"The Secret of Endurance is Not Getting Injured"
And this is my theme for possibly the next six or seven weeks. My hip and knee are still playing up a bit, and I'm starting to reconsider my goals. OK, so I'm theoretically capable of running a 4 hour marathon, but it's my first so even getting round will be an achievement, so why not focus on that?
So this week, I've given myself some slack. I'm not going to call it cheating, or being lazy, although the increasingly dark mornings aren't helping my motivation. No, I'll call it trying to nurse myself through this injury without falling too far off schedule. So I cut one of my midweek 5 milers from my schedule, and I switched my long run to Saturday when I was coming off 2 days rest, with the intention of seeing how I feel before doing my pace run. At the moment I'd rather focus on distance than pace.
So today was intended to be 18 miles. I had a route in mind (the one I attempted last week) but hadn't measured it. I knew it would be between 17 and 18, and that would do me. I started off OK again, and got to 8 miles again. But then my hip started niggling. It wasn't the horrible pain of last week, but it was niggly. I decided to switch to a run walk plan to make sure I got round the route, no matter how slowly.
Just as I started my next run interval after the first break I tripped on something and went flying to the floor. That also put me off my stride a bit, as I was covered in dirt with grazes on my hands and legs. Plus my boobs hurt, having taken some of the impact (I didn't realise they actually stuck out!) So there was maybe more walking than I'd intended, but I kept going, and I made sure I never walked for too long without at least a short run interval.
In the end I made it home and had covered 17.2 miles in just under 3:15. That's not great, but equally, it's a start for rebuilding my confidence that I can get past the 8 mile mark without giving up and going home. I think I've decided to modify the schedule for the next few weeks. My medium long runs have a maximum of 8 miles, and bearing in mind that's precisely the point where pain strikes I want to try to increase those runs just a little to see whether I can push the pain point back a little. So I'll be trying for 8 - 10 miles, and I'm considering focussing on distance rather than pace tomorrow, because that's more important to me now.
I've also bought myself some new (different) shoes with a bit more cushioning, so I'll see whether those make any difference to the pain.
So this week, I've given myself some slack. I'm not going to call it cheating, or being lazy, although the increasingly dark mornings aren't helping my motivation. No, I'll call it trying to nurse myself through this injury without falling too far off schedule. So I cut one of my midweek 5 milers from my schedule, and I switched my long run to Saturday when I was coming off 2 days rest, with the intention of seeing how I feel before doing my pace run. At the moment I'd rather focus on distance than pace.
So today was intended to be 18 miles. I had a route in mind (the one I attempted last week) but hadn't measured it. I knew it would be between 17 and 18, and that would do me. I started off OK again, and got to 8 miles again. But then my hip started niggling. It wasn't the horrible pain of last week, but it was niggly. I decided to switch to a run walk plan to make sure I got round the route, no matter how slowly.
Just as I started my next run interval after the first break I tripped on something and went flying to the floor. That also put me off my stride a bit, as I was covered in dirt with grazes on my hands and legs. Plus my boobs hurt, having taken some of the impact (I didn't realise they actually stuck out!) So there was maybe more walking than I'd intended, but I kept going, and I made sure I never walked for too long without at least a short run interval.
In the end I made it home and had covered 17.2 miles in just under 3:15. That's not great, but equally, it's a start for rebuilding my confidence that I can get past the 8 mile mark without giving up and going home. I think I've decided to modify the schedule for the next few weeks. My medium long runs have a maximum of 8 miles, and bearing in mind that's precisely the point where pain strikes I want to try to increase those runs just a little to see whether I can push the pain point back a little. So I'll be trying for 8 - 10 miles, and I'm considering focussing on distance rather than pace tomorrow, because that's more important to me now.
I've also bought myself some new (different) shoes with a bit more cushioning, so I'll see whether those make any difference to the pain.
posted by YP at 8:23 PM
1 Comments:
Hi
I read your blog all the time - what a great goal and how determined you are :)
Have you considered seeing a physio? I had a hip injury and tried to 'run through it' and it went really pear-shaped - I was off the road for 4 months. Now I see my physio at the first niggle so it never happens again, as it was excruciating. I'd hate that to happen to you when Berlin is so close!
cheers
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