Marathon Survival Guide - Part 1

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 – Getting Started

The Biggest Challenge of My Life!

Lee running Almost a year ago today, I laid my life on the line and signed up to run the Virgin London Marathon 2010. This was probably going to be the biggest challenge of my life so far. I had just over 6 months to get in some serious training.

I had run the BUPA 10,000 in London earlier in the year – a 10 k race (6.2 miles). I had spent only one month to prepare for that race, and completed it in 45 minutes. So, I had the running bug and thought it would be a great idea to go for more – oh yes, another 20 miles!!

The Extra Injury Challenge

I know that I am not alone – as I started to prepare for the Marathon I was already suffering an injury. Unfortunately, I have a lower back problem which has been brought on by lying on my front for too long, with my lower back in an arched position. This results in the most awful pain in the sacroiliac joint. Believe me, when it hits I cannot walk properly for about 3 days.

If you are also suffering an injury at the same time as preparing for a major fitness or sporting challenge like a Marathon, it is extremely important that you receive expert advice and address the injury at the same time as doing your training. Indeed, if you are considering taking part in a marathon and have any concerns about your health or fitness level, you really must go and see a doctor first to get the best guidance about how you should start to approach your training.

I signed up to see a really good physiotherapist so that we could include her rehabilitation exercises in my overall training program. It appears, from her inspection that I have a lazy glute which is affecting my lower back, hamstrings and the right buttock. Then my pyraformis kicks in too hard. So basically, I am relying on the wrong muscles to maintain and help with general movement and exercise, creating an imbalance throughout my body. This of course can lead to other injuries if left untreated.

It Is More Than Running

My physiotherapist started to put together some exercises that would strengthen up my supporting muscles and my lazy glute! Here are some of the things she had me do:

Lying on my stomach, I tucked my toes underneath, straightened my knee, squeezed the glute and then lifted my toe off the ground – one side at a time – and held for 20 seconds;
Lying on my stomach, I gradually lifted onto my arms, to extend myself again with squeezed glutes (this is like the Cobra position in Yoga);
Lying on my back with a rolled towel or foam roll across the lower spine, I relaxed and let gravity do its work therefore helping my back relax and stretch the tightness in my lower muscles; and
Using an exercise ball, I stood against the wall, with the ball against my back, tucked my pelvis in, and dropped my hip down into a squat, ensuring that my knees remain in line with my toes (this again a classic Pilates exercise with the ball)

What I learned was that a wide range of alternative types of exercise can and should be used to strengthen the body – not simply running or lifting weights. Here I have been using hints of Pilates and Yoga.

Yet another challenge was that during my injury recover I was told not to do any high impact exercises. Well, running the Marathon is pretty high impact, but I had to be creative and put in some other alternatives to build up my endurance.

Training Principles

It was really important from the outset to establish some basic training principles. I had 6 months to train and get ready for this major event:

Take things steady to begin with and gradually build up
Combine a number of different types of endurance exercises to build up stamina and strength
Within my training routine include core training to improve balance, posture and reaction time to avoid injury
Have a good resistance training programme to support the cardio training.
Set myself clear distance goals every week and stick to them

Training Schedule

I set out a training schedule for my first month of training, planning to follow this for 5 days a week, allowing myself two days of rest per week. To begin with, I planned to work out in the gym, with the intention, once my back improved, of starting some road running.

Always begin any type of training with a good warm up.
My weekly routine will consist of 3 cardio days training and two muscle strength training days.
My cardio will consist of a 45 minute Spin class making sure I am working within my training zones. I find these classes really do get your heart rate going and improve cardio fitness. I will follow this session with a little core and abdominal work.
I will start my running days with a 2 mile steady jog on the treadmill x2 per week, to test my back and see how I feel. I will do this with time training and try to improve my time throughout the initial starting weeks.
I will also incorporate 15 minutes rowing x 2 per week (probably after my run) – again working within my training zones and building up the time over the first month.
I will have 2 sessions per week of full body strength training incorporating all the major muscle groups to help with stability, recovery and support for my Marathon training.
Always remember as important it is to warm up before exercises it is vital to stretch afterwards.

You can see how well I got on by reading my follow up features as I continued my preparation for running the Marathon.

Getting the Kit Right!

The first thing you need when preparing for the marathon is the right pair of running shoes and clothes.

Clothing

The clothes that I found felt the best for comfort, had a great breathable material and also looked good were produced by Ronhill. Ronhill are the leading British running brand and if you check out their website you will see why (www.ronhill.com).

Shoes

SIR ISAAC Now shoes…… There are a lot of makes out there that all say they do the same thing but no matter what type of running shoe you finally choose I believe its best to try a few out and see which ones you adapt to. We all have our own unique running style and some shoes will adapt to your style better than others. Investing in some good quality running shoes to protect your bones, muscles, joints and tendons during your training is essential.

For the first few weeks of my training for the Marathon, I was using Newton Running shoes - specifically the SIR ISAAC Guidance Trainer. To have a look at the specifics of this trainer please check out the following link

www.newtonrunning.com/newton-products/the-shoes/mens-shoes/men-guidance-trainer

It is best to buy your running shoes from a specialist running shop where you can try before you buy, and get expert advice on the right type of shoe for your needs.

Training Partner

Garmin 405CX I also invested in the Garmin Forerunner 405CX, which is a heart monitor as well as a fantastic training device that will record your time, distance, pace and calories burnt. For further information see (www.garmin.com) – look under Products and then click on Running and Fitness.

You can set a virtual training partner to keep you at your pace and when finished synchronise wirelessly to your computer and you can view your running statistics and even see a map of where you have just ran. Pretty cool, eh?

This was a simple and effective way for me to monitor my heart rate so that I could decide whether to maintain, ease or speed up my pace.

Lee Latchford Evans | Marathon Survival Guide Part 2 | Marathon Survival Guide Part 3