Marathon Survival Guide - Part 3

Lee Latchford Evans of former Steps fame entered into the Virgin London Marathon 2010.

There were trials and tribulations as well as tears of pain and joy.  Lee would like to share his experience with the public in the hope that people interested in fitness and running Marathons may learn from his experiences.

Lee´S Story – Month Three

About this time last year, I started to prepare for the Virgin London Marathon.  I went through many trials and tribulations on my journey there .  I am  sharing some of these with you in case you are thinking about running a marathon.  There are lots of things to think about – not the least of which is that running 26.2 miles is tough – not only physically but mentally

I am a pretty fit guy and I always have been!  My cardiovascular system is pretty decent and I don’t seem to have much of a problem.  But, if you have read my first two features, you will know that I am suffering from injuries, so physically my back and now right knee are truly letting me know how difficult this challenge really is.

Charity

When I ran the Marathon earlier this year, I was doing it in support of The Outward Bound Trust.  This is an educational charity that teaches life skills and helps develop young people to become stronger and more positive with life, to overcome their fears and to learn to work with people to gain respect and learn to trust.

If you would like to support this great Charity, go to www.theoutwardboundtrust.org.uk

My body was telling me not to run this Marathon but my mind was saying “we can do this!”.   How can I even contemplate quitting when I have seen first hand the importance of raising money to help The Outward Bound Trust continue to help all the children of today learn more about themselves and teach life skills which will make them all positive, strong and respectful adults for tomorrow.

Signing up to support a Charity that has special meaning for you is really important, and I would strongly recommend it if you are considering running a marathon.  It helps to keep you focused and motivated on the road ahead. 

Injury

It appears that I was not satisfied with just one injury, but needed two!  Whilst still recovering from my back problem, I started to suffer knee pain when running over a long period of time.  I had to stop because the pain became so intense. This was really frustrating.  The rest of my body and fitness levels were saying “Go for it” but my back and knee were saying “Stop”. 

Physicool bandages were a great help after I had gone out and attempted a run, and came home limping and crippled in pain.  There is no doubt in my mind that the special cooling Physicool bandages helped to reduce the pain quickly.  The compression helped to keep the swelling down and reduced the recovery time.

The problem was that because I was so intent on continuing my training for the marathon, I kept causing further injury.  So, off I went to see my physiotherapist again.  I seriously should have shares in her business – I would be loaded!

After another assessment, I was told that I may have illiotibial Ban Syndrome!  So what is that?

This is also known as IT band friction and is a common cause of knee pain along the outer side of the knee and lower thigh and is typical with runners.

The illiotibial band is strong thick fibrous tissue starting at the hip and runs down the outer thigh and attaches on the top outside edge of the shin bone just below the knee.

When I bent and straightened my knee the IT band passed over the lateral femoral condyle of the knee and if it was inflamed whilst trying to do this it becomes very uncomfortable – believe me!

There are many causes for this, including:

• The wrong footwear.
• Over training.
• Uneven road surface.
• Poor flexibility
• Tight hamstring muscles

All of this meant another set back in my planned training schedule.  I had to slow my training down again, rest and ice my knee, have a little physiotherapy , massage and also perform rehabilitation exercises.  Here are a couple of the exercises that my physiotherapist recommended:

Side Lying Clamshell

Lying on my left side with legs bent and back straight, I raise my right knee (which is on top) opening up my legs and working the glutes.

Foam Roller

I place the outer side of my right thigh over a foam roller and slowly role my leg up and down the roller with as much weight on it as possible in a relaxed motion.

This is a killer and acts as a deep tissue massage without the physiotherapist. I think this is also mental as you want to stop and lift your body off but you know you have to keep pushing through the pain.

Running Technique

With all of my injury problems, I was becoming more aware that I was not a natural runner.  When added to martial Arts and football among many other sports throughout my childhood, it was more than likely that my running technique was a factor in causing the injuries.

So I decided to contact a company called ‘The Running School’ (www.runningschool.co.uk).  Their motto is “We teach you how to run better, and then teach you how to run faster!” I signed up and started to work with a nice young chap called Stuart who was to be my coach, helping to guide me in the right direction to be able to run this years Virgin London Marathon.

Stuart decided to watch my running technique by making me run at a steady pace for a couple of minutes, he then asked me to walk for 1 minute and run for 30 seconds for around 10mins.

He then produced a video camera and told me that he would film my own personal technique from the side and then behind.

My own personal technique? Is this good or bad? Maybe he’s just being funny!

Well, having reviewed the films, it seemed my personal technique was one of a kind!  I apparently run with a lot of weight on my left side and compensate for this by landing my right leg underneath the centre line of my body.  Stuart says that you should land each foot slightly outside the centre line.  Also my back was very stiff so it did not move with my arms not functioning and remaining motionless at my side.  Yes, I definitely had my own unique style!

Stuart then showed me how I should be running and explained the reasons for this new technique.  Ease of motion, utilising the arms in a forward swinging motion to help loosen the back, combining this with high lifting the heel as the foot swings to the back gives you the correct form and shape and should take the pressure of the straining body.

I would recommend that if you are new to running you should definitely get your technique checked out – it makes a huge difference!

Training

So armed with my new training technique, I set about running 2-3 times a week, slowly building the distance and trying to get more time on my feet.  At this stage, I had a little less than 8 weeks to build up the strength and support in my back and train my knee to handle the distance and friction with road running.

At this point in my training I should have been running 16 miles but unfortunately was running no more than 10 miles. 

It was very tempting to push myself again, but realised that if I pushed too hard I would further injure myself and would not be able to run the Virgin London Marathon at all.

Revised Programme

My routine now had to be very precise and I had to truly stick to my rehabilitation programme as much as my running schedule.

Stuart recommended I should be running 3 times a week throughout March and my aim was to build each run through the weeks and end with a maximum run every Sunday.

1st week : maximum run = 10 miles.

2nd week: maximum run = 13miles

3rd week: maximum run = 16miles

4th week: maximum run = 20 miles

Lee Latchford Evans  |  Marathon Survival Guide Part 1  | Marathon Survival Guide Part 2