Over the next few months, Lee Latchford Evans, ex STEPS star turned Celebrity Personal Trainer, will be sharing his experiences with our readers as he prepares for the Virgin London Marathon 2010. His hints and tips should prove useful to other Marathon runners who are not top athletes.

SETTING CLEAR GOALS

One of the most important things, at the outset, is to have a clear reason and goal for running the Marathon. This is what will keep you focused and motivated during all the hours of gruelling training as you prepare for the big day, and will of course get you through the Marathon itself.

I am running the Marathon for two reasons – one to prove to myself that I can do it as a personal challenge, and secondly to support The Outward Bound Trust and earn as much as possible for them through sponsorship.

The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity that uses outdoor experiences and challenges to help and develop young people.

I had the pleasure of visiting an Outward Bound centre and spent 3 days in the beautiful Welsh countryside, where I witnessed what The Outward Bound Trust is all about and I have to say I was very impressed. This charity takes children who have few social community or communication skills, and in only a few days teaches them basic survival skills and more importantly how to work in teams, have confidence in themselves, and more respect for the individual, friends and peers.

If anybody would like to sponsor me, you should go
(http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LeeLatchfordEvans)

GET TRAINING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

There are now only 5 months to go until the Marathon. Loads of time, I hear you all say. I am told this is the first trap that so many people fall into because the event is still a long way off we feel we can start to train much nearer the time. This is especially relevant at this time of year when the weather is cold and wet and we find lots of excuses not to get out there, like Christmas parties  !

That said do not underestimate the demands you will be placing on your body – even if you plan to complete in 5 or 6 hours. 26 miles is a long distance – when was the last time you walked, jogged or ran that type of distance? You need to allow plenty of time to train, gradually build and increase your strength and endurance so that eventually it all becomes second nature.

So having set your overall goals – why are you running the Marathon – the next most important goal to set is how many hours of training are you going to do each and every week, no matter what the weather! I am fortunate in that the work I do provides lots of opportunity to work out in a gym – but even I am struggling to get myself outside to do a 4-6 mile run in the dark and wet when it is close to 0 º - and I love exercise!

MY INJURY CHALLENGE

If you read my feature last month, you will know that as I set out on my training for the Virgin London Marathon 2010, I was suffering from a back injury. It appears that I have a lazy glute which is affecting my lower back, hamstrings and right buttock, and then my pyraformis kicks in too hard. I have been working hard with a physiotherapist to correct the problem, and have integrated a number of exercises into my weekly routine.

Here are a couple of simple exercises to help to strengthen things up

• Lying on my stomach, I tuck my toes underneath, straighten my knee, squeeze the glute and then lift my toe off the ground – one side at a time – and hold for 20 seconds
• Lying on my stomach, I gradually lift onto my arms, to extend myself again with squeezed glutes (this is like the Cobra position in Yoga)
• Lying on my back with a rolled towel or foam roll across the lower spine, I relax and let gravity do its work therefore helping my back relax and stretch the tightness in my lower muscles.
• Using an exercise ball, I stand against the wall, with the ball against my back, tuck my pelvis in, and drop my hip down into a squat, ensuring that my knees remain in line with my toes (this again a classic Pilates exercise with the ball)

What I have learned is that a wide range of alternative types of exercise can and should be used to strengthen the body – not simply lifting weights. Here I have been using hints of Pilates and Yoga.

If you are also suffering an injury at this time in your preparation for the Virgin London Marathon 2010, it is extremely important that you receive expert advice and address the injury at the same time as starting to introduce your marathon training program.

BUILDING ENDURANCE AND SPEED

The Marathon is an endurance race – where the majority of runners set out at a steady pace and maintain it throughout, and obviously covering 26 miles in the process. My aim remains that I will complete the Marathon in less than 4 hours. This means that I will need to run an average of no less than 6.5 miles per hour.

Under the continued guidance of Will Cockerell, we set that as my first goal – running at 6.5 miles per hour. I have continued to hold onto the principle of training gradually and increasing the distance over time. So, we have been concentrating on my timing rather than distance.

I have been doing a lot of work on the treadmill to build my confidence with my injury. I started off with a 2 mile run in the time of 25 minutes. At that rate, it would take me almost 5 ½ hours to get around! So, each week I have set myself a target to improve my speed (not distance yet) and am now up to 2 miles in 18 minutes – so that is 1 mile in 9 minutes – which means I have hit my time goal – for a mile anyway! Now all I have to do now is keep going for 26 miles rather than 2!

So now I am focusing on two new goals. Firstly to increase my distance on the treadmill in the gym, maintaining the same pace of 6.5 miles per hour; secondly is to start running out on the road – a very different experience from running on a treadmill!

I am continuing to use the rower – it is helping with my injury and also increasing my stamina and the strength in my legs.

PROPRIOCEPTIVE TRAINING

What is that, I hear you all say? Well, it is a very long word that means your body’s ability to react properly to external forces. For example - if you ride bulls for fun, you must have the ability to react to gravity and the changing forces of the bull to keep from being thrown off. That’s proprioception. But proprioception is also your ability to walk across a room without falling down. So, in a nutshell, it is about sensing and controlling your body's movements!

The majority of sports or fitness related injuries are sustained because of:

• Lack of balance – the ability of the body to right itself
• Lack of Core Strength – the ability to maintain core stabilisation, balance and control
• Lack of Quick Reaction – the ability to mentally and physically react more quickly and powerfully

As you carry out your training routine – no matter what type – you are using a combination of muscular activity, range of motion at the joints, and body posture – and this is especially true as you road run across uneven surfaces.

Certain forms of training enhance joint-position sense, kinaesthesia, balance and coordination, muscle reaction times, and overall muscular strength and should be incorporated into every athlete’s normal training routine, even if you don’t see these as directly related to your own sport.

Believe it or not, something as simple as the Wobble Board can reduce the risk of ankle injury by up to 70%! So needless to say, I am using the Wobble Board

Standing on the Wobble Board, with the knee of the support leg maximally extended, and the non support leg flexed at the knee and raised, I cross my arms over my chest, and try to maintain my balance by making corrections in my ankle joint, not by activating the knee or hip or by repositioning the upper body. I am currently aiming to stand on the Wobble Board for 5 minutes per foot, at least 3 x per week, but will soon be increasing to 10 minutes per foot.

MY BEST TRAINING FRIENDS

As well as having the support and encouragement of Will Cockerel, I continue to rely heavily on my other two training friends

Trainers

As I start to venture out on the roads, the type of trainer that I wear takes on even more importance because I need more cushioning and more support. I will continue to wear the SIR ISAAC Guidance Trainer from Newton Running (www.newtonrunning.com).

I am sure these have helped me increase my running time. They feel really light on my feet – and have a bevelled heel and toe helping to guide you into the midfoot / forefoot running area. The shoes are very stable and soft and have a closed upper mesh to keep out the small debris – also very important in road running. Getting a small pebble in the shoe can cause painful injury.

Training Partner

Next to Will Cockerell, my best training partner remains the ever faithful Garmin Forerunner 405CX. I can set my pace and it will let me know if I’m behind or ahead. It measures my heart rate and tells me the distance in miles or kilometres. Since it works via satellite, I can wirelessly link it to my computer when I am home and view all of the details on line. (www.garmin.com)

NUTRITION

Whether a top athlete, or a fitness enthusiast, or just someone wanting to take on the challenge of the Marathon, there is almost nothing more important than taking care of your nutrition. And that means starting now – not a few days before the event.

I know I will be placing more and more stress on my body as my training regime intensifies. This is not only because I will be burning more calories, but I will be using up more essential minerals and vitamins as I increasingly use more muscles and sweat.

I will write more on nutrition another time, but these are the principles that Ann Mather, my nutrition advisor, has told me to hold onto:

• Eat a balanced diet, every single meal, every single day, with each meal containing a varied combination of carbohydrate, protein and dietary fats in the ratio 4:1:1/4
• Drink lots of water – before, during and after exercise – in fact all day!
• Ensure I have a pre-exercise meal containing a small amount of protein, dietary fats and easily digestible foods rich in carbohydrates.
• Take a small nutritious snack 30 minutes before you exercise
• If my training regime lasts more than 90 minutes, replenish lost glycogen stores with easy to digest, high glucose carbs (e.g. glucose based sports drinks or an energy bar)
• Eat a balanced meal within 2 hours after exercise to replenish lost nutrients, ensuring that this contains protein to help to repair and rebuild muscles damaged through exercise and to maximize the bodies ability to store glycogen

Whilst supplements must never replace healthy, fresh foods in the long term, when you are putting your body under extra stress (as I am preparing for the Marathon), short term supplements can provide a great boost.

I’m taking GRS 5 Protein system to help rebuild the muscles I have been using. I also take Enduro fuel. This does exactly what it says on the container – it gives me a sustained and prolonged release of energy when working out for longer periods of time. After I have completed a hard workout, I then take some Rapid Recovery complex. This replaces my electrolytes typically lost during my training and provides me with all the good nutrients my body needs to help recover.

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Until next time

Lee........