Berlin or bust...

Younganne

Congrats again Emer, you are one tough cookie....I hope today sees an improvement in the leg!!!
Congrats on the PB, its one to be proud of considering how hard it must have been to continue!!

theboyblunder

super performance to PB while running on that for 21 miles!

Well done. You'll get the even faster time you deserve next time.

Emer911

A bright cold morning in Dublin city as we headed in to join the masses assembling for the big day. 1400+ registered and the city was getting fairly packed, fairly fast. We headed over to drop the bags for about 8ish, and I seemed to meet anyone I knew who was doing the race, even if I hadn't known they were doing it! Cousins, colleagues, ex-colleagues I hadn't seen in years! Mad stuff.

I bid Krusty adieu as he set off on his own personal mission, heading to the Elite pen <jealous much?> and I met up with RachelJev, as we'd decided to renew the F40 duo for the Sub-4 marathon attempt. We wandered over to the Wave 2 pen and hung out behind the 4 hour pacers. The atmosphere was great, and everyone was in good spirits. YoungAnne and LizzyC found us and we chatted happily before the gun went and the elites (and Krusty) were off. Our wave moved up to the start line, and the pre-marathon striptease ensured as hundreds of t-shirts / gloves/ hats and other assorted 'extra layers' were discarded and chucked off to the side - mine included. Feic me it was freezing! Checked the watch was on, double knotted my shoes, all set... and off we went.

Rachel and I had decided to stay back from the pacers, not to get caught up in the mob, and knew the first mile or two were going to be slower as we negotiated the infamous corners at the start. The first mile was slow but the pace picked up from mile 2 and we were steadily clawing back to the correct pace. The key for these miles was not to go out too hard and not to try to claw back those lost few seconds too quickly. So we kept it easy and Rachel gave me a running commentary of the sights and historical landmarks as we passed her throngs of family dotted around the course. I think half the spectators were related to that one!!

The first few miles flew by and as we entered the park we were almost back on pace and cruising nicely. Just before we hit the 5 mile mark, as we got to the turn for chesterfield avenue I felt something twinge in my calf and then seconds later felt something go POP. Ouch! Had to hop over to the side of the course with a very worried looking Rachel going "What's wrong?". I couldn't put any weight on my leg and knew that was it for me. No sub4 today - probably no marathon today. Gutted! I told her to go on, but she waited to see if a rest and a stretch was going to fix me - but no. I told her go again - I didn't want to have her miss out on her time because of me! My race was over. She eventually (very reluctantly) headed off into the masses to have her own adventure...

I shuffled off around the corner to find the mobile first aider on his bike. There was no obvious trauma, and I had no idea what I'd done - it didn't feel like a pulled muscle? He rubbed some magic blue goo on my calf and advised me to find the Johns Ambulance guys up the avenue. I hobbled off, tried to walk, limped for a bit, tried to walk again, stopped to give it a rub, hobble for another bit... all the while my head was not in a good place.
My race is over. I can't walk, I can't finish. No medal, no t-shirt. DNF.
then
A feic it. I do not want a DNF. If I can keep moving I can finish. I want the medal. I want the t-shirt.
then
F**k it. Mile 5. Not fair! It's a long way to 26.2! I can't limp to the finish! I'll do myself a serious injury! And it's freezing - I'll get hypothermia if I can't keep the heart rate up. But how will I get back?
then
Bollix! If I can move, I'm finishing - even if it take me 7 hours! If I have to crawl I'm finishing this thing!

The 4:15 pacer group passed me somewhere on Chesterfield as I was hobbling hoplessely. MarthaStew and Digger gave me a shout to ask if I was OK, but they obviously couldn't stop. I muttered and shook my head at them and watched as they floated effortlessly off into the distance.

The limp was easing but it was a long lonely trudge up chesterfield to the Crew standing on the side of the road. I had made up my mind. I was walking better, still limping but not as badly, and I had decided to go on. "Can you strap me up?" No, they had nothing with them, but said the Ambulance was at the Park Gate and they'd look after me. Off I went again. I took a gel at this stage. I thought that I might need it if I was going to keep going. I tried to run, ouch! Walked again, then tried running again, getting easier, but the gait was pretty bad and it was fairly stop-start. By the time I got to the gate I was running more easily and felt that if I could get strapped up I might be able to run - slowly and probably horribly - but it could be enough to get me to the end in under 7 hours?

I got to the gate and the ambulance crew were busy, but helpful. They were not recommending I stop or go - that was my decision - but they strapped up the calf and said there was another ambulance in about a mile and a half. If I was struggling, I could jump out there. Grand. Looking at the Garmin log, I had 8.5 miles behind me and about 1:30 on the clock, but I had given up on the clock at this point. It was all about just getting to the finish line now.
And on I went.

The leg felt ok - not good, but not hurting. It was tight and felt like a rock, and I was probably limping a bit, but I could run. The next couple of miles I was just going step by step, keeping it ticking. I reckoned if I could keep moving I'd be fine. I ran by feel, not pushing it, not thinking about pace at all. I "hi-fived" every kid and tried to enjoy it. I noticed a few landmarks, but totally lost sight of the time or the mile markers. At different points along the way I took a gel, or a few jellies and took a bottle at every other water station.

I passed through the 4:30 pace group (can't remember when) so knew my pace wasn't as bad as I'd reckoned. Those guys must've passed me when I was in the ambulance. Coming through Terenure (mile 16/17) I caught up to, and passed through, the 4:15 guys and got a great shout out from MarthaStew and co. Got a big lift from that (thanks guys). Saw a few friendly faces around the route and seemed to be going fine. Around mile 19 or so, I had to stop briefly and stretch the calves when I felt them (both) go tight, but other than that, I didn't pause. It felt so good to get to the top of Fosters Avenue! Familiar territory at last, and only 10K left. The crowds were thick and vocal and very welcome! I fell into step with someone else at this point and we chatted from Fosters Avenue on. She was on her first marathon and was looking way too comfortable! When we got to Merrion road with about 3 miles to go, I told her to push on (I couldn't - the leg would not let me go any faster). She said she was afraid of hitting the wall, but I assured her she'd be fine. She eased away from me and I'm sure finished strong.

The last couple of miles, from the RDS in, were amazing. The runners were really struggling but the support was fantastic, unreal, sensational! Throngs of people lined the roads from the RDS all the way to the finish line. I heard my name called a few times but didn't get to see who was shouting. I was going as fast as the leg would let me (which wasn't very fast) and that loop around Trinity was just... wow! I felt like a superstar :cool:

Coming onto Clare Street it hit me that I was at the finish. I crossed the line and turned into a gibbering wreck - I was overcome with sheer relief. 3 hours before I was SURE that this was not my day. Now, I had finished the Dublin City Marathon, against the odds, and in a time of 04:17:03 (Garmin time) which was about a 6:30 min PB. How did that happen? A nice man put the medal around my neck and all but hugged him. The ladies handing out the goodie bags routed around to get me an extra small t-shirt (they were almost out). I took my sorry sore body around the square to collect my bag and sobs were being barely held back.

I met up with Krusty and headed back to the hotel for a bath and a regroup before meeting the other boardsies in the pub. I took off the bandage and discovered the wonderful bruising on my calf/ ankle - lovely! I think I might be required to take a few days off now!

Splits (from the tracking website - accounting for the 10min wave 2 start))
10km |01:07:49
HM | 02:16:36
20 mi | 03:19:53
Finish time |04:18:22

Summary: 26.44 mi in 4:17:03
Avg Pace: 9:43 min/mi

EDIT: Chip Time 04:17:00


The results on the DCM site were all wonky for me. Seems like my chip didn't register at the start, but they've sorted it for me now, based on Rachels start time. Phew!

Younganne

Legend:D

RayCun

That's fantastic Emer, to come back from an injury like that, so early in the race - just amazing.

RacoonQueen

Jaysus Emer, I almost had tears in my eyes reading that. Always a difficult decision to make when you pick up a knock in a marathon like that, especially so early on when you still have a long way to go. Serious kudos for battling through, carrying over your training from this one into the next training cycle, it won't even be sub 4 you'll be targetting next time - it was almost a guarantee for this one.
Had been talking to someone about that at the weekend, if you pick up a knock in a shorter race it's easier to power through at the same pace but in a marathon you've a long way to go.

Hope you're recovering well. I know it's no consolation really but you did incredibly well to pull it together and still manage to finish strongly given the circumstances.

racheljev

What a report! So happy you finished and did so well to get to the end. I honestly felt like the worst type of bitch leaving you on Monday. I even went into the loo in the hope that, when I came out, you would've caught up. Major congrats on getting to the end and sub4 will definitely be there next time, no problem.

Peckham

Wow Emer, that race report exceeds any written by your husband in terms of drama! That's an outstanding performance in the situation you were in.

I saw you at mile 24, but didn't register it was you until after you had gone past, then was distracted by the strapping at which stage it was too late to give you a shout. If I'd known what you'd been through to get to that point I'd have run a few metres with you to help you over the bridge.

jcsmum

Yours is the marathon story everyone should read and be inspired by. Absolute grit and determination got you over that finish line. Amazing stuff.

kit3

Wow Emer - you really had to do it the hard way - amazing to get a PB under those circumstances ! Between the heat in Chicago and the leg in Dublin the running gods owe you for the next one. One thing's for certain, you don't need to worry about how your head will hold up when it gets tough -you're one tough cookie Well done.

run44

Wow, you did amazingly well for such an early upset to the plan. Well done!

DigiJem

Well done on making it to the finish line Emer, amazing how you got going again and grabbed a pb.

RubyK

Wow, that took a lot of grit and determination to keep going, injured. Well done on battling through and to get a pb too :eek: You'll get the time you deserve next time round, for sure. Best of luck with the recovery

Dory Dory

Aw crap, Emer! You've got me all teary eyed!! Amazing report....amazing, AMAZING you....and thank god for medals and t-shirts!!!

Younganne

Emer, how is the leg, is it recovering well?

Emer911

Younganne wrote: »

Emer, how is the leg, is it recovering well?

Hi Anne,
It's grand. Still some bruising around the foot, but it is healing nicely and I can walk fine. Stairs are a bit of a challenge, and running is still out of the question
Went for a nice swim today though.

Will be booking the dreaded appointment this week to assess the damage and see how much of an eejit I was running 21 miles on it. :rolleyes:

I'll keep ye posted

Emer911

Diagnosis for the leg: injury to the Peroneus. Never heard of this before so looked it up.

The peroneals are a group of two muscles, peroneus longus and peroneus brevis, which are located on the outside of the lower leg. Some people actually have a third peroneus muscle called peroneus tertius, which is located just below the other two on the outer ankle . These muscles primarily work to rotate the ankle out to the side

So I must have done some damage to my ankle a while ago which caused these guys to tighten up and ultimately tear. Tight calves also can cause problems, so need to work on those too. I guess I just need to get stretching more seriously!

On the plus side, recovery is relatively quick, so about another week or so, with foam rolling and exercise should see me right - hopefully.

...pretty painful massage this evening though :eek:

theboyblunder

I had a peroneal injury last year. Its annoying but cleared up quickly. Hopefully its the same for you. Well done on soldiering through the marathon!

Emer911

Went for a wee trial run yesterday evening to see how everything felt. Well the calf held up ok. It felt... tired? but fine to run on. Unfortunately my groin was not happy. I did just over 2.5 miles but it wasn't comfortable from about a mile in.
Got home and looked up groin injury and recovery.

Looks like the Jingle bells 5k is not going to be (for me) :mad:

Summary 2.70 mi in 25:03
Avg Pace: 9:17 min/mi

racheljev

Jeez, sounds painful. Mind yourself, hope the recovery is nice and quick. Don't worry about Jingle Bells, if you want a 5k what about the Tom Brennan (?) one on New Years Day? I did that last year, it's a good one.

Emer911

Thanks Rachel. It's not painful generally, just when I run

Went for a walk up the Sugarloaf today - seeing as I couldn't run, I had to do something or go nuts! Lovely day for it. Breezy at the top but lovely and bright and I really enjoyed it. 1.15 miles in about 20 minutes

Dory Dory

Hi Emer!! Glad to hear you're recovering in the "one step back, two steps forward" style. At least you are moving forward. Hubby and I did Sugarloaf with Marthastew this summer - what a nice hike with a wonderful, breezy view at the top. Keep behaving yourself and minding your calf and groin...you'll be back running in top form before you know it. Have you decided when/where/what will be your next marathon attempt?

Emer911

Dory Dory wrote: »

Hi Emer!! Glad to hear you're recovering in the "one step back, two steps forward" style. At least you are moving forward. Hubby and I did Sugarloaf with Marthastew this summer - what a nice hike with a wonderful, breezy view at the top. Keep behaving yourself and minding your calf and groin...you'll be back running in top form before you know it. Have you decided when/where/what will be your next marathon attempt?

No pressure Dory?
No decisions yet. The other half is doing London next spring, so I'll probably wait until next autumn. I'm in no hurry :rolleyes:

Emer911

Sunday
Went for a morning swim - for a change. Now I'm not the most accomplished swimmer, but decided to do an many lengths of the 33.33 mt pool as I could in the allotted time.

Now there were gaps and rest breaks, but I managed to do 24 lengths (about 800mt) before I had to call it and day and dash back to bring #1 son to his football match.

Well that was something done at least.

Emer911

Very brief update:

Gave the hip/ groin a rest for a full week of rest and went for a little tester on the grass on Saturday. Not a good result. Felt uncomfortable after a mile. I kept going for a bit to see if it'd ease out, but called it a day at 3 miles. Paid for it the following day though.

Time for another appointment.

And no more running for a bit either I guess :mad:

jcsmum

Emer911 wrote: »

Very brief update:

Gave the hip/ groin a rest for a full week of rest and went for a little tester on the grass on Saturday. Not a good result. Felt uncomfortable after a mile. I kept going for a bit to see if it'd ease out, but called it a day at 3 miles. Paid for it the following day though.

Time for another appointment.

And no more running for a bit either I guess :mad:

RacoonQueen

Ah Emer that's crap. You're not having the best run of luck.

Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Emer911

Analysis: Knots in my psoas

got it worked on (painfully!) and I can try running again on Sunday.

Fingers crossed!

Younganne

Emer, ouch ... hope its sorted!!

village runner

Emer911 wrote: »

Analysis: Knots in my psoas

got it worked on (painfully!) and I can try running again on Sunday.

Fingers crossed!

Where in The groin is it ? I had pain on the wall so to speak. Easy pace was ok but fast pace was a no no. Hope you get it sorted.