I hope your finding time to fit in your marathon training, both the short and long distances.
Today I wanted to talk to you today about the importance of stretching. Now I'm sure you already know that stretching is important when it comes to marathon training and I'm sure you're already incorporating it into your marathon training programme. However a question that some people find hard to answer is when should I stretch.
There has been an ongoing argument amongst professional runners and coaches for some time now about the best time to stretch, should you stretch first and then run or should you warm up first and then stretch. Both arguments have their pro's and cons, so what is the right answer?
To be perfectly honest I'm not sure, and I'm only being honest, I don't want to give the impression that I favour either or, because I use both. I think that you to need to try both to see how you feel, whether you feel your performance is effected by your either type of stretching.
From personal experience, I've noticed that whether I need to stretch before or after a warm up depends on the time of day I am running. I find that if I run early in the day, i.e. morning time then I need to warm up first. To me this makes sense because my muscles have been resting and are a little stiff and so trying to force them into a stretch first thing might cause problems, so I tend to walk or jog gently for a little while and then stretch out properly.
On the other hand if I'm running later on during the day i.e. late afternoon or early evening then I tend not to worry about warming up first. I can stretch before straight away and this seems to work just fine.
On some occasions if I've been up and about, doing lots of physical activities and walking during the day, then sometimes I don't even stretch at all. I simply run gently and slowly pick up the pace and if only if I feel the need, then stop and stretch out for a little while.
My advice to you is to try all the methods and see how your body responds, just because this method suites me doesn't mean to say that it is the best thing for you. Try them, and the methods that seems to work, continue using them and those that don't, well simply don't do them again, but unless you try them, there's no way for you to know whether you will benefit or not.
Regardless of which method you use, it is agreed that stretching has its benefits, some argue that stretching to create longer and more flexible muscles can help you become a stronger and faster runner. The reasoning behind it goes something like this. Longer muscles can exert a greater torque on joint which in turn allows you to jump higher and increase the length of each stride you take so essentially allowing you to run even faster.
As you can appreciate in an email it is difficult to explain all the different stretches that you can do, but I will tell you the correct way to stretch. There are many resources available on the internet that show you how to stretch, so I'm sure you wont have a problem learning the exact exercises that you can do, so I'm not worried for you at all. and if not don't worry, ill get something to you soon, because I'm currently working closely with some experienced running coaches, a doctor that specialises in sports medicine and some running enthusiasts to developing a Marathon Training Programme and soon i'll be able for FREE to all my newsletter subscribers [YOUR WELCOME] that explains the exact stretches that you can do in more detail.
In the mean time let me say this; there are two main ways to stretch your muscles, regardless of which one you choose. Imagine a back and leg stretching exercise where you stand up straight with your feet apart facing forward and then you lean forward with your legs straight as far as you can, touching the ground and even further if possible. This exercise can be done is one of who ways, the first is where you stretch as far as you possibly can and then hold it for a few second, i tend to count to 5 and then release the stretch for a few seconds and then do try to stretch it again holding it once more. I continue repeating the holding stretch at least 4-5 times. The alternative method is to simply lean forward as far as you can to create the stretch and then withdraw to relax the muscle almost in a bouncing motion.
The bouncing stretch will help you achieve maximum flexibility, but it does come at a cost. The bouncing motion has an increased risk of injury, the sudden jerky stretch repeated over and over can cause you to tare muscles. For this reason and only this reason, I tend not to use it, however i know runner who swear by it. The stretch and hold does not stretch the muscle as much stretch as the bounce, but it is said to be a much safer method of stretching as it carried much lower risk of injury and that's why I use. I think about it like this, if im not fully stretched out, then perhaps I won't achieve the best run, but its something i can work on next time, but if I'm injured then I cant run full stop and then my chances of improving are none.
So don't forget to incorporate stretching into your training. In actual fact I recommend that you set aside one day of the week where you focus on stretching, I think the day before a long run would be the ideal time for this. A really good stretching and yoga session would be highly beneficial.
As I mentioned in an earlier article, make sure you make time to fit in your long runs, believe me they will be an absolute god send on marathon day. They will give your body and your mind a small sneak preview of what marathon day has to offer. So don't skip or underestimate the importance of this part of your marathon training.
Speak to you soon,
Sam
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