This is my fourth week of not being able to run. I have an MRI scan scheduled this Friday, and although my leg and ankle are feeling much better than they did, unfortunately my ankle is still constantly painful and I know I'm not ready to run yet.
It is hugely affecting my mood, and the evenings (when I used to go for my run) are particularly hard as I find myself bored and fidgety, unable to settle on anything. I had some advise yesterday on twitter about how to get through this time, from the lovely Sue Albiston, including the suggestion to write about what I've achieved so far.
So....that's what I'm going to do, a quick review of the last 12 months:-
I started June 2012 with a total of 8 marathons to my name, three of which I'd run since the beginning of the year, three in 2011, one in 2010 and one in 2008. I was in good shape, having run my marathon PB of 3:49 at Brighton in April 2012, and I was getting ready to take my running to the next level - to start running ultras!
In July 2012, I ran my first ultra - a 30 mile race - which was also my first Engima event - and followed that up a couple of weeks later with my first 52.4 mile race at Challenge Hub down in Kent, which I finished in 10hrs 41mins. They went incredibly well, and I absolutely loved the experience of both...I knew I was hooked!!
In September, I took part in my first multi-day event, The Toad, where I ran 90 miles over three days along the Thames Path. Again, it was a fantastic event, unlike anything I'd ever done before, and I really enjoyed myself, finished as 4th lady, and in the back of my mind, I knew this was good training for the 10in10 which was fast approaching!
October was a pretty special month - Francis and I went on holiday to Croatia...and came back engaged!! I'd never been so happy, and soon found myself planning the wedding. The running continued though, and October also saw me take part in the inaugural Stort 30 - a great race but with a very small female field as it was a new event, and so I managed to finish as first lady. I was absolutely over the moon.
I ran another couple of marathons in November and December, as well as various other races of shorter distances, until training really started in January for May's Brathay 10in10.
In the 4.5 months, between the beginning of 2013 and the start of the 10in10, I ran a half marathon, a 20 miler, 5 marathons, and a brilliant 45 mile ultra (the first time I'd had to really navigate a route that wasn't well signed, and also had to use a torch as we were running in the dark). I was so proud of myself for finishing that race - I finally felt I could really call myself an ultra runner. I also fitted in getting married and going on honeymoon!!! It was a wonderful, and very busy time :D
Then in May, less than a year after my first ever ultra - I ran 10 marathons in 10 days.
It's funny, writing all that down....it does seem that I have really come a ridiculously long way in 12 months! I don't think I realised.
I've just gone through and added up all of the events I took part in between June 2012 and May 2013: 31 races in the last 12 months, of which 25 were marathons or ultras. For lots of people I know, that's not actually that unusual, or even that much (I'm friends with a very special group of people!) but comparing it to the 12 months before that, from June 2011 to May 2012, when I ran a total of 16 races of which just 4 were marathons, it's a massive leap.
So, I'm going to make a real effort to remember just how much I've achieved in such a short space of time and to just go with this enforced rest period for as long as I need to. But you know what, I can't wait to get back to it....there's so much more I want to do.
It is hugely affecting my mood, and the evenings (when I used to go for my run) are particularly hard as I find myself bored and fidgety, unable to settle on anything. I had some advise yesterday on twitter about how to get through this time, from the lovely Sue Albiston, including the suggestion to write about what I've achieved so far.
So....that's what I'm going to do, a quick review of the last 12 months:-
I started June 2012 with a total of 8 marathons to my name, three of which I'd run since the beginning of the year, three in 2011, one in 2010 and one in 2008. I was in good shape, having run my marathon PB of 3:49 at Brighton in April 2012, and I was getting ready to take my running to the next level - to start running ultras!
In July 2012, I ran my first ultra - a 30 mile race - which was also my first Engima event - and followed that up a couple of weeks later with my first 52.4 mile race at Challenge Hub down in Kent, which I finished in 10hrs 41mins. They went incredibly well, and I absolutely loved the experience of both...I knew I was hooked!!
In September, I took part in my first multi-day event, The Toad, where I ran 90 miles over three days along the Thames Path. Again, it was a fantastic event, unlike anything I'd ever done before, and I really enjoyed myself, finished as 4th lady, and in the back of my mind, I knew this was good training for the 10in10 which was fast approaching!
October was a pretty special month - Francis and I went on holiday to Croatia...and came back engaged!! I'd never been so happy, and soon found myself planning the wedding. The running continued though, and October also saw me take part in the inaugural Stort 30 - a great race but with a very small female field as it was a new event, and so I managed to finish as first lady. I was absolutely over the moon.
I ran another couple of marathons in November and December, as well as various other races of shorter distances, until training really started in January for May's Brathay 10in10.
In the 4.5 months, between the beginning of 2013 and the start of the 10in10, I ran a half marathon, a 20 miler, 5 marathons, and a brilliant 45 mile ultra (the first time I'd had to really navigate a route that wasn't well signed, and also had to use a torch as we were running in the dark). I was so proud of myself for finishing that race - I finally felt I could really call myself an ultra runner. I also fitted in getting married and going on honeymoon!!! It was a wonderful, and very busy time :D
Then in May, less than a year after my first ever ultra - I ran 10 marathons in 10 days.
It's funny, writing all that down....it does seem that I have really come a ridiculously long way in 12 months! I don't think I realised.
I've just gone through and added up all of the events I took part in between June 2012 and May 2013: 31 races in the last 12 months, of which 25 were marathons or ultras. For lots of people I know, that's not actually that unusual, or even that much (I'm friends with a very special group of people!) but comparing it to the 12 months before that, from June 2011 to May 2012, when I ran a total of 16 races of which just 4 were marathons, it's a massive leap.
So, I'm going to make a real effort to remember just how much I've achieved in such a short space of time and to just go with this enforced rest period for as long as I need to. But you know what, I can't wait to get back to it....there's so much more I want to do.
It's so hard taking time off injured but when you look back at what you've done - WOW, I am SO impressed! Don't forget that when you start again you'll come back even stronger. Best of luck with the recovery process - I found it useful to set other goals when I was injured, such as a goal to make sure I ate my 5-a-day, goals to spend more time seeing the friends I neglect when training hard etc. And don't forget you can always marshall for races :-)
ReplyDeleteIt always sucks getting injured :/ But you have to take the injury first, then return with full might! http://myproteinshop.com/
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