Welcome to 2017, the year of your marathon! You are officially 15 weeks away from the Virgin London Marathon. This is our first of four newsletters providing you information and special offers from SV Sports Therapy to help enhance your journey to the marathon.
This month, we are going to focus on information to help you get started with your training journey. We will touch on marathon training schedules, warm-up and cool-down routines, recovery techniques and a special offer!
Training Schedules
Some of you may have already started following a training program, while others are just beginning. It is important to select a program that suits your running level and most importantly fits into your schedule! If you work 10 hours per day and plan to run 4 times per week and strength train twice per week, you will over train and burn yourself out quickly. This journey should be enjoyable for you, so choose a program that fits YOU!
Warm-up and Cool-Down Routines A warm-up for many runners usually consists of walking or jogging slowly for 2-5 minutes. While this is a good start to warming up, it is not sufficient to properly warm-up the body before performing a repetitive demanding activity such as running. A proper warm-up should include dynamic movements and activation exercises that target all the muscles you will be using while running. Below are examples of what to include:
Leg Swings
A-Skip
Bum Kicks
Side Twists
Toe Walks
Glute Bridges or Bum Squeezes
A combination of these exercises should last approximately 10% of the time you plan to be active; so a 60 minute run requires a 6-minute warm-up.
You should not limit yourself to the exercises shown above. Each person is different and will require a different amount of time to warm-up and different exercises to do so.
After your run it is important to cool down properly to maximise your recovery to prepare yourself for your next run. Be sure you stretch all the muscles you used during your run, targeting your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, calves and inner thigh muscles. Hold each stretch until the intensity halves what it originally was; if the stretch was originally an 8/10, hold it until it becomes a 4/10.
Recovery – Sports Massage and Foam Rolling
Leading up to the marathon the progression of your training will lead to more significant fatigue of muscles and joints, making recovery more important than ever.
Pairing foam rolling and epsom salt baths with sport massage is a great method to help muscles recover.
While small aches and pains can be addressed with the foam roller and a relaxing bath, there will be times when recurring aches affect training.
It is important not to train through these! Have them assessed, especially early in your training, to avoid a more serious injury.
The Running School – Nick and Joe
Our friends at The Running School in London are offering free biomechanical assessments of your running technique to any SV clients.
This is a great way to learn tips on how you can improve your running, whether you are new to running or a seasoned vet!
Contact us if you are interested in meeting our friends, Nick and Joe!
SPECIAL OFFER Strength Training
We are offering strength and endurance sessions, specific to running, in a gym-based environment. We will teach you strength exercises starting from basic concentric strengthening and building to eccentric and plyometric strength work. These exercises will help to reduce your risk of injury and delay fatigue, making your overall training experience more enjoyable. More details to come soon!
Final Thought In the words of Mo Farah, “if you work hard, you get rewarded”. So let’s start this training journey off on the right foot and have some fun!
Happy training!
Jessica, Sophie and Chris
