Taper hell

It's just 3 days until the Brighton marathon.  So, how am I feeling?? Well, I am very excited (I might actually run my first sub 4hr), I'm a bit nervous (I might mess up & not run my first sub 4hr)...and I'm absolutely hating the taper!!

My taper started a little earlier than anticipated due to my body pretty much shutting down on me, so it's very clear that it has been a necessary evil, but although I've pretty much followed my schedule, kept up my intensity while reducing mileage etc, I really feel that it would have been better if I'd run the marathon last week!  The couple of runs I've had so far this week have had me feeling slow and sluggish, with a thousand different niggles and although my runs have clearly not been helped by the ENORMOUS amount of chocolate I've been consuming over Easter, I am blaming the taper for making me lose faith in my ability to run long and at a decent pace.

Also, when I don't run, I find it really affects my mood and how I deal with everything else.  For the last couple of weeks I've been feeling really stressed at work, I think I've been less patient with people, and generally I'm just not feeling it - which is such a shame, as when I am running a lot, my life seems to go a whole lot smoother!

Anyway...it's just another exercise in mental strength - I know I'm capable of running the marathon at the pace I want...and I know that I should trust in the advice of a thousand running professionals who all follow the taper - it's just been harder than I expected and I've let it affect me more than I should.

'80s rock on the iPod

A couple of years ago, in a previous job, I worked at a marketing agency, and for the back of our business cards, we had to come up with an image and a slogan to describe ourselves.  Lots of people thought it was a bit odd, but I always loved how personal it was.  The slogan had to start with *Me: and the one I came up with was:

*Me: commitment, determination, self-belief (and '80s rock on the iPod) = marathon runner

Now, it's not always that I run with music, and I don't use an iPod at all during races, but in training, especially on long runs, it can help to have either music, an audio-book, or the radio to pass the time, and particularly when I was first running, I always had music to accompany me.  I used my iPod Touch first, but I couldn't comfortably carry it, because being somewhat larger than I am now, the armbands that I bought to do that very job, wouldn't fit around my upper arm without cutting off the circulation!

So...I invested in a tiny iPod Nano to clip onto my waist band or sit in the pocket of my shorts, which I have used since, and absolutely love.

Now, although I wouldn't give up my Nano to go back to my Touch, and I'm never going to get round to uploading music to my phone, as my ultra training starts to ramp up, I do wonder whether I should be taking a phone with me on my long runs, so that 1) if anything happens in the middle of no-where, I can call for help and 2) I can use my Google Maps GPS app to tell me where to go and how get me home again!

To that end, when I was asked if I'd like to review a product and was offered either some headphones or an armband to fit a Samsung mobile or iPhone, I decided to try out the armband and see what I thought of it - would it still be really uncomfortable like they always used to be, and would it help me to stop getting lost? ;)

The armband they sent me was this one, a Belkin Samsung Sport Armband from three.co.uk, and I was very happy when I tried it on and it actually fit on my arm comfortably! I jumped up and down a bit and it stayed put too, my phone fit in there, and I was able to see the screen even while wearing it, and use the touchscreen without too much trouble through the protective cover, which were really the areas that I thought would be problematic.

Anyway, I headed out for a short run to see how it worked and I was very pleasantly surprised, it was really successful. I think for using the maps on the GPS for my long runs, it's definitely something I'll keep doing as it just makes it so easy to work out where I am and where I'm going - although now I'm going to have to see if my phone battery lasts long enough to keep the GPS working all the way through a long run!

However, for my music, I'll definitely keep my 80s rock playing on my Nano :)

It's more important than a race

I had a fantastic day at the Reading Half on Sunday and it was an amazing race which I was lucky enough to share with awesome friends, some of whom ran (Vicky and Becca with me here in our "proud medal" photo) and some of whom supported us (the excellent cheer-leading team of Steph, Keith, John and Mark). I've got to say that having friends there made the race much more special for me than most of my others, added to which I also ran a PB of 1:48:08 which I'm over the moon about!

However, when trying to write a race report full of the joys of Reading, I can't fail to feel that it's inappropriate, following the tragic death of Ged Clarke who suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after he crossed the finish line. Ged leaves behind his wife and children and of course it is them who are suffering the most after this, as I know only too well after suddenly losing my dad. However, it's become clear that Ged's death has deeply touched many other people - he was well known (although anonymously) on Twitter as @12pmCLUB where he encouraged people to go out training at lunchtime and to aspire to a healthy lifestyle, and it is clear from the tributes that have been left online that he truely inspired a whole community of runners.

Ged's death comes during the same weekend that the running world heard about the equally tragic loss of Micah True (aka Caballo Blanco) the legendary ultra-marathoner and organiser of the 50miler Copper Canyon race with the Tarahumara people in New Mexico - the star of the Born to Run book - who was found dead after not coming back from a run earlier in the week.

I have tried to write tributes to them both but keep deleting what I've put down - I don't feel qualified really as I didn't know either of them personally. I've also realised that I'm not going to be able to write a proper report about the race, so will instead end my post with a few photos from the finish in Reading's Madejski stadium: a reminder of just how lucky I am to still be running, and just how much I have to be grateful for.

Successful recovery for my broken body

This time last week, I was considering whether I would be able to run the Reading Half...my body felt absolutely broken, as you will see from my last post!  But in all honestly, pulling out wasn't a viable option for me - I had to do all I could to help me recover in time. So:

• I took three days off in a row - no running at all.  Not entirely through choice - I could barely walk - but I think this was the most important aspect of feeling better, my body just needed some time to heal! I then ran 6 miles on Wednesday and 6 again on Thursday, with another two rest days before Sunday's race.
• I headed to Boots and bought a load of tablets (although have now been given lots of recommendations for where I could have bought them at half the price!).  I'm now taking a decent dose of Glucosamine Sulphate, Chrondroitin Sulphate and Cod Liver Oil, every day to try and help my joints cope with the rigours of running.
• I bought some 2XU compression 3/4 length tights. I've seen lots of other people wearing them and thought they looked cool, but the price has always put me off, although I've long been a convert to the idea of compression clothing.  I'm now a convert to 2XU too - in my opinion they are better than any other compression stuff I've bought in the past, and well worth the price. They are incredibly comfortable, but also seem like a miracle for my legs and I think wearing them has made a difference for me. 
• I got a sports massage - this is something I love to do, but again the price puts me off going that regularly which is a shame as it's so worthwhile.  My main problem areas on this trip were around my hips, my hamstrings and my glutes (lots of problems with my glutes!) and so I had to really ignore all my embarrassment and let the massage therapist go to work on my bum!! It did work though, I did feel better, and I'll definitely be going back too.

All of this came together and brought me to the point where I got up at 6am yesterday morning, feeling entirely confident, really looking forward to the race and absolutely raring to go - no pain, no tiredness, no longer broken...and you know what, I absolutely smashed it :) I had a great day, and a race report will follow....

Just too much running for my knees to take

Last week was due to be my most intense week of training...50 miles were on the schedule including a long run of 24 miles...before starting a three week taper for the Brighton Marathon.

However, as with so many things, it didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped for.  50 miles became 36 miles, and my previously working legs seem to have broken down - it was clearly a weeks more heavy training than they could cope with!

I knew I wasn't feeling right, and my knees were starting to complain, so I took an unscheduled rest day on Friday, before going out for my long run on Saturday, although in the end I cut it short from 24 miles to 21 miles.  It was a beautiful sunny day but it wasn't a great run.  Whereas last week I decided to run along a flat (easy) route along our closest canal, this week I decided that I needed to work harder and so ran out from my house. I didn't really plan where I was going to go - I found a few nice country routes, a never-ending housing estate, oh and lots of steep, endless hills! The first three miles were horrendous - for some reason my feet were killing me...then my shins, then my feet again. I kept stopping to readjust shoes, to stretch, just to stop.  However, after about five miles I got into my stride and started feeling much better.  It was only when I got to about eight miles that I realised the route I was taken was much more hilly than my usual runs around where I live, and this wasn't going to be pretty!

Luckily I had money so I was able to buy food and drinks on the way, but I was running slow...which I guess is the point on a long run, but I had really hoped to be able to get closer to marathon pace for the duration.

By the time I got to about 17/18 miles, I was pretty sure I should stop running as my knees were becoming more and more painful, but I kept going, because that's just what you do (as stupid as it may be) - resulting in running the last three miles all over 10min/mile.

By the time I dragged myself through the front door at just over 21 miles, I couldn't really walk. I did lots of icing (my hamstrings, my quads, my calves, my ankles, and most of all knees!) but for the rest of the evening, I had problems standing up, sitting down, and yep still couldn't really walk.  Yesterday was worse...pain not only in my knees but my glutes and hips and generally my legs were really heavy.

So, not only did I not come close to my 50 miles,  I'm pretty sure I've also ruined my chances of a PB at the Reading Half Marathon this weekend...my knees seem ok today as long as my lower leg only moves forward and backward and I don't sit still for anything more than 30 minutes. If there's any twisting motion, I get shooting pain.  Going up and down stairs isn't great, but manageable.  If I stay still for too long, I seem to seize up. This isn't really the state you need to be in to run a best time at a race in 6 days!

Oh well - looks like my taper is going to start with a few days off, and I'll get a massage (might even see a physio if my knees don't get much better) and see how I feel but either way, I'll still be running Reading - just might be a bit slower than planned!