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