You’ve managed to grab an elusive marathon place, you’ve bought your trainers, you’ve found a suitable training plan. If you’ve come this far then you have to ask yourself the question, “Just how seriously am I going to take this?”.

Most training plans (especially those for a first-time marathon runner) will suggest that you should build yourself up to the 26.2 miles gradually. Every Sunday (the long run), my training schedule indicates a slight increase in time, roughly 15 minutes or so each week. For the first time since beginning my training, last night (Saturday) I was presented with an opportunity to have a few drinks. Knowing full well that tomorrow I’d have to go for a run for 90 minutes I decided to turn them down.

There are a ton of reasons why you could have entered into a marathon; a bet with a friend, for personal fitness, raising money for charity, for a sense of accomplishment or for weight loss. It’s those reasons that will define how seriously you are going to take this. But there are limits and one of mine is drink. Now that’s not to say I’m an alcoholic (I had my first drink in 2 weeks on Friday night – 2 cans of lager) but I am a very social drinker. Would turning down alcohol every Saturday night mean the end of my social life?

Drinking those cans I had on Friday night was one of those “Once it hits your lips…” moments. I’d forgotten how good beer was! But, I’d just come from the gym and I had a rest day the next day and I think that’s the key. You can still have a social life and the odd tipple as long as you interleave it with your training plan. Plan your nights out, rearrange your training session, keep your friends and get fitter! But, for those unmissable nights out or for those birthday parties you forgot about until the last minute, their are a few things that an endurance athlete (see the effects of drinking on an endurance athlete) can do to nullify the effects of a hangover:

1. Top up on potassium.
   Alcohol, as a diuretic, reduces your sodium and potassium (electrolyte) levels so eat a banana and drink some orange juice in the morning. Drink sports drinks like Gatorade to top up your electrolytes.
2. Drink water.
   Another pleasant product of diuretics is dehydration. Drink more water than you think you need, take drinks with you on your runs and drink a pint of water before you go to bed the night before!
3. Don’t drink as much.
   It sounds simple but the less you drink, the less time it takes for your body to recover from the effects of drinking. Going for a run on a hangover over will increase blood flow and flush out those toxins even faster.

Unfortunately, it can take as much as 3 days to completely rid yourself of a hangover and you can unknowingly impeed your training for that time. But, if you’re used to running (away) the next morning then do your worst. I might suggest, however, if you have to exercise the morning after, go for a bike ride. It’s a bit softer on the stomach…