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 I am equally guilty of this, but right now I want the unwritten law to be fully rescinded, as being stopped in my tracks by a cold at this point would be devastating.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.

Am I feeling improvement?

I am loathe to say it after only a few days of my new computer set-up at home and adding in the standing-to-sitting exercises to my 3 sets of exercises per day, but I may be feeling some improvement. The calf still aches and complains a bit, but seems to recover quickly and I don't get quite the same taut, guitar-string, could-snap-any-moment feeling. Also, I am getting an ache in the upper right butt, suggesting either I'm having new problems or that area is starting to take on some of the load. However, if I compare the right leg to the left, it is still nowhere near better...the left leg jsut does all this stuff without a murmur.

Following the 15-miler on Sunday and a decent runabout in a singles badminton game on Monday, overall things felt good (or at least better than I'd have expected) and I felt like pushing it a little today. My first mile is always slow because I'm getting going and it's where a lot of the uphill is from our flat. However, following an intial 8:30 mile, I ran a speedy further 8 miles to average under 7:30-minute miling for a bit over 9 miles altogether, including a sub 1-hour first 8 miles.

As always, I need to see how the body reacts, and I have another physio appointment tomorrow before the Christmas break so I'll see what he thinks.

Made it to 15 miles

On a damp but mild morning, I set off hoping for at least 10 miles to get 25 for the week. I am never certain at the moment how my leg is going to react, but with a slightly slower start it all held together pretty well for the journey to the downs. I felt the odd twinge, but it wasn't until around the 11-12 mile mark that I really started to get some warning signs from the right calf. Because I'd put on some distance cruising around the downs I was going to have to run 13.6 miles to make it home, so pushed on to 14, and then possibly stupidly decided to add a little extra to get to 15 despite complaints from the leg. So 15 miles complete in 1:58, just under 8 minutes per mile...I'm pleased but will definitely have to check my leg hasn't fallen off over night...

Physio Trip Number Two

On my second appointment with John, he once again demonstrated to me the flaws in my posture. With me standing casually, a quick profile photo showed that my pelvis and nose stuck out in front of the rest of my body. I am curving my lower spine backwards and then my neck and head are pushing too far forwards from my shoulders (see photo 1); as John rightly pointed out, I am a two-pillow sleeper. These extra curves in my skeletal frame mean that the nerves strung over that frame have further to travel than they should, and therefore have less give in them. My first prescription was to sort out my posture during the many hours I use a computer (at the office and particularly when using my laptop at home, for which my posture is really pretty terrible).I have included a before (photo 2) and after (photo 3) shot of my laptop setup.

Following this, we tried some little hops as if skipping, first on both legs then switching to one leg, showing that this was much worse on my right side. Similarly, when balancing on one leg, I would lean my upper body much further to the side on the right leg than when balancing on the left. It seems I am literally a lazy arse, at least on the right side, where the upper glute muscles do not want to work to keep me balanced. Prescription two was the controlled sitting exercise from the physiotherapy.co.uk website to wake these muscles up. You or I may well ask what all this has to do with my calf injury? I believe John's answer might be that you treat the body and not the symptoms of injury, and the rest follows...there is a logic to this, and as a scientist I see that you can only test this theory by following the advice, so fingers crossed and here goes...

Photo 1 - my neck looking a bit forward from my back

Photo 2 - how I used a laptop before the physio session (borrowing my girlfriend's laptop here)

Photo 3 - my new laptop setup at the desk in the bedroom

Unexpected Physio Trip

All is still largely going to plan - I am running around 7-8 miles mid-week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and around a half marathon distance on the weekends. However, the calf is still very much not back to normal. I always feel it, sporadically have to stop to stretch it, and always have concern about something bad happening to it before I can get back home. It clearly is not as easy-going as the left calf.

Last week, I went to the Moti running shop hoping for a recommendation for a physio to assess the problems with my calf. Lucky for me, John walked through the door at that moment and offered me a free assessment. With pause only to make a vital cup of tea, we got to work. John walked me through the issues with my body, step by logical step, gradually revealing a complete picture which I feel he knew practically from the start. Neither of my feet land in a straight line down from the knee. The two legs are different, with the right (where I have the calf issues) worse than the left. My right side is weaker than the left in certain areas: lifting the knee up towards the chest, and lifting up the big toe. John traced these issues to the L2 and L5 vertebrae in my lumbar spine, and demonstrated that these were more tender than the others. Overall, I'm no longer surprised that I am having problems running! Whilst there is a considerable list of problems with the posture of my body, having them pointed out with such clarity has given me genuine optimism that something can be done about them. I hope that optimism is well founded.

Best long run so far

A beautiful winter's morning - relatively mild and clear, blue, sunny skies. I get the hat on, partly to keep warm but mostly to keep my hair out of my eyes. From early on I'm feeling pretty good and the mile times are quicker than I intended, but the calf is mostly okay. Somewhat recklessly I push on because it is exhilarating to be running through that morning at a half-decent pace, but I am aware this may be stupid and keep my senses on the calf. It gets harder from about 9 miles onwards, and I can feel the calf struggling a bit for the last couple of miles. In total I complete 14 miles in 1:45:30, just over 7:30 minute miles on average - I am very happy with that!...now just have to do some after-care on the legs.

Current Training Routine

It's been four months since the original injury, and (fingers crossed) things are still going reasonably well. I've got into a rough training regime to help the legs and the running that I will lay out below:

Daily, I try to do 3 sets of leg strengthening exercises, once in the morning, once when I get back from work, and once later in the evening. These comprise calf raises (Fig. 1), calf raises with knees bent (to strengthen the soleus muscles; Fig. 2); the same again but on one leg at a time; one-legged squats on an inflatable balance cushion (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvpcxcOFWbg); sideways leg raises and clam leg raises (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV9lrplkdG4).

Once per day I foam roll all the leg muscles (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6roIdrD9Q), and sometimes with a tennis ball I'll roll my glutes and the calf muscles a little deeper.

I started having a protein supplement drink once per day after the injury - I am vegetarian, and whilst for half marathons I've never had a problem, I felt that for a marathon you should actually be having more than the daily recommended amount of protein (55g for men) to rebuild the torn muscle fibres. I get this mostly from seeded wholemeal bread (around 5g per slice), pulses (e.g., a can of baked beans is around 20g), eggs (around 5g per egg), and dairy (particularly cheese).

I do 5 minutes of warm up and down on the exercise bike for each run (minimum 1.5 miles each), and stretch out the legs and hips carefully after a run (see Figs. 3-5).

Figure 1. Calf Raises

Figure 2. Calf raises with knees bent

Figure 3. Stetching out the calf

Figure 4. Stretching out the soleus

Stretching out the hip flexors

Sports massages are painful

I managed a half marathon at the weekend, taking my mileage for November up above the 100 mile mark, which I'm incredibly pleased with. The calf felt really tight so I booked myself in for a sports massage. Without doubt, sports massages are bloody painful. Strangely, the left calf and the quads were more painful then anywhere else, even though it's the right leg that's giving me trouble. However, I feel like it all must be good for me if it hurts! Following the massage I felt like pushing things a little, and did a decent 7 miles at 7:40 per mile pace. It feels great to actually run, although I still wouldn't say I'm allowing myself into top gear yet.

Always a challenge

A weekend away at the parents, including a dramatic but ultimately disappointing football match, coincided with the development of a strange blister/infection on the ball of my foot, which was too painful to run on. By the time I could run again on Tuesday, I only managed 5.5 miles before the calf tightened up nearly to the point of snapping and I had to walk home. I was concerned to run again today, but took it steady, stretched when I needed to, and made it to 8 miles. That makes November my highest mileage since July, and my second highest month's mileage since I started training for the marathon. Hoping for a long run at the weekend, but will have to see how the leg responds...

Cool, starless night running

The night is cool and starless, the Earth nuzzled in cloud, tucked in for bed. This is almost the perfect temperature for running - it is cool and dry, you sweat less, there is little chance of over-heating or dehydrating. The run keeps my legs and body warm - the only part of me that really gets cold is my hands and arms, wafting through the night air, so I cover them with sleeves and gloves. As long as you dress appropriately, none of this is a problem, even if it's raining. The main issue is ice, but it's not cold enough tonight for that. I keep an easy pace, not too slow but not too fast, taking it steady on the hills, and perhaps pushing a little more than I should on the flat. I complete 10 miles, put in a 7:15 mile as the sixth, average a bit under 8-minute miling, although the calf definitely aches during the last 3 miles and I am forced to ease off and nurse it home. Following 8 miles on Tuesday I am pleased, knowing we're away at the weekend and I'll probably have to fit in a smaller run if possible...

First post-injury half marathon

On Saturday morning I did a steady-paced (around 8:15 minute miles) half marathon for the first time since the injury. Early in the week I had run a 6 mile and an 8 mile, so I also broke 26 miles in a week for the first time since the injury too. I'm really pleased with the progress, but still get twinges and soreness on a regular basis and have to be wary. The half-marathon on Saturday was amazing, gliding through a misty morning, cool and refreshing, and although the calf had felt uncomfortable following the 8 miles on Thursday it generally felt good for the long run - lowering the pace, even slightly, is definitely the key.

Hovering just off the pace

So, last week following my 5 mile run feeling great, I fit in a 10 miler on Tuesday, knowing I had a 30th birthday to go to at the weekend and would struggle to fit in a long run. The leg ached a bit, but on Thursday and Sunday I then fit in 7 miles each day, giving a 24 mile total for the week. This is about perfect - ideally I would be getting in a marathon, 26 miles, each week as a minimum, and build the long run upwards from this, but at the moment my calf won't allow it...

Slight blip again

Following last week's successful three runs of 8, 8, and 10 miles, there was a blip this week. Partly due to time constraints and partly due to a twinge in the right calf, I only ran 8, 5, and 5 miles this week. On the plus side the 5 miles today felt mostly great, and my speed was solid despite the hills, averaging around 7:30 miling. The fourth mile was sub 7 minutes and it was an absolute joy to stretch the legs, the heart, and the breath a little. This is when I find running most exhilarating, with the blur of closeness stalling to a steady progress into the distance. The heart is pounding, senses alert and bright, dodging oblivious walkers staring at their mobile phones and weaving a smooth meander across the pavement. Pushing up a hill and pedalling rapidly down the other side - this, for me at least, is true running at its best.

Double-digits and niggles

Yesterday I ran a double-digit mileage (10.5 miles) for the first time since my calf injury, and on the Thursday before that I had run another 8 miles. The 10-miler was up to the downs, which is also the first time I've taken on the hills all the way to the downs since my injury. Overall I'm incredibly happy!

Having said that, I've got a few niggles in the legs. Now, niggles are weird things - I think I pretty much always get something or other going on in the legs, and most of the time it's fine and goes away again, but having injured the calf I am currently somewhat paranoid about niggles turning into injuries! Presently, I still feel the right calf ache much more than the left so I'm cautious about that; I have a sharp pain which appears occasionally in the right knee then disappears completely; and I have dull soreness deep in my arse on both sides. I'm pretty sure the arse soreness is the piriformis muscle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piriformis_muscle), which helps to stabalise the hip, and happens to run near the sciatic nerve so can cause pain issues. I found a few methods on youtube to stretch out and strengthen the piriformis and have been following these since, with some easing in the soreness so far, so long may that continue.

So I'm edging towards a pattern of 8-mile runs mid-week, with a longer run at the weekend, and exercise bike on the non-running days to keep my legs and heart working a bit, except Mondays when I play badminton. Today I cycled a half-marathon on the bike in about 40 minutes. I'll just have to keep edging the long run upwards from here on and hope the body holds together!