I'm starting to think that the powers that be are trying to tell me that this marathon is a bad idea! Having overcome most of what the fates have had to throw at me so far, I was massively disappointed for my long-lost acquaintance of hay fever to make a surprise reappearance this week after a 10 year absence! Cue lots of lethargy, blocked sinuses, headaches and puffy eyes - great!!
Since I last wrote, I managed to struggle through a 16 mile run last Sunday - it was frighteningly difficult considering it's still 10 miles short of what I will need to do on M-day itself! A particularly warm day didn't help the hay fever, plus then I managed to time my 2 mile home-leg on the beach with high tide so the sand was squishy underfoot - not good for my tired legs! My catastrophic thoughts of being swept out to sea from being unable to scramble up the sand dunes away from the sea because I was so tired kept me going - I didn't dare stop!!! I found that the last 4-5 miles were so hard going that I lost my usual politeness of getting out of the way of people. No chance passers-by - I can't possibly move to the left or right, or down a curb or onto the verge - anything like that would need more energy and upset my rhythm so you're going to have to get out of my way or else I'll run right over the top of you! It's not often that I feel like I don't want to stop - the temptation is always there to just stop and catch my breath or stretch out abit, but no chance this day. I knew if I stopped I would just have to lay down on that very spot and hope that someone found me before I died of starvation or cold! Slightly melodramatic as I did have my phone on me, so I could've just called someone but you get the idea! By the time I got home, Ste - who had ran the first 6 miles with me and was showered and fed by this point - stood and clapped my stagger into the garden. I must have looked rough because he even got me a glass of water! I also found out from this run that I don't think I can really stomach the carbohydrate energy drinks as I spent most of the last few miles trying not to throw up as a result of my experimentation! Bad times all round but hey ho at least the miles were done.
For added entertainment and to add a new source of worry - the niggle I have been feeling in my knee has gotten much worse. From my descriptions over the phone to my best mate/marathon partner/personal physio, it seems that I have aggravated my ITB which is the strip of muscle down the outside of my knee. So now every time I run for longer than 2-3 miles it hurts. A lot. And then I stop running and it's fine. Erm - what the hell?!?!? Looking on the internet for more info on this (as you do with all medical conditions for reliable advice - lol!) I came across an article about the 5 most common running injuries. Turns out I have 4 of the 5 at the moment to a greater or lesser degree - only one more and I've got the whole set!
I've struggled through three shorter runs this week in order to prepare for a longer one yesterday. The training plan I've been following said I needed to do 15-18 miles but I was anxious after the pain I've been in on shorter runs this week. To cut a long story short (and I'm sure you're sick of my moaning by now!) I managed 14 miles before I had to admit defeat as my leg was about to give way in a most un-ladylike manner in the streets of saltburn! I'd ran 6-7 miles to redcar (somehow ending up in the starting area of a 10k road race en route!) before being joined by my faithful running partners Ste and Joe for the return leg back to Saltburn. My knee was fine for the first 2 miles but then ached for the rest to the point that by the end my hip, back and ankle were all feeling like they were in cramp - nice! It was so frustrating as my blisters were all fine (vaseline = magic!), I had plenty of energy and didn't feel hungry (porridge for breakfast is the way forward & jelly babies en route to keep me powered up!) and the weather was perfect for running (cool, gentle breeze and the odd bit of drizzle), but my knee just wouldn't comply any longer so I had to give. Very, very annoying and abit worrying with the run only just over 7 weeks away! All the advice for ITB problems is to reduce your mileage or take time off running all together - neither of which I can do so I'm just going to have to plod on and hope for the best! The foam roller Ste got me for my birthday is definitely going to come in handy now!!! Pass the deep heat and the ibuprofen please!
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