There’s nothing more frustrating than encountering an injury when training for a marathon. However, anterior knee pain, shin pain, and tendon complaints are all common injuries that can occur if proper training and precautions are not taken. Here we discuss our top tips to help you stay injury free in the lead up to your marathon!
Gradual Progression
One of the most important tips to avoid injury when training for a marathon is to gradually progress your training. This includes both the distance and intensity of your runs. Increasing your mileage or pace too quickly can lead to overuse injuries and additionally, progressing too many factors at once, such as increasing your distance and pace simultaneously, can also create the perfect recipe for potential injuries.
To prevent this, start with a conservative training plan and gradually increase your mileage or pace. It is recommended to increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week to avoid overuse injuries. It would be useful to get support from a coach or training plan to guide you through these progressions appropriately.
Strength Training
Supporting the hips, knees, ankles (and the whole body) is an essential part of the training, however it is often one which is overlooked. It helps you to keep robust to deal with the increase in mileage and the demands of training and prevent the aforementioned common injuries occurring.
It’s important to incorporate exercises in which target the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and calf muscles. This can be done in different formats, whether it’s using your own body weight, using dumbbells, resistance bands, machines…. Whichever format you use, the intensity needs to be enough to challenge the muscle groups in order to elicit change, all of which a Physiotherapist or Personal Trainer can guide you through.
Running Form
If you are injury free and running well, then the chances are that your running form is best suited to you and you don’t necessarily need to change anything. Everyones running form and technique is individual and there is no ‘gold standard’ or ‘best’ way to run as it is down to the individuals biomechanics. However, if you are encountering pain during run then your Physiotherapist may suggest alterations which can enhance the efficiency of your running pattern to modify how you load during your running gait.
Rest & Recovery
We cannot promote this enough… Ensuring that you have recovery days as part of your weekly running schedule is key. Your body is being subjected to repeated load and it is important that it is able to rest in order to adapt and subsequently improve as a result of this. Overtraining can lead to injuries not only due to overloading of your joints, but also due to fatigue. Fatigue caused by inadequate recovery and sleep has a big impact on our body’s ability to recover especially after big sessions.
Incorporating cross training into your week via swimming or cycling is a nice alternative to reduce the impact on your joints while also maintaining cardiovascular fitness.
Listen to Your Body
Lastly, it’s key that you listen to your body as the weekly distance increases. Trying to push through pain and discomfort rarely helps the problem, if anything it will lead to more serious injuries that take longer to recover. If you experience pain or discomfort during training, it is important to address it and adjust your training plan accordingly.
Marathon training is a challenging experience, however by following these key tips you can help to prevent injuries and most importantly achieve your marathon goals! If you have any concerns, seek professional advice from a Physiotherapist who can help individualise your plan.
