You must begin your marathon training my understanding that you must not run the same distance each day that you train. It’s best to vary your training schedule, getting in at least one long run in per week. Each and every week, you should vary your running sessions between difficult and easy runs. If you are training outside, or indoors on a treadmill, it is important to add variability to your overall workout. By doing a variety of different workouts, you will prepare your body properly for the marathon which is not an ordinary run. One of the best ways to get in shape for your marathon is to do cross training which usually includes strength training, biking, and other related workouts.

If you’re new to marathon running, you should set only one goal for the marathon, and that’s to finish it. If you have any ideas about coming in first place, you are to be commended for your optimism, but this is most likely going to lead to disappointment and possibly even an injury. For your first race, it may not be a good idea to time yourself, just running the whole race is very fulfilling.

The very end of the race is not a place most people concede to, if you’ve made it, you should be proud. If you’re more experienced, there’s nothing wrong with setting more ambitious goals, but when you’re a beginner just completing it is enough. When you are an accomplished runner, setting high goals is more acceptable than if you are just starting out, you should be happy just finishing the race.

Most people will cut down on their training a week prior to the marathon in order to rest enough to be ready. The primary reason you want to do this is to have enough energy to finish the race. While you should continue your training up until the end, you should taper off before the marathon so you’ll be nice and fresh. You can look at the ideal training regimen as a Bell curve, where you gradually increase your training over the months leading up to the marathon and then decrease it until the event. By following this philosophy, you will do very well at the marathon once that day comes.

To summarize, running in a marathon is one of the more difficult tasks you can take on, so proper training is essential. In order to receive a victorious finish, you must be physically prepared. Taking your training slowly and taking the information offered in this article, may enable you to run your race safely and hopefully will leave you with a rewarding experience.

And of course we  would be remiss if we didn’t remind you of the importance of getting the proper running gear, which you can find at Action Apparel by Tammy, which is now [bodyphlo].

As an effective method of stress management, yoga is spreading into the business world, the helping professions, nursing and old age homes, and is used in the treatment of alcoholics, hyperactive children and youngsters with learning disabilities. Yoga centers are getting stiff competition from adult education classes of community colleges, boards of education and parks and recreation departments.

The meaning of yoga is union of the body, mind and spirit with truth. There are many kinds of yoga to study, and there can be endless years of practice for the willing student.

Hatha Yoga is among the most popular forms in the west. It emphasizes the practice of postures, which stretch and strengthen the body, help develop a sense of balance and flexibility, as well as body awareness and mental concentration. All forms of yoga incorporate the practice of proper breathing techniques for relaxation, to rest the mind from its constant chatter, to experience an internal calm, and to energize and purify the body.

As stress levels in society reach new heights, Raja Yoga, the yoga of meditation, is growing in popularity in Western society, while others, such as Krya Yoga, the yoga of cleansing, and Mantra Yoga, the yoga of chanting, not surprisingly, have little appeal for newcomers.

Stretching and toning, though beneficial, aren’t the primary reasons people turn to yoga. Newcomers are hoping that yoga will provide them with a means for handling stress and diffusing tension. The difference between exercise and yoga is that yoga has a meditative quality.

A lot of people are exercising for the psychological benefits and trying many of the Eastern activities, like yoga and tai chi. Yoga seems to have a calming effect on people.

And the techniques work on children as well as adults. When your children are quarreling, ask them to stop what they’re doing, raise their arms over their heads, lean forward and breathe deeply to help diffuse their anger. It definitely helps them to cool it.

Deep breathing is both calming and energizing. The energy you feel from a few minutes of careful breathe is not nervous or hyper, but that calm, steady energy we all need. Slow, steady, and quiet breathing gives a message to your nervous system: Be calm.

Whole books have been written on yoga breathing. Here is one 5-minute Breath Break. (Read through the instructions several times before you try the practice.)

1. Sit with your spine as straight as possible. Use a chair if necessary but don’t slump into it. Feet flat on the floor with knees directly over the center of your feet. Use a book or cushion under your feet if they do not rest comfortably on the floor. Hands are on the tops of your legs.
2. Close your eyes gently and let them rest behind closed lids.
3. Think about your ribs, at the front, back, and at the sides of your body. Your lungs are behind those ribs.
4. Feel your lungs filling up, your ribs expanding out and up. Feel your lungs emptying, your ribs coming back down and in. Don’t push the breath.
5. The first few times you do this, do it for 2 to 3 minutes, then do it for up to 5 to 10 minutes. At first, set aside a time at least once a day to do this. When you learn how good it makes you feel, you’ll want to do it at other times as well.

Just as one stressful situation goes into your next challenge, relaxing for a few minutes every day gradually carries over into the rest of your daily life and activities.

If you used to come get your activewear and dancewear here:

Action Apparel by Tammy
601 E Northern Lights Blvd
Anchorage, AK 99503
(907) 276.1464

Action Apparel by Tammy is now bodyphlo

You’ll be happy to know that by traveling just down the street, you’ll now find what you were looking for, plus a whole lot more at:

bodyphlo
1002 W Northern Lights Blvd
Anchorage, AK 99503
(907) 276.1464

We carry a great lineup of apparel from some of the top names in the industry including Lucy, Oakley Active Women, Mondetta Performance Gear (MPG), and Splits 59.  Plus you’ll find a lot of smaller, chic boutique brands that you just have to come check out for yourself.

We have women’s activewear, dancewear, ballet shoes and other dance shoes, yoga clothes and a whole lot more.  Plus, if you haven’t been in yet, you just have to see our new space… we know you’re going to love it!

We look forward to seeing all of the former Action Apparel by Tammy customers at the new [bodyphlo] store soon (in the meantime, check out our website at bodyphlo.com).