Matt Loved London Marathon!
It is not often that London Marathon is your B-race for the season – especially in the year that it was being held again after a year of cancellation due to coronavirus. But that is what happened to Matt.
After 7 years of unsuccessful entries into the ballot, Matt’s number finally came up! But he already had his delayed place for the very last running of Man vs Lakes – you can read about that here: https://athleticenduranceperformance.com/matt-conquers-man-vs-lakes-ultra-adventure-race/ Hence the world-famous London Marathon was the second priority for 2021!
The headline challenge for me was to work out how to transition Matt from a massive off-road ultra-effort to a road marathon in 11 weeks…
The first stage was obviously a couple of weeks of rest, recovery and rehab of the knee injury that had flared-up again by the end of the ultra.
But then marathon training was rather different from the classic approach that can be found in all of the off-the-peg marathon programmes. Matt already had all of the miles in his legs (and more!), so the 3 specific focus areas were:
- Building the lactate tolerance to go harder with continuous running for a shorter period
- Switching surfaces from trail to road
- Managing the training load to make progress, whilst resting enough from the massive effort of the ultra
This meant the move away from Long Slow Distance and prioritising the tempo and interval runs, and then starting to use roads for some runs.
Changing surfaces is one of those funny things that can be different at different times for different runners. The general assumption from non-runners is that trails must be much easier on the body than roads – but actually a lot of rehab experts focus people on starting their return to running with all road-runs, because the surface is consistent and predictable – and the natural rebound off the harder surface helps to build the correct running movement pattern.
Whilst Matt came through the recovery phase well, the challenge was that any increase in the intensity caused the knee to flare-up again. Plus even incredibly short runs on the roads led to a new issue in the Achilles tendon.
When further rest did not solve the Achilles problem on road surfaces, Matt went for a full gait assessment. This showed a clean bill of health, but the pain persisted. With just 3 weeks to go, there started to be a real concern about whether 26.2 miles were going to be possible. But when the going gets tough, the tough get going! The next focus area was the emergency measure of new running shoes – to look at the impact of a greater amount of drop, and more cushioning (both of which should ease the workload for the Achilles tendon).
The great news was that within 1 run, it was clear that the much greater padding and the different level of footdrop of the Hoka’s settled the Achilles and would get Matt through the distance. This was a real change compared to the shoes that had been working well through the ultra-training and racing. And the good news was that there was just enough time to break them in with enough miles that blisters should not be a problem on race day!
As if this was not enough drama, taper week had all sorts of new stresses – petrol shortage such that travel to pick up the race pack looked in danger, and a COVID-outbreak at work meant extra testing and uncertainty. They say that things come in three’s: so once Matt had navigated all of these we told ourselves that only good luck lay ahead.
Indeed, race day dawned with perfect weather breaking through just as the race started.
Matt was blown away by the race atmosphere: “It was amazing – the crowd was so loud from start to finish; I had goosebumps for the majority of the run!”
The start of London is easy to overcook – it is a downhill 5km, in a large crowd, and it is easy to get sucked along and push your body a little too hard. Then at 6 miles the Cutty Sark suddenly appears on your left, before a longer period to get to Tower Bridge and the half marathon marker.
Matt controlled the adrenaline and was running well. The Isle of Dogs is where the London course gets hard. And the miles from the months caught up with Matt – he felt like he had hit the wall and transitioned to a run-walk strategy. All of his ultra-training really showed, and he maintained good pace.
His summary was “considering all of the setbacks since the ultra, I’m really happy with my finish time of 4 hrs 22 mins – and I would recommend London Marathon to everyone!” The video of him crossing the line on The Mall, arms aloft, left me with a tear in my eye. And I think that every single member of the training group had entered the 2022 ballot before Matt had even had a chance to have his post-race celebration meal!
Many people say that the reason that they really love the marathon distance is that every marathon teaches you something. Matt is certainly one of those people who loves the marathon – after a little break, some winter training and a marathon build to Edinburgh marathon in May 2022. Another classic and brilliant British Marathon, starting in the centre of the city and along the Firth of Forth. It is known as a flat course, with good potential for a Personal Best.
But first of all, some well-deserved rest, some time for fun with the family – and the use of the off-season to build strength and resilience for next year!
