26.2 Race Training Tips For First-Time Marathoners: Part 4 - Train Your Mind And Body

True masters of the marathon rely on mental strength as much as physical prowess. Like an aspiring monk in cross-trainers, the runner must seek inner tranquility along the 26.2-mile path to enlightenment. Start tuning both mind and body to release anxiety at the start and attain nirvana at the finish.

20. Calming Down: Easier Said than Done

During the last week of your training, let life slow down. Without retreating from everyday life, employ meditation, scheduling changes to reduce overall stress. Avoid late nights, saving celebration for the champagne showers.

21. Stretch It Out

Trigger Point Performance The Grid Foam Roller

Stretching isn’t strictly a post-race practice. Take five minutes to loosen up your muscles on a roller after every training session. Trigger Point’s sleek Ultimate Grid Roller is a high-quality option approved by Active Junky runners, one that comes in a travel-ready size.

22. Set the Date

Registering for a race puts your goals in focus. Performance targets become tangible, sacrifices become mandatory and straying from the path becomes more difficult. Once you’ve registered, your training regimen becomes each day’s center point.

23. Yoga

Yoga won’t merely increase your physical flexibility – it’ll relax your mind. Though it sounds cliché, maintaining a confident and stable mentality is key to crossing that finish line. 

24. Set YOUR Goal

Running your first marathon pits you against yourself. Don’t be intimidated at the starting line, surrounded by sponsored racers with 3% body fat. Pick a reasonable goal given your timed training runs and use splits to stay focused.

25. Normalize your Eating

A healthy mind is closely tied to a healthy body. Eating properly supports peak performance and cerebral clarity. Follow the diet that’s kept you chugging through training, with a reasonable increase in carbohydrate consumption leading up to the race.

26. Sleep (radical, eh?)

Pre-race jitters can do a number on your sleeping habits. Laying out your race-day kit and sweat bag the night before alleviates some stress, knowing that tossing and turning is to be expected.  Call it an early night if possible, listening to soundtracks of falling rain and breaching whales or capping the night off with a cup of soothing chamomile tea; what works for you is the best Rx.

26.2. Have Fun!

The most important tip of all: have fun! Chat with fellow runners, enjoy the beautiful scenery and revel in the Zen of an extra-long runner’s high. You’ve worked hard for this moment, one worth relishing with every stride.