Almost but not quite there

[stillwaddler]

“Forgive me Father it has been weeks since my last confession…”
So, Brighton training to date has been going OK, nothing fast, nothing too strenuous, adopted the less is more philosophy, so although I have been doing the Venerable Hal’s weekend long run schedule, mid week has been restricted to three runs, each no more than 5 miles (usually less!). Everything was fine, the weather has been kind in the most part for the long runs and it has been great to have company in the form of Mr SW for the long ones. BUT – that’s the Big Butt – this weekend, my brother and his girlfriend descended for the weekend, it was my daughter’s birthday on Friday – duly celebrated at a local Indian restaurant followed by late night Birthday cake and ale. Saturday saw me cooking for the masses and another late night plus lots of booze, well, I don’t get to see the Big Brother very often. Sunday morning, my legs were aching even before I got out of bed, a mile into the scheduled 14 miler that I thought would be a stroll in the park after the previous weekend’s 18 miles, the wheels finally came off. I was, not to put too fine a point on it, knackered.
I have been suffering from a slight stiffness on the outside of my lower leg which has been making my calves a little tight and sore for a while but have ignored it. On this occasion they became extremely stiff and cramped, 14 miles was reduced to a very sedate 11 point something. Typically Mr SW had been feeling really chipper, but gracefully kept me company as I staggered back home.

So no running since Sunday and a visit to the physio after work yesterday, she proceeded to inflict a vast amount of pain while digging what felt like a chisel in the tendons joining my leg to my ankle. OK, she did warn me that it would feel worse before it felt better. Today they feel bruised if I touch them but strangely also looser. I’ll try a little five mile toddle this evening and see how it goes.

On Sunday it wil be the Big One the 20 miler, then it’s all down-hill after that. I do love to taper :-)

If all goes according to plan I will be lining up at Brighton, I have got the train tickets and the hotel is booked. Watch this space as they say and many apologies for not contributing on RC recently – things have been “interesting” at work:-([/i]

[marathondan]

Hey SW! Glad to hear you are almost there in one piece. Hopefully the slight injury is just a blip; a little bit of time off has probably done it good (although I remember the problem you had with the adverse camber last year so I imagine you're slightly nervous). I'm doing the 20 miler this weekend as well - will be thinking of you! (You will probably have finished, I will do mine about 8pm on Sunday).

Are you still doing the Wilmslow half?

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Great to see you hanging in there SW! Looks as though despite the slightly shortened 14 miler you are pretty much on track. Do let us know how the 20-miler goes (you're probably running it right now as I type). Best of luck!

[stillwaddler]

Cheers for the encouragement guys.

Wandering around the supermarket on Friday evening, Mr SW's blackberry chirped into life. A friend was offering us tickets for Saturday's United game. OOHH yes pleased, I haven't been able to get to Old Trafford this season so it was a real treat. They didn't play well, but they won - which is what they have managed all season really. The seats were good from a singing point of view, 10 rows up from the corner flag at the Stretford End.

Sunday was to see the 20 miler put in the bank, hoorah!!! amazingly it felt OK...should I be worried? I don't even ache this morning after heeding the physios advice and stretching out afterwards before applying heat to my calves...those little squidgy bean bag things that you heat up in the microwave are great. I am having another session with the physio tomorrow evening and won't be venturing out for a run until Wednesday lunchtime just to give myself a bit more recovery time. I think I have got the eating drinking plan about right now too. Shock blocks and jelly babies topped up with powerade + water. We did a pit stop at home about 12 miles in to the run to grab more supplies. Time was about 10 minutes less than when I last did marathoning training with MrSw for the London 2006

It's the Wilmslow half on Sunday, it will be weird to run with thousands of others again, but really nice not to have to go up and down curbs while avoiding the traffic and to run in the centre of the road without risking death! Such luxuries. We aren't expecting a good time and will just treat it as a training run. (I'll probably get banned for that if anyone forom the organisers catches me taking it less than seriously, they take great store by advertising it as a "Race and not a Run" Threatening a cut off time of 2.30 for everyone. Meanies.)

Meanwhile It's The Taper - brilliant.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

That all sounds brilliant sw, well done! Enjoy the half on Sunday, and don't forget to give us a race report!

Best of luck to you!

[marathondan]

Woohoo, well done to you and Mr SW. Hope you have a great time at Wilmslow and enjoy the taper!

[Sweder]

As I mentioned over at Dan's place I've been lurking if not taking a full and active part here. Life is complicated and work is a bear - nuff said.

I should embrace the confidence inspired by that 20 and adopt the United maxim of winning irrespective of flamboyant style. It's stood me in good stead these past few years, that's for sure Do take it easy at Wilmslow (the clue is in the title ) and use it as another confidence booster. It's officially part of your taper so if you fancy strolling for a bit, why not?

It sounds to me like you're in great shape to really enjoy Brighton.
I'll be at or about the West Pier with the JDRF supporters. If you have wind to spare give us a yell and a wave and we'll give you an almighty roar.

[ladyrunner]

I think I have got the eating drinking plan about right now too. Shock blocks and jelly babies topped up with powerade + water.

Hi SW

It sounds like you had a brilliant 20 miler and no you shouldn't be worried - it sounds like you are in great shape.

I've been taking the Shock Blocks too on my long runs but I find them very hard to chew and swallow when I'm running. They are good for me if I stop and have a break or slow walk. I think that I will be taking Jelly Babies and Strawberry and Yogurt Alpen bars at Rotterdam, which I have been using in my training and ate last year during Amsterdam Marathon without any ill effects.

How did your run go at Wilmslow??

Julie

[stillwaddler]

Well Wilmslow has been and gone.

Always an effort to get up in time after the switch to BST the night before, but we duly presented ourselves at the start after lounging about in the car for a bit to keep warm, the weather was bright but brisk. I kept my woolly hat on for most of the run, as well as gloves and my trusty running jacket to keep out the nasty cold wind…I suppose I’m becoming what they call in here in the frozen north “nesh” in my old age.

Fascinating to watch people before the start, as it’s the English Athletics half marathon championship there are plenty of people running (more like sprinting from my perspective) around warming up. One woman I noticed was of the exceptionally streamlined variety, even down to her long nose which I suppose would cut very effectively through any amount of weather. An interesting elderly gent had a perfectly formed hair style, an iron grey Marcel wave – you youngsters will need to look that up - to complete the look he had obviously tried to apply some fake tan to his rather skinny legs with varying degrees of streaking and downright clumping of pigment. Only in Wilmslow surely!!

Mr SW and I toddled off beeping over the start mat, slightly faster pace than I thought was necessary, we were averaging 9.5 to 10 minute miles for the first few. I suggested cooling it a little as this was after all only part of the training for the big one in a fortnight’s time. We settled down and counted off the miles. The countryside is really delightful around the area of the race and the sun started to come out too. Heard, chiff chaff, umpteen chaffinches, robins, blackbirds and rather more interestingly a curlew among others – counting birds heard or seen often provides me with a diversion to take my mind off what I’m actually doing on long runs. Legs weren’t too bad, I could feel my outer calves a bit, but tried to ignore them. My mouth did get exceptionally dry and I found it increasingly difficult to chew the Shock Blocks - I'm with you there LR-, even though we walked though the water stations, maybe I will try cutting them up into smaller pieces and perhaps taking some SIS gels too. The jelly babies were a welcome diversion. I think I might get some jelly beans to add to the mix for Brighton.

There is a rather unwelcome hill about a mile from the finish. If we had been running this as a race I would have run it, as it was, we sauntered up in a leisurely fashion and then overtook a few more people on the run in. Job done in a very slow 2.24 something. Garmin show 13.58 miles. No ill effects on my legs, it was good to get used to running with lots of others.

Felt fine on Monday too…but Tuesday – drat – came down with laryngitis which has left me feeling very washed out and with a very annoying cough but at least the asthma is still just about under control. Typical timing. I’m resting, haven’t run since Sunday although I intend to try the last 8 miler this weekend. Honestly, I could spit after all the hard work of training and I was feeling good too. Still aiming to do Brighton, I could always walk it!!
Mr SW suggested we run for the RNLI, its always been close to his heart – our best man was a RNLI crew member. So we have acquired nice yellow RNLI vests, only draw back being that I was going to wear my new RC vest that I got from Sweder :-( Never mind, it has inspired me on the long training runs.

Any chance of meeting up with anyone from the sunny south for a beer or four after the event? We are staying at the Travel Lodge at Preston Park,

If anyone is feeling generous, but please don’t feel obliged,
http://www.justgiving.com/andyandfran

[Sweder]

Sounds like the perfect outing to me; 2:24 suggests a relaxed pace but is still pretty decent around here.

Don't worry about old Larry N Gitus; I'm sure you'll recover well before Brighton. If anything it'll force you to take things easy for a few days. You can't add to your fitness now anyway - any runs you do will be purely ticking over, pushing warm blood through the legs to heal any residual damage after Wilmslow. I'd look at this as a positive, unless it hangs around for another week or so.

I'll look out for those RNLI vests. Dan reckons we'll (JDRF crew) be at miles 17 and 24 - I think were on the landward/ beach hut side of the prom, so that would be about 2 miles to go. I'd have preferred to have seen you at an earlier point on the course, when you could really use a lift, but if I spot you across the way at 17 miles I'll raise the roof.

By the way, there's something crocked with your Just Giving link; I've found your page but the link above seems to have a herd of errant dashes in it

[ladyrunner]

My mouth did get exceptionally dry and I found it increasingly difficult to chew the Shock Blocks - I'm with you there LR-, even though we walked though the water stations, maybe I will try cutting them up into smaller pieces

That sounds like a good plan SW. If I find the time to get some Shock Blocks before I head off to Holland on Friday I might do the same and use them in the marathon. Otherwise it's the old fashioned Jelly Babies - soft and easy to chew. I can't do Jelly Beans - I wouldn't want to risk losing my teeth or fillings

I've always been a believer that to get ill one or two weeks before the race is much better than it happening a few days before. Atleast you have time to recover as long as you listen to your body and are sensible with your training. I too am in a similar boat - I've been suffering with a cold for about 3 weeks which ended up on my chest last week. I think I was run down after my Spanish 20k. I still have the cough but it is improving every day and like you I suffer with the asthma. I'm definately on the mend and getting stronger each day.

Well done on the Wilmslow half marathon and enjoy your taper,
Julie

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Nice work sw - as Sweder says, nothing shabby about that pace around these parts, and it was after all just a training run!

Good luck overcoming the lurgi - as LR said, better to catch it now than three days out from the race. A nip of scotch before bed might help. And even if it doesn't, it's not a bad thing to do.

Cheers!

[stillwaddler]

Thanks for all the kind wishes...the scotch is going down very nicely, but I don't share your liking for Islay really (Mr SW's favourite too) , too heavy on the phenols for me, I always think Laphroig smells just like TCP!!!!

I think I'm just about back on track. Took to the sofa big style last week, but managed an 8 miler on Saturday without too much trouble. Still coughing 'though, in fact pulled out of playing in a concert on Saturday, it's bad enough when the audience is hacking away without an orchestral member doing it too :-) When I think back to last year I did the vast majority of my training for Brighton with a hacking cough anyway.

I ran by myself on Saturday, not by choice, but things just panned out that way. It seemed really weird not to have Mr SW plodding alongside, I missed him. He headed out yesterday for an 8 miler and persuaded our youngest and his girlfriend to go with him. Number three child has never run further than 6 miles before and his girlfriend had never ran further than 3 although they do run regularly. Both completed the distance easily and girlfriend was absolutely beaming when she got back, maybe the next generation of RC'rs :-) ?

I did chop up the ShotBlocks into four pieces per block and popped them back into the tube LR and they were much easier to chew. I will definitely do this for Brighton, maybe you can try it for Rotterdam? Hope your chest complaint is on its ways out and that you are raring to go. What time is your start?

MD, we will hopefully be right behind you at Brighton, I do hope its not windy. Can you collapse the rock outfit if the wind gets up a bit?

Sweder, it will be wonderful to have some support and we will be eagerly looking out for you at the JDRF cheering station. I might require some serious reviving at mile 24, why didn't that damn Greek pop his clogs at mile 20 instead of 26 something?

Can we meet for a beer or four later? Sweder, I owe you a couple.

[Sweder]

Can we meet for a beer or four later?

Beer you say? Hmm ...



BTW, I posted a bit on the pups on my diary. It may have been buried by now but it's on P1 of 'March or Die'

[marathondan]

Hope you're back on top form by now SW. It sounds like the Wilmslow outing was good preparation. I'm always banging on about the Marathon Talk podcast; episode 64 included a nice discussion on tapers (35 mins in) - too late for us to change anything now but it's actually a nice confidence booster to listen to.

I can't collapse the costume unfortunately (in fact please don't mention the word "collapse" in the context of a marathon!), it has two garden canes inside it for stability. I will just have to go with the flow and hope for a following wind. Would be good to meet up in Preston Park for a team photo if poss, although I'm not putting the costume on till the last minute - i.e. until toilet breaks are definitely complete!

[suzieq]

Good luck in the race SW! Hopefully you'll be feeling well and the planets will align for you. I'll look forward to reading about it after.


Suzie

[ladyrunner]

Very almost there SW - 2 days to go. I hope you are back to 100% health. Enjoy the run and good luck with the chewing of the Shock Blocks.

Julie

[stillwaddler]

Sorry for not replying sooner, slight hiccup with broadband at home and work is busy. BUT...

I got official confirmation yesterday that I can take voluntary redundancy at the end of May -YIPPEEEEEE this must be the only benefit of being old and I aim to make the most of it.

Getting butterflies about Brighton, not expecting a PB or anything but just worried I won't make it round. I must remember just to put one foot in front of the other and see how far I get. Had a sports massage on my calves yesterday, physio was pleased, said they were a lot looser. Breathing is easier but I have managed to bruise a toe, no idea how, it's a bit painful, but it will probably just serve to take my mind of the pain everywhere else.

Anyone care to remind me why exactly am I doing this?


Good luck LR, mind how you chew those shockblocks. Looking forward to hearing how you get on.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I got official confirmation yesterday that I can take voluntary redundancy at the end of May -YIPPEEEEEE...

Congrats sw ... just think, no more interruptions to your training schedules! Great news indeed!

Getting butterflies about Brighton...
Anyone care to remind me why exactly am I doing this?

It's funny but only yesterday I read two fantastic quotes about why we run that were worth repeating here and do you think I can now find them? No, I can't. It was something about being brave enough to start a campaign being the hardest part, and whatever the result, daring to attempt an adventure is better than sitting in your twilight years and wondering what the hell would have happened if only... clearly something you won't ever have to be concerning yourself with!

Very best of luck for Sunday ... hope the toes et al hold up for you. When it all gets a tad tough just keep thinking about the redundancy - that should pull you through.