We continue with the project – in collaboration with ASICS, technical sponsor of the Milano Marathon – to tell how running helps us improve; not only physically but also mentally.
Today we host advice from the great Stefano Baldini on how best to run a marathon.
The big day has arrived. You have trained and made a lot of sacrifices to enjoy this day, so the goal of this article is to give you some simple but useful tips to better manage your Milano Marathon.
The first point not to be underestimated is breakfast before the race. Before entering the grill you can do a small warm-up, my advice is to eat breakfast about three hours earlier than this time. Don’t look for new things that might give you bad surprises; take on things you have already tried during the weeks of preparation. Personally I always try to make my pre-race breakfast as balanced as possible, I eat both carbs and protein, drink water, usually my only concession is a coffee.
The Milan Marathon is a spring marathon, and clothing is not a matter to be underestimated. The starting area will open at 7:00 a.m., so it will go to the grid very early and temperatures may be very cold and then rise significantly. So let’s dress in layers, with something heavier that we can then leave with someone who has come to support us, or that we may have decided not to use anymore and leave for the organization to give to charity.
Clearly, shoes play an especially important role in a 42-kilometer race. ASICS has just launched the 24th edition of the GEL-NIMBUS, a shoe that has always been designed for anyone who wants to tackle a marathon thanks to features such as protection and great comfort for the sole of the foot. Its mesh upper and a decidedly slimmed-down tongue make it even more swaddling. The all-new midsole featuring the innovative FF BLAST™ PLUS technology has made the shoe even lighter than the previous model while providing more responsiveness and a softer landing with each step. Characteristics that especially in the second half of the race will be of great help.
We then come to the management of the race. Definitely it will be full of adrenaline at the beginning, and you have to be good at keeping some control, some edge in short. The first few miles will be very smooth, you will be full of energy, and you should not run the risk of wanting to overdo it. Important to always control your own pace, perhaps looking for a small group that can give you a hand in “turning off” your brain for a few moments, that is, allowing you to be “carried along” by the wave of people who are running the marathon with you.
The second part of the race then becomes the one of truth. After the 30th kilometer, what many people call “the wall,” fatigue will begin to set in, and there will be hard work until the finish line. My advice is to create mini-goals for yourself, such as the next mile, reaching a curve, a road sign post. That is, set yourself intermediate goals that will slowly lead you toward the final goal. When you see it then it is just a long sprint full of satisfaction and effort. That fatigue that crossing the finish line will make you swear you never want to run a marathon again, but I’m sure that just seconds later you’re already planning the next one.
Because that’s what the marathon is, a great journey, which is never just the race but everything we did to get to wear the bib.
ASICS really means Anima Sana In Corpore Sano, indicating how much mind and body are connected and how much the brand makes this its banner. The complete vision of man composed of “soul” and “body” are also the fruit of the latest ASICS “Uplift your mind” campaign, related to mental well-being achieved through running.