Blogger Marathon Blog

For those people who haven't run long distances, or who are running distances they're not used to, one of the biggest suggestions I can make is to not run.  It may seem counter intuitive, but a lot of people put too much emphasis on "putting in miles".  If that's all you do, you will be working your joints pretty hard, and you'll be very susceptible to over use injuries.  And believe me, that will put a cramp in your training, and your fun.

I personally suggest taking up biking to go along with your running.  Since I do triathlons normally during the summer, I'm pretty biased, but I think it really helps.  For one, biking is no impact, so your joints will be saved, but you are still doing good cardio which helps your endurance and lung capacity.  Although you're still using your legs, you are really using largely different muscles for biking than running.  So you're still putting in a good workout, but you're giving your running legs a break while you use your biking legs.

And hey, biking is fun too, and helps things from getting boring besides.  So think about some cross training.  And while you're at it, you can check out my other blog where I'm talking about Lakefront Etiquette for bikers and runners.