Coopah How To: Manage Marathon Training Setbacks

Okay, so I am going to be honest with you all, the main reason I am writing this weeks blog is purely for selfish reasons. I am currently managing a minor injury and on the ‘running bench’ for a couple of weeks – which is rubbish, there is no getting away from it. But, we are still 10 weeks out from the marathon, I have a good fitness base and a plan of action, so I am not giving up just yet.

So rather thank sulking, I thought I would use this as an opportunity to not only remind myself of how these setbacks are all part of a normal running journey, and rather than just focusing on what I can’t do, channel that energy into what I can do instead. And hopefully that if anyone else reading this is going through something similar, it will help them too.

DON’T IGNORE WARNING THE SIGNS

You have probably heard the famous saying ‘no pain, no gain’ – and whilst I appreciate the sentiment behind it, this certainly should not apply to physical pain you may feel whilst marathon training (or just running in general) Now, don’t get me wrong, there is also a difference between pain and just feeling a bit sore, and that can be hard to distinguish at first (especially for newer runners) but as a general rule, if you are still feeling pain in one particular area after 24+ hours, then that could be a sign of something more serious that just post run DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

So, if you are experiencing pain in one particular area, and the pain is not improving even after rest, or perhaps is even getting worse, I would really advise trying to see a physio as soon as you can so they can get to the bottom of what is causing the issue, before it gets any worse.

One of the worst things you can do is ignore these signs and continue to push through your training, and whilst I completely understand how frustrating it can be to miss a few days training, just keep telling yourself that it’s better than having to miss a few months or perhaps longer.

BE PROACTIVE

Okay, so you have either been told, or have made the decision, to take some time off running to manage an injury. The next question is, what do you do now? You’ve guessed it… it’s time to get familiar with cross training (of course, this can be completely dependent on your injury and this is why I would always advise seeing a physio first)

There are lots of different ways you can incorporate cross training into your training, but for runners the go to is usually to switch pounding the pavement to pushing the pedals.

Cycling is the perfect alternative to running as it can be a great way to build your aerobic endurance, build strength and power in your legs, and you can also easily mimic your interval workouts too, all without putting additional load through your legs.

Other great low impact ways of training include the cross trainer, Ski Erg, Row and even swimming if you needed something with zero impact.

For me personally, due to my injury (inflamed tendon in the foot – ouch!) I am going to be using the static bike to keep building my fitness as well as using the extra time I would usually be running to include more strength training in the aim to make myself more robust in the future.

BE POSITIVE

Now before you roll your eyes at me, I KNOW it sounds cliché, but it really can help you manage these setbacks. And this doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to feel sad or worried about what is going to happen – trust me I have had all those feeling this past week; from thinking I have a stress fracture, to deciding that I was going to have to pull out of all the races I have planned for the next few months (I may be a little dramatic sometimes), but now that I know what I am dealing with I can look at the situation differently and be positive about it.

Which is why the first two points in this blog are so important, because if you have a plan of action (professional advice and a rehab plan) you are then able to channel that energy into something that you know is going to help you in the long run.

So even though I will miss running, I know that the hours I will be spending on the bike over the next few weeks are still going to help me get to the start line, whilst giving my injury the best chance to repair and recover.

It also means I have more time to do other things I know will benefit my running in the long run, for example this week instead of going to my run club, I went to a Yoga class instead, which is something I have been meaning to make more of a priority but always struggle to fit it in.

BE REALISTIC

At the time of writing this, we are currently 10 weeks out from the TCS London Marathon, which although doesn’t sound like a very long time, it still means there is time for me to recover from this injury (hopefully) and still get a few decent weeks of training under my belt.

One thing I may need to do though is reassess my goal for the event. Depending on how long I am not running for, the last thing I want to do is get back to training and push myself too hard, too soon and perhaps end back at square one.

Having goals are great, but they should always be flexible, especially if you have experienced set backs during your training. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed, it doesn’t mean you haven’t tried your best, but there is no point in having goals that are completely out of reach and this can just be really demotivating.

This may also mean that you need to adjust your training too, by gradually reintroducing intensity and slowly building the volume back up too – as again, there is no point in throwing yourself back in 100% or trying to play catch up with any training you have missed.

How Coopah Can Help: With Coopah, you can easily adjust your plan at any time – whether thats adjusting your goal time, changing your easy pace or even reducing your number of training days. You can even restart your plan if you want a completely fresh start after a break.

Download the app and use the code ‘STARTNOW’ to claim your exclusive 3 month offer.