RW Forum SIx – 3.30 – 4.00

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  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    Oirish - sounds like a tough run fella.



    Carl - I think your original target was to break 4 hours. Do you think you could run at 9:09 for 26,2 ?



    Ricky - good that you have recovered well. Take care of that knee of yours.



    I took the dog out for a walk today into the woods. After about an hour my knee started hurting a bit. I've been doing my stretches as advised but there doesn't seem to be much improvement. Early days i know and I've got a physio appointment on Tuesday so hopefully that will sort me out although if I'm honest I'm starting to have thoughts that I won't make it to the start line
  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Carter - how is the knee today ? you have 4 weeks left to Machester which is plenty of time as you have got really good training behind you. You will probably need to get some xt in as this keeps the fitness levels up but reduces pressure on the knee. Too early to consider retiring just yet. It was only on Wednesday that I was giving up on Paris and now I am reasonably confidant that it is back on. Have not told my OH yet but I am hoping she will figure it out.

    Ricky - what have you got planned for this week. A gentle reintroduction to training ?

    Oirish - have you receovered from your expedition ?

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    So what is my race startegy now then ?

    Going to follow Spoons advice and get a bit of interval training in this week to get the legs and body moving again.

    I am going to adopt a wait and see how I feel on the start line approach to my race pace.

    I am going to try and take the first half or so at a steady and comfortable pace. If I can get to mile 16 feeling strong, I will push it a little and see can I get to mile 21in good shape and with something left. If I do I will push for the finish.

    My only target is going to be to beat my original aspiration of getting sub 4 hours.

    Anything else will be a bonus as I really do not know what kind of reaction I will have to my recent illness. I know I can get round but its about the experience after all and I do not want to spend the week stressing about what might have been and all that and then end up bonking after 16 miles.

    Now I am going to start stressing about what I need to bring, what I should wear on the day and all the other things that go with running a marathon in another country  ......

  • Hi all - it sounds like you've been going great guns. I've been a bit quiet for a while as I've bene struggling with the decision as to whether or not to pull out of London (deferring not being an option as I did that last year with a slipped disc) My running over the first few weeks of marathon training just wasn't really progressing and, after some blood tests for a suspected food allergy, I was told I was really anaemic. I've been tired for a couple of months, but couldn't understand why the running was such a struggle and my half times were a minute a mile slower than in my previous marathon training at the same stage. So, I took the difficult decision of pulling out of the VLM. I know there will be other marathons if I want there to be, but am still a bit gutted - hence the radio silence for a while. I'm back to running shorter distances, trying to go three times a week and do a longer one of 8-10 miles, so as not to lose too much fitness, but it's quite an effort as the high dosage iron tablets haven't kicked in just yet.

    Anyway, wanted to say thanks for all your encouragement and best of luck to all of you doing marathons soon x

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Hannah - great to hear from you. Always a tough decision pulling out of an event but if you were lacking in energy with an underlying condition, no amount of training was going to compensate for that. Really feel for you but it sounds like the only decision you could have made.

    Good to hear that you are keeping the running going.

    Stick around as we are going to keep this thread going as I suspect there are quite a few marathons left in all of us yet.

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    Carl - I'm not giving up or thinking about not starting but it's difficult to stop these thoughts with race day creeping up on us. Good to see you're going to Paris and you never know what might happen on the day.



    Hannah - pity you've had to pull out, not an easy decision to make I imagine. There are plenty more marathons later in the year so stay positive and hopefully you can enter one of those
  • Hi Hannah. Sorry to hear you've pulled out. Anaemia is very common in female marathon runners. Also some people don't seem to be able to absorb iron from food as well as supplements apparently. Not sure why....

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Carter - Hopefully your physio tomorrow will give you some good news and you will be back out their in no time. As I found out myself it is really tough not being able to run and inevitably the mind goes into overdrive and starts thinking crazy things.

    And it gets even worse by the time you hit the taper and then taper madness creeps in and takes over.

  • Hannah - commiserations on having to pull out, it is a shame and quite frustrating I imagine but as has already been said there will be other marathons and the way things are going we'll all be in Dublin! 

    Carl - I sense you are getting a little bit of your excitement back and can see some light at the end of the 26.1 mile tunnel. Happy days

    Carter - Keep it positive, hopefully your physio will see you right.

    I don't feel too bad after my travails yesterday, I've picked up a head cold, a ridiculously runny nose and a slight temperature but nothing too serious, more irritating than debilitating. I went for a three mile recovery run earlier and feel totally fine from the neck down.

    I had some bad news yesterday afternoon which really put having a crap run in perspective so by teatime last night it was all forgotten. And so we move on to another week.

  • Hi all - thanks for the warm words. It's made me feel a whole lot better. Sorry to hear that some of you have faced your own issues over the past few weeks. I know what you mean about perspective Oirish: one of my best friends (I met her through running) lost her battle with cancer last week and my firstrunning outing after she died made me realise how lucky I am to still be able to put one foot in front of the other no matter how tired I am!!

    P.S. When's Dublin and who's signed up? 

     

     

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Hannah - Dublin is on the last Monday in October (irish bank holiday). It is on my list of races this year although I have not signed up for it just yet. Oirish is also considering it as an option. Maybe we could encourage Ricky and Carter to do it as well.

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Just about to start my list of things to bring for Paris.

    The Paris thread is awash with lists, discussions about vaseline, what to wear, what not to wear, who is meeting who where, all part of tapering mayhem.

    There are at least 75 people on that thread going and I have now joined that party aswell.

    If I am going I might as well try and enjoy the experience. This lot look like they do it every year.

  • Hi Carl, I did Paris two years ago and didn't have a great experience to be honest, but I would recommend loo roll, as there's very little at the start (also seem to remember there's a hotel I dipped into to use the loo just off the Champs Elysees on the left hand side as you head down, by the 3.45 section), a bin bag for the start, and if you can carry water for the first few km, it helps avoid the bun fight at the water stations. Bonne chance - it's a nice course as long as it's not 28 degrees!!

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    No chance of 28 degrees Hannah. If it gets up to 6 - 8  degress we will be lucky. Those in the know are suggesting fleece and bin bag for the start and an extra layer for the race itself. Then there are those who say that as it is a race anything more than shorts and vest is madness. Each to their own I guess. Thanks for the advice on loo roll. That was not even close to my list !!!!

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    Carl - not loo roll but baby wipes image Have you remembered to add to your list things like passport, francs, trainers ??!!



    I'm certainly interested in Dublin but I don't know if its too soon after my 50 miler at the end of September. And there is still the issue of persuading Mrs Carter. Maybe I should ask Oirish to use some of his charm on her !
  • More importantly have you planned where to eat and drink afterwards?

  • actually, wet wipes probably are better than loo roll. if you have a cheap fleece you can wear and dispose of at the start that would be good. I imagine you won't need more than vests and shorts if it's at least 6 degrees as I soubt it'll stay like that for long, And remember the stairs leading to the metro - an absolutely nightmare to go down after running 26.2 miles, so avoid the metro if you can!

  • Carl - all getting a bit exciting now! Can't believe how quickly time has gone to bring your journey to this advanced stage.

    Yes - I hope to do Dublin as my next one after Limerick although have a 3 week holiday in France in August which might prove challenging regarding fitting the training plan around it.

    I am at the start of my final fortnight before taper so have a couple of 50/60 mile weeks ahead starting in earnest tomorrow. (2 days rest for the knee after my HM on sat)

    Hannah - good to hear from you & gutting for you re: VLM ..... but there will be more. Great you are getting regular runs in to keep you ticking over though.

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Corcorans (somewhere in Paris) is the place for the post race celebrations late on in the afternoon. There is talk about somewhere to meet up for lunch so will catch up on that as well.

    I have a very busy week at work so that will take my mind off all things running.

    I will post my list of essentials tomorrow evening.

    Carter - must be along time since you were abroad if you are still recommending to take some francs !!!!!

    Most important docs are my passport, my medical certificate (doctor gave it to me without me even going to the surgery but had to cough up £20) and my convocation as without these I cannot pick up my running bib at the Expo.

    Need to sort out how to get to the Expo, how to get back to my hotel, what to do with my luggage during the race -going to try and persuade the hotel for a late check out, how to eat porridge early enough to allow me to race at 8.45am.

    Too much to think about ....

    Need to get to 100% better, get some intervals in, buy some new running socks, rest, eat properly, carbo load  .....

  • Carter- Francs? Where have you ran from? The 90's? Mind you with the state of the Euro you might be right by the time Carl makes the start line. As for using my charms on Mrs Carter all I'll say is handle this with care, I'm still paying for the dental work from the last time I tried to "charm" Mrs Oirish, and to think it was her collection of bare knuckle fighting trophies that first attracted her to me. image

    Carl - My only tip I have for you, which I learnt the hard way, is if you are running with a runny nose or keep sneezing run WITH the wind and not against it. That is all.

     

  • A 7 mile tempo run this evening, which with the head cold felt a bit like hard work but the overall performance wasn't as bad as I thought. I was a bit hot in the first mile or two but once I was out in the open country the breeze cooled me down nicely. I think I overdressed as I've felt a bit cold all day as it was my temperature went through the roof as soon as I put one foot in front of the other.

    Splits: 9:10, 8:19, 8:00, 8:14, 8:05, 7:57, 7:49 

    It was an odd run because I was good and ready to stop at the end and yet the minute I was done I felt fine, a quick shower later and I don't even feel like I have done anything.

     

  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    Just heading out to do my MP 800m intervals. Crazy that a few days before a big race I am still putting on full winter gear !!!

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    Evening all. I had my physio this afternoon and I was very impressed with the chap who I saw. He gave my legs a thorough MOT by stretching, pulling, bending, shoving them in all directions. They are in general good working order but need a bit of strengthening and loosening. He confirmed that my left ITB was tight and so were my hamstrings. He gave my ITB a massage and could instantly feel it loosening. He then worked on that bit next to that sticky outy bone on the side of the knee. He then did a few minutes of ultrasound on it. He followed that by really stretching the ITB some more.

    He has given me some exercises to strengthen my knee: squatting but having some sort of resistance band round my knees, single leg squats on the stairs and a couple of others. He also highly recommended that I do as much stretching of the calves, hamstrings and quads as much as possible as as they are all generally tight.

    He said I can go for a run in 3 days time but a maximum of 8-10 miles at an easy pace. Depending how I react to that will determine how he treats me at next Tuesdays session.

    He told me that from the time the injury flared up it would take about 3/4 weeks to reach the height of the injury (which is about now) and another 3/4 weeks to completely heal. When asked if I would make it to Manchester he gave me a 50/50 chance (I don't think he was sitting on the fence with that but that was his genuine opinion). If I do make it there then it was unlikely I will have recovered fully in time to give it my all.
  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭
    Carter - always been impressed at how knowledgeable these physio folk are about how our bodies work and what damage we have done to ourselves. At least you now know what it is and what you need to do to recover. I guess the Manchester question will depend on how you respond to treatment but is not one you should stress about at the moment. Concentrate on doing the exercises, keeping the running going as advised and seeing where you are in a few weeks.
  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    Carl - very clever indeed was the physio. He explained a lot to me and it was really quite interesting. As you say, all I can do is the exercises ive been given and hope I respond well to the treatment.



    How are you feeling now ? Excited, nervous ?
  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭
    How am I feeling.



    Went to the running track tonight to do my 4 x 800m intervals at MP.



    It was bitterly cold with a biting crosswind. 1 mile warm up at just under 9 min/ mile. Very comfortable.



    Started the intervals and was running them at just under 8 min / mile pace with a 400m recovery at about 8:30 min / mile pace. Was finding these easy and Was feeling very comfortable going into the 4th interval.



    Then disaster.



    With no warning as I increased my pace on the first bend I felt a really sharp pain in my left hamstring. I pulled up immediately but I know it does not feel right and I think the damage is done.



    So tonight I am not a happy bunny. I am not even going to do my list as it is highly unlikely that I can run 26.2 miles on Sunday.
  • Carter - he sounds like he knows his stuff. At least you know what to do now. Stick with the exercises, stretching etc and see how it goes....

    Carl - don't panic yet. See how you are tomorrow. It might be nowhere near as bad as you think....

  • carterusmcarterusm ✭✭✭
    No way. What shit luck you are having mate
  • Carl DCarl D ✭✭✭

    I am trying to be very calm about this. I am trying not to panic. I am telling myself that it will be alright tomorrow. I can but hope.

    Up until it happened I was really felling great.

    Why now ? Why me ? Shit happens ....

  • Jaysus if we didn't have bad luck on this thread sure we'd have no luck at all.

    Carter - At least you have it diagnosed and the corrective measurese to sort it, sounds like you have moret han a fighting chance.

    Carl - See what tomorrow brings, it may be something of nothing.

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