Big G-Bad news about the weekends races.hope you're back soon. Looked like the wind was never going to die so just went out,moved my longer run till tomorrow and just did 8 miles,felt quite tough at times in the wind but was a nice tailwind the last 2 miles to home that are uphill.
Thanks Ian. It's not looking too good though There's a lump on the top of the shoulder now and if anything range of movement is getting worse. As you know, I've recently moved house and it turns out getting a GP appointment appears to be quite difficult here, which I hadn't realised! I called them this morning at around 11am and the earliest they could offer me was 24th April, which I laughed at. They advised to call back tomorrow at 8am where I may be able to get an emergency appointment, but the receptionist warned they'd had 500 calls this morning as if to warn me I may not be lucky. Really not sure what to do - I have a physio appointment booked for Wednesday but it's not local and I'm not sure if I'll be able to drive there anyway and part of me wonders whether it's pointless going at this point, as the range of motion is so poor. I'm at a bit of a loss at the moment I've half thought about just presenting myself at A&E, which I may well do if I get nowhere tomorrow, but I do know that seems OTT!
I'm tempted to offload any race entries I can in order to get some money back (including Dartmoor Discovery...) as it doesn't feel like I'm going to be in a state to run a marathon anytime soon. I obviously really hope I'm wrong, but looking online (dangerous, I know) makes me even more nervous as people talk about weeks in terms of recovery.
So sorry to hear about the shoulder getting worse @Big_G - personally I don’t think going to A&E is over the top. I’m sorry to say this but it seems like you need to big things up to get in to the system and once you are in you get seen.
re calling at 8am we have similar issues to make a regular appointment at my GP. Remember it’s a race to see who gets in first - they don’t speak to all 500 and then decide who to see. Dial the number 20 seconds early (too soon and you’ll be diverted to an out of hours message) and see how you get on.
@SHADES thanks for chasing me up on the recovery run. I’ve never done one post marathon. My quads were aching and so for the first 3 mins I was prancing like a pony. After that though everyone felt good!!! Really glad i did this gentle 2 miles. What should I do to work myself back up to 35mpw?
Khani, great job. Even though the last miles were awful, you got it done. My first marathon was similar - muscle spasms and cursing for the last six miles. Nice that you got to visit Paris before this awful Notre Dame fire. Can't believe that's happened. Dreadful.
Big G - MRIs are expensive but it may be necessary - however you could get an ultrasound scan, GPs might be more receptive to that. Are there any walk-in clinics you could go to? I say that because, when I came down with shingles on a weekend, the Boots pharmacist told me to go to one and I found one not far away and was able to get a prescription. Otherwise, A&E.
Rest day for me today. Sore throat is back. Bugger.
BigG - I think you need to push it. If you can't get an emergency appt at GP tomorrow - do you have a minor injuries clinic you can go to? GP may well send you to hospital anyway for a scan. Try not to to worry too much until you have a diagnosis. I know it sucks having to cancel things you've paid out for.
Khani - it's the 4th time I've done it so I'm used to the industrial estate. It's not fun but there is always a part of a course that's less attractive. Without the wind I would have definitely got under 4hrs. I've heard a few good reviews about Paris this year - very tempted to do it one day.
Cal - hope the throat clears up quickly!
Shades - my Brighton pb is 4:00:23 so very close! But I've actually calculated my age grading (because I'm a stats geek) and this was actually my highest age graded marathon (even beating my marathon pb). I'll take that!
Recovery run done - surprisingly quick, possibly the best I've felt the day after a marathon. Still nothing from my club about my UK athletics registration - I've checked and it's still expired. It's possible they are on holiday but that doesn't really help me.
Argh. In the first mile of the marathon I felt a sharp groin strain. I never felt it again though so I thought all was cool. This evening I’ve a sharp pain in exactly the same spot. Guess I should refrain from running until it’s gone?
Khanivore - you will need electrolytes for your ultra so plenty time to get used to using them especially when training in the summer. I would suggest you do a trail marathon as part of your ultra prep, to get used to running longer distances off road and a good way to trial your fuelling strategy and what you carry with you etc.
Congrats on the new job, I hope your new employers were suitably impressed that you nipped over to Paris to do the marathon the day before starting your new job.
I wouldn't worry too much about that random groin pain, might be biriyani related but if it's still there then do be careful. Love the prancing pony analogy. Just ease yourself back into training, running as and when you feel like it. You should be fine to do 10-12 miles at the weekend, all running easy.
Big G - thanks for the 2nd Boston link, that worked briefly, I gave up after that.
You must have been fortunate with your previous GP's surgery re appointments, unfortunately your current situation is what most of us have to put up with now. Louey is right, you need a minor injuries clinic, such as at NA hospital, is there one in Paignton? If not and you can hang on for your physio appointment tomorrow, the physio will know what you need in the way of X-ray/scans etc. An A & E could have you waiting for 4 hours or so as it wouldn't be treated as urgent. There are walk in surgeries in the evening but you have to ask about them as they don't willingly tell you.
Please don't do anything about DD and other race entries at least until you have a diagnosis and some idea of recovery time. Even if you can't train you'd still do a very good time round DD.
Cal - that sore throat thing is proving hard to get rid of for you.
Louey - I love WAVA grading too and it really helps with getting older and the motivation to still do our best, My WAVA gradings are higher now than when I did my last lot of PB's at varying distances 9 years ago.
Tired today, didn't get home until 11pm last night, flight delays from knock on effect of the windy weather.
Khani/Shades - on Friday when I got these meds I called at 7:59, and redialled continually until I got through at bang on 8am...where I was 9th in the queue. They’re obviously busy! In that one they followed a protocol where I didn’t need to go in, which at the time I was happy with as I got what I thought I needed at that time (pain relief). But now the issue has progressed so ideally I need to see someone. It’s a big difference though as previously I lived in a (large) village and the service there was great but moving to a larger town things seem very different although it’s only a few miles down the road.
Cal/Louey, I’ll see how I get on with the GP and if I get no where I’ll look at walk in options. Thanks.
Shades, I don’t like asking Dad (he was 80 yesterday and I had to cancel a meal out due to this pain...) but he said he’ll take me to the physio.
I’m trying to find patterns, but this morning I’m not as bad in terms of the pain, so there doesn’t appear to be any patterns. I’ll call just before 8 and see what happens.
Big G - good luck with the GP but I still think you're better with minor injuries clinic as if you need an x-ray that's where the doctor will send you and you'll have lost another day or so. But the GP's surgery should tell you what is the best option for you.
Shoulder injuries are like that re pain, a lot depends on the night's sleep.
Shades, the minor injuries place at Paignton Hospital closed a couple of years ago - I remember there being an outcry at the time. Nearest for me now is Torbay, which I believe is part of A&E over there, but me getting there is the issue at the moment (it would be too painful on the bus, although I suppose I could call a cab).
I’ve got a GP appointment for 9:45am so I’ll take it from there.
I saw the GP and he has prescribed stronger co-codamol and also a stronger anti-inflammatory. He said he thought it was either "frozen shoulder" or some kind of ligament damage/tear, but he stressed several times that the "gateway" into sorting it was physio. I asked about scans and he can book an X-Ray (which he has - it will be probably be about 3 weeks) but he said the physios are the people who point patients towards other scans if they're needed. He also said continue with the icing, tiger balm etc. He did say there's no evidence it actually helps the injury long term, but it can make the patient feel more comfortable, which I have to say it has been.
He said that if he as a GP referred someone for a scan as he knew for sure that patient needed a knee replacement, for example, even that would get knocked back - the request needs to come via a physio. I didn't realise the physios that much power, as I thought everything came via the GP.
Worryingly he did say something about an operation is needed in some instances if it's really bad but that's a long way down the road and hopefully it won't come to that.
So that's the best I can do at the moment. Hopefully this new medication takes the edge off the pain, and then the physio is decent tomorrow. Can't complain about that service so far really I suppose. I was just in a bad mood yesterday especially due to the pain.
PS, when I say potentially "complaining about the service", I don't mean complaining about the people I've been in contact with. They've all been very good.
Big G - Sounds like you are getting somewhere, hope it clears up soon and you don't miss many races.
Shades - Hopefully I can push that mileage up a bit to 60ish for a marathon attempt next year.
10 miles with 40 minutes at LT pace today, that came out to 6:28 min/miles. Tough session, but done now, wore my Vaporfly's as a trial run before the HM, felt great!
Big G- well that seems to be a really good consultation and at last some treatment and hopefully more effective pain relief for you. I know GP's don't really do sports injuries hence now being able to refer ourselves for physio without seeing a doctor first.
Just as well you'd already booked the physio. I'm sure if you had a ligament tear/damage type injury you'd have felt it at the time. I don't know what a frozen shoulder is although I have heard of it.
Big G-Good you have an appointment,think that 8am rush is the same most places,we usually get 3 phones on the go to try and be at the front. Steve-Whats your target after Edinburgh? First decent length run since Manchester today,just over 14 miles and felt nice despite getting drenched.
Big G - my masseur/osteo wrote me a letter to take to my GP when I had the hip thing that wouldn't go away, and he booked me an ultrasound scan right away. So your GP isn't wrong. I hope you get it sorted. I doubt it's frozen shoulder - that's quite a specific thing. Sounds more like rotator cuff to me. One way to tell is abduct your arm so that it's parallel to the ground (palm down) and then bend your elbow to 90 degrees so that your hand is pointing forward. Then try to rotate it so that your hand points to the ceiling (the swearing on the bible in court position). If you can't, or it really hurts, then you have a rotator cuff problem.
Throat is better again today. I think it directly correlates to my sleep. Last night I only woke up twice (once is the norm - always wake up at least once to pee and have done since I was a kid). It's been multiple times recently and I don't always manage to get back to sleep again after the second or third waking. But today I did, so I was able to get out for an easy 4 miler. Rather enjoyed it this morning.
Ian - impressive you're up to 14 again so soon - I've managed 6 (Sunday). Then again I've been babying my immune system rather than my legs, which are mostly fine.
Cal, regarding trying to do that test, I can’t bring my arm up anywhere near that far. Stood up with my arm relaxed so my hand is by my thigh, if I lift my arm out in front of me, there’s no way I can get it parallel to the floor. Same issue if I try and lift my arm out to the side. It’s just way too painful. There’s a bit more movement if I lift my arm backwards, but not much. Also, I can hardly move it under its own strength - I tend to have to use my other hand to move that arm.
Cal - seems like you've recovered now and got your bounce back. Nothing beats a lovely morning run to set yourself up for the day.
Big G - hope the physio appointment goes well and you get all the treatment you need quickly.
I had a very minor rotator cuff injury a while ago and I had fairly good mobility of the arm but I couldn't lift a kettle to pour that was like being stabbed by a knife.
Rest day for me today, legs are feeling good which is surprising as I've only done one recovery run yesterday and my legs were quite sore when I finished my ultra. But I'm still feeling tired, combination of ultra and long delayed trip home on Monday. I've cancelled all my classes this week, sometimes I just take a few days off the classes to take a break. No race for me now until the 5th May so I can get some training done.
I finally managed to get the lap top working again and managed to remember my login password after many failed attempts... Hope you are all well. Since I last popped in to say hi I've had quite a mixed few months both physically and mentally.
Training has changed considerably and I have replaced 2 of my weekly runs with a pool session and a long cycle. I still run 2-3 times a week. I have also changed clubs. I found Kent was not quite what i wanted out of my running so I left and joined a more social club (and about 15 miles more local to me). Although I do take my sport very seriously, I was missing the fun, social side of it and the new club are very much more relaxed and not as focused on rankings or league tables.
When I last logged in I had just run the new years day marathon so a wee while ago. On the 9th Feb, both myself and my OH entered the Phoenix "One Run To Rule Them All" lord of the rings themed event.. (got to love a bit of Tolkien) I set out with the plan to have a relaxed sub 4 race and my OH wanted to do 2 laps, 10k. I completed my marathon in 3:57:40 so was happy as it was just a training run. My OH got to the end of lap 2 and was walking with another lady and she mentioned to me that she was going to try a half so she set out for her 3rd lap. I stuck around to see he complete that lap and then walked the last lap with her.. she was in pain but elated she had pushed and managed a half marathon. I was so proud of her.
My next event was the Dartford HM which was an on the day decision to run it. Its a pretty hilly course and does test your fitness. I decided to race it as a MP run. I came in in 20th place with a time of 1:28:14 which was 3 min faster then the previous time I ran it..
30th March I was entered into the SVN "Very British Challenge". I got to the start feeling pretty good and was hoping for a 3:15ish time but after 3 laps I wasn't feeling too good. Was light headed and just feeling a bit off. I slowed a bit and ran another 2 laps but at the end of the 5th lap I almost passed out so I called it quits at 19 miles. Went to the doc on the monday who sent me for an ECG and blood tests and the results came back all clear and she said it sounds like I am struggling with anxiety and I need to try relax more. I guess with My IM rapidly approaching I am stressing about not getting in enough swim training done so that is affecting me worse than I thought. Definately need to get through the swim and would hate to be pulled from the event in the first leg.
Well its the last few days before VLM and I am planning to try a final sub 3 before I focus 100% on Outlaw training although I still have my first double weekend 1st and 2nd June where I want to try 50k each day..
Iain - Good to hear from you. Good luck at London!
Early start today to fit in a 14 miler at 9 min/miles average. Started out with a 10:31 min/mile and slowly got faster with a 8:17 to finish, natural progression run without trying!
Iain - no need to apologise for extended post, we love them on here.
Good to hear from you pre VLM, hope you get that sub 3 and an enjoyable run.
Well done to your OH for completing her first half marathon, she's got great determination. When doing laps it's oh so tempting to stop and even harder to go further than planned.
Sorry to hear you had a scare at the SVN event, wasn't that similar to the early stages of VLM last year?
My friend did her first IM last year and said it really does take over your life as it seems as such a huge challenge. She scheduled to paper all the training sessions that for her were her weakest element (the running) and just stuck to that schedule, she didn't make the schedule too hard though, just enough to get her through and that gave her the confidence and stopped her worrying about the training.
Good to hear from you Iain. Great news that your wife did a Half - that's brilliant. Do you think it's likely she'll do another one? Sorry to hear you had a bad run at the SVN event, but good news there was nothing wrong. I think it was one of the last times you were on here you mentioned about diet as you'd had some results from some tests, and you were going to rethink things a bit. Did anything come of that? Best of luck at London!
Shades - The main thing I’m stressing about with regards to the swim is that at the moment I can’t swim more than 100m without needing to stop and rest.. 2.4miles is slightly further than 100m I think. 🤪. I did feel similar in London last year which I think was electrolytes but I’ve been having palpitations at night too hence the ecg. I asked the doc if a holiday could be put on prescription.. she just glared at me. I took it as a no.
Big_G - My OH I’s a huge Lord of the rings fan so she has already signed up for the other races in the series with the aim to HM each of them.. I do start to question whether I’m eating correctly but I had blood tests and my cholesterol is down and everything else is all within the normal range and the doc is happy I’m doing things right.
Iain - that does sound like an anxiety issue. You're a great runner and maybe it's harder for you to find that the swimming is difficult for you, it's certainly not a lack of aerobic fitness. I hope you're having regular swimming lessons to help you with this, maybe some private tuition just to get you through this barrier..
Comments
Here is another stream, but not sure if works on a phone.
https://boston.cbslocal.com/live/channel/cbs-boston-live-video/
Looked like the wind was never going to die so just went out,moved my longer run till tomorrow and just did 8 miles,felt quite tough at times in the wind but was a nice tailwind the last 2 miles to home that are uphill.
I'm tempted to offload any race entries I can in order to get some money back (including Dartmoor Discovery...) as it doesn't feel like I'm going to be in a state to run a marathon anytime soon. I obviously really hope I'm wrong, but looking online (dangerous, I know) makes me even more nervous as people talk about weeks in terms of recovery.
re calling at 8am we have similar issues to make a regular appointment at my GP. Remember it’s a race to see who gets in first - they don’t speak to all 500 and then decide who to see. Dial the number 20 seconds early (too soon and you’ll be diverted to an out of hours message) and see how you get on.
@SHADES thanks for chasing me up on the recovery run. I’ve never done one post marathon. My quads were aching and so for the first 3 mins I was prancing like a pony. After that though everyone felt good!!! Really glad i did this gentle 2 miles. What should I do to work myself back up to 35mpw?
Big G - MRIs are expensive but it may be necessary - however you could get an ultrasound scan, GPs might be more receptive to that.
Are there any walk-in clinics you could go to? I say that because, when I came down with shingles on a weekend, the Boots pharmacist told me to go to one and I found one not far away and was able to get a prescription. Otherwise, A&E.
Rest day for me today. Sore throat is back. Bugger.
Khani - it's the 4th time I've done it so I'm used to the industrial estate. It's not fun but there is always a part of a course that's less attractive. Without the wind I would have definitely got under 4hrs. I've heard a few good reviews about Paris this year - very tempted to do it one day.
Cal - hope the throat clears up quickly!
Shades - my Brighton pb is 4:00:23 so very close! But I've actually calculated my age grading (because I'm a stats geek) and this was actually my highest age graded marathon (even beating my marathon pb). I'll take that!
Recovery run done - surprisingly quick, possibly the best I've felt the day after a marathon. Still nothing from my club about my UK athletics registration - I've checked and it's still expired. It's possible they are on holiday but that doesn't really help me.
Congrats on the new job, I hope your new employers were suitably impressed that you nipped over to Paris to do the marathon the day before starting your new job.
I wouldn't worry too much about that random groin pain, might be biriyani related
Big G - thanks for the 2nd Boston link, that worked briefly, I gave up after that.
You must have been fortunate with your previous GP's surgery re appointments, unfortunately your current situation is what most of us have to put up with now. Louey is right, you need a minor injuries clinic, such as at NA hospital, is there one in Paignton? If not and you can hang on for your physio appointment tomorrow, the physio will know what you need in the way of X-ray/scans etc. An A & E could have you waiting for 4 hours or so as it wouldn't be treated as urgent. There are walk in surgeries in the evening but you have to ask about them as they don't willingly tell you.
Please don't do anything about DD and other race entries at least until you have a diagnosis and some idea of recovery time. Even if you can't train you'd still do a very good time round DD.
Cal - that sore throat thing is proving hard to get rid of for you.
Louey - I love WAVA grading too and it really helps with getting older and the motivation to still do our best, My WAVA gradings are higher now than when I did my last lot of PB's at varying distances 9 years ago.
Tired today, didn't get home until 11pm last night, flight delays from knock on effect of the windy weather.
Cal/Louey, I’ll see how I get on with the GP and if I get no where I’ll look at walk in options. Thanks.
Shades, I don’t like asking Dad (he was 80 yesterday and I had to cancel a meal out due to this pain...) but he said he’ll take me to the physio.
I’m trying to find patterns, but this morning I’m not as bad in terms of the pain, so there doesn’t appear to be any patterns. I’ll call just before 8 and see what happens.
Shoulder injuries are like that re pain, a lot depends on the night's sleep.
I’ve got a GP appointment for 9:45am so I’ll take it from there.
I wasn't sure about Paignton Hospital, it was an old decrepit building
He said that if he as a GP referred someone for a scan as he knew for sure that patient needed a knee replacement, for example, even that would get knocked back - the request needs to come via a physio. I didn't realise the physios that much power, as I thought everything came via the GP.
Worryingly he did say something about an operation is needed in some instances if it's really bad but that's a long way down the road and hopefully it won't come to that.
So that's the best I can do at the moment. Hopefully this new medication takes the edge off the pain, and then the physio is decent tomorrow. Can't complain about that service so far really I suppose. I was just in a bad mood yesterday especially due to the pain.
Just as well you'd already booked the physio. I'm sure if you had a ligament tear/damage type injury you'd have felt it at the time. I don't know what a frozen shoulder is although I have heard of it.
Steve-Whats your target after Edinburgh?
First decent length run since Manchester today,just over 14 miles and felt nice despite getting drenched.
Throat is better again today. I think it directly correlates to my sleep. Last night I only woke up twice (once is the norm - always wake up at least once to pee and have done since I was a kid). It's been multiple times recently and I don't always manage to get back to sleep again after the second or third waking. But today I did, so I was able to get out for an easy 4 miler. Rather enjoyed it this morning.
Ian - impressive you're up to 14 again so soon - I've managed 6 (Sunday). Then again I've been babying my immune system rather than my legs, which are mostly fine.
Big G - hope the physio appointment goes well and you get all the treatment you need quickly.
I had a very minor rotator cuff injury a while ago and I had fairly good mobility of the arm but I couldn't lift a kettle to pour that was like being stabbed by a knife.
Rest day for me today, legs are feeling good which is surprising as I've only done one recovery run yesterday and my legs were quite sore when I finished my ultra. But I'm still feeling tired, combination of ultra and long delayed trip home on Monday. I've cancelled all my classes this week, sometimes I just take a few days off the classes to take a break. No race for me now until the 5th May so I can get some training done.
I finally managed to get the lap top working again and managed to remember my login password after many failed attempts...
Hope you are all well. Since I last popped in to say hi I've had quite a mixed few months both physically and mentally.
Training has changed considerably and I have replaced 2 of my weekly runs with a pool session and a long cycle. I still run 2-3 times a week. I have also changed clubs. I found Kent was not quite what i wanted out of my running so I left and joined a more social club (and about 15 miles more local to me). Although I do take my sport very seriously, I was missing the fun, social side of it and the new club are very much more relaxed and not as focused on rankings or league tables.
When I last logged in I had just run the new years day marathon so a wee while ago. On the 9th Feb, both myself and my OH entered the Phoenix "One Run To Rule Them All" lord of the rings themed event.. (got to love a bit of Tolkien) I set out with the plan to have a relaxed sub 4 race and my OH wanted to do 2 laps, 10k. I completed my marathon in 3:57:40 so was happy as it was just a training run. My OH got to the end of lap 2 and was walking with another lady and she mentioned to me that she was going to try a half so she set out for her 3rd lap. I stuck around to see he complete that lap and then walked the last lap with her.. she was in pain but elated she had pushed and managed a half marathon. I was so proud of her.
My next event was the Dartford HM which was an on the day decision to run it. Its a pretty hilly course and does test your fitness. I decided to race it as a MP run. I came in in 20th place with a time of 1:28:14 which was 3 min faster then the previous time I ran it..
30th March I was entered into the SVN "Very British Challenge". I got to the start feeling pretty good and was hoping for a 3:15ish time but after 3 laps I wasn't feeling too good. Was light headed and just feeling a bit off. I slowed a bit and ran another 2 laps but at the end of the 5th lap I almost passed out so I called it quits at 19 miles. Went to the doc on the monday who sent me for an ECG and blood tests and the results came back all clear and she said it sounds like I am struggling with anxiety and I need to try relax more. I guess with My IM rapidly approaching I am stressing about not getting in enough swim training done so that is affecting me worse than I thought. Definately need to get through the swim and would hate to be pulled from the event in the first leg.
Well its the last few days before VLM and I am planning to try a final sub 3 before I focus 100% on Outlaw training although I still have my first double weekend 1st and 2nd June where I want to try 50k each day..
Sorry for the extremely extended post..
Good to hear from you pre VLM, hope you get that sub 3 and an enjoyable run.
Well done to your OH for completing her first half marathon, she's got great determination. When doing laps it's oh so tempting to stop and even harder to go further than planned.
Sorry to hear you had a scare at the SVN event, wasn't that similar to the early stages of VLM last year?
My friend did her first IM last year and said it really does take over your life as it seems as such a huge challenge. She scheduled to paper all the training sessions that for her were her weakest element (the running) and just stuck to that schedule, she didn't make the schedule too hard though, just enough to get her through and that gave her the confidence and stopped her worrying about the training.
Big_G - My OH I’s a huge Lord of the rings fan so she has already signed up for the other races in the series with the aim to HM each of them.. I do start to question whether I’m eating correctly but I had blood tests and my cholesterol is down and everything else is all within the normal range and the doc is happy I’m doing things right.