Whether its London, New York, Boston, Paris, or another of the many Marathons run each year, you want to make sure that you are at that start line feeling prepared, fit and most importantly injury free!
When training for a marathon, most people believe increasing your mileage is the key to success. However, injury prevention plays a large part in your training program as well as the running itself.
We have listed down some key points when looking to prevent injury and prepare effectively for a Marathon:
One of the key exercises we use when testing strength and imbalances in runners is a single leg squat. We are looking at:
Pilates can be a good alternative to focus on core alignment, control and coordination. It can compliment a running program by increasing core and lower limb stability and strength in low impact then progressing to more dynamic movement patterns.
When a runner is overloaded is it important to re-assess running technique, volume, load and strength deficits. Often a reduction in training load is needed or a rest day put in rather than a complete ban on running.
Rest days are an ideal time to be receiving Sports Massage. The frequency of your visits is often dependant on training volume and distance; if you have a high training volume (training more than 4 times a week) and once you start to get past 12 – 13mile distances on long runs we advise coming in weekly, if your volume is less, or you are doing runs under 12 – 13miles you may want to extend your massage sessions to every 3 – 4 weeks. As your Marathon date draws closer (6weeks away from an event) your Sports Massage sessions want to be scheduled weekly.
Sports Massage cannot only be limited to work on the legs, some runners may find that when they are fatigued or often becoming nervous ahead of the big day, a lot of tension can be carried in their shoulders and neck. Lower backs can also become tight from running and from the load placed on the body.
By incorporating all of the above points into your training you are giving yourself the best possible preparation ahead of your big event – wishing all of our Marathon Runners the best of luck!!
2 years ago