Greater Manchester Marathon 2017
The ‘Greater Manchester Marathon’ is now less than a week away – in just 4 days time, Sunday 2nd April 2017, Trafford will see up to 15,000 runners take part in the ‘flattest, fastest and friendliest UK Marathon’. It has been great to see so many of our clients training hard over the last few months to get those long Sunday runs in and facing those achy legs over the following days. The G4 Physio & Fitness team have had a big role to play in keeping all runners fit and injury free to allow their training to continue at the desired level.
Now that you are coming into the last week of your programme and the mileage has tapered down, it’s just as important to remain both physically and mentally focused and headstrong prior to the big day! Our team at G4 have got some top tips for the rest of the week running up to your marathon;
- Reduce your mileage down to approximately 1/3 of a normal training week, whilst maintaining the same pace as each previous run. Slowing the pace can cause you to run out of sync, altering your stride and lead to the run feeling sluggish.
- Rest from any strength work you may have incorporated into your programme, allowing your muscles a chance to recover and regenerate. Any benefits received from those strength sessions won’t be apparent until the following week anyway, so don’t try to cram anymore in before race day.
- Avoid any stress on the day by planning your journey to the start line, have a good look at the course map and have your kit and any gels or nutritional aids prepared for the big day. If you run with a watch ensure it is charged up – make sure the only thing you need to focus on is running!
- Eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates (whole-grain breads, pasta, and cereals), and drink plenty of fluids. In the week before your marathon, about 65-70% of your calories should come from carbs. Avoid alcoholic beverages since they have a dehydrating effect and can also interfere with your sleep.
- Some people prefer to take off the two days before the race, while others will take off Friday before a Sunday marathon and do a very easy 20-30 minute run the day before the race to work out last-minute nerves.
Come in to see our team in the Didsbury clinic for a Sports Massage – a good deep tissue massage between 3-7 days prior to the race is a great way to have any trigger points and tension worked out of your legs, glutes and lower back. A light massage the day before is also a great way to get your body feeling fresh and light along with relaxing any pre-race nerves.
With any massage, even a relaxing Swedish massage there’s further benefit of blood and oxygen running through the body, breaking up any adhesions through the muscles and flushing out toxins.
If you have any injury concerns, would like to book in for an appointment or would like advice about your training please feel free to contact the clinic on 0161 445 5133 or email admin@g4physio.co.uk
Good luck to all, running in Sunday’s Manchester Marathon!
