How can you run your second marathon faster than your first? A common goal for many runners attempting a first marathon is to simply finish the race. Given the distance and the volume of training needed to build endurance, this goal is appropriate. Just getting to the starting line without injury is an accomplishment.

The second or third marathon is different. You know you can do the distance, and you have the benefit of experience. But what will you do to improve? Here are a few tips to help you train.
Start Your Training In Time

To run a good marathon, you must allow adequate time for your body to develop the required endurance and speed. Each person will adapt and improve at her or his own pace, but six months is usually a good amount of time to allow. In addition, if you allow enough time you will not feel pressured to increase your mileage too quickly.

Get To Know The Race

Go to the website for your marathon. Find out what kind of surface you'll be running on: Is it hilly or flat? Is it on concrete, gravel or asphalt? Factor this information into your training plan; you will want to spend enough time training on the same kind of surface so your body is used to it by race day. Another good idea is to find out what kind of food and drink they will have at the aid stations. Since you should never try anything new on race day, either make sure you train with the same foods they will have, or arrange to have your own.

Train With A Plan

All good training programs should follow a plan. The plan will help you to organize your training into a purposeful pursuit, rather than a haphazard one. It will also serve as a way to measure progress, if you include detailed notes of each workout. One vital aspect is that your plan should be malleable: if the plan calls for a tough workout and you know you are not fully recovered, then change the plan to an easier workout. If you ignore your body's signals and blindly stick to a tough schedule, you could end up injured or overtrained. It's much easier to rework your schedule than to go through rehab.

Finally, every training bout should have a purpose. A good plan will help you outline the purpose of each bout, be it recovery, endurance, or speed work, thus helping you include the variation of training required to improve fitness.

Build Up To Higher Mileage

Perhaps in previous years you've gradually built up to one long run of three hours, or 20 miles. Having done one long run, did you have the endurance you wanted for the marathon? Some runners do just fine this way, others may benefit from focusing still more on building endurance by including more long runs. Remember to build your endurance gradually: just because you ran an 18-miler last week, doesn't mean your body has fully adapted and recovered. Rather than run another 18-miler one week later, you may need to give yourself up to two weeks between long runs. Many athletes feel more comfortable having achieved two or three longer runs prior to a marathon. Also, most coaches recommend finishing your final long run three to five weeks prior to the race. If your long run falls too close to the marathon you risk not being recovered.

Train Consistently

Consistency is a key aspect of a running program, and an essential precursor to building endurance. Inconsistent training will delay your improvement. In addition you may be tempted to make up for missed days by doing more training volume or intensity than you're ready for, and this could make you prone to injury. Running consistently doesn't mean you must run every day - it's still a good idea to incorporate recovery days and cross-training.

Train Like You Mean It

Training seriously is more than just lots of running. It includes taking care of your body to optimize your adaptations to training. After a hard workout, you should allow sufficient time to recover before you push yourself again. Remember, it is during this recovery that your body adapts and gets stronger, so don't cheat yourself out of it. The amount of recovery you need will depend on your fitness level and how taxing the training bout was. With some experience you will be able to tell how many days of recovery you need before you can take on another hard training session.

Proper recovery also means you need a good night's sleep. During the training season, discipline yourself so you are in bed in time to get a full 8-10 hours. (Individual needs vary.) You might have to sacrifice some television or social life, but once the season is over you can burn the candle at both ends again.

Next, take your nutrition knowledge a step further. Many runners are aware of the need for proper nutrition to help them grow stronger. You should know how many calories you need per day, as well as what portion should come from carbohydrates, fat and protein. You can give yourself a greater ergonomic edge by seeing a registered dietitian with knowledge in sports nutrition who can help you determine the best strategies for eating before a race or workout, fueling and hydration during, and, strategies to aid recovery and refueling. Another great adjunct to training is sports massage. It is a nice treat you can use to reward yourself for consistent training, and it can greatly aid your recovery. Oh yeah, massage also makes your legs feel good!

The Taper Period

This is the very important last phase of training, where your body gets a chance to recover from the training stimulus. In a nutshell, over the last ten to fourteen days you should drop the volume of your training, maintain the intensity, and follow sound nutrition practices. This will top off your muscle glycogen stores, give your muscles time to repair and lose soreness, and allow time for cells and enzymes within your muscles to adapt.

The Night Before The Race

You might be too nervous to fall asleep right away, but don't worry. It is more important to be well-rested regularly, or at the very least for several nights leading up to the race. It's also a good idea to not spend much time on your feet the day before.

The Morning Of The Race

What can you do at this late stage? Besides getting to the start in plenty of time, at least make sure you are adequately fueled and hydrated. Your experience from your long runs should help. Finish eating two to three hours before the start. Some runners' strategy includes eating a small snack with about five minutes to go. If you do this, it should have been part of your training all along. You've heard the adage about not trying anything new on race day; it holds true here.

The Race

One thing: run even or negative splits. Respect the distance of the marathon, and pace yourself so that you have enough strength left to run the second half of the race faster than the first half, if only slightly. If you don't believe me, try it the other way: Go out too fast for thirteen miles. Having run harder than you should have up to the half way point, do you think you can still run the second thirteen miles fast enough to finish in the time you want? Not likely. That is why nearly every marathon win and world record comes from running negative splits. Keep mental thoughts with negative splits, and you'll run your best race. Have fun, and go fast!

Author Paul Kammermeier is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine and has been running for over 25 years. He has completed several marathons, and has raced on three different continents.