Marathon Preparation & Recovery
Jemimah Lam is an exercise physiologist and studio manager at Absolute Studios. A keen runner, she’s completed the London, Paris, and Amsterdam Marathons previously. We asked her for her best advice on how to prepare for a long-distance event.
Marathon season is well and truly underway with the Paris Marathon happening this Sunday and the London marathon taking place in just over three weeks’ time. From experience, preparation is absolutely key in the lead-up to running the 26.2 miles required and equally important is post-race recovery!
If you've been training for a marathon, my best piece of advice is to ENJOY the whole experience, and a BIG part of that is taking the time to look after your body! Aside from running lots of miles in preparation for my last race, I also included regular dynamic reformer Pilates classes at Absolute Studios to assist with strengthening those smaller stabilising muscles around my joints (key for injury prevention!) and also taking the time to stretch in our Mobility classes.
I combined those classes with weekly chiropractic adjustments and sports massages at Chiro.London. These significantly helped me to get the most out of my training and, most importantly, helped my body recover in between sessions. Now, all of this becomes especially important during the last few weeks of tapering before the big race, so if you’re signed up for one of the aforementioned races you should be looking at adjustments, massages, and mobility classes right about now!
Of course, let's not forget about nutrition, hydration, running kit and sleep – all crucial in the lead up!
Sleep: Just get as much quality sleep as you possibly can, especially in the week before race day. Here’s a great podcast on how to perfect your sleep.
Hydration & Fuel: Make sure you have this planned out well before your race! Check out Precision Fuel & Hydration – they’ve got some great resources.
Kit: Make sure you’ve run in your race day shoes and kit at least five times before race day!
This leads me on to probably the most important thing regarding all of the above... DO NOT TRY ANYTHING FOR THE FIRST TIME ON RACE DAY!!! You will likely be tempted, so please resist temptation. It never ever works out, trust me.
Moving on, what about when the big day is finally over and the race has run? Well, when it comes to post-race recovery, ensure you've booked your appointments ahead. My recommendation would be to book a massage and a chiropractic adjustment for a few days after the race. Trust me, your body will thank you! Take some time off running to allow your body to fully recover, too, then slowly ease your way back into it.
Good luck to all you runners! Hopefully you come away with a solid run, a better time than you anticipated, and some amazing memories. And remember – ENJOY!
- By Jemimah Lam