The final countdown!

So here it is my running number. Everything feels a bit surreal at the moment. I can't believe that after months of training, I'm actually going to be running a marathon in 5 days time.

It's all the more strange because I haven't run for a week now, to rest my knee. A week without running feels very odd. I'm tempted to go out and do a couple of miles, but I'm scared to do anything to jeopardise the big day! My knee feels fine but then I guess that's because I haven't been running on it. I really have no idea what it's going to be like on the day.

I've booked a massage for Thursday at a physiotherapy clinic in Cheltenham. That's my treat for making it this far. I also bought myself this new running top today. Now I know that it is breaking a fundamental rule of marathon running to wear something new on the day, but I figured I'd probably be all right with just a top. The trouble was I had been burying my head in the sand and only had a long sleeved proper running top or a short sleeved cotton t-shirt. It looks like the weather is going to be warm so I decided that I must have a short sleeved running top. I really should have bought this earlier to try it out on one of my long runs.

We are flying to Edinburgh on Friday. I have just sorted out all the details, booked the airport parking, printed off the flight details, looked up the buses from the airport in Edinburgh to the hotel. It's all becoming real! I AM GOING TO RUN A MARATHON ON SUNDAY!

I've even stopped drinking wine for the week! Now that's serious!

Week 19, 20/5/09 - Wednesday

Time of day: 9am (ish)
Distance: 4.9 miles (2.5 running, the rest mainly walking)
Time: 1hour 10 minutes
Weather: Sunny, pleasant

I was feeling fairly confident after my trip to the osteopath on Monday. Things certainly felt more stable. Unfortunately though my confidence was short-lived. Again at almost the identical place 2:06 miles into the run I started to get a burning pain in the outside of my knee. I kept going until about 2 1/2 miles and then decided, as it was getting worse, I would have to stop. I walked for a while and then tried running a bit more but the pain quickly returned.

OK, so what to do? 10 days until the marathon, I'm beginning to run out of options. I have rested it for 4 days and then managed a 4 mile run with some pain, I have spent (another!) £4o on seeing the osteopath. I know really that what it really needs is a good period of time to recover, but I am determined that I am going to run this marathon. So here is my plan:

• I am not going to run at all between now and the marathon.
• I am going to take anti-inflammatories regularly from now until the marathon
• I am going to cancel my next osteopath appointment and have my hair cut instead (you may be wondering how this will help my knee pain - it probably won't but at least I'll look good when I hobble across the finish line!)
• I'm going to do some stretches in the hope that they will help
• I'm going to try not to spend the next 10 days drinking wine and eating chocolate because I'm feeling sorry for myself
• I AM GOING TO RUN THE EDINBURGH MARATHON ON THE 31ST MAY 2009!

Week 19, 18/5/09 - Monday

Time of day: 07:20
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 45:07
Weather: Sunny

I was quite apprehensive about how my knee was going to be on this run. Strangely, even though I have rested it for 4 days I have become hyper-aware of every little twinge.

I set off really slowly. At first I was aware that both of my knees were hurting, nothing really bad, they just felt stiff really. Then, about a mile into the run the outer aspect of my knee started to bother me. It was really hard to work out whether I was just making a big issue out of something minor or whether it really was something to worry about.

I kept running, slowing down a bit if it seemed to be painful. Then at about 2 miles it became quite a sharp pain. "Oh no!" I stopped and walked for about a minute, trying to think about what was the best course of action. I started running slowly again, planning to stop and walk as and when I needed to.

That seemed to be just enough to sort me out though, I ran the rest of the way home. It wasn't pain free, but the pain did lessen as time went on.

I decided to go and see the osteopath again, as I have had a number of niggles and twinges since doing my 20 mile run and wonder whether I've just sent myself a bit off balance. I went this afternoon and waved goodbye to another £40! Who said running was a cheap sport.

I am planning on doing a 6-7 mile run on Wednesday.

Dreaming about the marathon.............

I ended up having 4 days without running. I was planning to have 3 days off: Thursday, Friday and Saturday but on Sunday Steve was working and I promised to take Matthew out for the day. I got into my running kit before we went out but then looked out the window and it was absolutely tipping down with rain and I confess, I just couldn't stand the thought of going out in it. By the time we got back from our trip it was too late to run. I consoled myself with the fact that it probably wouldn't hurt to have another rest day.

Anyway, I thought I would tell you about 2 dreams I have had recently. The first one was a couple of weeks ago:

I was running the marathon and it was taking me hours and hours. At one point I stopped at a burger van and queued for ages to get a burger. Then I carried on running and it was getting dark. I was still only 7 miles into it and I was starting to feel really despondent thinking that I would never complete it. Nobody else still seemed to be running and I was all alone on this dark path with woods to one side of me.

My latest dream was a couple of nights ago:

I was staying with my friend who lives in Ireland. I was having a nice time just relaxing and in holiday mode. I was sat, eating breakfast and blogging on my laptop.

Then my friend's little girl needed the toilet and I said that I would take her. For some reason I needed to take her to a public toilet a few streets away.

Whilst I was waiting for her I suddenly realised that this was the day of the marathon and that it started at 9am. I desperately started looking round for a clock and then I found one but I couldn't quite make out the time. I stared and stared at it and eventually worked out that it was a couple of minutes to 9.

I got into a real panic and ran back to the house to get my running kit, leaving the little girl in the toilet. I got back to the house and started scrambling around trying to find my running kit. I was really furious with myself that I hadn't been more organised. I was getting everything tangled up and didn't have everything I needed. I didn't know my way to the start but I knew that I was going to have to run to get there and even then I was going to be late!

I have also had one other night when I suddenly bolted awake, in a complete stress thinking that I had forgotten a whole lot of training that I was supposed to do for the marathon. I woke up thinking "how could I have forgotten that".

Week 18, 13/5/09 - Wednesday

Time of day: 6am (ish)
Distance: About a mile running.

This was the first time I had done a very early run for ages. I wasn't keen on getting up and doing it but I knew it was the only time I would get today. I was planning to do a 10 mile run on Thursday.

I don't know whether it was because I didn't warm up properly but about a mile into the run my right knee started to hurt. This bothered me because on the last two runs it has been fine until about 2 miles, so I think it's getting worse rather than better. Taking no chances I decided to abandon the run and walk home.

I've done a bit of an internet search and really I'm still none the wiser. It would appear it's one of two things either ITB or runner's knee (I can't remember the proper name for it). Well whatever it is I decided I would have 3 days of no running at all and then see how it is. I figure that I've trained quite well for this marathon and taking a few days off at this stage isn't going to do any harm, whereas running on a sore knee might.

Week 18, 11/5/09 - Monday

Time of day: 19:50
Distance: 4.5 miles
Time: 47:10
Weather: Sunny

A late run for me. It was a very pleasant evening, sunny and warm. I took a completely new route. The roads were very quiet and there were a couple of decent hills. About 2 miles into it I started to get a mild niggle in my right knee. I ran for another mile and then did a couple of walks in the last mile and a half. I did feel I could have run through the pain, it wasn't that bad, but like I said in my last post I'm feeling very cautious at this stage. I thought to myself: "I don't have anything to prove, I know I can run 20 miles so there is no problem in walking for a few minutes". The walking definitely helped and at the end my knee felt fine.

Week 17, 9/5/09 - Saturday

Time of day: 10:41 am
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 34:07
Weather: Unremarkable

I decided to have a couple of days rest after the long run on Wednesday, to give my body a bit of recovery time.

I took this run very slowly. The first couple of miles were uneventful but after 2 miles I started to get a pain in my right knee (the outside). I am feeling very cautious at this stage in the proceedings! I've come so far. I walked for a few minutes and then started running again, I did a run walk for the final mile, which was fine.

Week 17, 6/5/09 - Wednesday

Time of day: 12 midday
Distance: 20 miles
Time: 3:42:51 (total running time), 4:10 counting a lot of messing around.
Weather: Warm and sunny

This was a learning experience. I consoled myself by saying 'this is what training runs are for, to iron out the problems!' There were a number of factors which affected this run:

1. My youngest son was going on a school holiday, which meant that he was at home in the morning and had to be dropped off at school at 11am. They didn't actually leave until 12 which was when we started off. But we also had to be back at school to pick up our oldest son at 3:10, which obviously wasn't enough time for me to run 20 miles.
2. The weather was very warm and sunny and for most of the time I was running in full sun.
3. I had been feeling a bit under the weather over the weekend although I felt I was fine by Wednesday.
4. We only brought one bottle of gatorade which I carried in my camelback and one 1.5litre bottle of water. (Now I'm writing this down I can't believe this!).

So we waved Matthew off on the coach and started on our way. I had had breakfast at about 9 I think and then a banana at about 10:30am. The first few miles were uneventful. I had planned to stop for drinks and sweets approximately every 30 minutes. I was going to run for 1 1/2 hours out and then 1 1/2 hours back which should have been around 17 miles by my calculations and then the final 3 miles with both Steve and James after we picked James up from school.

The weather really was very warm and sunny. I usually run first thing or in the evening, so I was unprepared for how warm it was and can only think that I was losing more fluid than normal. At the first stop at 3 miles I was already starting to worry that I wasn't going to have enough to drink. Normally I don't drink much until about 6 miles then I have water and then at around 9 or 10 miles I will start on the gatorade. Well today, at 3 miles I was really thirsty and drank quite a bit, at around 4 - 5 miles I was sipping on my gatorade as I was running. At just over 5 miles I stopped and had some jelly belly sports sweets and a piece of chocolate, but really I was less interested in these than in water. At this point I was still stupidly trying to ration myself on my drinks as I was worried about running out.

We got to the 9 mile point and then turned around. The route we took was absolutely beautiful, neither Steve nor I had ever been that far along the canal and it was a gorgeous view. In fact I think that's what kept me going really. The track, though, did get quite uneven and required quite a lot of concentration to keep upright. after about 10 miles my ankles and legs were starting to hurt quite a lot. I was also starting to get quite ratty. I was panicking about how thirsty I was. I ran out of gatorade and didn't want to eat any more sweets as it was making me more thirsty.

At around 11 miles I think, we passed a pub and I sent Steve in to get some water, (I was bordering on the hysterical at this point! but hid it well). He met up with me about a mile and a half later with two 250ml bottles of water, which I felt I could have downed in 1 go.

"Is that all" I said ungratefully "but I'm so thirsty".

"They were £1.75 each" he told me.

At about 14 miles we decided to go our separate ways. I continued along the tow path armed with money to buy water at the next shop and Steve cycled off to get James from school.

I plodded on. Back to civilisation. I stopped at the loo in the park and then struggled on to Asda where I bought another litre of water and a packet of ready salted crisps which I had a craving for. I'm sure I must have made a fine sight stood outside Asda by the bin alternately shovelling crisps and tipping water into my mouth like a starving person. I decided to walk for a little bit while I finished my crisps, I filled my camelback up with the rest of the water and then started off again. This was about 16 miles.

I really could have given up there and then. Everything hurt. I met up with Steve and James at about 17 miles. That gave me a bit of a boost. Then came a long uphill stretch (do you remember that hill that I said was nothing to speak of? well it's funny how different it seemed 17 miles into a long run.

We arrived at the junction to our road at 18.5 miles. The distance from the end of the road to our house is a quarter of a mile. I needed to run past the junction in order to make it to 20 miles. In my head I was trying to figure out how far up the road I need to run before I could turn around and run back home, to make it exactly 20 miles. I just could not work it out. It was like my brain had lost all ability to function normally, it just seemed beyond me. Now it seems simple, but I guess any glycogen in my body was being directed towards my muscles, leaving my brain a little short.

I settled on adding a little loop on which actually worked out perfectly. When I got home I led in the front garden in a heap. God it was so nice to stop. I refused to let myself think for too long about the thought of doing 6 miles longer than this on the day.

POST SCRIPT

I woke up at 3:17 am after this run with a horribly sore throat. Hardly able to swallow. 2 paracetemol went a little way to helping ease it but generally feeling pretty rough. So have taken the day off sick today. I'm sure my colleagues love the fact that all this running is keeping me so healthy! I did a quick internet search on the effect of long distance running on your immune system and found this interesting article which I think explains a lot.

Week 17, 4/5/09 - Monday

Time of day: ??Can't remember (I'm lost without my garmin!)

Distance: ??approximately 4 + miles

Time: 45 minutes (this I do know, I had a watch on)

Weather: Drizzle



My first run after 4 days off. I was feeling quite refreshed and planned to run to Robinswood Hill and back. Before my garmin had even connected with the friendly satellites in the sky it was saying low battery. This threw me out a bit, I'm so reliant on it. I toyed with the idea of charging it up but thought that I would probably never make it out if I did that.

I took a few paths that I had never gone on before and also listened to my I-Pod for the first time in ages. I always used to run with music but when I started training for the marathon I decided I would try running without it. Then I got to the point that I found it irritating and distracting to have my i-pod with me. Today however, I listened to Michael Macintyre's comedy show which kept me laughing - a strange sight I'm sure for any passers by.

I don't know why but I didn't run as far as I had planned, partly because of the lack of garmin I think and partly because I had been feeling a bit under the weather over the weekend and I was worried about overdoing it before my next big run on Wednesday.

Week 16, 3/5/09 - Sunday

I have had a 4 day break from running. I decided I would try and spend a bit more time at home concentrating on the boys and the house. It has been quite productive. I definitely feel more relaxed and am looking forward to running tomorrow. I am planning to do a run up the hill about 5 - 7 miles. Then I will do 20 miles on Wednesday with Steve, we are going to go along the canal again, which I am looking forward to. It will be better than running along the main roads to Cheltenham. Only 4 weeks to go now!

Week 16, 29/4/09 - Wednesday

Time of day: 09:27
Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Weather: Sunny

Again I was feeling really unmotivated about this run. I'm not sure why, I think it's just all consuming training for a marathon. Steve cycled with me and we stopped and started in the first couple of miles. 1st stop the garage to buy some lucozade, I thought I'd try lucozade rather than gatorade to see how I got on with it. But which one to buy? Lucozade sport, lucozade original, lucozade energy, so many different types to try and all full of aspartame and other rubbish (aspartame is a pet hate of mine - it comes from having children and getting paranoid about what you are putting into their bodies). Anyway I settled for lucozade original I think, but then I worried because it's fizzy, surely it can't be a good idea to drink fizzy drinks on a long run?
Next stop was Gloucester sports where I had a discussion with the staff there about the best energy gels/sweets, we bought some sport jelly beans.

After that I didn't have any more legitimate excuses to stop. I ran through town and down to the docks where we joined the tow path along the canal. This is a route I have done many times before, but have always had to stop because they have been doing a lot of work there so it's often blocked off in various places.

It was a beautifully sunny day. Really all I wanted to do was sit down and just lie in the sun. I felt quite irritable which is unusual once I start running. We stopped at the 5 mile point and enjoyed the view and the weather. I sampled the lucozade (which was fine) and the jelly sweets (which were really nice) and then started on the return journey.

I arrived home feeling full of energy. I was amazed really that I felt this good after a 10 mile run. It's surprising to me how quickly your body adapts to increased demands. Only a few weeks ago I felt like I could hardly move after a 10 mile run, but today, physically it felt almost effortless. Mentally, though, it's a different thing. It's not the effort of the runs that I'm finding hard, it's more having to try and fit them into an already full life.

Week 16, 27/4/09 - Monday

Time of day: 19:31
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 32:42
Weather: Can't remember

I was feeling pretty tired and found it difficult to motivate myself. I did a mile through the park and back and then did some speed work 1 minute run, 1 minute walk, 2:2, 3:3, 4:4 I was intending to do a bit more, but I really just ran out of steam.