HELP!!! London Marathon 2017 decision

irunner

Hi all,

It's crunch time and I've got an important decision to make.

This is my first marathon and my training started early in the summer when I got my charity place, I progressed well, ran regularly and built up slowly. By the time I reached January I had a good base fitness and had got up to a 10 mile long run, things were looking good.

But then at the end of January disaster stuck and I got injured with shin splints on both the insides of my shins, soooooo painful, I got myself down the doctors and to the physio where they ruled out stress fractures. I was told to rest, ice, stretch, massage etc.

Since then I have been caught in an injury cycle where I run, the splints come back, I rest until there is no pain, I run and eventually the splints come back. In that time I managed to complete my first half marathon and get my long run up to 16.5 miles. But those bloody shin splints keep coming back and I've missed loads of runs because of them, I've had to crosstrain to keep my fitness up.

I've tried everything to keep them at bay, I have orthotics for my flat feet, got new shoes from a specialist running shop, sports massage, taped, tried shin sleeves, made sure I was forefoot striking, increased my pace cadence, worked on my glutes, calfs and quads and read a billion blog stories on shin splints.

Since the middle of March I've been trying to come back slowly after 2 and half weeks off running. I thought I'd cracked it but last night on a 4 miler I could feel them coming back again, noooooooo!!! I'm cursed.

It's now just 24 days until the London Marathon and I'm stuck in this injury cycle hell again.

Do I stop running again, ice and crosstrain for 3 weeks and hope for the best on race day even though I am undercooked and injury prone?

Or defer until next year and give my shins more time to heal and hope this doesn't happen again but have to go through all the training again?

I would really appreciate your feedback so that I can make the right decision, running the London Marathon is a childhood ambition of mine and I can feel it slipping away from me.

T Rex

I would say defer your place and try to get that injury sorted.  I've never had shin splints, thankfully, so I don't know whether it would be safe to run with it or not.  I suspect not.  The injury has severely limited your training and your long-time ambition to run the London marathon could end up with you having a very miserable day.

barneschar

Irunner firstly I'm really sorry to hear about your shin splints and the impact on your training.

I'm in a similar position except foot issues. I've managed to do a half marathon and get my long run up to 15 miles (although with the odd spell of walking) but other attempts at any longer runs have gone terribly.

I'm beginning to think defering is the right thing for me. It's doubly hard because I'm supposed to be running for Heads Together which is the VLM charity of the year so would have been a bit more special. 

Lots of people will talk about changing your goals and walk/run it but I know I will probably be disappointed doing that as it's my first one and I may never get a place again. I wonder if I'd rather wait and do it when I can do it when I can run it all the way. 

I'm not sure that helps but those are my thoughts at the moment for a bit of a similar situation. 

rodeoflip

irunner this is a horrible situation to be in, my heart goes out to you. If you are going to do it, then you should now be tapering anyway, so with 3 weeks of rest and looking after the legs, who knows how well you'll recover?

On the other hand, you've tried everything and 2.5 weeks off running didn't help. Common sense says that if you take the next 3 weeks off then you're likely to be in the same position then as you were on your 4-miler the other night. If you're suffering after 4 miles then 26.2 miles is a very big ask. I know you really want to run London but the best you can realistically hope for is to be able to somehow finish with gritted teeth despite the shin splints, which will not be the marathon experience you've trained for. The worst that can happen is that you use your marathon place and don't make it round, and possibly make your injury worse.

Normally I am really positive and would try to find a way to get to the finish line, but you need to be realistic. I would defer the place and try a few weeks off, get some physio and than maybe enter another race at the end of May to get some benefit from the training. Your training this year will give you a great base to start from next year and you can have a London experience which is everything you want it to be. I just think at this late stage if you're struggling to run 4 miles then you're asking too much of yourself to run a marathon, especially if you haven't done one before.

The decision is yours (and I don't envy you having to make it), but you need to think realistically and hard about it. Good luck whatever you decide.

Pewpewpew

Defer.  Rest and massage is great but it doesn't tackle the reason why you present with shin pain. I very much suspect you have done too much as well as having insufficient levels of vitamin D over winter.

saulmayers

I have a very similar situation and would like to discuss it further in a new thread that might also help shed light on your situation, irunner.

I just can't, for the life of me, work out how to create my own thread? How do I do it?

irunner

Hi Saulmayers, thanks for responding.

You need to comment 3 times on other people's threads. Runner's World then upgrade you so that you can set up your own thread.

Update on my situation, I did a 10 miler on Sunday, a bit of shin pain in the first 3 miles but went away. Now icing and resting, taking it day by day at the moment. So desperate to make it.

saulmayers

Cool. Thanks for the advice.

I was also just told that I wont be able to run until the marathon. Furthest Ive run is 27km and thats it. Best I can do is walk for about 4 hours closer to the time just to make sure my legs are used to it.

Im also so desperate!

I guess whats important is making sure that we make it to the start line. Our first marathon is supposedly not about getting a good time. That being said, the pain will be rough for the latter stages.

Youll be okay!

rodeoflip

irunner, that sounds very positive - you don't need to make your decision until the day before the race, so there may still be hope. I would see a physio and get some professional advice - still think it's a huge risk, but hope you make it.

irunner

Hi Rodeoflip,

Thanks for your advice, I'm booked in to see the physio next week so will consult with them. Fingers crossed.

irunner

Hi Saulmayers, Looks like both of us have a gamble on our hands. Good luck and keep me posted with your progress on this thread . It's a big help knowing there is someone in a similar position.

irunner

Update: ok, shin splints seem to be under control. But my left knee is playing up a bit, in my last few runs it feels stiff and a bit uncomfortable but not painful. I think I'm gonna go for it, praying the knee holds and doesn't progress into major pain. Gonna foam roll my quads and stretch x2 a day until race day. Just wanna get round. Has anyone else gambled on race day?

T Rex

I have with half marathons (and got round) but not full ones.  Only you can decide.  Presumably sessions at physio have gone well?

I expect you will finish, even if you have to walk the last eight miles or so.

irunner

Well I gambled, taped up my shins and knee and went for it. I'm pleased to say I got round in 4hrs 52 mins which considering my predicament and all the training I missed isn't too bad. My knee was sore all the way round but didn't turn into shap acute pain so I could manage it and my splints didn't return. The London marathon really is the greatest show on earth, it's tough, brutal, but the crowds are unbelievable and the sense of achievement is overwhelming. If your reading this and you are training for a marathon and have been halted by an injury there is hope. Rest, ice, stretch crosstrain and strengthen and you won't be too far away.

rodeoflip

irunner, that's great, well done. Your gamble paid off, and glad to hear that you made it round. It was hotter than I had been expecting, especially towards the end, but agree that it's just an amazing event.