Urmi Kothari And Mandira Bedi Give You Tips To Get The Best Of Your Marathon Run
One of the biggest running events in the country, the Mumbai Marathon takes place this weekend. For running enthusiasts, this means gearing up months in advance. The intense training, the planned diet, the programmed workouts, it’s all about one day, the day of the marathon. We spoke to Urmi Kothari, fitness instructor, for how to prepare for a marathon, and what to watch out for before you hit the ground running, literally.
She says, ‘Your training determines your race day. And ironically, even though sometimes we have done everything right, the outcome can be slightly different.” Here are the things she recommends.
- Make sure your running plan is made to make you a better runner. Enough miles and just enough frequency and lactate threshold runs, will make sure you are peaking well before race day.
2. Over training is very common. Monitor your recovery and heart rate well- not only during the runs but also on the rest days. I used Apple Watch Series 4 for all the stats relating to my runs from distance, pace to heart rate during the runs and on waking up the next day. It also helps me monitor calories burnt so I can increase or decrease my intake and can set reminders for hydration via the iHydrate app.
3. I use the Heart app on my Apple Watch and can track it during different phases of my run as well.
4. Supplements like ashwagandha, Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C and B complex are helpful in ensuring recovery.
5. Sleep and stretches post run or on rest days are two most underrated recovery tools. Now i can choose yoga from the Activity app on my watch to read my stats much more accurately.
6. The Outdoor Run option in the Activity app also has a “rolling pace” feature now. It displays the pace of the previous kilometer covered. This allows me to set a target pace to ensure I am pushing myself in the right zone in order to achieve my target timing.
7. When it comes to running, music is not far behind. I absolutely enjoy my runs with my Airpods while out on my run! Talk about having the beat at my feet.
Another marathon enthusiast is Mandira Bedi. So if you’ve always wondered how she looks so fit and fabulous, running has a lot to do with it. And she also uses her Apple Watch to check progress, help tweak her routine and lots more. She says, “I use the Apple Watch to keep a check on my overall fitness including activity, calories burned and steps taken. The Breathe app reminds me to just calm down and breathe a few times in the day! And I love that!
But more specifically it’s of great use to time my runs and features like new pace alarm to alert me when I am behind or ahead of my designated target pace, rolling mile pace etc. This being marathon season, my watch is getting a reasonable amount of miles clocked!”
