Bangalore Marathon
Are you interested in running at the bangalore marathon?
You have come to the right place for tips.
There are thousands of Hindustani runners preparing for the great race every year.
The bengaluru marathon is always competitive and india running continues to grow.
Bangalore has been termed the fitness capital of India so the Indian people are very aware of what being fit is.
Indian athletes flock to the streets of bengaluru each year to test their limits.
The bangalore marathon is not flat like other marathons like Rotterdam or Chicago.
The key here is to focus on preparing for hills going into this race.
How Can RunDreamAchieve Help?
I've been competing for the past 26 years and have broken the 2:20 marathon barrier.
This is not to impress you but to impress upon you that I can assist you in upcoming marathons in bangalore.
My goal is to continue to help as many people around the world as I can.
India as a rich tradition for distance running and very strong national records.
The men's record is 2:12:00 and the women's record is 2:35:14.
These are outstanding times for the distances, respectfully.
How To Prepare For The Bangalore Marathon
I don't know where you are currently at in your fitness but I do have a few tips to help you prepare.
The bottom line up front as we say in the us military is this.
Train in such a way as to win the prize.
The prize for you could be just to finish and that is a large achievement in and of itself.
It could be clocking a sub 4 hour marathon time.
Perhaps you are seeking to break 3 hours.
Do you have dreams of breaking the 2:20 marathon or 2:30 marathon?
Whatever goal you have in mind you have to focus on your goal race pace.
The best runners in the world make the distance look easy for a reason.
They practice at or below their goal race pace.
For example, if your goal is to one day break the 4 hour marathon 9:09 mile pace is the goal.
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9:09 per mile for 26.miles with no breaks.
How can one do this?
Increase The Pace of Your Long Runs
One of the biggest reasons I dropped my marathon best from 2:43:36 to 2:19:35 was this one change.
Increasing the pace of my long runs.
I was seeking to break the 2:22:00 marathon while I was still a 2:43:36.
I could see myself doing it in my mind but doing it in reality was another story.
The same goes for you.
The goal has to start in the mind first.
If you aren't afraid of the commitment then you are already on your way.
A 2:43:36 marathon is 6:14 mile pace for 26.2 miles.
How does one go from holding 6:14 mile pace to 5:25 mile pace for this distance?
How Did I Do It?
My long runs went from 6:45-7:00 mile pace for 20-24 mile long runs to 5:30-6:00 mile pace.
I would also do long runs that looked like this
20 miles – first 4 miles at 6:00, 4 miles at 5:20 pace, 2 miles at 6:00, 2 miles at 4:55 pace, 8 miles at 6:00
I want to also stress taking 1 to 2 weeks of easy long runs following your harder long run effort.
Remember, quality over quantity.
Far too many runners get caught up with how many miles a week they are running.
I would assume those of you in India focus on kilometers.
Always keep your goal in mind because there are going to be ups and downs with training for the bangalore marathon.
The race itself has many ups and downs.
The key is to challenge yourself far harder in training so the race itself will feel easy.
Race Pace Training
Most marathoners in Bangalore and around the world have a marathon time goal in mind.
If you can train in such a way as to make race pace feel more comfortable than you are dangerous.
You will be well-prepared for the bengaluru marathon.
The trick in preparing to run fast is to get your body to adapt to higher levels of lactic acid build up.
Training at high intensities teaches the body to better adapt to this.
This is why runners such as myself and other marathoners who have broken the 2:20:00 marathon barrier can hold the pace.
I knew to break the 2:22:00 barrier I needed to hold 5:25 per mile or better for 26.2 miles so my training reflected that.
Mileage ranged from 85 to 100 miles per week with my two highest weeks at 140 and 142 miles.
I also ran the poorest at mileage over 120 miles per week and best at 85 to 90 miles per week.
Again, quality over quantity.
Remember this key tactic and you will be ahead of your competition in Bangalore.
How Race Pace Training Will Help You At The Bangalore Marathon
The best race pace training advice I can provide to you is this:
- Gradually extend the amount of time you are spending at or below your goal race pace.
For example, if you have a 18 mile long run planned don't try to run the entire run at 90 percent of your maximum heart rate.
If you want to hold 7:30 pace for the marathon distance.
Try running your first 10 miles easy and closing your last 4 miles at 7:00 pace.
3 weeks from that run try doing a 18 mile run that looks like this.
4 miles@8:15 pace, 4 miles@7:45 pace, 4 miles@7:05 pace, 4 miles@8:15 pace closing last 2 miles at 6:50 pace.
Do you see how all of your miles are quality with paces at above, below and far below your goal race pace?
Again, gradually extend the length of your long runs and the time you are spending at higher efforts.
Your long run could be 7 miles at the start if need be.
Be patient and allow your body to adapt which it will.
This one key strategy will create significant drops in time for your marathon race.
It will grow your confidence because your race pace will not feel so intimidating anymore.
Remember, be harder on yourself in training than you ever will be in the race.
Speed Work
This is another key aspect that helped me drop my 5K to marathon performances.
If you are sprinting on the track, doing 800m, 1200m and mile repeats on the track you will be very strong.
I would do 6x1mile repeats on the track at 5K goal pace at altitude.
At my fittest I was able to hold 4:46 per rep at over 6,000ft elevation in colorado springs.
3 minutes recovery between reps.
Obviously, paces will be different for everyone.
If your goal marathon race pace is 6:45 per mile what do you think doing mile repeats at 5:45 per rep will do?
It will help teach your body to easily maintain 6:45 mile pace in the marathon.
Adaptation
The key here is adaptation.
The body takes about 3 weeks or 21 days to adapt to any stress load we place on it.
Running 7:00 mile pace for 10 miles may seem extremely hard for a runner in the early stages.
That same effort will be very easy for the same runner 8 weeks down the line.
The heart adapts to the stresses we place on it on the track and roads.
Race pace feels labored and almost impossible at first.
With time?
Manageable and no longer intimidating.
I hope these few tips will provide some ideas for you in preparing for the bangalore marathon.
If you have questions feel free to contact me.
If you are searching for a new strategy and training schedule leading into your Indian races click the link below.
I've helped runners all over the world prepare from the mile to the marathon and am confident I can help you too.
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