Veteran Category)

Get ready for Penang Bridge International Marathon:

Health
Before starting any marathon training, a visit to your doctor is important. Training is extremely exhausting, difficult and if you are not physically in good shape, or if you have any physical injuries it can have serious consequences.

Marathon training
a) It takes about 3 months to prepare a marathon. However, you must be already training before.

b) The mileage and the long run are the most important components of your training. Try to do your long run during the week end early in the morning. If possible find some friends to join you, even they don’t run all the way with you. Go progressively for your long run. It could be something like that: 20k (week 1), 22k (week 2), 24k (week 3), 26k (week 4), 28k (week 5), 30k (week 6), 32k (week 8), 35k (week 10), 30-32k (week 12). Your last long run must be done 2 weeks prior the marathon. If the long run is very important as it gives to both body and mental the habits to cover long distances, the mileage is also part of your success for a marathon. That means to succeed a better time on your marathon, you have to train more. To give you an example, elite runners run more than 200km per week. But don’t try to do it. Just try to increase your normal mileage progressively. During the week, do some fartlek. Alternate sessions with some interval training: 10- 12x1’ recover jog 2’ or 2x8x30” recover 1’ and 4’ and some longer sessions like 6x3’ recover 2’ to 3’ or 4x5’ recover 3’ to 4’. Doing these sessions, it will help you to get some speed but also it will remove the heavy sensations that you can get doing your long run. For those who run 5 to 6 times a week, you can do 2 fartlek per week maximum but for the ones who run 3 times per week, one session + one jog + one long run would be perfect.

c) Try during your long run to drink and eat, as you will do during the race.
d) Don’t forget to do some stretching after each of your training. Stretching help you to avoid injuries but also to recover by making your blood to circulate better and by this way, you eliminate the toxins.
e) You can run some competitions but not many. 2 or 3 weeks before the marathon, it is interesting to run a competition.
f) Two weeks prior the marathon, your training is finished. The last two weeks, you have to recover of your training. No more long run. You have to be fresh for the race. Sleep is very important as it refreshes your body
g) If you feel really tired during your 3 months training, take a rest for 3-4 days. It is better to miss few training than to arrive at the race with overtraining.
h) If you injure yourself, solve the problem before to start again to run. Better stop for a few days than to continue and finally miss your marathon because you can’t run. For muscular problems, applying ice ASAP often help.

i) To resume the marathon training:
Mileage + long run + fartlek + stretching + competitions + rest

The week before the marathon

1) Have plenty of rest, an easy training.
2) The last three days before the race, eat a lot of carbohydrates.
Carbs provide the body with glycogen.
3) Glycogen is our fuel to run. Eat pasta, rice and potatoes for lunch and dinner.

4) Drink plenty of water. Proper hydration is important to succeed a marathon.

5) Mental preparation:
be focusIf you want to succeed your marathon, you have to prepare it also mentally. This is an important part in your success, more than what you think. You have to be focus. If you are focus, the race will be easier. If you are focus, you will take the good pace from the start, not too fast, not too slow.
Take few minutes everyday to think about your race. Imagine when you arrive at the start, the start, 5k, 10k…21k…30k…40k…42k, see you Successful and Happy. For the ones who never run a marathon, feel the Happiness to finish your 1st marathon, for the others, imagine a PR. Believe me, it’s not a joke.
I run for 30 years and the races I prepared the most mentally were the most Successful. I could give you many examples of friends or me who ran wonderful races without to be at our top physically but perfectly prepared mentally. To be Happy to run your marathon is important. You’ve chosen to run it; you’ve prepared it for weeks, now go for it.

To prepare mentally, relax during 15’ morning before you get up or evening after your shower or before to sleep and visualize your race. Be positive and grateful. On the race day, it will make the difference.

Race day
- Not easy to sleep with a start a 2 am but you have to try to sleep few hours.
- Eat carbs for your dinner.
- Drink water and energy drinks. If you lose as little as 2% of your body weight in fluids it can affect your performance by 10%. Drink small amount but often. If you expect to run 4hrs or slower, be careful not to over drink and develop hyponatremia (water intoxication: when a runner loses a lot of sodium through sweat and consumes a great deal of plain water. This combination may dilute sodium level in your blood).
- Prevent chafing by applying some Vaseline on your nipples, armpits, inner thighs, feet.
- Run at even pace (be focus).
- During the race, eat some bananas, gels, energy bars… it will provide you some carbohydrates that will help you to last the race.

Don’t do…
Nothing new on the race day: - No new shoes, try them at least 3 times before. - No new drink. - No new food. - No new clothes.

Why to run Penang Bridge International Marathon?
1) Safety:

it is close to the traffic and it doesn’t happen often in Malaysia. When you are so tired after 30k, it’s good not to have to look on your right or left to see if there is a car when you wanna cross the road. No traffic, no pollution.

2) Start at 2 am is crazy but at this time you avoid the heat.

3) The route is flat except the bridge (ok, it’s not easy to climb it). Flat means a fast finishing time, a possible PR.

4) If you never ran a marathon, it’s the time to take the challenge. When you finish a marathon, it is something special. Only those who did it know the feeling.

So are you ready for this challenge?
Mr Lautredoux can be contacted via email:jp.lautredoux@gmail.com