It’s that time of the year again where many of you are
waiting to hear if your London Marathon Ballot has been accepted. If you’re one
of the lucky ones and it’s your first marathon, or if you’re ready to tackle
your first marathon regardless of the ballot, below is some advice to help you
along.
Running coach: It is advantageous if you have a specific time
as a goal to have a running coach. There are many available in person, online
and with a running club. In fact, joining a running club can be very helpful to
learn more efficient and economic running styles.
Equipment: You don’t need all the fancy gadgets. A running
watch with GPS that can give you distance, speed and pace is great for
training. Shoes that fit and are comfortable. Go see a specialist like Runners Need or Podplus in Ashford, Kent. They will not
only do gait analysis with a specially trained individual to get you in the
right shoe. Always buy socks made from synthetic material, DO NOT USE COTTON!
All other clothing should be appropriate for running and comfortable.
Training: You don’t get better running if you don’t run. So,
expect to be out there a lot, normally 3-4 times a week. And it’s not just
doing the same thing over and over again. Be sure to vary your running from
tempo runs, interval runs and long slow runs – this is where a running coach
can be helpful. Also, don’t just run. Include strength
training to your regime. If you’ve never done any strength training, get a
good base going during your early training while the running mileage is lower.
Recovery: Probably the most important thing here. Get a good
night’s sleep as much as possible. Sleeping is when a lot of our muscle
recovery happens. Get a good diet, don’t eat crap all the time and wonder why
your runs all suck. Try and get your five a day, avoid too much alcohol and drink
plenty of fluids. All other things like recovery tights, sports massage and
foam rolling are less important and helpful than sleep and food.
Have fun: Even if the training plan goes down the toilet, if
you don’t have a tight time limit on your marathon, your best plan is to finish
and have fun doing it. All of us have bad races, it’s okay and not the end of
the world.
If you have any questions about sports injuries and rehabilitation,
please email me sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk
