The plague of respiratory illness

Three days to go to the marathon. All of the running is done, I just need to survive the plague of respiratory infections for a few more days and then get down to business. I am surrounded by illness: coughing and sneezing in the office, in the elevators, in the supermarkets. We are a city, a nation, full of snot and mucus as Winter heads towards Spring and it feels like the zombie holocaust is taking hold. As marathon day approaches and the culmination of several months of hard work is (hopefully) about to be realised, it becomes all too apparent that there is an unwritten law about not taking days off work for a cold. I am equally guilty of this, but right now I want the unwritten law to be fully rescinded, as being stopped in my tracks by a cold at this point would be devastating. Don't bring your illness too close to me or I may feel obliged to fend the zombie off with a baseball bat. So far I have fought off one cold last week and just have a slight, lingering cough that hopefully will improve rather than worsen over the next couple of days. I am nervous and excited but overall raring to go!

Into single figures

Into single figures now with 9 days to go to the marathon. I've had the official e-mail from the organisers, I'm on the start list, and it's all becoming quite real! I'm just fighting off the last of a fairly aggressive cold that enforced additional tapering for a few days (i.e., not doing any training at all). In some ways, this was perfect timing as I hope I have enough days to get fully better, as long as I don't catch anything else; there aren't any long runs left to do, so I just need to survive a few relatively short jogs to keep the legs going.

I have been looking up what are reasonable running times for the marathon (e.g., http://www.runnersgoal.com/how-many-runners-can-run-a-marathon-in-under-4-hours/). It seems about 25-30% of people can run a marathon in under 4 hours, and about 1.5-2% can run one in under 3 hours. This means that if I could meet my target of 3:30 I would be around the top 15% mark, which would make me incredibly happy! However, I don't want to get too hung up on exact timings and need to be fluid to react to whatever happens on the day and not kill myself...I've seen the elevation profile for the event (http://connect.garmin.com/course/4695237) and it is up and down to say the least! Just finishing a marathon is a huge achievement that I would be very proud to accomplish.

The joy of tapering

It is an absolute joy to have entered the tapering period. The gradual winding down of legs and miles and easing the body back to a lull before the storm of the event. Some would say it is so joyous that there is an argument for tapering all the time, and never running again. This is to forget that part of the joy in the rest is having earned it, and its contrast with the hard work that came before. There is also a clear satisfaction to being able to 'wind down' to a half marathon or some such distance, demonstrating the achievements that have been made to make this distance seem suddenly so manageable. Not that running will come to a complete halt - I'll still be running three times per week, but the distances will drop as low as four miles at the end, allowing the body to prepare itself for the long distance to come. Now it's time to batten down the hatches, avoid illness and injury at all costs, and come out blazing for the trail in two week's time.

Twenty six days to twenty six miles

Twenty six days to go and it hasn't escaped my attention that there is one day left for every mile I will have to run. I feel that this is somehow apt - the marathon is not only run over the 26 miles on the day, but over the many more miles run over the days and months leading up to it. This miniature mountain of time and distance (and hills) already covered is what makes my sensations heighten as the event draws nearer - I have put in so much effort to get this far that I don't want to miss out due to injury or illness at this late point.

The exercises John has recommended have adjusted my posture to the point that the right calf is not as problematic as it was, although this adjustment does seem to have ignited soreness in the left achilles. I am working on my gait to increase speed and reduce effort in the legs. This weekend will be my last truly long run before the marathon. As long as that goes well it will be all about keeping the legs ticking over for a few weeks and giving absolutely everything on the big day.

Fantastic running week

It's been a fantastic running week and an eventful and unusual weekend! The running form has continued with no calf issues - two 8-mile runs mid-week at okay pace, and then a 20 mile run on Saturday at 8-minute miling. The last 3-4 miles hurt but overall the legs recovered well and there was no flaring of the calf problems. I can only assume that the exercises that physio John has given me (described earlier in this blog) are doing the trick.

Unfortunately, I managed to get a blister on my right foot where I'd had some pompholyx eczema (a recent running issue), with a bit of swelling around the toes. Waking up Sunday morning it was clear that my foot was more swollen and fighting something off, and later that day it was getting worse. I was somewhat surprised to also find that my entire torso was covered in a rash, and on phoning NHS 111 was told to get to the ambulatory care department of the BRI that evening. Luckily, it seems it's just an infection that got in through the blister, accompanied by some strange bodily reaction, so I was given antibiotics and told to rest for a few days which I have itched my way through.

This same weekend, we thought we had lost the cat (missing for over 24 hours but turned up nonchalantly as if nothing had happened); we viewed a flat (weren't really intending to but saw an amazing and unique one!); and Lucy was offered two more clients on her counselling placement. I just need to get well enough to get running again and hope the legs still work the same - less than six weeks to the marathon!

Ups and downs with a personal record

It's been another very strange running week. On New Year's Eve, I did a long run to the downs - all was going fine until somewhere between the 9 and 10 mile point where the calf really started to complain. There was a strange dissolving feeling that spread around the muscle, almost to the point the whole thing felt a bit numb and foreign. It felt like I was in control of the left leg, but the right leg was a slightly numb block that I was dragging around. This was pretty concerning as I was on the downs and still around 4 miles from home. I slowed the pace a bit, stopped regularly to stretch out the leg, and got myself home after 14 miles. A lot of after care, stretching, etc., and I woke up the next day feeling okay but a little spooked.

Strangely, the following two runs were some of the best I have had in terms of the calf. On the first run, I got the odd shooting twinges up the leg, a bit like when you hit your funny bone, and particularly on the uphills. This seems to add evidence to Physio John's suggestion that it is a nerve issue not the muscle. Other than that, I didn't get the usual tightness in the calf and was allowed a fairly free run of 9.5 miles at around 7:45 miling.

This afternoon I had another run largely free of calf problems, which was incredibly liberating! It meant that after a few miles without trouble I could relax into the running more, and without pushing things too hard managed 10.5 miles at 7:30-minute miling, probably my best tempo mid-distance run since the injury. This put me at 34 miles for the week, which is the most I've ever run in one week.

There is still obviously an element of unpredictability about when the leg will cause me a problem, but there is an indication of improvement and long may it continue...the running is so much more joyous without the constant monitoring.

Whales and Marlins

I feel it is no coincidence that this Christmas I was given two books which are undoubtedly related: Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea', and Melville's 'Moby Dick'. Both describe the immense efforts of people to overcome multifarious obstacles in order to capture a monster far bigger than themselves (although I haven't read Moby Dick yet). It may be over-dramatic, but in some way this is how the marathon has become for me. Particularly since the calf problems, it has been a daily struggle to stay on top and build the mileage back up enough to make the marathon plausible. I put in calf-strengthening exercises daily, I now also slot in postural exercises and some 'neural flossing' as recommended by John. I am careful to warm up and down thoroughly around each run. I run three times per week, unsure each time whether the calf will fail again, but monitoring and adapting my runs accordingly. Add to this that I will not be satisfied purely with finishing the marathon, but I would like to run a reasonable time. My running is currently limited not by my fitness but by the leg, which sometimes does not allow me to run further. This is concerning given that my longest mileage since the injury is 15 miles. Still, I believe that my approach is giving me the best chance possible. It combines patience, determination, and discipline. Keep doing the exercises even though you may be bored. Keep training even though the weather may be terrible. Keep believing even though other people may not hide their doubt. There is never a guarantee of success, but you can always put in your best effort possible.