A few more donations have come in, bringing the total so far to £1,405.50 - 56% of my target. I have begun to distribute publicity and sponsor forms around the circuit, and a couple more fundraising ideas are in the pipeline. I am confident that the £2,500 will be passed. That's the good news....
The bad news is that I've only run 11 miles this week.... because just over a mile into my second run of the week, my calf muscle went again. This time I stopped running immediately and walked home, feeling somewhat disconsolate.
If you have a certain sort of SatNav, you may have had the following experience: you are following the instructions and then for some reason you go off the planned route. Perhaps you missed the turning, or were in the wrong lane. So you aren't going where you wanted to go, but then that calm voice says "Recalculating....." A few seconds later gives you the instruction which will bring you towards your destination. You may take a little longer to get there that originally planned, and no doubt you will get a bit anxious. But you know you will get there.
And it's a bit like that for me at the moment - some of my plans will have to be changed. I need to rest this calf, and when I start running again, I will have to be even more cautious than I was last time. This probably means sticking with Run-Walk-Run for all of my running (not just the long runs) - at least for longer than I did last time, possibly all the way to marathon day. I will have to revisit my long run schedule, I may not get up to the ideal 20 miles, and almost certainly not more than once. I may have to reduce my running and do more cross-training to build my cardiovascular endurance without overstressing my muscles. All of this I intend to discuss with the sports physio next week. In particular, I need to talk to him about the possibility that I have an underlying weakness or imbalance which needs to be addressed.
If this had happened just a week or two before marathon day, the only sensible thing to do would be withdraw. But with 11 weeks to go, there is every reason to believe that there is enough time for this injury to heal - properly this time - and for me still to get enough training in that I am physically capable of completing the distance.
Of course I will have to be very determined as well - but you know by now that I am that. I suspect that I will also have to be very disciplined, in the sense of staying within whatever limits the physio prescribes on my running, and doing whatever exercise or stretches he gives me to do. I'm not so good at that part! But I know what is at stake.
I remember my confirmation by Bishop David Sheppard, who in his sermon talked about a train journey he had recently taken from London to Liverpool. There were problems on the line, the train got diverted, then broke down, and after several unscheduled changes and interruptions, the tired passengers arrived several hours late - but safe. He said that God's plan for our lives is like that - there is a perfect plan, but when things happen to push us off course, God recalculates, and brings us back on course. We get there in the end - perhaps by a harder and longer route than God originally planned. But he never gives up on us. And I'm not giving up on the marathon.
Thank you for your encouragement and support - it means a great deal, especially now.
Saturday 25 January 2014
Saturday 18 January 2014
Good Solid Week
3 outdoor runs this week plus 2 brief sessions on the treadmill tacked onto my gym sessions, giving me a total of 25 miles for the week. My longest run was 13.25 miles, 3 hrs 4:30 minutes - so meeting both the time and distance goals for this week. I have finally managed to exceed half-marathon distance :). The first 10 miles of the long run were done at 1 min run/1 min walk, with more freedom to run after that. My midweek run was walk-run according to feel, while the treadmill runs were continuous. And this morning's parkrun was continuous - the longest non-stop run I have done since the calf strain. No more added to the fundraising total this week, but quite a few people have asked about sponsor forms, so that bodes well.
This week I have really appreciated the different running communities to which I belong. One of these is online, and there are only a handful of the people there who I have met in the flesh (at parkrun). Fetcheveryone.com is a website which allows training to be recorded and analysed to death, information to be shared and discussions had with fellow runners. It is one of my main sources of information, and also encouragement. This blog is weekly (or thereabouts) - on fetcheveryone, I blog about every single run. The comments from other runners are supportive, helpful and encouraging. And no matter what your running problem or challenge, there is always someone who knows something about it and will help you.
The other community is parkrun - where no-one is too old, too fat or too slow. All runners, whatever their ability, are welcome, and will be told "well done" and clapped to the finish. I have missed the last two parkruns, and for the previous two, we could not have the usual post-run coffee, because the sports centre was undergoing work. And I realised this morning that one of the things I was really looking forward to was the camaraderie with other runners. I know some better than others, of course - but it is lovely to talk to people who share my passion. I had a great conversation today with two other women about Christmas presents. I told them about a pair of Merino wool running socks I had been given, which are brilliant - and one of them commented, "It's only runners who are excited about getting socks for Christmas". How true - as long as they are special running socks.
Also on offer today was a free post-run massage. I told the guy that I had strained my calf 4 weeks ago, and afterwards he was able to pinpoint exactly where the injury was, because he could feel the area of tightness. He said it is still slightly swollen, which was a bit of a surprise to me, because it has not bothered me at all this week. I suppose that is a reminder not to get carried away - to stick with walking breaks on my long runs, and keep the pace easy.
Also this week I have been exploring the facilities of my new running watch, which was my special 50th birthday present from my Mum and sisters. It has lots of extra features, including the ability to estimate VO2 Max from what your heart rate does as you run, and convert that into predicted race performances. After having seen me run a few times, it has decided my VO2 Max is 34 ml/min/kg, which is above average for a woman of my age, and predicts a 5K race time of exactly 30 minutes, and a 4:45 marathon.
Now, don't get too excited - those are estimates of my best possible performance assuming adequate training and all-out effort. I don't expect to be doing those times any time soon, in fact with a weakness in my calf to protect I am more determined than ever to keep my marathon goal as simply finishing it. But it's nice to know the potential is there for the future. And since VO2 Max is related to body weight, if I could get rid of some Christmas bulge, I would run even faster.
So, there we are. Another satisfactory week's training in the bank, which I will consolidate next week with a moderate length run on Monday. Only 12 weeks to go.... it doesn't seem long enough!
This week I have really appreciated the different running communities to which I belong. One of these is online, and there are only a handful of the people there who I have met in the flesh (at parkrun). Fetcheveryone.com is a website which allows training to be recorded and analysed to death, information to be shared and discussions had with fellow runners. It is one of my main sources of information, and also encouragement. This blog is weekly (or thereabouts) - on fetcheveryone, I blog about every single run. The comments from other runners are supportive, helpful and encouraging. And no matter what your running problem or challenge, there is always someone who knows something about it and will help you.
The other community is parkrun - where no-one is too old, too fat or too slow. All runners, whatever their ability, are welcome, and will be told "well done" and clapped to the finish. I have missed the last two parkruns, and for the previous two, we could not have the usual post-run coffee, because the sports centre was undergoing work. And I realised this morning that one of the things I was really looking forward to was the camaraderie with other runners. I know some better than others, of course - but it is lovely to talk to people who share my passion. I had a great conversation today with two other women about Christmas presents. I told them about a pair of Merino wool running socks I had been given, which are brilliant - and one of them commented, "It's only runners who are excited about getting socks for Christmas". How true - as long as they are special running socks.
Also on offer today was a free post-run massage. I told the guy that I had strained my calf 4 weeks ago, and afterwards he was able to pinpoint exactly where the injury was, because he could feel the area of tightness. He said it is still slightly swollen, which was a bit of a surprise to me, because it has not bothered me at all this week. I suppose that is a reminder not to get carried away - to stick with walking breaks on my long runs, and keep the pace easy.
Also this week I have been exploring the facilities of my new running watch, which was my special 50th birthday present from my Mum and sisters. It has lots of extra features, including the ability to estimate VO2 Max from what your heart rate does as you run, and convert that into predicted race performances. After having seen me run a few times, it has decided my VO2 Max is 34 ml/min/kg, which is above average for a woman of my age, and predicts a 5K race time of exactly 30 minutes, and a 4:45 marathon.
Now, don't get too excited - those are estimates of my best possible performance assuming adequate training and all-out effort. I don't expect to be doing those times any time soon, in fact with a weakness in my calf to protect I am more determined than ever to keep my marathon goal as simply finishing it. But it's nice to know the potential is there for the future. And since VO2 Max is related to body weight, if I could get rid of some Christmas bulge, I would run even faster.
So, there we are. Another satisfactory week's training in the bank, which I will consolidate next week with a moderate length run on Monday. Only 12 weeks to go.... it doesn't seem long enough!
Sunday 12 January 2014
Gearing Up and Counting Down
A thoroughly satisfactory week of getting back into a proper training routine - 4 runs, ranging from 3.5 to 8.7 miles, and a total for the week of 23 miles. These were all run-walk-run, although towards the end of each run I increased the proportion of running. I am very happy to report that I have had not so much as a murmur of protest from my calf. The fundraising total stands at £1,345.
With the festivities out of the way, it is time to start Gearing Up on fundraising. There are a number of things already in the pipeline: one of my churches is holding a coffee morning towards my efforts, the day before the marathon; another is hosting a lunch and talk a couple of weeks after the event, with money raised through ticket sales; someone from my third main church has asked me today to give them some information, so they can start getting sponsorship; a friend is holding an Open House in February, with half the proceeds going to Cancer Research; and in the next week or two I hope to have some exciting news about sponsorship coming from a commercial source. In addition, I will be printing our sponsor forms and distributing them around the Mansfield Circuit - although, if people are able and willing to do so, I prefer them to give through either JustGiving or by text, as it goes direct and saves me a bit of admin collecting the money in.
With all this going on, and the response to my relatively low key efforts so far, I have every confidence of not only reaching but exceeding my target of raising £2,500 for Cancer Research - hopefully by a long way.
With the realisation that the marathon is 13 weeks today (Eek!), it is time to start Counting Down the long runs which stand between me and the start line. I talked last week about Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. I am now following the broad principles of his marathon training programme for first-time runners aiming to finish, although I have adapted it somewhat. It is based on four runs per week, with a true long run only every other week. He specifies the long run in terms of distance, and the other runs in terms of time.
I have always been a bit ambivalent about how to assess runs, particularly long ones. On the one hand, it is good to have the assurance of having covered a certain distance; on the other hand, the 13 miles I did in December, which were hilly and included a lot of uneven terrain, are a much more demanding proposition than the first half of the London Marathon course - on tarmac, and almost entirely flat.
The solution I have hit on is to specify both a time and a distance for my long runs, and count the run as achieved if I meet either the time or the distance targets. In between the long runs I will do 3 other runs each week, one of which will be at a faster pace (probably the parkrun). In addition, I'll be keeping up with my strength and core work a couple of times a week. So, I am counting down the 13 weeks to the marathon in 13 long runs:
13th Jan - 3:00 or 13
20th Jan - 2:00 or 9
27th Jan - 3:15 or 14
3rd Feb - 2:00 or 9
10th Feb - 3:45 or 16
17th Feb - 2:00 or 9
24th Feb - 4:00 or 18
3rd Mar - 2:00 or 9
10th Mar - 4:30 or 20
17th Mar - 2:00 or 9
24th Mar - 4:30 or 20
31st Mar - 2:15 or 10
7th April - 1:30 or 7
As always, this plan needs to be flexible as things may arise which will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stick to it 100%. Not least we could have snow and sub-zero temperatures, as we have for the past few winters. But at the moment, that's the plan. I shall be setting off early tomorrow morning to get my 3-hour run in, as I am giving blood just before lunch time - I'll be wearing my CamelBak hydration pack so that I can drink all through the run, and also keeping fuelled up all the way. I hope to report next week that the first of my 13 long runs has been ticked off.
Thank you again for all your support and encouragement - this is all getting rather real!
With the festivities out of the way, it is time to start Gearing Up on fundraising. There are a number of things already in the pipeline: one of my churches is holding a coffee morning towards my efforts, the day before the marathon; another is hosting a lunch and talk a couple of weeks after the event, with money raised through ticket sales; someone from my third main church has asked me today to give them some information, so they can start getting sponsorship; a friend is holding an Open House in February, with half the proceeds going to Cancer Research; and in the next week or two I hope to have some exciting news about sponsorship coming from a commercial source. In addition, I will be printing our sponsor forms and distributing them around the Mansfield Circuit - although, if people are able and willing to do so, I prefer them to give through either JustGiving or by text, as it goes direct and saves me a bit of admin collecting the money in.
With all this going on, and the response to my relatively low key efforts so far, I have every confidence of not only reaching but exceeding my target of raising £2,500 for Cancer Research - hopefully by a long way.
With the realisation that the marathon is 13 weeks today (Eek!), it is time to start Counting Down the long runs which stand between me and the start line. I talked last week about Jeff Galloway's Run-Walk-Run method. I am now following the broad principles of his marathon training programme for first-time runners aiming to finish, although I have adapted it somewhat. It is based on four runs per week, with a true long run only every other week. He specifies the long run in terms of distance, and the other runs in terms of time.
I have always been a bit ambivalent about how to assess runs, particularly long ones. On the one hand, it is good to have the assurance of having covered a certain distance; on the other hand, the 13 miles I did in December, which were hilly and included a lot of uneven terrain, are a much more demanding proposition than the first half of the London Marathon course - on tarmac, and almost entirely flat.
The solution I have hit on is to specify both a time and a distance for my long runs, and count the run as achieved if I meet either the time or the distance targets. In between the long runs I will do 3 other runs each week, one of which will be at a faster pace (probably the parkrun). In addition, I'll be keeping up with my strength and core work a couple of times a week. So, I am counting down the 13 weeks to the marathon in 13 long runs:
13th Jan - 3:00 or 13
20th Jan - 2:00 or 9
27th Jan - 3:15 or 14
3rd Feb - 2:00 or 9
10th Feb - 3:45 or 16
17th Feb - 2:00 or 9
24th Feb - 4:00 or 18
3rd Mar - 2:00 or 9
10th Mar - 4:30 or 20
17th Mar - 2:00 or 9
24th Mar - 4:30 or 20
31st Mar - 2:15 or 10
7th April - 1:30 or 7
As always, this plan needs to be flexible as things may arise which will make it difficult, if not impossible, to stick to it 100%. Not least we could have snow and sub-zero temperatures, as we have for the past few winters. But at the moment, that's the plan. I shall be setting off early tomorrow morning to get my 3-hour run in, as I am giving blood just before lunch time - I'll be wearing my CamelBak hydration pack so that I can drink all through the run, and also keeping fuelled up all the way. I hope to report next week that the first of my 13 long runs has been ticked off.
Thank you again for all your support and encouragement - this is all getting rather real!
Saturday 4 January 2014
New Year, New Start
Happy New Year!! As hoped, my first blog of 2014 brings better news, and a better frame of mind. After running zero miles while resting my calf during Christmas week, I have managed 11 miles of run-walk-running this week. Fundraising has had a little boost, as well, as several people used my birthday as an excuse to make a donation to my marathon fund - Thank you! The total now stands at £1,313 - over half way to my target.
Now, let me update you with what I have learned about calf strains over the past couple of weeks. A calf strain, like a pulled muscle anywhere in the body, is actually a tear in some of the fibres of the muscle. The severity depends on the number of fibres torn, ranging from a mild grade 1, when only a few fibres are torn, to a grade 3, which is a complete rupture of the muscle, requiring surgery to fix it.
The good news is that my strain was very much at the lower end of grade 1. After a few days' rest, I was comfortable enough to join in a 3 mile walk on Christmas Day, and to do 4 miles on Boxing Day. After a week, I was ready cautiously to try a little bit of jogging, first on the treadmill in the gym, then out of doors, interspersed with walking. That all went well, and so I planned a more extensive walk/run for New Year's Day. More about walk/running in a moment, but first....
The bad news about the calf is that this type of injury usually happens when the muscle is overextended. In runners, that's usually because you have been running extra hard, have not warmed up properly, or both. But neither of those were the case two weeks ago... I was running very gently, and it was well on in the run when the pain appeared, so I was fully warmed up. The other way that calf muscles get strained is when the muscle is fatigued late on in a long run (not the case), or, when the overall training load has simply been too much. I suppose we can't be absolutely sure, but that does look like the most likely candidate in my case.
I had a little rant and a moan on a runners' discussion forum, complaining that I couldn't understand why I was injured, because I hadn't DONE anything. Someone pointed out to me that I HAD done something - I had doubled my average mileage in about 3 months. And maybe the body is complaining about that. I could try ignoring the warning, and go back to my original training schedule, hoping that I was just unlucky..... but that presents the risk, if I'm wrong, of a more serious strain, and a longer enforced rest.
So that leaves me with a dilemma - because 14 weeks tomorrow, I have a marathon to run, and a lot of generous people supporting and encouraging me. So, I need to do enough training to get me to the finish line, while staying well enough to get to the start line. The answer, I think, lies in run-walk-run.
Mixing running with walking is hardly a revolutionary concept. It's what virtually every novice runner does - certainly those who start in mature years, anyway. It's what ultra-distance runners - those hardy souls who tackle challenges longer than the marathon - do as a matter of course. It's what I did on most of my runs for the first six weeks, and it's what I was still doing on my long runs. But most novice runners - me included - aspire to run continuously. The first time I got round parkrun without stopping to walk was a great occasion. I have done runs of up to 9 miles without stopping to walk, except to cross the road without getting run over or hop over the odd stile.
However, there is a school of thought that most runners would benefit from walking much sooner, and more frequently. It reduces fatigue, makes it possible to cover longer distances, and - importantly for me - greatly decreases the risk of injury. According to one if its main supporters, a former Olympic athlete called Jeff Galloway, it enables even sub-3-hour marathon runners to record a faster time than with continuous running.
He recommends different ratios of running to walking depending on your overall pace. The fastest runners would walk for only 30 seconds of each mile, the slowest ones will alternate 30 seconds of running with 30 seconds of walking. What he insists on, though, is that you take the walk breaks right from the very start, and keep on taking them until at least 2/3 of the distance you intend to run. On shorter runs - such as my parkruns, or midweek 5-6 milers, once my calf is back to full strength - the walk breaks are optional. But he recommends I use them for all my long runs, and on marathon day itself.
At the moment, there is no question - I need to use walk breaks to avoid setting back the recovery of my calf. I got no pain from it during an hour of run-walk-run on Wednesday, or 45 minutes this morning, when I increased the run segments from 1 minute to 2 and then 3, later in the run. But I was aware of some mild stiffness later on, which was not matched on the other side.
I learned a couple of things this week. I had resigned myself to not running at all for 2 weeks - my first attempt would have been this coming Monday. When it looked as though it was reasonable to try it sooner (as long as I did plenty of walking), I was crazily, exuberantly, childishly happy. Several people have asked me if I will carry on running after the marathon - and the answer is Yes!! It makes me happy. I probably won't put in as much mileage as I need to do for the next 14 weeks (14 weeks !!!), but I will run.
So, I'm looking forward to getting out on the lanes and trails on Monday.... I'll try 2 hours, and if that goes well, I'll try 3 hours the following Monday. Then I'll be back to where I was before the calf injury, and ready to build again. My overall pace has had to slow down - but that's OK. It's what I need to do to keep running - and a slow run is better than no run at all.
So - thank you for all your support and encouragement. You are an extra reason why failure is not an option - by hook or by crook, I am getting round that marathon, under my own steam.
Now, let me update you with what I have learned about calf strains over the past couple of weeks. A calf strain, like a pulled muscle anywhere in the body, is actually a tear in some of the fibres of the muscle. The severity depends on the number of fibres torn, ranging from a mild grade 1, when only a few fibres are torn, to a grade 3, which is a complete rupture of the muscle, requiring surgery to fix it.
The good news is that my strain was very much at the lower end of grade 1. After a few days' rest, I was comfortable enough to join in a 3 mile walk on Christmas Day, and to do 4 miles on Boxing Day. After a week, I was ready cautiously to try a little bit of jogging, first on the treadmill in the gym, then out of doors, interspersed with walking. That all went well, and so I planned a more extensive walk/run for New Year's Day. More about walk/running in a moment, but first....
The bad news about the calf is that this type of injury usually happens when the muscle is overextended. In runners, that's usually because you have been running extra hard, have not warmed up properly, or both. But neither of those were the case two weeks ago... I was running very gently, and it was well on in the run when the pain appeared, so I was fully warmed up. The other way that calf muscles get strained is when the muscle is fatigued late on in a long run (not the case), or, when the overall training load has simply been too much. I suppose we can't be absolutely sure, but that does look like the most likely candidate in my case.
I had a little rant and a moan on a runners' discussion forum, complaining that I couldn't understand why I was injured, because I hadn't DONE anything. Someone pointed out to me that I HAD done something - I had doubled my average mileage in about 3 months. And maybe the body is complaining about that. I could try ignoring the warning, and go back to my original training schedule, hoping that I was just unlucky..... but that presents the risk, if I'm wrong, of a more serious strain, and a longer enforced rest.
So that leaves me with a dilemma - because 14 weeks tomorrow, I have a marathon to run, and a lot of generous people supporting and encouraging me. So, I need to do enough training to get me to the finish line, while staying well enough to get to the start line. The answer, I think, lies in run-walk-run.
Mixing running with walking is hardly a revolutionary concept. It's what virtually every novice runner does - certainly those who start in mature years, anyway. It's what ultra-distance runners - those hardy souls who tackle challenges longer than the marathon - do as a matter of course. It's what I did on most of my runs for the first six weeks, and it's what I was still doing on my long runs. But most novice runners - me included - aspire to run continuously. The first time I got round parkrun without stopping to walk was a great occasion. I have done runs of up to 9 miles without stopping to walk, except to cross the road without getting run over or hop over the odd stile.
However, there is a school of thought that most runners would benefit from walking much sooner, and more frequently. It reduces fatigue, makes it possible to cover longer distances, and - importantly for me - greatly decreases the risk of injury. According to one if its main supporters, a former Olympic athlete called Jeff Galloway, it enables even sub-3-hour marathon runners to record a faster time than with continuous running.
He recommends different ratios of running to walking depending on your overall pace. The fastest runners would walk for only 30 seconds of each mile, the slowest ones will alternate 30 seconds of running with 30 seconds of walking. What he insists on, though, is that you take the walk breaks right from the very start, and keep on taking them until at least 2/3 of the distance you intend to run. On shorter runs - such as my parkruns, or midweek 5-6 milers, once my calf is back to full strength - the walk breaks are optional. But he recommends I use them for all my long runs, and on marathon day itself.
At the moment, there is no question - I need to use walk breaks to avoid setting back the recovery of my calf. I got no pain from it during an hour of run-walk-run on Wednesday, or 45 minutes this morning, when I increased the run segments from 1 minute to 2 and then 3, later in the run. But I was aware of some mild stiffness later on, which was not matched on the other side.
I learned a couple of things this week. I had resigned myself to not running at all for 2 weeks - my first attempt would have been this coming Monday. When it looked as though it was reasonable to try it sooner (as long as I did plenty of walking), I was crazily, exuberantly, childishly happy. Several people have asked me if I will carry on running after the marathon - and the answer is Yes!! It makes me happy. I probably won't put in as much mileage as I need to do for the next 14 weeks (14 weeks !!!), but I will run.
So, I'm looking forward to getting out on the lanes and trails on Monday.... I'll try 2 hours, and if that goes well, I'll try 3 hours the following Monday. Then I'll be back to where I was before the calf injury, and ready to build again. My overall pace has had to slow down - but that's OK. It's what I need to do to keep running - and a slow run is better than no run at all.
So - thank you for all your support and encouragement. You are an extra reason why failure is not an option - by hook or by crook, I am getting round that marathon, under my own steam.
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