This post details the second set of biggest marathon mistakes that a first-time marathoner does. For the first part, read 26.2 Top First-Time Marathon Mistakes And How to Avoid Them.

26.2 More First-Time Marathon Mistakes And How to Avoid Them

1. You don’t run in the morning

Morning runs are the best, at least for me…

Not because it will keep you energized for the rest of the day…

Surely it is an obvious outcome…

But I’m suggesting it because sometimes it gets difficult to train in the evening.

Your work may get stretched, or you may be overly tired to go out for a run…so on and so forth…

If you train first thing in the morning…you are already well-rested and don’t have any pressing needs to be taken care of…

The only problem you will face is to get up in the morning…

If you are like a sleepyhead like me, it will be a major challenge…

It took almost 2 months of deliberate practice and a lot of yelling from a good friend to get into the habit of getting up in the morning.

If you struggle with getting up in the morning, here are some unique tips to get up early in the morning and go for a run.

The only thing you should take care of is being safe. Carry a small pepper spray can or a taser gun.

However, most of the time, your attacker may be more powerful than you and can easily turn this weapon against you, potentially leaving you at his mercy.

An easy solution is to get a pepper spay can which is wearable and have a wide range.

I found Grip it pepper spray for runner to be just like that.

It will attach itself to your fingers and the spraying pin will be positioned just near your thumb.

Also, it is police grade and has a spraying range of 25 feet.

This one will keep you protected, if you plan to run in the wee hours in the morning.

2. Your Lips are sealed

This I did not learn from my training, but from starting my online business.

I used to chew all my friends’ heads whenever we used to meet.

I used to bore them with every little detail and every little progress and everything in between.

My enthusiasm was out of bound…so was my frustration…

After some time I could see the boredom and ‘yeah whatever!’ look on their faces…

Some every tried to avoid me and this made me realize that not everyone is interested in whatever I was doing…

I’m not blaming them…probably I would have done the same thing if I was at their place…

The thing is they cannot relate to your thought process and excitement as they are not doing it…

So, spare them and let them be at peace…

In other words…zip it up and don’t utter a word about your training…

Else, you will feel bad and they will feel bored…

3. Your friends and family are not sacrificial lambs (proverbial)

Marathon training is hard…it takes a lot of sacrifices…

And a lot of training time…

So, you will many times skip those family dinners or meeting your friends…

It can be to the point where you lose your friendships and your family members will disown you.

You need them…

Why?

Imagine this…

There is a crowd of thousands of people…

Someone or the other is cheering for a co-runner that they know…

You are the only one, who has nobody in the crowd motivating you…

You are all alone…

How will you feel?

How will you feel when you are not able to move forward and nobody is there to motivate you?

You see, our relationships are very important…they get us through our tough times…

And believe me, running a marathon is no less than moving a mountain if you are doing it for the first time…

So, set their expectations…and let them know that you will not be available as much as you used to be…

But once in while be present…or call them up to tell that they are still as important to you as they used to be…

In short, marathon training must not take a toll on your relationships…

4. Not expecting terrifying training runs …(Not Joking)

Want to be perfect with your training?

With timings and all?

In your first try?

Let me be honest with you…

You probably going to suck…or maybe not…

I surely did…

I was training for 10K and wanted to run a sub 2 hour 10K…

I thought I was perfect as I was running for a couple of months then and have successfully run a 5K.

Meaning completed the run in about 40 mins, which is one of the worst run timings possible (I guess) :p

My endurance was very poor due to various factors and had to take walking breaks a lot…

But I got ambitious anyway and set the target of running a sub 2 hours 10K.

Result…

My ambition was crushed by around 30 mins…

And you are planning to run a freaking marathon…

You should expect the worst even in your training…

The point is just to continue…you will get better over time…

Don’t expect too much in your first attempt and you will be just fine…

5. Your training will not go as planned…

Life happens and it will happen to you…

You may have to deal with some emergencies or you may fall sick…

You may get injured and have to take a break…

Don’t beat yourself up or give up…

This is common and every runner has to face this…

So, just readjust and continue…

Also, don’t try to squeeze in your run just to stick to the schedule…

You don’t want to be all burned out before the race day…

However, if you starts to miss a lot of runs…then there is a problem…

Try to find out what is bothering you and deal with it…

6. Save the pedicure for after the run

When you will train for a marathon, your feet will develop callouses.

Which is sort of OK…

Why?

They will serve as a clutch and will help you to run the distance.

And since your feet will be hidden inside your sneakers, you will not have to face any public embarrassment on your race day.

So, save the pedicure for after the race.

All those messages and care that your masseuse will provide your feet will make it feel awesome and relaxed.

You will feel incredible and so will your feet.

Plus, you can maintain this for a longer time as you will probably go back to your regular running routine.

By the way…book a spa appointment also…your body needs that complete relaxation.

7. Waistbelts are a must on the race day

You need to store some small stuff to be later used in the run.

For example, your running gels, your phone, an extra pair of earphones, if you are planning to use it and like such…

So, without a waistbelt, you will not be able to store these.

If you are concerned about the weight of the belt or the bouncing of it, then you should not worry.

Running belts like sport2people Running Pouch Belt will sit on your waist and will not bounce around. They are lightweight and will not weigh you down at all.

Also, they are pretty inexpensive. With the holiday season fast approaching, I’m expecting that you will get it at a heavy discount.

8. Practice your selfies…

Yep, I mean it…

I’m an extremely camera shy person…and you will not see me posting my pictures…even after the race.

But I know that you are way more confident than me…

So, practice your mug shots or your selfies.

Why?

What’s the point of having a crappy picture of your first ever marathon…

Every time you will see it, you will wish if you had taken a better picture…

You will not remember the effort that you have put to run that marathon and capture this moment of glory…

All you will see the improper light or how big your face looks or your big ears (my biggest problem)…

You will see your insecurities and not your achievements…

So, practice, practice, practice…until you get it right… 😉

9. No mixing of running gels and other sports drinks…

And why not?

Well, both have a high density of sugar.

So, there will be an overdose of glucose for you…

You will suddenly have a sugar rush and may feel dizzy and uncomfortable…

Plus your stomach will not be able to handle this cocktail and you may end up throwing up…

And this is a sureshot recipe of stomach upset…

Also, since you will be using gels in during your run, please use them during your training also…

This will give you an overall idea of when to take them, after how much time you get the energy boost and how your body reacts to them.

You should consume your energy gels only with water and nothing else.

Here is how you should consume energy gels and the water requirement for major brands.

10. Don’t rely on your Phone’s GPS

Have you ever observed that technology ditches you when you need them the most?

That happens all the time with me…

If you relate to it, then have additional measures to guesstimate your performance.

Why?

Because your phone may die on you… in the middle of the race…

There may not be any internet connection or worse yet, slow internet connection…

However, if you still plan to use them, carry a power bank with you.

Also, make sure your power bank has power…

If you are running on a sunny track, then you can use one of those solar chargers…

And if you don’t want to increase your weight by carrying a power bank, you can always resort to a Solar Hydration Backback. You will kill two birds with one stone. 😀

11. Take complete rest after the race (for a day or two)

Believe me, you will be so sore and stiff the next day, you will hardly want to move…Let alone resume your exercise routine.

Its best to take complete rest for a day or two before you start again…

For me an ideal day off will be sleep, eat and take warm baths…

Take food which can help you to recover faster like chia seeds…

You can soak it in lukewarm milk or water for 30 min and have it…

It will help your body tissues to recover faster and will also soothe your stomach…

Another thing you can do is to add some turmeric to the milk or water…

This herb is also potent and aids healing…

This is a go to recipe for us whenever we suffer from any kind of injury…

It also helps to improve your immunity…

12. You will be slow and that is how it should be

We all as human beings suffer from what I call ‘Averaging Syndrome’.

We tend to average out everything.

For example, if you run a 5K in 25 min, you average it out as running 1 mile in 5 min.

Well, this is almost true but running a marathon is tackling an entirely different beast.

The distance is monstrous and your body will behave differently.

On average, you will have to add 48 secs per mile than your current 5K speed, 32 secs per mile than your 10K speed and 16 more seconds to your half marathon pace.

Don’t expect your each of your marathon miles to be faster than your average 5K speed. (I proved that I definitely suffer from Averaging Syndrome)

If you want to predict your accurate run timings for your marathon based on your 5K, read this article about running timing accuracy.

13. Don’t listen to the crowd

The crowd is doing its job…

It is there to encourage you and motivate you and also to see how you run.

They will try to cheer you up…

But when you see something like this…

Pain is temporary, finishing is forever – Unknown

And you are just half way through and feeling like almost dead…

I can literally hear the ‘F’ word and feel your intense desire to kill the a…h…!

Well then again…

Smile, you paid for this… 😛

I couldn’t resist…. 😀

So just ignore the crowd and their writings and sayings…

You will be conserving a lot of energy… 

14. Don’t not take yourself seriously and have fun

Anything first is a treasured experience…

Sure you will do way better in the next one, but this is your first…

And it will be unforgettable…

Don’t be too serious and competitive…

Mistakes will happen…

Just have fun, and enjoy the experience…

You never get it back…

15. Have a standard pre-race meal

Marathon running is intense and I keep repeating that…

However, that is true…

Also, your stomach at that time is not in a very happy mood…

Why?

Because it doesn’t have enough supply of blood as the blood flows from your stomach and less active parts of your body to a more active part of your body.

So, it cannot digest all those greasy, spicy food…

Hence, have something which is easy to digest and will add to your glycogen store…

And as always, practice is the key…

For example…

If you plan to take your breakfast 3 hours before your marathon…then on long run days, do the exact same.

This will build predictability into the system and you will also know how your body reacts…

On the race day, you will have to face less hassle and your stomach will also co-operate with you…

16. Not putting even efforts to the splits

Runners are stubborn as hell…

They will do anything to keep up with their average running pace no matter where they are running…

For example, if you are running uphill, the amount of effort required to run a 7 min/mile is way more than running 7 min/mile on level ground.

What do you do?

You put additional effort on the uphill to make it a 7 min/mile.

Result?

You end up having the worst performance in the last leg of the run…

Why?

Because you have exhausted your energy store by being stubborn when running the uphill…

What you could have done?

You should have put equal effort into the uphills and the leveled ground.

Sure…this would have increased your time, but you will be conserving energy for the later part of the rest.

There if required you can even run negative splits to make up for the extra time.

But if you have no energy left, how will you do that?

17. Running marathon as your first race

Ah! this is a classic mistake that a new runner does…

They run a marathon as their first race…

No matter how encouraging it looks and surely feels like a bravado, it is a foolish thing to try…

Pardon me…but you are too inexperienced to run a marathon…

Your training may not be up to the mark and you don’t know what to expect…

Your chances of successfully finishing the marathon maybe a tad less.

Don’t think that I’m discouraging you, but that is a fact…

However, if you still want to run a marathon as your first race, hire a coach like Debbie from coachdebbieruns.com to help you in the journey and help you to be successful.

She is a veteran in this field and is RRCA certified. She has been coaching for a long time.

[NOTE: The above link is not an affiliate link and I’m not benefitted from this in any way, monetary or otherwise. I’m recommending her due to her work throughout the years and the passion she has for running].

18. Losing motivation during training

Marathon taking will take a lot from you…

Your time, energy and at times your peace…

You may be putting in a lot of efforts but you will not be able to see progress…

At times you will have terrible runs…

Result?

You will lose motivation to continue the training…

Also, sometimes life commitments can force you to lose motivation…

But if you don’t train, you will never be able to run your coveted marathon…

And restarting the training from where you have left off is not encouraging at all…

Why?

Because you will invariably compare current self with your past self while you were training.

Your current self will not be better than that..and you will further lose motivation…

So, the best thing is, not to stop…

Just finish what you have started and see where you end up…

It will be a much better place than you have imagined, trust me…

19. Not giving yourself enough training time

To train for a marathon, it takes at least 12-20 weeks.

Since this will be your first marathon, you should shoot for 20 weeks.

Anything less than that and you are ready to be slain by the mighty marathon.

You should build up your weekly mileage to up to 50 miles over the four months leading to the race.

You may, however, run 3 to 5 times a week.

But taking time and preparing well for the marathon is the key…

Don’t cram and you will be just fine.

20. Avoiding long runs

One of the biggest mistakes that you can do is to not take your long runs seriously.

You should treat them the same way you would your marathons.

Which means hydrating and eating as you would do before your marathons.

The main problem you will face is that you did not schedule it properly and you may have to cut the practice short.

Take precautions there…

Because marathon is also a mental game and you will have to be mentally prepared to deal with the struggle of the last few miles…

These long runs will prepare you for that…

Without them you will be more prone to quit as your body will not be able to take that much exertion.

21. Believing in ‘No Pain No Gain’

This is a normal mantra for most of the athletes…

But you should be able to differentiate between a normal exertion related pain and injury-related pain.

We tend to ignore it and keep on doing the training…

Result?

We end up being severely injured and probably dropping out of that coveted marathon.

So, keep an eye on your pains…

And stop if you have to…

Injury is common among runners and you need to recover to keep going on your marathon journey.

22. Forgetting to drink water

When you run, you perspire a lot.

Also, you tend to lose more water due to heavy breathing.

This causes the water store of your body to deplete very quickly and needs to be restored.

However, many of us forget to hydrate properly.

Although for shorter distances it is fine, for longer distances like the half marathon and full marathon it can lead to disaster.

Now how can you remember to hydrate?

First of all, practice carrying your water during the training and making a deliberate effort to drink it at regular intervals.

Then your body will get adjusted accordingly and you will feel the thirst at regular intervals.

Whenever you feel it, drink your water and you will be good to go.

Also, you should properly hydrate after the run as well…

Now how will you understand whether you have drunk your water properly?

Check the color of your urine…

It should be a mild straw color…

A darker yellow indicates dehydration and a completely clear one is from overhydration.

23. You have not done enough

Truth be told, you will never have a perfect training or a perfect marathon.

Something or the other will go wrong…

You may fall sick or may need to take care of some emergency or something else may go wrong…

In short, your training will be far from perfect…

But if you beat yourself up due to this, then you will only get demotivated…

Eventually, you will stop…

I mean what’s the point…progress is the only constant…

If you are doing that…then you are doing good…

And be happy…

24. Have friends and family at milestone distances

This seems to go against the point “Ignore the Crowd”…

The thing is if you stagger your friends and family at milestone distances, it will serve two purposes…

You will be able to know how much you have run.

You will be motivated and happy to see some familiar faces.

You will be actually mentally breaking down the huge distance into smaller fragments.

Let me explain this one…

Let’s say you have one friend at 5K distance, another one at 10K distance, so on and so forth…

First, if you focus on the 5K distance.

After reaching there you only have to run another 5K to meet your other friend.

This little trick can turn into a game…

This way it will be easier for you to push your mind to run a shorter distance once the exhaustion kicks in.

25. Your first friend is Porta Potty

Do I hear an Ewww…

Well, don’t…

Hear me out…

If you put your ears on the racecourse, you will be able to hear innumerable stories of shitting the pants…literally…

Reason?

Either they eat a lot the night before, or ate something exotic…

Another common thing is, they avoided the porta-potty queue completely…

The result is the disgrace that they had to endure…

And this is true for even you…

During a marathon, you have less control over your digestive system and your body’s focus is more on your limbs and other active parts.

So, you will get that washroom urge at the most unexpected time…

So, spend more hours in the pre-race porta-potty line and you will save yourself from a lot of later embarrassment.

26. Wearing the wrong shoes

This mistake can make or break you…

When I started running, I had no idea this…

I’m an overpronating runner with one of the feet rolling more.

Plus I’ve got decent-sized bunions on my feet…

When I started running, I chose something which is not that wide and was for neutral runners.

I was developing a lot of injuries and I couldn’t understand why…

I did a lot of research (Google is my best friend ;)) and suspected that my shoes can be a problem…

With some trial and error, I zeroed in on one and is sticking to it ever since.

So, focus on your shoe selection. You may take the help of this guide if you are unsure…

It will provide you step-by-step instructions to select the correct running shoe…

Also, it has got an infographic which you can save for a ready reference.

26.1 Eat a little less the night before

Eat a little less the night before your race.

This will keep your tummy happy and you will not have to worry about your nature’s call.

Also, stick to your practiced diet and don’t indulge in anything that you have not tried before.

This way, you will not have to worry about your stomach getting upset or you feeling funny in the middle of the race.

26.2 Not taking care of your gut health

One of the major distresses on your race day and on your long runs will be caused by your gut.

If it is not in tip-top shape, you can forget about your peak performance.

Why?

Gut problems can give rise to different issues like constipation, bloating, indigestion…also it may not let you have a peaceful sleep.

To keep it from getting repeatedly irritated, you should use some probiotics and prebiotics.

Any of the over the counter strains will do…you can also include some yogurt, kefir, or any other natural probiotics of your choice.

Take care of your gut and half of your marathon worries will be gone.

What are the first-time marathon mistakes you have committed?

Comment below…