You Got In! (Or not.) What next? Emily’s Marathon Training Tips (Part 1)
Running the Virtual London Marathon #40thRace
Image courtesy of Virgin Money London Marathon.
Running the Virtual London Marathon #40thRace
Inevitably, as with pretty much every event ever scheduled for 2020, the London Marathon has been rescheduled and changed format to allow for the safety measures needed to help combat the Covid-19 pandemic. If you hadn’t heard, it is going ahead on its rescheduled date of Sunday October 4th 2020 in various formats.
The elite race will be held in a closely controlled biosphere environment on a closed lapped circuit in St James’s Park. Those with a place in the mass-participation 2020 event can take part in The 40th Race by running the famous 26.2 mile marathon distance virtually, anywhere they like from 00:00 to 23:59:59 BST on Sunday 4th October. If you don’t have a place yet, there are apparently still charity places available (at time of publishing this blog post). You can search for them with this link.
Ways to run your #40thRace London Marathon
Without the build up on the day, forty thousand fellow runners and the crowds cheering you on, the motivation to start and complete your remote marathon could be difficult to come by. You could just step out of your front door in your standard running kit and run your marathon, but why not mix it up a bit? You don’t even have to run it all in one go.
We’ve found some ideas to make it more fun and help with motivation at the same time.
You could:
Get a household member to drop you off somewhere else and you can run the distance home – it’s quite a motivation to know that you’ve got to get home.
Run to a destination 26.2 miles away, having arranged to meet someone with a medal and a space blanket to collect you at your finish point.
Set up a route that goes past the houses of some of your friends so they can cheer you on, fill up your waterbottles or have a good chat with you.
Run a route which takes in local landmarks or tourist attractions for some interest (and good photos?).
Get your friends to run or walk a few miles or the whole route with you, socially distanced, of course.
Use the full 24 hours! Run a mile every hour (plus a couple of extra miles in one of the hours) and use the rest of the hour to do all those small jobs you never get around to such as hanging pictures, cleaning your car, weeding your front garden etc – just like Beau Miles did in his 24 hour marathon challenge.
Run your marathon in fancy dress, even if you hadn’t been planning to this year. Do train in your outfit to check that it’s ok to run in though!
We really shouldn’t need to say this but we will - do remember to stay socially distanced and within Government rules at all times. Stay hydrated and well-fuelled and look after yourself.
Don’t forget to consider your post race recovery as well. Emily, our sports massage therapist and resident triathlon coach, gave us her Top Tips For Marathon Recovery last year.
Have a great #40thRace!
Don’t forget that we’re open for face to face consultations at The Lansdowne Club and virtual consultations from the comfort of your own home via Zoom so if you’ve got any niggles or injuries, call us for an appointment on 02030 12 12 22.
Words by NoviceRunnerNik, image courtesy of Virgin Money London Marathon.
How To Stay Injury Free Whilst (London) Marathon Training
How To Stay Injury Free Whilst (London*) Marathon Training
With the London Marathon* coming up at a rate of knots, we asked Stuart, our lower limb and sports injury specialist physio, to give us his advice on how to stay injury free whilst training for a marathon:
Runners, joggers and walkers view the marathon as the ultimate fitness test and challenge with a record number of people now participating globally. Many will have never completed this kind of run before and are also not seasoned runners. However, this does not stop many of us trying to complete this challenging and arduous task and getting that medal for the 26.2.
Training for a marathon can be a daunting task as many people are worried about being injured and how they will react if this is the first time they have ventured into the higher mileage brackets. It has been viewed in the evidence that most people who do participate in the marathon will suffer from some injury during their training or the race. For example, it has been seen that novice runners sustained 30-38 repetitive strain injuries per 1000 hours of running while marathoners running more than 200 minutes per week sustained less than 10 RRIs per 1000 hours of running.
There are many ways to help reduce the likelihood of injury such as good preparation/warm up, having a good base level of strength and stability monitoring your build up gradually and of course having rest days:
Warm up:
The purpose of a warm up is to increase core body temperature, muscle activation, joint mobility and prepare the body for activity. The ability of the muscle to contract efficiently can benefit greatly as the quadriceps can help reduce up to 60% of the load through the knee joint when landing during a run thus being warmed up appropriately can prevent any knee injuries.
For the ideal warm up we should incorporate a high number of dynamic tasks such as lunges, calf raises, toe walks, leg swings. The evidence has been shown that a Dynamic Warm Ups performed pre training can also enhance and improve performance.
Strength and Stability Exercising:
A base level of strength and stability is required to undergo any exercise or physical task. For example if we are running and have a cadence speed of 140 then we are impacting 70 times on each leg every minute that requires the ability of the body to absorb force and propel us forward while trying to maintain good kinetic chain control and stability.
Resistance training has shown improvements of up to 8% following a period of resistance- or strength-based training during a normal running training plan. This can be attributed to improving running economy and improved neuromuscular control. When we consider that any small improvement can impact running economy the benefits may have a larger impact on long distances such as a marathon.
Training plan:
It is a advised that you don't increase your mileage by more than 10%. The 10% rule is one of the most important principles to adhere to help prevent injuries. As most running injuries are overuse in nature the 10% rule can help prevent this. It may be a long and slow process by only increasing the 10% but it will help keep you running safe and for longer.
Rest Days:
Having rest days helps not just your body to recover but reduces the likelihood of injury. It has been seen that less than two days rest in endurance runners had an increase of 5.2 fold of overuse injuries. Every day that we exercise causes microdamage to muscles and without adequate rest we don’t repair. Build in a few rest days each week to help recharge, reduce injury and then improve your training and performance.
If you experience any prolonged niggles or pain during your marathon training period, don’t ignore it. Get expert advice and help. Call us on 02030 12 12 22 to book an appointment with one of our specialist physios.
* Other marathons are available.
Words by Stuart Mailer.
Marathon preparation: taking care of your knees
Marathon preparation: taking care of your knees
It's hurtling towards us at a huge rate of knots, like Brexit, Christmas and Whitsun all rolled into one, but none of these require the same volume of physical, mental and emotional preparation as the London Marathon* (except perhaps Christmas....). As your mileage racks up, certain areas can get tighter, having a knock-on effect elsewhere - in particular the outside of the knee.
If you notice that your running style has started to involve a little more of either your foot turning outwards whilst your knee is facing forwards or your knees turning inwards whist your foot is facing front, this can often end up to soreness in the outside of the knee, increased tension in the iliotibial band (ITB) and/or tightness in the outside of the hip. As the miles increase and this pattern is repeated, it can become very sore. However, there are a few things you can do to check the cause of this.
Where does it come from?
The reason the knee will be turning inwards, or the foot relatively turning out will be related to one of 3 areas:
Tight calf muscles
Weakness/inhibition of the hip rotators
Overactive lateral hamstrings
Knee valgus - this isn’t A Good Thing.
Tight calf muscles:
If the alignment issue corrects by doing a decline small knee bend (see images below), it is likely the calf muscle (particularly the gastrocnemius, fact fans) is likely to be part of the main drive of the problem.
Decline small knee bend
If you think you aren't stretching your calves out sufficiently, then start. As soon as possible. If not sooner.
As we fatigue when we run, certain muscle groups will become less effective leaving us with few options to propel us forwards. It often comes down to the calf to drive this and if they aren't getting a sufficient stretch, then the change in mechanics can become problematic. Stretching the calf with a straight knee (fully straight) and holding for up to 20 seconds at a time will help. Not only after a run, but check and stretch regularly through the next few days too.
Weak hip rotators:
If the decline small squat doesn't correct things, it is likely to be a problem with the rotators in the hip, including gluteus medius and some of the deeper rotators. Some light conditioning work can help resolve this problem
Overactive lateral hamstrings:
Difficult to spot on yourself, but if after toe off, your foot tends to turn outwards as the knee comes forward, the outer hamstrings might be dominating the movement. Exercises to balance out knee flexion by using the more medial hamstrings can help, as can identifying which of the other two problems need addressing and working on all of them
Anything else?
Lateral quads stretches can be really useful for this. Think of doing a normal quads stretch (i.e. heel to backside) but stretch using the opposite hand to the affected leg and pull it across to the opposite buttock and push your hip forward. This should favour the outside of the quads around the tight area
Do I really need to stretch?
Stretching is a bit of a faff and it means extra time added onto your run, however it is one of the key practices at this stage to return you ready to run again when you need to train. Just do it!
* other marathons, indeed, other long distance races do exist.
Don’t ignore your niggles or pains this late in your marathon training. Call us for an appointment on 02030 12 12 22.
Words by Paul Martin. Images courtesy of www.medi.de and runningreform.com.
9 weeks to the London Marathon - our top tips and injuries to avoid
Always choose your running kit with care!
9 weeks to the London Marathon - our top tips and injuries to avoid
Congratulations! You are now only 9 weeks from the London Marathon (other marathons are available).
Here are a few tips on how to keep going and avoiding breaking down:
Follow a training plan that not only says run. Two short runs and a long run on a weekend. Add in strength and conditioning, plyometrics, cross training and yoga/pilates. This can help with injury prevention and potentially faster times.
Your training will hurt. The marathon will hurt. The massages will hurt, everything will hurt. You need to stay motivated and have discipline. You will have good and bad days during your training. You have to be motivated to get out and run, but to keep this up takes discipline. Remember why you are running this race.
Be realistic with your finish time especially if it’s your first marathon! Race management is essential. Don’t go off to hard and fast! You can't just double your half marathon time adding 10-15 minutes and expect to run the marathon in that time. Aim to finish your first marathon.
Race nutrition: find what works for you! Sweets and Lucozade for energy can help, but be aware of overdoing it with these, try dried fruits, nuts and electrolyte drinks.
To stretch or not to stretch! The evidence is conflicting so do what works best for you.
Tapering is essential in those last 2-3 weeks. Don’t try and squeeze in one more long run.
Here are the 7 most common injuries and how to manage them:
Runner's Knee: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS), is the irritation of the cartilage on the underside of the patella (kneecap). This can flare up during or after long runs. Be aware of foot over-pronation (excessive inward foot rolling) and weakness of the quadriceps, hips, or gluteals. Introduce rest days and reduce mileage. Uphill running can be less painful. Work on strengthening of gluteals, quadriceps and hamstrings. Avoid downhill running. Introduce low impact exercise like cycling, cross trainer or swimming. Try shortening your stride.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS): the ITB lies along the outside of the thigh from the hip to the knee. ITB irritation occurs if you take up your mileage too quickly. It’s a stubborn nagging injury. Be aware of foot biomechanics. Hip and gluteal weakness maybe a factor. Rest days and ease off mileage can help. Use a Cross trainer. Mix up the direction of your runs. Try shortening your stride.
Achilles Tendonitis/Calf injuries: Achilles tendon connects the two major calf muscles to the back of the heel. Increasing your mileage too quickly, hill sessions and sprints can aggravate the Achilles. Be aware of tightness of your calf muscles. Stop if you have pain during or after running. You cannot run through this injury. Early diagnosis is essential. Days off will significantly increase your chances of getting back to running. Eccentric stretching and calf strengthen gastrocnemius and soleus muscles are advised.
Hamstring Issues: Muscles that run down the back of our thighs. Be aware of muscle imbalance of quadriceps (thigh) over powering the hamstrings. Sudden strong pain and bruising, significant injury, extended rest required. Less intense, chronic overuse injury, you can usually run. Running a slow, easy pace is usually less difficult than attempting intervals or hills. Cycling, pool running, and swimming helps. Strengthen and stretching your hamstrings will help avoid injuries.
Plantar Fasciitis: Small tears or inflammation of the tendons and ligaments that run from your heel to your toes. Pain is a dull ache or bruise along your arch or on the bottom of your heel, is usually worse first thing in the morning. Be aware of foot biomechanics, high or flattened arches. Avoid increasing mileage too quickly. Tight hip flexors, weakness and tight claves, weak core muscles, and a history of lower back pain can also contribute. This is a nagging injury, running is possible but can delay healing. Pool running and swimming to the keep pressure off your feet. Calf stretches and strengthening. Good fitting shoes are essential.
Shin Splints: Achy pain that results when small tears occur in the muscles around your shin bone. Prevalent in new or returning runners doing too much, too quickly, wearing the wrong shoe or a pair with too many miles, and high arches or flat feet. When pain strikes, ease off your running to a comfortable level for a few days to a week, then slowly up your mileage using the 10 percent rule (no more than 10 percent increase per week). Bike, pool run, and swim.
Stress Fracture: Stress fractures develop due to cumulative strain on the bone. Runners most often have stress fractures in their shins, feet, hips or heels. They are one of the most serious of all running injuries and are a result of over training. More common in women than men. You cannot run through this injury. Expect 8-16 weeks off from running depending on the severity of your injury.
If you suspect you have any one of the above injuries do not hesitate to make an appointment with us by calling us on 02030 12 12 22. Correct management of your injury is essential.
Deferred Entry
If you do have to withdraw from the 2019 London Marathon, you are guaranteed a place in the 2020 race – unless you had already carried your ballot entry over from 2018 or are running for a charity. You have until 20:00 on Saturday 27 April 2019 to complete the withdrawal form on the Virgin Money London Marathon Deferrals page.
Words by Nick Smith.
NoviceRunnerNik: Supporting Your London Marathon Runner
NoviceRunnerNik: Supporting Your London Marathon Runner
You might not be a marathon runner yourself, you might not even be a runner but in a moment of madness you might have offered to cheer on your favourite marathon runner in the marathon to end all marathons, the Virgin Money London Marathon.
Of course, other marathons do exist and the following blog post is also applicable to pretty much all marathons.
Years ago, possibly even before she took up running, our NoviceRunnerNik promised her husband that in the unlikely event he was ever successful in gaining a place in the London Marathon ballot, she’d be on the course to support him on his way around. Last year, after five years of rejections, he finally got a place, the same year in which his sister also got a place via the ballot on her first attempt!
So here are NoviceRunnerNik’s top 10 tips for supporting your London Marathon runner:
1. Choose your runner carefully. If you fancy a fun stroll around London, stopping for a couple of pints, a wander in the park, a tasty lunch, whilst popping up on the course now and then to wave at your hero then make sure your runner’s target finish time is around 6 – 7 hours. Don’t make my mistake of thinking I could do all of that whilst supporting a runner targeting 3 hours 30 mins. You just won’t have time to do much except rush about on public transport and cheer a lot.
2. Plan your cheering carefully in advance and tell your runner where they should expect to see you so that they can look out for you. There are lots of online guides available which will tell you distances and times for various finishing target times. Don’t be over ambitious on number of cheering spots. Public transport, road closures and the sheer number of people out and about mean that getting around is slow. I only had a vague plan so my husband missed me on all three occasions he ran past me (although other runners from our running club did spot me and my signs so I wonder if my husband can actually recognise me in a crowd!).
Fancy dress hats for spectating might well be a good idea - easy for your runner to spot you!
3. Make a sign or two to hold up to cheer everyone on. You could go with encouraging signs such ‘Run Well Mr B’ or ‘You can do it!’ but I’d also have at least one sarcastic one to hand ‘Smile – you paid to do this!’ for deployment in the last few painful miles.
4. Make meet up arrangements beforehand. The sheer number of people in the finish area means that mobile phone signal is patchy to non-existent at times, particularly after the 4 hour finishers come in. The finish area has letters of the alphabet on poles – arrange to meet your runner by a certain letter – avoid the most popular surname letters to avoid the big crowds.
5. If you’re a runner, go to the London Marathon Expo. Your runner will have to register at the Expo on the Friday or the Saturday before the marathon, unless they’ve got a friend who’ll do it for them. The Expo is worth a look around with some great talks, interesting demos, more running kit than you could possibly ever want and lots of freebies and samples. If you have any sense you’ll leave your credit card at home, or you’ll arrive back with A Little Miss Chatterbox running vest, a Love Hearts running vest and some beetroot energy bars. None of which you actually need. True story.
6. Don’t attempt to go to the start line with your runner. The course starts well away from the finish line and most runners seem to need to depart their accommodation at the crack of dawn to join the massive loo queues early. Have a lie in and then get to around Mile 5 or just after, before the Elite runners come through as it’s really exciting to watch them and then the whole crowd surge through.
7. Be prepared. Take waterproofs / SPF 30 depending on the weather forecast, snacks, drinks, a good sense of humour and wear running shoes (a top tip from our very own Paul Martin who advises that people will chat to you if you look like you might be a runner!) or other comfortable shoes.
8. If you see a useable loo, use it. You don’t know when you’ll next come across one!
9. Enjoy a fab day out. Enjoy the cheering, the banter, the fancy dress spotting. My personal favourite last year was a man running barefoot, dressed as Jesus, carrying a 2 metre high cross! Do stop for that pint but do keep an eye on the clock. I was still sinking my one and only pint of the day (overpriced and in a plastic glass) near Mile 24 when I realised that my husband had probably just finished. He had – just ahead of his target time - in 3 hours 27 mins 27 seconds! I still beat him to our meet up point as he spent quite a bit of time having his blisters attended to by the medics.
10. Be patient, getting home is slow. Don’t forget that your marathon runner has just run 26.2 miles, not to mention all of that walking to the start and from the finish. They will be slow. But they will be wearing a very large London Marathon medal - I don’t know why they make them so heavy, seems a bit unfair! - and a beaming smile! People will offer them seats on the Underground. Strangers will ask you what your runner’s finishing time was and you’ll proudly tell them down to the second. Enjoy the reflected glory!
He did it!
Words and images by NoviceRunnerNik.