This week was always going to be a tricky one after the knee injury last week, it didn't start well when my knee was too painful to manage press ups at bootcamp.
The first run was on Wednesday and I managed 3 miles but it was slow and I could feel the pain in my knee, I was starting to worry that it was going to be something serious. With that in mind I did what any sensible runner would do-went shopping and bought some Jelly babies, a knee support and a metric fucktonne of Ibuprofen. The Ibuprofen was a back up really as I've discovered my husband's secret stash of Naproxen, not that one should take drugs prescribed for another person etc etc.
Thursday's run was a bit of a surprise, still niggles from the knee but I did 6.6 miles with club captain Rach who has a knack of keeping me going and finding what speed I can. It made me feel a lot better about things as I'd done it and my knee held up.
The main event of the week was the Belvoir challenge, 15 miles of offroad running. It's hilly, it's muddy and they give you cake at the check points. My plan said 20 miles but sometimes you have to change things and do what you love. With a bad knee I would be crazy to do 20 miles of road running and anyway I love the running through the countryside, you can't beat getting to the top of a hill in a muddy field and stopping to take in the view. You can see for miles. And there's cake. It was a fantastic morning, I ran as a group with 3 other ladies from my club and we had a blast. We won't dwell on the bit where I slipped over and landed on my arse when we weren't actually moving, if that happens to you then don't grab a thorn bush to break your fall-I think I pulled the last thorn out this morning. But the long offroad runs, this is why I run.
Week 8 holds three runs of 7 miles each, nothing too daunting there.
When I complete this marathon I won't be celebrating with champagne as my GP has banned me from drinking for another 3 months, that'll make 5 in total and there's no guarantee that he'll lift the ban even then. I used to quite like him.
Sunday 24 February 2013
Sunday 17 February 2013
Week 6 and very nearly a DNF
Welcome to week 6 of my marathon training blog, it's been an interesting week. Wednesday's 2 miles became 3.5, it had snowed during the day so it was very slippy underfoot and as a result pace was 10.01 per mile.
By Thursday the snow had gone so the pace was much better, the plan said 7 miles but my route ended up being 6.5 at 9.44 pace. It was one of those runs where you feel like you can go on forever but it was Valentine's day and I wanted to get home for my steak.
The long run this week was 18 miles, it just so happened that today was the Stamford 30km race (18.6 miles in old money). I was expecting the final few miles to be difficult based on my previous long runs, in fact the last few miles weren't the problem. I've had a niggley knee for a couple of weeks but it's been fine when I run but hurt when driving or going downstairs. I was aiming to run at 10-11 min mile pace today, nice and steady it was about the mileage rather than the speed. I ran the first 4 miles with a friend which was lovely and helped the early miles go by quickly. I stopped for a gel at 4 miles and planned to catch her up. My knee was starting to bother me for the first few paces of any walk/run transition but then it was OK again. By 7 miles it was not OK, not OK at all. Every step hurt, like I was being stabbed in the knee. Walking didn't help, it just hurt more when I tried to run. I had a mini-tantrum and shed a couple of tears, I felt fit and was gutted that something like this was going to make me pull out. Runners were passing me as I walked down a hill and tried to encourage me but I couldn't run. Then, just before the 8 mile point came the race changing moment. A man ran past and asked if I was alright, I explained that my knee had gone and he said "join the club, I've got some naproxen if you want one?". I've always been taught not to accept drugs from strangers but he showed me the blister pack and it hurt so much I would have tried anything. My thinking was that if this could get me to 10 miles or so then I'd have done a long run and the day wouldn't be a total write off. It was like a miracle drug, within a few minutes I could run and shortly after I could run without pain.
From then then next 10 miles were fine, the scenery was lovely, the marshalls were brilliant and every water station had Jelly babies. I loved the run and I'm so glad that I was able to finish. My overall pace was 10.16, I finished in a time of 3.12 which is better than the 3.30 I was aiming for. I'm worried about my knee now though, I've never had knee trouble. I'm hoping that it's due to muscular tightness and will be fixed after my sports massage tomorrow. The other options are that I've injured it or that it's a Lyme disease thing. At the moment it feels fine but I'm worried that this could put a stop to my marathoning plans. Watch this space, cross your fingers and pray to whichever deity you choose.
By Thursday the snow had gone so the pace was much better, the plan said 7 miles but my route ended up being 6.5 at 9.44 pace. It was one of those runs where you feel like you can go on forever but it was Valentine's day and I wanted to get home for my steak.
The long run this week was 18 miles, it just so happened that today was the Stamford 30km race (18.6 miles in old money). I was expecting the final few miles to be difficult based on my previous long runs, in fact the last few miles weren't the problem. I've had a niggley knee for a couple of weeks but it's been fine when I run but hurt when driving or going downstairs. I was aiming to run at 10-11 min mile pace today, nice and steady it was about the mileage rather than the speed. I ran the first 4 miles with a friend which was lovely and helped the early miles go by quickly. I stopped for a gel at 4 miles and planned to catch her up. My knee was starting to bother me for the first few paces of any walk/run transition but then it was OK again. By 7 miles it was not OK, not OK at all. Every step hurt, like I was being stabbed in the knee. Walking didn't help, it just hurt more when I tried to run. I had a mini-tantrum and shed a couple of tears, I felt fit and was gutted that something like this was going to make me pull out. Runners were passing me as I walked down a hill and tried to encourage me but I couldn't run. Then, just before the 8 mile point came the race changing moment. A man ran past and asked if I was alright, I explained that my knee had gone and he said "join the club, I've got some naproxen if you want one?". I've always been taught not to accept drugs from strangers but he showed me the blister pack and it hurt so much I would have tried anything. My thinking was that if this could get me to 10 miles or so then I'd have done a long run and the day wouldn't be a total write off. It was like a miracle drug, within a few minutes I could run and shortly after I could run without pain.
From then then next 10 miles were fine, the scenery was lovely, the marshalls were brilliant and every water station had Jelly babies. I loved the run and I'm so glad that I was able to finish. My overall pace was 10.16, I finished in a time of 3.12 which is better than the 3.30 I was aiming for. I'm worried about my knee now though, I've never had knee trouble. I'm hoping that it's due to muscular tightness and will be fixed after my sports massage tomorrow. The other options are that I've injured it or that it's a Lyme disease thing. At the moment it feels fine but I'm worried that this could put a stop to my marathoning plans. Watch this space, cross your fingers and pray to whichever deity you choose.
Sunday 10 February 2013
Week 5 round up
Week 5 is now done, just 11 weeks to go until the big day.
My 2 mile run on Wednesday was actually 3.5 miles as that's how long my loop is.
My 6 mile run on Thursday was 5.85 miles as that is how long the club run was. The pace on both was fine and both runs were fairly unremarkable.
Today was the longest training run so far-16 miles. The weather was drizzly and windy and cold, not really very inspiring but if it's on the plan it has to be done. I did the first 12.5 with two friends, they are both much faster than me so they did some quick miles and then waited for me in between which worked pretty well although they must have been a bit cold and wet when they were waiting. The last 3.5 were all alone, it was still cold and windy. I found the 16 miles quite hard, the pace was fine (10.39 average) but by the last few miles it was hard to keep going. I think I need to take on a bit more fuel on these very long runs, I had two gels but I was starving and lacking in energy by the end.
A massive roast dinner and chocolate pudding has helped to replace the calories I burned but it's now 8.30 and I'm ready for sleeping!
Next week the plan says 1 run of 2 miles, 1 run of 7 miles then a long run of 18 miles. I think the 2 miles will become 3.5 and 7 might become 6, it's all about the flexibility. The 18 miles will be 30km as it's the Stamford St Valentines 30km race next Sunday. As today's run took me 2.50 I'm expecting the 30km to take me a good 3.30, that's a long time to be running. I'll do it won't I?
I'm pleased with my 25.4 mile this week. Next week it's up to about 28.
My 2 mile run on Wednesday was actually 3.5 miles as that's how long my loop is.
My 6 mile run on Thursday was 5.85 miles as that is how long the club run was. The pace on both was fine and both runs were fairly unremarkable.
Today was the longest training run so far-16 miles. The weather was drizzly and windy and cold, not really very inspiring but if it's on the plan it has to be done. I did the first 12.5 with two friends, they are both much faster than me so they did some quick miles and then waited for me in between which worked pretty well although they must have been a bit cold and wet when they were waiting. The last 3.5 were all alone, it was still cold and windy. I found the 16 miles quite hard, the pace was fine (10.39 average) but by the last few miles it was hard to keep going. I think I need to take on a bit more fuel on these very long runs, I had two gels but I was starving and lacking in energy by the end.
A massive roast dinner and chocolate pudding has helped to replace the calories I burned but it's now 8.30 and I'm ready for sleeping!
Next week the plan says 1 run of 2 miles, 1 run of 7 miles then a long run of 18 miles. I think the 2 miles will become 3.5 and 7 might become 6, it's all about the flexibility. The 18 miles will be 30km as it's the Stamford St Valentines 30km race next Sunday. As today's run took me 2.50 I'm expecting the 30km to take me a good 3.30, that's a long time to be running. I'll do it won't I?
I'm pleased with my 25.4 mile this week. Next week it's up to about 28.
Sunday 3 February 2013
666 and on to week 5
Evening all, it's Sunday again so another week's training to round up. The plan for this week sounded great, three easy runs of 6 miles each. It ended up being a week of three very different runs. Run one was on Wednesday, it was very very windy and rainy and that made the run hard. The 6 miles were covered in a pace of 10.06 which is long run pace, not 6 mile run pace but given that I felt like I wasn't moving when I ran into the wind it's fine.
Run two was at running club on Thursday, better weather conditions meant that I did the 6 miles at 9.20 pace which I was very pleased with. More importantly that brought my mileage for January up to 101 miles and the first time I've ever managed 100 miles in a month.
Run three was this morning. I had planned to go offroad across the fields, I'm missing the muddy runs but it was windy again this morning so it'd be even windier up on the fields so I wimped out and stuck to the roads and paths. It was a little harder than it should have been but pace was 9.55 so actually all fine. So that's week 4 done and dusted.
What does week 5 hold then? The plan says one easy run of 2 miles, one tempo run of 6 miles and one long run of 16 miles. I think the 2 miles will actually be 3 as my Wednesday route is circular and the minimum to get back to where I started is 3 miles. I'm not sure how to do the 16 miles, my sensible self is telling me to join my club mates on the weekly long run but my fun self is telling me to head off to the mud and hills for 10 miles or so and then make the mileage up with a trot along the canal. I'll see how the week pans out.
Some good news from the GP this week- I don't have hepatitis or any nasty autoimmune thing. Less good news is that my GGT is still 70 which means that I am still not allowed to drink, not because my liver is damaged (which it isn't) but because alcohol can raise GGT so until mine's normal they need to be sure that the raised level isn't due to anything as simple as a glass of lovely wine. More blood tests booked, they include the letter i somewhere (IgM? IgG? something like that) and might prove whether I had/have lyme disease. Apparently the nurse practitioner should have taken me seriously back in August and asked for these tests at the time. I'm now on first name terms with Jenny the phlebotomist.
I think that's it for now, see you all in 24 miles.
Run two was at running club on Thursday, better weather conditions meant that I did the 6 miles at 9.20 pace which I was very pleased with. More importantly that brought my mileage for January up to 101 miles and the first time I've ever managed 100 miles in a month.
Run three was this morning. I had planned to go offroad across the fields, I'm missing the muddy runs but it was windy again this morning so it'd be even windier up on the fields so I wimped out and stuck to the roads and paths. It was a little harder than it should have been but pace was 9.55 so actually all fine. So that's week 4 done and dusted.
What does week 5 hold then? The plan says one easy run of 2 miles, one tempo run of 6 miles and one long run of 16 miles. I think the 2 miles will actually be 3 as my Wednesday route is circular and the minimum to get back to where I started is 3 miles. I'm not sure how to do the 16 miles, my sensible self is telling me to join my club mates on the weekly long run but my fun self is telling me to head off to the mud and hills for 10 miles or so and then make the mileage up with a trot along the canal. I'll see how the week pans out.
Some good news from the GP this week- I don't have hepatitis or any nasty autoimmune thing. Less good news is that my GGT is still 70 which means that I am still not allowed to drink, not because my liver is damaged (which it isn't) but because alcohol can raise GGT so until mine's normal they need to be sure that the raised level isn't due to anything as simple as a glass of lovely wine. More blood tests booked, they include the letter i somewhere (IgM? IgG? something like that) and might prove whether I had/have lyme disease. Apparently the nurse practitioner should have taken me seriously back in August and asked for these tests at the time. I'm now on first name terms with Jenny the phlebotomist.
I think that's it for now, see you all in 24 miles.
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