The Marathon Training Blog

A good friend of mine Amanda just ran the San Francisco Marathon and came back with all kinds of great tips that I thought I'd share.

As I've often heard -- and hope happens to me as it did to my pal -- you end up running faster than you think you will because you're so pumped up by the crowds. Amanda was aiming for a 4:30 finish, but ended up doing a 4:15. Good job, Amanda.

She had her name on her jersey and said that at mile 22 when her calves were really burning and she was losing steam, hearing the crowd yell her name kept her going.

She use 4 electrolyte gels and a pack of jelly beans at the end. Plus her friends gave her pretzels along the way. She drank water and/or gatorade at every stop.

She used miles 1 - 6 as a warmup so she had a lot left at the end. In fact, her fastest mile was at the end, which she did in a little over 8 minutes. 

That night, she said her legs hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt the next 2 days and cautioned me to take advil and use ice right after.

A little tip her Team in Training trainer gave her was to walk down steps backwards becuase it hurts less. Good one.

I was lucky enough to do a story for AOL Diet & Fitness where I work called 'Last-Minute Marathon Tips,' provided by the marathon man himself Jeff Galloway. He offers some really great advice, so check it out. Some of it might surpise you.

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