Question:
At the age of 19, and having not
previously run for a few years,
I decided to enter the Manchester
Marathon (which takes place in 3.5
months time). I started running
for the first time on Sunday and
did nine miles in 1 hr 18mins on
a running track. However, the next
day I had tight calves (even though
I warmed up/down). I found it hard
to walk down stairs, and had a sensation
like somebody was pushing a tennis
balls in the middle of my carves.
Is this pain normal - I've heard
of the 'no pain no gain' scenario,
where you have to break you muscles
down to build them back up stronger.
Also, would it be wise to continue
running despite this aching.
Answer:
If your calves hurt and you're having
trouble walking downstairs, then
it's probably not a good idea to
get out and run as far as you can
every night. Runner's world, cool
running, active, and probaby lots
more sites have marathon training
schedules.
At 19, you're
invincible, but if you're my age,
37, you'd be obsessed with your
heart rate too. I intend to run
my first marathon in January and
I don't start serious training until
Sept. 1. I am not worried about
speed work or interval training
because I just want to complete
it. But, a lot of people in the
NG are competitive racers, not just
wannabe runners like me, and for
them speed work and interval training
is vital.
Depending
on what you want to accomplish in
your first marathon, if you just
want to finish it, then sure, do
lots of long runs Although not every
night. If you want to run it fast,
then you gotta worry about heart
rates, intervals, all that jazz.
BTW, since you're 19, your body
will be very forgiving of abuse
But going out and running 9 miles
for your first run was probably
not the best thing to do I'd take
it easy for a couple days You'll
need to ease into this a bit more
gradually.
