Reece rallies...!

Trying to stand up out of a bath and finding you can’t put any weight on your right leg is not a welcome experience at any time but two weeks before a marathon it is particularly tiresome!  Making the whole thing all the more bewildering was that this seemed to come completely out of the blue. 

As seasoned readers of Run Reece Run will know all too well, a backdrop to my running is the regular “industrial relations” problems I have with my ankles, calves and shins as they frequently “work to rule”. The groin, a sensitive “industrial heartland” has also been known to bring production to a halt with the occasional “walk out”!  But what was the cause of this new “all out strike”?

I’d decided to have one last long run on Saturday 29^th March, two weeks before the marathon, with the aim of covering a distance of between 16 and 20 miles depending on how I felt.  With careful monitoring of how my potentially mutinous parts were doing,  I remember congratulating myself at the 12 mile point about how comfortably I was cruising at a pace of just under 9 minutes per mile.  At the 16 mile point I felt suitably in shape to carry on my extended route which has the potential to go to 20 miles.  With a bit of fatigue beginning to set in and pain in my left foot I thought I’d reached a reasonable deal with my body at 18.44 miles by slowing to a walk and taking a short cut home.  I thought I was being particularly sensible as I knew that with a bit of a push I had a 20 mile run of under 3 hours in the bag - but I wanted to avoid the temptation of pushing myself too hard so close to the main event. 

 

While I can clearly remember the soreness of my left foot and the normal stiffness that sets in after any long run, I can’t remember any problem with my right leg until the moment of getting out of the bath!

Having reflected on my condition I came to the conclusion that I’d strained my IT Band (the muscle between the hip and knee) and over the following week I went through a regime of rest, ice packs, anti-inflammatory gels, stretching exercises and use of a foam roller.  By the following Friday things had improved sufficiently that I figured I’d try a very controlled “cross trainer” session in the gym supplemented with just 10 minutes of slow running on a treadmill.  Clearly this was not a wise negotiating tactic and industrial strife was re-escalated over the next 24 hours as I found myself profoundly limping through the next day with renewed pain in the right leg!

Thankfully the Sunday saw some improvement and with inspiration provided by a day of cheering on Bearcat Running Club friends who were competing in the Brighton Marathon, I felt all the more resolved that I would get to the London Marathon start line.

The whole running strategy that I’ve been planning and fine tuning over the last four months has suddenly been thrown out of the window and replaced with total obsession about pain management and trying to work out how I will make a judgement call on the day, if I have to, about pulling out before or during the race.

Conclusions as they stood yesterday afternoon:

-        No point in risking any further running before the Marathon.

-        Only withdraw beforehand in the unlikely event that I am in very significant pain from just walking.

-        Abandon the priority of a target time.

-        First priority - be at the start line and therefore part of the event.

-        Second priority – get to the Cutty Sark, near mile 7 (to see at least one iconic landmark)

-        Third priority – get to Tower Bridge, near mile 13 (will definitely feel I’ve been involved if I get over the bridge)

-        Fourth priority – get to Canary Warf at about mile 19

-        Fifth priority – get to Tower of London, at about mile 23

-        Sixth priority –  reach The London Eye, Big Ben, The Mall – the last mile

-        Key ambition - cross the finish line.

-        Tactics?  Aim to set off at 9m30s pace (over 30 seconds slower than originally planned) and moderate pace thereafter on the basis of pain, etc.

-        Be ready to hit abort if I reach a point where I am certain I would be unable to tolerate the pain through to the finish line or if I’m convinced I’m doing myself serious harm.

-        Keep everything crossed!!!

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me through my fundraising campaign and helped me go through the £1,400 mark.  The generosity shown and messages of support mean so much to me and will be very much in my mind during the marathon.  I am still aiming to raise £2,000 for The Outward Bound Trust and hope that no one still considering whether to make a donation will be put off by my reduced ambitions.  Donations can be made via my Virgin Money Giving site: 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JohnReece

My training started in December.  In terms of road miles run, I’ve reached 343 which is less than I originally envisaged but this was supplemented by 15 pretty intense sessions at the gym to break up the pounding on my ankles, calves and shins!  I’ve reached some landmark moments in the last four months including officially timed PBs at 5KM and half marathon and personally timed PBs at 17 miles and 20 miles.

Some photo highlights of my London Marathon journey…

Finishing the Spitfire 20 on 16^th March with fellow Bearcat runner Laura in a time just over 3h06m which on a hilly course and a hot day gave me belief that a time of sub 4 hours in the marathon was a real possibility…

Accelerating to the finish line at the Richmond Half Marathon of 23^rd March and achieving a personal best time of 1h44m03s (over 2½ minutes inside my previous PB). 

 

 
With hopes still alive of completing a “lap of honour” in London on Sunday…

Best wishes - John