If the New Year has inspired you to get fighting fit, then you've hit the right page. Technology has the tools to help you get in the shape of your life but it's not easy to know which product is right for your goals.
We've enlisted the help of T3.com Editor-in-chief and ultra runner Kieran Alger to put together a four-part guide to help you uncover everything you need to go from couch slouch to marathon finisher.
If you're reading this we're going to assume three things. Number one, you've conquered the couch to 5k. Number two: you've successfully trotted out a 10k. Three: there's now a nagging question in your new runner's brain – could I go the distance and do a half or full marathon? The answer you're looking for is YES YOU CAN. You just need a little help.
In the final part of our four-step guide to getting marathon fit with your smartphone, follow our essential tips and we'll show you how you can use your phone to go the full 26.2.
1. Get a training plan that matches your goals
WalkJogRun
Whether you're looking to walk your first half marathon or run your twentieth full 26.2 miles, WalkJogRun is a fantastic training app created by coach and RunnersWorld.com expert Jenny Hadfield.
It'll tell you exactly how far you need to run, walk or jog each to day to train to reach your marathon goal. There are 23 carefully crafted training plans to choose from, covering everything from the absolute beginner to an advanced runner trying to hit a new personal best.
£2.99, iOS
Adidas miCoach
We've mentioned the miCoach app before, but the level of detail you get makes it worthy of a second appearance. The app lets you plug in your goal, including distance, date and time, asks for details - like how many times you'd like to train - and your current level of fitness and then fires out your own personalised marathon training plan.
You can view it all on your phone and the app uses your GPS tracking to make sure you're doing each session at the right pace and intensity, delivering coaching advice direct to your headphones.
Free, Android and iOS
2. Keep the fun in the run
Different types of training sessions are essential for improving your running to marathon standard. You'll need a good mix of long slow miles, hills, intervals, tempo runs and speed work.
Putting in all those hours on the road, during the cold winter months, is the thing most people find hardest. It can be a lonely place out there at 7pm on a Monday night but it doesn't have to be dull. These apps will help you keep the training fresh and add a healthy dose of fun into the mix.
Fartlek: Zombies Run
Fartlek is a form of training whose name comes from Sweden - the literal translation is 'speed play'. It involves breaking your run down into segments of varying length and then running them at different speeds.
A 100m fast pace followed by 50m recovery, then a 200m medium pace, and 300m recovery. You can do this on your own but Zombies Run recreates this for you by using your smartphone's GPS to create the feeling that you're being chased by hordes of the flesh hungry undead. Your job is to avoid them.
iOS and Android
Tempo: Strava Run
We recommended Strava Run as a good running app in part two and one of its strongest features makes it even more effective as a marathon training tool. The app works like any other GPS run-tracking app but lets you choose from a range of runs other people have completed and then go out to beat their time.
You can use this new form of competition as motivation for your tempo training, where you'll need to run a selected distance at a specific pace or heart rate.
Free, iOS and Android
3. Get the right fuel in your tank
It sounds obvious to say, but training and running a marathon is a whole different ball game to trotting out a 10k. You can't underestimate that. It means looking at what you eat to fuel your training, help you recover and actually power you on race day.
Myfitnesspal
A lot of people take up running to lose weight and see marathon training as the perfect motivation to drop a few pounds. However, it's vital that you're getting the right fuel for your training.
Myfitnesspal is a fantastic app that lets you track your daily intake, with detailed information on the main nutrient groups so you can ensure you're getting enough carbs, vitamins and all the vital fats. You can connect it with running apps like Endomondo to help make sure your calorie intake is at the right level, while the barcode scanner makes it a doddle to record almost any food.
Free, iOS and Android
Nom Nom Paleo
If you can get to the start line with more lean muscle mass and less of the blubbery stuff you'll run a better marathon. One popular eating plan for endurance runners is the Paleo diet that focuses on protein and getting your carbs from healthy vegetables rather than the gluten and wheat-filled pasta and bread.
The Nom Nom Paleo app gives you hundreds of fitness friendly Paleo recipes, taking the fuss out of fuelling your body with plenty to the right stuff.
£3.99, iOS
4. Motivation to make your journey social
We all know those people, the ones who constantly brag about their workouts and fitness. It's time to become one of them. Sharing your running progress on social networks is proven to keep you on the straight and narrow with your training.
Once your network of friends, family, colleagues and exes know you've signed up for a marathon, there's nowhere to hide. Failure is not an option. Plus you'll get some welcome pep talks along the way.
Blogging your journey is also a great way to stay motivated. It lets you track all the hard work you're putting in, helps you access advice from fellow marathoners and it brings the whole challenge to life. There are a few simple tools to make it easy to document your journey to marathon greatness.
Look up the Runblrs on Tumblr
Tumblr is a brilliantly easy blogging tool. Choose a URl, select from hundreds of free instant templates and with a few clicks you've got your own super-social website where you can add words, photos, video, quotes and links.
There's also a huge existing community you can tap into on #runblr or #fitblr, with thousands of runners and fitness types already sharing tips, keeping each other motivated and celebrating successes. It's like having a team of virtual running coaches, supporters and nutritionists.
You're going to be putting in a lot of miles in a loads of new locations. En route you'll see things that amaze and confuse you in equal measure. Stopping to snap them not only offers a little breather from the run, but it's brilliant Instagram fodder.
You'll be able to show those lazy people still in bed at 6am on a Sunday morning what a beautiful sunrise over your local park looks like. Oh, and that cat with its head stuck in a bucket.
Essential Reading: Motivational e-reads to help you through the hard times
Running with the Kenyans
If you want to run faster, further and with better form, then why not learn from the undisputed world leaders? That's what runner and author, Adharanand Finn, decided to do.
This book tells his story as he heads to Kenyan running Mecca Iten for a slightly terrifying, intensive, six month training session with some of the world's fastest long distance athletes. Great tales, magical insights and the odd running secret are revealed.
What I talk about when I talk about running
Japanese novelist Haurki Murakami has been a lifelong runner. It's so much a part of his life that he has built the daily miles into his creative process, intrinsically linked to his ability to write.
This gripping and inspiring read follows this concept as Murakami discusses what it means to be a runner and push yourself beyond your limits.
Source : techradar[dot]com
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