Looking for a new stand for your race medals?

If you're trying to come up with a new way to display your running medals, it doesn't get any better than this, at least for Christmas! ;)

Photo pinched from an article on Runners World, and originally from someone very cool (I expect) called Amanda Jones! 

Running: the facts & figures

Came across this infographic, loved it and thought I'd share!

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A hip replacement?

Today is the 16th day since my hip really blew up, and the 16th day it's been painful.

Since then, I've run just 11 miles in training, had two sessions in the gym with the personal trainer, completed the Luton Marathon, and gone through half a roll of rock tape.

The pain is getting better, slowly but surely, and today I had my third session with the physio.

She's given me some more exercises to do, and prescribed them twice a day to try and further build up the strength in my core, pelvis and hips.  The exercises are all very easy on the face of it, but doing them with the physio made me realise how difficult they are when they're done really slowly while properly engaging the muscles, and maintaining good form! I trust the physio, and am going to carry on doing what she's told me, in the hope that not only does my hip recover, but that the extra strength I gain from the exercises will help to protect me in the future.

Unfortunately, I've started to put on loads of weight because I'm eating as much as I usually do (if not more) but barely doing any exercise! Today I have recommited to sorting myself out, and if I can't run, I need to swim or head down to the gym to maintain my fitness, and I need to sort out my portion sizes. In other news, we've set a date for the wedding now, and so I have to start thinking about dropping a few lbs for that reason, as well as just to help my running!

I have the Saxon Shore Marathon on Saturday, put on by Traviss Willcox, which is an event I've been looking forward to for ages as it seems that lots of the usual suspects are going to be there, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone! As I got through Luton, I know I'll be able to get through this one, but will take exactly the same approach. No watch, take it slow and easy, and just see how I go. Let's just hope it's doesn't make things worse!

The key to recovery is more running

I got myself to the start line at the Luton Marathon yesterday and very pleased that I also managed to get all the way to the finish! It was definitely one of the hardest marathons I've done as the pain in my hip really kicked in from about half a mile and lasted pretty much every step until I crossed the finish line 4 hours 12 minutes after starting.  I kept telling myself it was like I was running the second half of a 50 miler, and it was good practise to run through the pain.

Fuelling/hydration all worked out really well though, and I'm pleased with how I got on in the circumstances. I didn't run with a watch, as I wanted to run in line with how I felt, instead of trying to maintain a pace and although it was a little disconcerting I'm relieved I didn't have the pressure of trying to get a time.

Luton's a 3 lap marathon, and I started with the idea that if I needed to, I would pull out early at the end of a lap as the physio had instructed. It was strange to go into a race with a potential plan to DNF but luckily once I started running, I knew I couldn't seriously consider dropping out unless my leg dropped off! Anyway, it was a good day all in all, with perfect running conditions, and the event was incredibly well organised.  Particularly mention too for the many, many marshals who were, without exception, unrelentingly enthusiastic around the whole course.

I had my second physio appointment today - apparently my hip is actually better than it was last week even after the trauma of the marathon. I think the key to recovery is definitely running more!

My trip to the physio

Norsey Wood. Photo from http://thenaturephile.com

My last run was on Saturday, and it was a good one.

Weather was cold but it was dry and fresh. I was mostly on the roads, but took a mile detour through the beautifully autumnal Norsey Wood where the path was covered in fallen leaves so you couldn't see where all the muddy puddles were - I nearly lost my trainer in a particularly sticky puddle of mud and my legs got covered - all good fun..  I started in daylight, watched the beautiful sunset, got home in the dark...

Perfect. Except that half way through, the aching in my hip that I've had for a couple of weeks developed into an acute and definite pain.  The rest of Saturday night saw the pain developing until I was barely able to move without being in agony.

Sunday the pain was still pretty bad when I walked. Monday, I called up my health insurance company and they put me in touch with a local physio clinic. I had a phone consultation (when they assured me it didn't sound like a stress fracture or anything wrong with the joint) and then, although it's been definitely feeling better than it was yesterday, I went to the Nuffield West End clinic around the corner from work, earlier on today.

I was full of nerves about what the physio was going to say. As part of the initial questioning, she asked me what I thought was wrong - I said it felt like an overuse injury but I didn't see how it could be, because after the Stort30, I've had lots of time off and my mileage has been lower than I'm used to, so in essence I've been resting! Therein though, apparently, may lie the problem.

Her advise was that with the type of training and running I've been doing, taking that time off may well have been a bad idea - muscle strength starts reducing incredibly quickly (didn't know that) and after a week or so of doing nothing, you can't just start running again and expect to pick up from where you left off.

She said by all means take a break from running, but if you're planning to start again after your rest, reduce the distances slowly over a period of weeks and then build up again slowly - it's all about gradual change. Everyone talks about increasing weekly distance by that magic 10%, but I've never thought about reducing slowly too - she said the only way you should really take a week off from running, after being used to 40 mile weeks, if you want to start up again the next week, is to replace the runs with strength work to maintain muscle condition. Now I know why the runstreak is the best way to go! ;)

Anyway, the outcome is that I have inflammation of my various muscles around my hip - the root cause is probably the imbalance in the strength of my core and legs between my left and right side that the physio identified.

So, I have some specific exercises she's told me to perform daily and I'm to go back next week. She also said I should carry on with gym work, but make sure I don't aggravate the area, and remember the difference between muscle fatigue and pain!  My insurance company has authorised 6 physio sessions which should be enough to really see some real improvement, as long as I make sure I actually do these specific exercises every day.

The best bit was at the end of the session when the physio asked if I had any other questions - I only had one..."would you say I could run a marathon this weekend?!"

She didn't say no, in fact she said I could...because experience had taught her there was no point in saying no. As long as I was prepared for it to hurt a lot, the area would become inflamed again, and that it would significantly hurt afterwards until the inflammation went down again, I wouldn't do any long lasting damage. However, she also just cautioned me not to be too disappointed if I had to pull out of the race.  But in my book, a DNF is better than a DNS, so guess what I'm planning for Sunday?!