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Shades Marathon Training
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Iain - Hope everyting goes well for you at London. I sometimes think about triathlons but cannot imagine how to fit in all that swimming and biking. Running takes up enough time as it is, congrats to your wife as well.
Louey - Lovely to see you again too. Well done on Brighton - that headwind came at the worst moment possible!
Big G - That sounds awful. I had the same thing a couple of years ago. My arm just felt like a dead weight and it was completely unbearable on times. I got some mega strong painkillers off my doctor (otherwise I just couldn't have coped) and I seem to remember it just sort of went within a week. Not sure what it was though. The GP situation over there doesn't sound great. Can't you use your old address (if you haven't sold your house) to use your old surgery or doesn't it work that way?
Shades - You are made of sterner stuff than me.. those conditions in Ireland sounded absolutely horrific. I remember you putting some lovely photos of that ultra in the past too. I don't blame you not going out for a recovery run either.. in that photo you posted I could almost hear the rain lashing against the window, much better to stay in and have one of your Chanel baths!
Cal - Sorry it's a bit of a belated post but well done for Vienna! That was bad news about Colin's wallet.. was it stolen or did he just lose it? You seem to have recovered really quickly from that race too.
Khani - Fab run at Paris, great stuff. Loved the photo of you and Paula too.. ha!
As for me, well it's been 4 weeks since my injection now. First week, complete rest; second week, walking and 3rd week; running. I started running last week and.. (just know I'm going to regret typing this).. my PF has GONE. I mean completely gone, not even a niggle. I did 3 x 8km and 1x15km run last week and then 1x9km yesterday and all is well. I'm really unfit but I don't care about that too much because it's so fabulous to be running again. I'm just going to start building my mileage up gently and then see if I can find something to enter for June maybe to give me something to go for.
Thank GOD!
MF good news! Enter events in June? See DD has sold out but there are spaces on waitlist lol.
I'll have a read back and let you know my news in a tic.
Re Connemara and the weather, I was cold for quite a lot of the time although I thought I had put enough clothes on. Usually in cold weather my legs seize up and I just can't run and get in a rhythm. But this time my legs were fine as I put on 2 pairs of compression tights, but that was challenging when I had to go to the loo. At 19 miles I stopped at a portaloo and it was so windy I thought the bloody thing was going to blow over before I could get my tights adjusted correctly.
We had a tailwind for the first 20 miles and a headwind for the last 19. At 28 miles my hands and top half were so cold that it was making me quite miserable but luckily I found a discarded plastic poncho and wore that to the finish. But the good thing is that I know I can now run in winter temperatures if I have to, there's a marathon in early December in West Cork that I want to do when funds allow.
Robert - I think the wait list at DD is for runners looking for a place not runners trying to offload one.
Shades/Robert, yes the reserve list for DD is for runners looking for a place.
Shades, my legs seize up too in the cold. It's a horrible feeling, looking at the watch and knowing I'm doing 1 or 2mins/mile slower just because it's so cold
As for me, I made it over to the appointment and although she was good and (trying to be) thorough, there are no conclusions at this stage. That was mainly because she wasn't able to give me a full examination as it was just too painful when she tried to manipulate me how she wanted, and not knowing what it was, she was worried about causing further damage. Therefore, because it was inconclusive, she's referred me to the fracture clinic at the nearby main hospital (Torbay). I must have looked alarmed/confused at the word "fracture" as I am not sure how it could be fractured as I haven't banged it or anything, but she said that's where they'll have a deeper look with scans and see what is going on with ligament damage etc - she didn't think it's fractured. So from that point of view it's good that I feel I'm properly in the system now, but I have to wait for that appointment which could be 2-3 weeks (rough estimate). I didn't bother asking her about recovery timescales, as she obviously doesn't know what it is at the moment.
She also gave me half a dozen very, very gentle movements to do (can't call them stretches - it's literally moving the arm, supported by the other hand, in gentle movements) and she wants me to go back to her in two weeks, regardless of if I've had the referral nor not.
To be honest, I was very down in and after the appointment. How can I have gone from running a marathon 10 days ago to now not really being able to do much at all? I suppose half of me was hoping that she'd say "Right, I know what it is - do x, y and z for a month and you'll be fine". But the other half of me wasn't too surprised at this outcome as the range of movement is so poor - i.e., I wasn't surprised she couldn't examine me how she'd hoped to. Actually, I was more worried she'd force the arm and put me in a lot of pain, but she didn't do that.
So with all that in mind, I've decided to get rid of any race entries that I can, and cancel any associated hotels up until mid-June, which unfortunately means I'm out of the DD. It's gutting but I just can't see how I'm going to get there. As there's not a lot of movement in the DD reserve list, I wanted to get in early to make sure I can get some money back where I can. Some races don't allow deferrals etc (MK and Windermere mainly) so I've kept the hotel for those if by some chance I'm ready for them, but I really doubt I will be. There's nothing really booked between mid-June and August so all being well I'll be ready for the next tranche of races from August onwards....but that seems very far away. Getting to 80 by the end of the year seems very unlikely as I type this
Having said all that, I'm not really missing the running at the moment. The injury is impacting basically every aspect of my life - simple things like shaving, putting clothes on, driving, having a shower, everything - so from that point of view although running is obviously very important to me, I know I need to get it sorted anyway so I can just start to live normally again! It's only been about a week, but it's been a particularly shit week!
Shades, that sounds like a pretty miserable run. You did well to get through it.
mamafox - good news on the injection! So glad you can get back out there again. What a relief. Re: the wallet - he lost it. He has Crohns and was rushing to a public toilet and lost it there. Very unfortunate.
I took my Mum to the fracture clinic at Torbay a few years ago and all I can say is that it was truly awful and a disgrace to the NHS. Rude staff, shambolic admin. I do hope it's improved for your sake. It's unfortunate that you've just moved, NA does x-rays from the Minor Injuries clinic, you still end up having to go to Torbay for further treatment but at least you don't have to wait for the initial x-ray.
But although you have a wait that doesn't mean that meanwhile the pain won't ease up and you start to heal and more importantly not have to suffer so much.
I missed 9 races last year due to illness/injury it's just a part of this sport unfortunately. Don't think about the money, what's done is done, a while ago you'd have spent that easily on booze and not thought anything of it.
Next time you run a marathon in wintery conditions you'll have to wear some decent tights 😉
Cal - although I was cold at times I still love the event, I hadn't planned to go back next year but I am going yet again. The optimist in me thinks we're due good weather next time. It's definitely in my top 3 of any races I've done, a very special event.
Shades, from memory your race at the weekend didn;t have great weather last year or is that me making stuff up? Well done for getting in within cut off and you can wear the shirt with pride. Think Edinburgh (a couple years after after the penis medal that my sister had) did similar, its a nice touch!
Karni great splits, cramps happen to everyone for whatever reason(mine has either been lack of strength work and also hydration issues), I've had banks of brilliant training before and cramped in final couple of miles.
Louey- nice consistent race, shame about those 29 seconds. I did brighton going to sub 4 in 2015 4.00.02!!!! Those final few miles can be tough especially the out and back before hitting the front.
Iain good luck with the sub 3 at London. I'm looking forward to marshalling at mile 16-17. Good luck with the training for outlaw! The main thing with the swimming is to learn to be efficient rather than fast. You'll never win a race being a fast swimmer as that's for the swim and the run, but if you're wasting energy in the swim then it will cost you.
Big G totally understandable about being down, and it's the uncertainty of not knowing and length of time, If someone said you've done x and do y and it should be recovered by z then least it gives you peace of mind. If you believe it is mid June it's not a total disaster in the grand scheme of things. I've been injured and not missed the running at times (at o as been able to get on with life away from running. In the meantime dump your frustrations on here, don't let them build up... my best advice is don't scoff your face with food and put a stone one like me!
Reading about the French runner, Mo Farah missed 2 tests so as long as she hasn't been doping then I don't see it much of an issue, but can imagine it causes unrest in
Cal the runs like yours this morning are what I miss the most!
Ian the thought to gerkin juice sends a shiver down my spine, I used to drink from the jar as a kid!!! Yuk!
I got registered at my new docs in Hertford, I had the choice of three or four, one that Elle used was a big no for me, looking at reviews you never seem to get to see a doctor just juniors and nurses. I chose a small practice, it only has 2 full time doctors.
I rang up on Monday asked for a non emergency apt and was told it would be May but couldn't book yet as not been released. Like G laughed and chanced my arm for an emergency apt this morning. 11.10am apt and was seen on time. Told him that I was after a referral for an ultrasound. He took at look at my foot, got me to push against him, go up on tiptoes and he said let me look if I have the cortisone here and do it now. I was shocked and said i'd prefer another time as pacing on Friday and don't want to let them down last minute. So all booked in for 2nd May.
I may make it to DD afterall, it may not be the most comfortable experience and could be my 1st DNF but will give me an idea if I want to come back and have another crack if I'm fixed.
Pacing and 'volunteering' on Friday, told them I'd offer to help before the run and they have jumped at the chance so paying me £10, free race entry to another race and free food. As well as pacing the run which I hope to enjoy (60 min pacer)
Rob-The taste of the gherkin juice isn't great,but if it helps I'm willing to try anything pretty much.
Big G-Gutted for you mate,while it's hard try and keep your head up,just means you have a bit more time to make the new house perfect.
Busy week in work this week but should be able to get a few decent runs in.
@Iain Love hi and good luck in London!
@mamafox that’s MARVELLOUS news about the PF - so pleased for you
@Robert OHara good luck with the pacing and the docs!
5 easy miles for me and it doesn’t really feel like I did a marathon so recently!
I think I’m going to return the saucony iso 5’s I bought and buy some hoka clifton instead. I tried them at the marathon expo and they felt nice.
might get the off-road version too (challenger atr) if I get on with the Clifton.
I've never got on that well with gels and used real foods / sweets before for carbs together with sports drinks for carbs and electrolytes. Having said that it's a long time since I've tried gels and they may well have improved.
Noticed that Barnstaple Marathon dosnt have isotonic drinks available till about 17 miles is this too late? so looking for something I can take easily from the start.
Honk, I don't get on with the gels either and I've tried most of them. For electrolytes I use SiS tablets and I have two of them, each dissolved into a bottle of water, in the run up to an event, and then have sweets/mint cake during the race. I'm really no expert on this at all, but I'd have thought that if you have some electrolytes/fuel before the race, 17 miles would be okay to get the drink from the race, but maybe try and practice on some long training runs. I'm no expert though as really it's just that after a bit of trial an error I've kind of stumbled into an approach that works for me! Regarding Barnstaple, I can't remember how they gave the drinks out but as it's a small race I'd imagine it would have been in plastic cups as opposed to full bottles. I just thought I'd mention that, in case you feel you may want to stop and getting a couple of cups.
Steve, generally speaking how are you finding the easy paced running. Do you enjoy the runs? Do you feel ploddy, or do you do them with a spring in your step, so to speak?
Khani, sounds like you're recovering well, which is fantastic.
Robert, that does sound encouraging about the cortisone. Best of luck with the pacing duties! The mid-August date hasn't been given to me officially - it's just when my next few races start after the summer, so I suppose that's the goal to try and get fit for those. I have a couple of fantastic events already booked for the Autumn, so I hope this is sorted by then.
Shades, you're right that DNS's are part of it. I suppose if a person does more races and books quite a lot, a lay off has more impact. It's been a poor year for me though, what with Malta being cancelled, and having to transfer Wrexham due to the house move. On top of those there's a chance I'm going to miss 10 races between now and mid-June, the majority of which needed a hotel beforehand too (although I'm able to cancel a lot of the hotels at short notice). But the money has gone, and not travelling saves me money on fuel, eating out etc (trying to look on the bright side!!!).
I'm just taking it easy today - already told OH I'm not leaving the house (it's her day off today and it's lovely weather, so we'd usually be going out). What with the driving around and prodding by the physio yesterday, I did feel a bit more uncomfortable than usual last night, so I'm not doing much today, except doing the exercises the physio gave me.
Great news you're getting your injection for your PF, pity you weren't able to have take up the offer of it straight away, might have saved you a couple of more weeks.
Thanks for the link re electrolytes as the supplier of my salt tablets doesn't sell them anymore, I've probably enough for this year.
Khanivore - great recovery from your marathon, the more you do the easier it is to recover and also you did train well and that all helps.
I have a pair of Cliftons and love them, really comfy shoes.
Honk - I now use salt tablets, take one at 10 miles and one at 20 miles. I tried them years ago and couldn't get on with them, couldn't get the dosage right, but now I'm really happy with them.
For years I've used Elete drops and added them into water https://eletewater.co.uk/ and I still use them when not using the salt tablets. I can't use sports drinks as they don't agree with me.
Big G - I hate to think how much I've 'lost' over the years with having to miss races, I just dismiss it from my mind. All you can do is recoup what you can and look forward and start planning when you're fit again.
Hope you can at least sit out in the garden today. We've got a few days of warm weather to enjoy.
This weekend's weather will be good for VLM runners, although it's not (as yet) forecast to be warm for VLM this weekend will give the runners to run in warmer conditions so there should be no surprises or disappointments due to 'warm' weather on race day.
Nice easy 5 miles for me today, lovely morning, the bluebells smell gorgeous.
I know at times I may be prone to slight exaggeration
thankfully this was not the portaloo I used, I think this one was at the top of a hill.
Yes, I’ve got a table and chairs set up outside
Take it easy now
Robert - if you see me, give me a shout. You won’t miss me cause I’ll have my yellow and black pirate top on with bright pink knee high compression socks. 🤪
i was was going to run with the club tonight but I’ve decided to rest cause I’ve cycled 100 miles, ran 30 and done one pool session in the last 7 days.. might sneak out early tomorrow morning for a relaxed 8-10 miles..
Still got those pink socks then
6 miles for me this morning, lovely morning but still a bit chilly. This morning the scent from the tree blossom was gorgeous, must have been after the sun yesterday and there's no breeze today. Not much traffic around which is nice, but did see a long queue of cars at 6 a.m. at the drive in at McDonalds. I assume holidaymakers who have been driving through the night.
Nice day here today, but I'll be staying in all weekend. I just hope some rest alongside doing the exercises will see an improvement but I'm really not holding my breath! I've restarted Netflix after a bit of a break from it, so I'll be bingewatching a few series I'd imagine
Speaking of TV, has anyone seen "Where Dreams go To Die - Gary Robbins and The Barkley Marathons". I saw it the other day and enjoyed it. It's available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDZdsqbcGTU
Thanks, I've bookmarked that Barkley Marathon programme, I suppose it's going to be harrowing to watch
Nice 6 mile run today - warm enough for a T-shirt as 7am. It's going to be rather toasty this weekend. Legs felt a bit heavy and were stiff to start with, (yesterday was a rest day although I did a yoga class, walked a bit and did some banded glute exercises in the afternoon) but eased up and my overall pace was quicker than my last few runs. Added four lots of strides to the end as I'm doing parkrun tomorrow and wanted to make sure the legs wouldn't be too shocked by the pace.
Iain, good that you had an improved swim, I think its traditional, maybe even compulsory for Pirates to be lacking at swimming
Has been an easy run week this week, cut back the mileage whilst I transition from the ironman plan ive been following to a more run focused plan, I hate recovery weeks, they make me feel lazy.
Hoping to get to the local parkrun tomorrow as a gauge of fitness to where I am now and if I improve over the coming months. Ive only done the park runs twice before and that was three years ago just before I started a new job and most of the running went out the window.
Thanks for the suggestions of electrolytes, i have been looking into commercial running fuels that contain both carbs and electrolytes and then thought I could try making my own and found a few websites with running fuel recipes that sounded good so going to do a bit more research into that today. partly because i'm too stingy to pay for sports food but also I like to know what i'm eating and could tailor it to exactly what I want. will be a fun experiment anyway.
Iain could you wear a pink wig too just to make sure I see you?
Hank, I'm not a fan of parting with money when it comes to sports nutrition. I've stuck to the same things for a few years now (those hydration tabs and rasp high 5 gels) and keep an eye out for offers when I need them.
BIg G, makes life a bit easier sleeping okay, thanks for the link, think I'm going to watch it soon, been meaning to watch it for a while.
SO today was St Albans 10k and I was pacing 60 mins. I did a couple of hours standing around doing carpark marshalling. Set off and watch seemed fine, hit the 1km marker and only 0.8km on the watch, pace on watch was slower than 6min km (6.22) but was about 25 seconds ahead of pace. Had GPS issues which made the job harder but managed to run an even pace according to my splits but had to run to feel and review at the km markers. Relieved to finish in 59.40 and lots pf happy smiley runners around me.
Pleased with first attempt at energy balls, they have a little bit of everything in and taste great, not sure tomorrow's 10 ish miles needs nutrition but they are going to get tested anyway (if they last that long) found a couple of yellow silicon dishes meant for poaching eggs that are ideal for squeezing in pocket of my running belt.
Just to add to todays 10k over St Albans, £13/£15 with medal and well organised ran by runners for runners, flat only 100ft elevation according to others strava, pretty much traffic free.
Foot is the best it has been, with a bit of stretching here and there I am able to walk comfortablly, well get around the house without huge pain, something I've not been able to do for 3 months after a run. I was thinking I maybe gettng better but don't want to tempt fate but just carry on doing what I'm doing!