I’ve just completed another London Marathon improving from 6 hours 20 minutes last year to 2 hours 58 minutes this year so I’m extremely happy.
One week before the big day, I did a training session with runner, Becca Hayden who was training for her first marathon.
I was able to put Becca through her paces at the Henley on Thames personal training studio, No Limits. The focus of this session was to give Becca some tips on the importance of warming up and cooling down, injury management and to teach her better running mechanics by engaging and strengthening the right muscle groups.
I tackled this by initially focusing on tight muscles. We incorporated a foam roller into the warm up and I also advised Becca on the benefits of using Deep Heat Muscle Massage Roll-on Lotion on tight areas. As the product combines massage and heat, it’s one I keep in my kit bag as massaging muscles pre-exercise increases blood flow and helps to loosen and soften muscles so they move more easily.
Once we had done this, we looked at how Becca moved functionally with some lunges with rotation which tested balance. I then watched her squatting and highlighted the importance of better glute activation with some basic pilates mat based exercises which, if she commits to, will enable her to go from a good runner to a great one. This will not only help her speed but her running economy.
As Becca has a knee injury, we also spoke about injury management and following the P.R.I.C.E. method (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate) as this can help minimise damage, reduce recovery time and provide fast pain relief. As ice isn’t always available, I taught Becca about Deep Freeze Pain Relief Cold Gel which provides cooling relief from pain and also helps reduce the inflammation.
We had a great time together and I want to congratulate Becca for completing her first London Marathon.
Toby Garbett
@tobygarbett
@becca_haydenx