Are you a classic ‘Type A’ personality? These are just some of the traits typically associated with that:

·  Very driven to succeed

·  A hard worker

·  Very competitive 

·  Able to work well under pressure

·  Goal-oriented‌

The good news is that these same characteristics that fuel your success in other areas can translate to effective endurance training for a half or full marathon.

Capabilities to Leverage

Following your training plan – Use that drive and focus to adhere to the workouts in your training plan. This means that you will need to hit the paces, time or rate of perceived effort (RPE) as prescribed, even on the easy days; Actually, especially on the easy days. This dedication will serve you as the weeks stretch out, you get more tired and fatigued, and your alarm rings early in the morning.

Pushing through when things get difficult– Some runs will be tough. The weather will be hot or rainy or cold; you’ll be tired; you just don’t feel great; or a million other reasons. Use that drive and ability to focus on goals as motivation to keep pushing, even when you don’t necessarily want to.

Checking the boxes on all of the critical elements – Successful half marathon and marathon training isn’t just about running alone. While your training plan is the centerpiece, all of the ancillary aspects like nutrition, strength, and recovery are just as crucial to performance.  Use your focus to take each of these pieces just as seriously as you build your overall strategy to meet your endurance goals.

Possible pitfalls

With all of the characteristics that can set you up for success in endurance training, there are a few potential pitfalls along the way to watch out for.

Pushing too hard – Getting caught up in the desire to push farther or faster than your training plan by either running too fast on easy days or extra miles is a recipe for injury or overtraining. Training plans are set up the way they are for a reason; resist the urge to do more is not always better in endurance training.

Impatience – Marathon and half marathon training are about putting in the time and the work. There are no ways to speed up the process except to run the miles, sometimes fairly slowly. It’s that accumulation of miles over time that allows your body to adapt to the rigors of training.

Inability to listen to your body – There may be times when you need to cut a run short or take an unplanned rest day because your body is tired or battling an injury. This is especially challenging for ‘Type A’ personalities. It is critical to learn the difference in the need to push through the mental blocks and the times that you should stop or rest due to physical cues. Being willing to take the breaks you need, can actually improve your overall training effectiveness.

Putting it together

Don’t be afraid to harness the power of your ‘Type A’ personality and all of the drive and ambition that goes with it. It can be a great asset in achieving your endurance goals, whether they be to finish a race, set a PR, or qualify for Boston. Building your endurance training to leverage those key traits while recognizing that there are drawbacks to that goal-oriented, competitive fire that can derail you will set you up for success in your half marathon and full marathon training.