Marathon Training Day44
Posted by John McLaughlin in Marathon Training, tags: Edinburgh Marathon 2009- Training Type: Slow 18miles (Actual 6.28miles)
- Time Taken: 00:54:27
- Calories: 779C
- Avg Heart Rate: 175bpm (I think I have a HRM problem)
- Avg Pace: 08:40min/mile
- Weather: Sunny
- Running Shoes: The black ones
Well, I did actually go for this run on Sunday, but as you can probably tell from the fact that I only managed 6.28miles, it didn’t quite go according to plan. It turns out that the 20mile run I did in the wrong shoes has caused me more of a problem than I first realised. All started well, but after 5 miles, the pain in my knee, just to the outside of the knee at the back, was hurting a lot, I managed to walk and run for just over another mile, but no matter what I tried the pain wouldn’t go away – I could do nothing other than phone home for a lift.
While, I was walking to the pick up point I had arranged with Helen, my knee was stiff too start with, but the longer I walked for the better it seemed to get, then while I was stood waiting, my knee felt as good as new, until I tried to run, then it hurt – a lot.
I got home feeling absolutely gutted, every run since my 20 miler had gone wrong, how on earth was I going to run a marathon, if I cant even run 6miles. I decided with just a couple of weeks to go until the marathon, that I had to see a physio, at least they could then tell me if I could still run the marathon or not, needless to say when sitting in the waiting room this morning, I was very nervous, what if they said I couldn’t run – I would have done all the training for nothing – it didn’t bear thinking about.
Needless to she the physio, she said yes!! After a brief but thorough check-up, I have been told I can try and run the marathon. It appears I haven’t been doing as much stretching as I should have, that and then running in shoes that had worn out support has just caused the injury. I have been given a lot of stretches that I need to do everyday and I am to stop running until the marathon and need to have my legs massaged – the stretching exercises should help the problem, but it may not help in time for the marathon, so while I have been given the ok, to at least try, if the pain becomes to much on the day, I have been told to stop.
I feel absolutely gutted, I knew the marathon was going to be hard, but now knowing that even before I get to the start line, there is a real possibility I wont get to the finish line has put a slight dampener on the whole thing, but at least I haven’t been told I cant even run, that would have just been terrible.
Entries (RSS)
Hi John, It looks like you and I are having similar problems. I went out to do my 6-7 mile run today. I was feeling quite confident after my osteopath treatment but once again about 2 miles into the run my knee started to hurt. It sounds like it’s in the same kind of area (outside of knee, going a bit into the back). I’m feeling pretty frustrated, but am determined I will get round even if I have to walk it (my knee’s fine when I’m walking). A few questions: What are the stretches you are doing? Are you taking anti-inflammatories? Are you going back to see the physio before the marathon and finally did they have a specific name for your injury?
My plan is this: I’m not going to run now until the day. I’m going to take regular anti-inflammatories (even though I try to avoid medication if at all possible) I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that it’ll be alright on the day!
Hi Sara, it does sound like we have very similar injuries.
The stretches I am doing are general lower limb stretches, I’m going to type them up and email them to you, they appear to be stretches that I should have been doing as part of my training, but I have to be honest and say I have done very little in the way of stretching throughout my training.
The physio mentioned that I should take ibuprofen and paracetamol during the marathon, but nothing was mentioned about taking anti-infamatories before hand. To be honest I’m like you when it comes to taking medication, I’d rather not and as my knee doesn’t hurt unless I’m running, I’m not going to bother taking anything until the marathon.
I’m not going back to the physio before the marathon, there are quite long waiting lists to see the physio, luckily my local medical centre has a self referral physio drop in clinic which is available for 1 hour each morning where they will see a max of 10 people, it is only meant to be a quick turn around diagnoses session not a treatment session, which is the reason I don’t have a specific name for the injury. From the quick tests that the physio did, her best educated guess is a calf or hamstring injury especially as I have been very bad with my stretching.
With the marathon being only 10 days away, the physio has said to do the stretches, but cant guarantee that it will solve the problem, the drop in clinic just doesn’t allow long enough to find out the exact problem, I have also been told that if my knee still hurts on the day, then I should stop unless it is within the last 4 -5 miles.
I have come this far, if the worst comes to the worst as long as I can hop just a little bit quicker than the sweep up bus I’ll finish
how did you guys end up? How was the run and the knees?