Marathon Survival Guide - Part 2
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 One And Two
Christmas Came and Went – Only 3 months to go!
Like so many people, I had great plans by this time in my training schedule, with only three months to go, to be out road running 4 times a week and building up my endurance to be running up to 12 miles comfortably…….Well, it was not to be. I don’t suppose there are many people out there that would actually go out running with 5 inches of snow on the ground for over two weeks.
Although I was blocked in at home for a while, and still suffering the bloated feeling of Christmas, I knew that it was really important to keep up some form of training.
So, I started to use a Stability Ball, some resistance bands and devised a home circuit style workout. The Ball work was actually quite hard and anybody that thinks these Stability Balls are just for girls then you are very much mistaken.
Getting Started Again
With the winter weather set back, I was starting to worry about the effect that it would have over my running training so I sent my training adviser, Will Cockerel, an email and asked him to devise a plan for me once I could get out there and hit the road.
Will set me off with a new training plan, with 4 runs a week building in mileage and length of long run.
So I started with a 3 mile road run which was fine and I finished in 25minutes which is an average of just over 8min a mile…. Not bad. Next was a 5 mile run with intervals of 4 x 2 minutes of hard running. This was a new experience for me as I normally set a pace and just tried to sustain that pace. Putting in a bit of interval training threw me a bit off guard for a while. I managed to finish the 5 miler in 42 minutes with an average heart rate of 153 bpm. This meant that I was averaging 8 ½ minute miles and at that pace I would complete the marathon in 3hr 59mins. My aim was to finish the race within 4 hours.
All was looking good, and I set out to see if I could realistically average 8 ½ minutes per mile – that is what I would need to do to complete the marathon (26 miles) in 4 hours. So I thought I would up the pace and run a 7 miler with intervals to gain a little more time.
Another Injury Challenge
Everything was going well. I was using my Garmin Forerunner 405 cx – my virtual training partner – to make sure that I was averaging 8 minutes per mile. Then suddenly as I passed the 5 ½ mile marker I felt a pain in my right knee and my back decided to suddenly let me know it was not very happy.
I thought I had got passed the whole injury problem. I had been having physiotherapy on my back every week, and had slowly moved away from the sciatic pain I was feeling last month.
This new injury was something a little different as it affected my knee, but as I subsequently learned, if you have an injury in one part of your body other parts work harder to compensate the injured part and over time it can cause stress on other body parts. I think that this is what happened and maybe too much too soon. Remember I am not a runner.
Physicool to the Rescue
Just when I thought I might have to give up, I came across a great treatment bandage – Physicool. Just the thing for aching and inflamed joints! They are amazing….. They are cooling and rechargeable…….what? I hear you say….
The bandages are made from a special cotton which has its own natural elasticity to provide support. This is impregnated with a special liquid which starts to cool as soon as it is applied to the skin. As it does so, it draws heat out – unlike so many other products which push cold in.
They are really easy to use. They come in a small pack ready to go and you can even recharge the bandage – you just pop it back in the pouch which is provided with some more of the special liquid. It takes just seconds to have another cooling compress ready, without the need to refrigerate the bandage.
As soon as I started to use the special Physicool bandages, I felt my knee instantly start to cool and relax and it gave me the confidence to walk around on it later.
Having said that, I did feel that another trip to the physiotherapist would also be a good idea.
Nutrition
Preparing for the marathon is more than physical training. Adopting the right approach to nutrition is absolutely critical. You must make sure that you are getting the right fuel into the body, and in the right quantity, so that you can achieve peak performance.
I worked out that my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) was around 1,850. That means that, at rest without doing anything apart from talking, thinking, eating and breathing, I was burning 1,850 calories every day.
I then had to combine my training regime which I was following every day (without injury) and calculated that I was burning on average around 700 calories each time I workout.
During the last 5 miler I burnt 560 calories, and in a typical gym session which included rowing, spinning and weight training I was burning 920kcal.
Now I am no top athlete or scientist but if I’m burning on average close to 2,500 calories a day (when training), I need to be refueling myself with the same amount of good calories.
So what is my diet like?
Well I am trying to stick to the basic principles that were provided by my nutritional advisor, Ann Mather:
- Eat a balanced diet, every single meal, every single day, consisting of carbohydrate, protein and dietary fats.
- Drink lots of water – before, during and after exercise – in fact all day!
- Ensure I have a pre-exercise meal containing a small amount of protein, dietary fats and easily digestible foods rich in carbohydrates.
- Take a small nutritious snack 30 minutes before you exercise
- If my training regime lasts more than 90 minutes, replenish lost glycogen stores with easy to digest, high glucose carbs (e.g. glucose based sports drinks or an energy bar)
- Eat a balanced meal within 2 hours after exercise to replenish lost nutrients, ensuring that this contains protein to help to repair and rebuild muscles damaged through exercise and to maximize the bodies ability to store glycogen.
If you want more information on nutrition as you build up for an event like the Marathon, then check out www.famouslyfit.com where Ann has written some great features.
Lee Latchford Evans | Marathon Survival Guide Part 1 | Marathon Survival Guide Part 3