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Seven days before the marathon the work is already completely done, whatever you do during this week adds practically nothing to the preparation. It is a week of active rest, with some days of very easy and short jogs, with one day of 1000 m intervals and several days of complete rest. These 1000s help psychologically to build the confidence that you are going to run the marathon well.
If to all this physical work done during so many weeks we add improvements in the diet, increasing carbohydrate intake, choosing the right gear and putting into practice some practical tricks; you can arrive in optimal condition for the big race day.
From Monday to Wednesday continue with your normal diet, eating fewer carbs. From Thursday at noon until Saturday, carbohydrate intake should be significantly and progressively increased, especially on Saturday, the day when their percentage in your diet should be around 80%. Take 6 glucose tablets throughout Friday and the same amount on Saturday, or take 3 carbohydrate gels each day (for example Victory Endurance). This should always be done while significantly increasing liquid intake: water and sports drinks. Therefore you will gain 2 to 3 kgs (it is normal).
You can make your isotonic drink by mixing it with water and potassium (a quarter of a Boi K tablet per liter of isotonic drink). Or you can take Iso Energy (half the indicated dose per liter). In all cases you should test it the entire week before the marathon to see your body’s response; if it is good you can also take it during the marathon.
Arriving well-rested at the marathon allows you to better use your physical potential. It is essential to sleep well from Friday to Saturday night and, if possible, take a nap that day. If you don’t sleep much from Saturday to Sunday it doesn’t matter at all, as long as you have rested well the previous days.
Follow these small tricks, they will also help you enjoy your marathon to the fullest:
1. Take care of your feet.
Soak your feet for 20' in very hot water, coarse sea salt and vinegar every day this week; it will toughen the skin, and together with the petroleum jelly you apply on Sunday before running, it will reduce the risk of chafing and blisters.
2. Avoid talking about the Marathon.
Don’t talk about the marathon with other runners during the last week, you will avoid psychological fatigue and self‑pressure; in short, it will benefit you. You have the rest of the month to talk about it as much as you want.
3. Try not to get nervous.
If you get very nervous and have trouble sleeping before big races I recommend a good remedy: drink two cold beers on Saturday after dinner and before going to bed. It never fails...
4. Don’t wear new clothes or shoes in the marathon.
Your shoes should be broken in with at least 15 days of use and training. The shoes you normally use in daily training are ideal. Racing shoes are usually so extremely light that not only will they not help you, they will cause discomfort in your tibials, soleus, calves, knees and hips. Racing shoes are for lightweight runners who run the marathon at under 3' 30" per km.
5. Choose the right clothing if a hot day is expected.
If a hot day is expected, your clothing should be very light‑colored and made of next‑generation fabrics like Coolmax, which breathe better and stay almost dry.
6. Avoid chafing.
To avoid chafing in friction areas, apply petroleum jelly. My experience tells me it is necessary on the entire foot (between the toes, over the nails, on the arch, on the heel, etc.), the groin, armpits and nipples.
Only a few hours left before you start, it is the big day you’ve been waiting for, but you still can’t relax. Here are some last tips:
1. Nutrition.
Get up two to three hours before the race start. You should have breakfast as always, but very light, because what you eat a few hours before won’t be used during the race. The best options are complex carbs (bananas, cereals, nuts, fiber cookies, dried figs and prunes).
It is very good to drink plenty of fresh water until the warm‑up begins. Do not take glucose or simple sugars during the hour before the race start. It is very dangerous!, as it can cause hypoglycemia in the first minutes. Juices can cause diarrhea. Be careful!. Milk before the race is not recommended, as it is slow to digest, unless you are very used to it.
Do not experiment with any new or strange product on Sunday, because you don’t know how it will affect you; you should have tested it before.
If you feel heavy the morning of the race it is normal, it is because you are loaded with glycogen. A cup of black coffee or tea (almost without sugar) half an hour before the start works very well: it speeds up fat consumption from the first km (saving glycogen for the final kms) and gets you nervous, which is good for racing.
During the marathon, drink a little at every aid station, in small sips.
2. Warm‑up.
Warm up very gently and lightly covered; if it is very cold wear a plastic poncho so you don’t get cold at the start and once running, after one or two kms, you can throw it away.
3. Pace.
You must run the marathon in positive split, starting slower and finishing faster. That is, you start slightly slower than your target average pace, from km 10 to 30 try to run at target pace and in the last 10 or 12 kms, progress slightly. Remember that a marathon is not about how it starts, but how it finishes. The best approach is to reach km 30 with very good sensations and from there start a continuous and gentle progression to the finish line, or in the worst case maintain your current pace.
Bundle up well, drink plenty of liquids and eat light.
As soon as you finish change into dry clothes and drink plenty of liquids, both water and juices, eat lots of fruit and walk for a while. Your post‑race lunch and dinner should be light. You will recover sooner and better.
Put your legs in cold water.
As soon as you arrive at the hotel fill the bathtub halfway with cold water and sit inside for a little more than five minutes. To warm up afterwards, take a very hot shower.
Don’t worry about soreness.
The next day you will most likely have strong muscle soreness or leg pain when going downstairs; you can relax and ease the discomfort with a very hot water bath. If going downstairs the quadriceps pain is very strong, go down backwards and you will see how it almost disappears. Don’t worry, in two days, three at most, it will be gone.
