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Couch to Marathon
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I was in London for the weekend and had planned on doing a nice easy 5k run on Saturday morning (Parkrun) to ease myself back into things. All the walking around (shopping
) on Friday though didn't do much for my recovery and my legs just weren't willing to run that morning.
More walking around during the day (I'm blaming the fact that lots of the Tube lines were closed for maintenance :mad:) left me with achy legs and I woke in a panic during the night on Saturday with the feeling that I had lost all my fitness and that the marathon was slipping away from me. With all the excesses of the weekend (starter, main course, dessert, wine...
) I was feeling very pessimistic about being able to do the race at all now and I was feeling so many different niggles (both old and new 
) in my legs.
I went back to my chiropractor yesterday and I was so happy to hear that my legs have improved and that the niggles I was feeling were most likely from all the walking as he could find no problems. I still have tenderness in my glutes and left ITB but they are definitely not as bad as they were.
He has advised a few more days rest and to do a gentle tester run on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. I think that I would struggle with that now (as I haven't run in 10 days :eek:) and I really don't know how I'm going to manage my 20-miler at the weekend. I feel like I need to build back up to 20 miles, but if I leave it until the following weekend I will only have two weeks taper instead of three and I don't know if that's enough...0 -
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Good that you're legs are much better MaryS but I see your dilemma I don't think I would do a 20 miler just 2 weeks out.
I would probably go for it this weekend but really really slow.. you never know it might even feel easier having had a rest.0 -
Good that you're legs are much better MaryS but I see your dilemma I don't think I would do a 20 miler just 2 weeks out.
I would probably go for it this weekend but really really slow.. you never know it might even feel easier having had a rest.
I know you're right littlebug. Leaving it until the following weekend was just an avoidance strategy I think, especially as my legs feel fine again. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and do it :eek:. 0 -
MarySamsonite wrote: »I know you're right littlebug. Leaving it until the following weekend was just an avoidance strategy I think, especially as my legs feel fine again. I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and do it :eek:.
and remember there's no shame in walk breaks early on if it helps you get to 20! 0 -
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I wish maybe i had done this might not be in the situation i am in now. Mary you are doing brilliant. And when you do the 20 it will give you a real confidence booster. Best of luckbackspacer wrote: »Good to see your back on the mend Mary, no shame in having a break - you'll come back stronger and with more intent to do better. Just take it easy, 20 miles is a crazy distance so don't be afraid of the occasional walk
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Well, I'm back running. I did 3 miles on the treadmill this morning with no signs of any injury. I did suffer from my lack of activity for the last 10 days though. I couldn't imagine this morning being able to do 6 miles, nevermind 20...
My OH tried to convince me to look at the positives though - I'm back running and there's no sign of injury.
I have another appointment with my chiropractor today so hopefully all will be well and I will be given the go-ahead to do my 20-miler this weekend. Having been idle for the past week and a half, that distance now seems more daunting than ever...0 -
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I was very happy leaving the chiropractor yesterday as my legs have improved a lot and I have the go-ahead to continue with my plan, albeit an altered plan...
I told him that I intended to do a 20-mile run this weekend and he felt that that was too much of a jump in mileage after a week and a half of inactivity. He asked what runs were on my programme up to the marathon and I told him that I was due to taper from next week. He recommended that I reverse my taper! As I have been resting for so long now I need to get the mileage back into my legs, so here is my plan for the 3 and half weeks that are left:
This week
Today - 4 miles
Sunday - 10-12 miles
Week 3
5/10/5/18
Week 2
4/6/4/8
Week 1
3/4/2/Race
It means that I wont get my 20-miler done but 18 should give me enough of a psychological boost (I hope
).
When I was forced to stop running 2 weeks ago I felt confident enough at that stage that if I had to do the marathon at that point I would've been ok. Now, however, I'm apprehensive about it. I'm hoping that a high mileage week next week will help me regain that confidence.
I did 4 miles on the treadmill this morning and thankfully my legs were absolutely fine. I did feel it was a struggle though and really wanted to stop at 3 miles but persisted. Sunday's 10-12 mile LSR will either make or break me. 0 -
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Not wanting to go out in the wind and rain yesterday morning, I decided to do my LSR on the treadmill. I ate a banana beforehand and took two ibuprofen. I brought a litre of an electrolyte drink with me.
Eight minutes into the run I felt exhausted and wondered how I would do 10 miles. I put it down to the usual warming up and continued. It definitely took me longer to get into the flow of things but I was just glad that I wasn't feeling any niggles anywhere.
I walked for a minute at 6 miles to take a gel. I wanted to try out gels in preparation for the marathon and I had assumed that I would have no problem with them (as I love sweet things). I found it really hard to open. I eventually tore it open with my teeth. I will definitely have to practice this as my OH says they're really easy to open . I found the taste horrible, like I could taste tiny grains of carbs in it but if I had been expecting something horrible I'm sure that it would've tasted ok :rolleyes:.
I found the second half of the run much easier. I'm attributing this to the gel as I felt that I could have continued for longer when I was finished. Towards the end of the run (this has happened a number of times now toward the end of a long run) my right foot went numb. I must find out what this is as it could be a problem if it happens half way through the marathon. It's not painful, just numb. It happens randomly with both feet. My OH reckons this will be great if I happen to get blisters during the marathon, as it will mean that I won't feel them.
I stopped at 13 miles and was delighted that I had enough in the tank to continue. I was tempted to go on but decided not to push my luck on my first LSR back. Got a nice surpise of a bath and a protein drink when I went into the house
. It was the first time I had had a protein drink and was pleasantly surprised after my disappointment with the gel. I had heard that this drink ensures no post-run aches and it worked!! I had absolutely no aches or pains after the run yesterday (or today) so I will definitely be drinking that post-marathon (I'm sure that the ibuprofen had a role too).
I'm feeling a little bit more confident now about the 26.2 and not so worried about next weekend's 18 miler. 0 -
Hi Mary, I know what you mean about the gels, took one with me for the Conamara 10K on Saturday to test it out in a race situation and found the texture a bit funny but the taste was fine (cola flavoured). I think its just a question of trying them out on a few runs to get used to them. As for opening them, jesus it takes some effort alright 0
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backspacer wrote: »Hi Mary, I know what you mean about the gels, took one with me for the Conamara 10K on Saturday to test it out in a race situation and found the texture a bit funny but the taste was fine (cola flavoured). I think its just a question of trying them out on a few runs to get used to them. As for opening them, jesus it takes some effort alright
Great to hear that I'm not the only one who finds them awkward to open! Cola flavoured sounds much better than citrus tooTearing with your teeth is the only way. My hands are much too sweaty to get a grip for tearing.
Yes, Ray, the sweaty hands were a problem for me, but I just didn't want to admit that my hands were sweaty after only 6 miles:D 0 -
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I can't open the gels easily either. I always open them a little bit beforehand and fold the top over and pin them to my shorts folded over. It works with the.... (the proper name escapes me:o).. the gloopy ones but maybe not so well with the more liquidy gels (isotonic?).
Yes, it was an isotonic gel and I ended up with very sticky hands which was really annoying. Will definitely have to practice. 0 -
Well done for getting back into the swing of things Mary!!! I have been injured myself the last 5 days (calf muscle) but after a sports massage I must say I feel like I've new legs!!! You'll nail that 18miler at the weekend, and then it's all downhill from there til the big day!! 0
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I missed yesterday's 5-miler because I was too tired to get up. Of course that left me in bad humour for the rest of the day so I was determined not to miss this morning's 10-miler. I pressed the snooze button once too often though and only left myself enough time for an 8-miler...
The run went fine and I decided to use it to test out another brand of energy gel. It was just as hard to open but it tasted so much better. It's not an isontonic one though so I will have to plan taking it at water stations if I settle on this brand instead of the last one.
I can't believe that this morning's run is the longest distance I will have to run before the marathon (8 miles is next week's LSR) once I have Saturday's 18-miler out of the way (yes, that small matter of the 18-miler :P).
Now that I am back running I have realised that what I was going through when I was injured in the past 2 weeks was early onset of taper madness. I know that it will probably come back next week once I actually start the proper taper. Something not to do at that stage (which I have been tempted to do already, but wisely didn't) is to check how many runs I have missed over the past fifteen weeks (a lot) and how many I have actually done (not enough). It would take a while to do it on this log but only a few seconds on the 'reports page' of the myGarmin... It's probably information that won't help my vizualisation techniques at mile 21... 0 -
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Saturdays 18 miler will be no bother to you mary. Is there any way you can do it with someone. It just makes the time tick by so much quicker.
I think it would definitely be easier to do it with someone Nules, but I don't know anyone who would be willing to do 18 miles with me on Saturday, especially as I run really slowly (I might find a snail somewhere who could pace me).Hi Mary. I found it easier headwise to break my 18 mile run into 3 sections - 5 miles, 8 miles and 5 miles. Mentally the last 5 seemed like nothing at the end. Stopped for a gel and a drink at the car between each section (had sweaty hands too even after the first 5). Good luck with it.
5, 8, 5 sounds much better than 18 alright Kit. Did you do a loop so if you were stopping at your car in between?0 -
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My 3-year-old son slept through the night in his own bed last night (he usually sneaks into our bed during the night) and I got a great night's sleep as a result. Getting up this morning wasn't nearly as difficult as it has been lately because I felt well-rested.
I did 5 miles on the treadmill and it felt absolutely fine. Thankfully no major niggles (well, apart from the real or imagined minor ache in my left arch).
A day off now before my 18-miler and I'm already planning and replanning routes and running it over in my head again and again and again... I know that it's just a matter of getting it out of the way. Roll on Saturday...0
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