Even the Longest Journey begins with one step - My Half Marathon Journey

Well I’ve just started my third week with Erin my Asics running coach courtesy of the Runkeeper app. I completed my first week of workouts quite positive but still not really enjoying my runs. I showed up every day, which really pleased Erin, but my mojo still hadn’t returned and it still felt like a hard slog. I began to think that maybe running wasn’t for me and perhaps I should go and do marathon yoga session which would be more up my street. Maybe I should tackle the National Three Peaks again –   yes now you’re talking. During week 2 there were so many occasions I thought ‘…I can’t do this…’, ‘…what on earth have I agreed to do…’ and ‘…I’m never going to be able to run 5k never mind a half marathon…’. At times it felt like my legs were moving but I wasn’t! They felt so heavy and I couldn’t work out why.

I got Gemma to give me a leg massage to ease out some calf tension. Yoga helped with stretching out the quads and glutes (buttocks) for which I was grateful. My next run was easy, it felt almost effortless. Finally I was ‘’on fire’ I thought to myself as I ran feeling like I could carry on running even when the workout was over!

I honestly don’t know how active people can go without maintenance massage and I am only doing 3 pathetic run / walks a week. I can remember reading a Sunday Times interview with Paula Radcliffe and her trainer / physio on the day of the London Marathon a few years ago and her trainer saying that when Paula is in training for an event she has up to 5 hours of massage and physio a day. ‘…5 hours…??!!’ I can remember saying to myself – it just goes to show how important muscular conditioning & maintenance is. Ok Paula is a professional & elite athlete but people training for events will often not consider a monthly massage let alone a weekly one and that includes regular runners. Just think about your car – would you run it without a regular service? Would you run it if there was a chugging coming from the engine? No is the answer, for most of you out there, though I do know there are some of you who would ignore that chugging until the car wouldn’t start!! We should treat our bodies in the same way, and not wait until it’s too late and the injury has stopped us in our tracks, or has stopped us from working, living and enjoying life completely. Our body gets us through life and just as our car takes us on a journey from A to B our bodies take us from A to B on our life journey. No body no life – simple I guess. So now is the time to take stock and start looking after myself because if we can’t look after my ourselves we therefore can’t look after those we love around us. Its like the oxygen mask instruction on a flight… ‘put your own mask on before your child’s’. So it’s now time to start looking after myself for a change.

But going back to training and running in order for me to complete this half marathon I need to get regular maintenance massage, eat properly (you wouldn’t put diesel in a petrol car now would you) and start looking after myself so I can run effortlessly, with ease and keep those injuries away!

So my training is on schedule and I’ve entered us – me & my husband (shhh he doesn’t know yet) into a 10k in January.

I’ve done a couple of sessions on the exercise bike over the last week due to heavy rain, yes I know some of you runners out there are thinking ‘rain doesn’t stop me, I find it exhilarating running in the rain’ but I’m still waiting for my running mojo to return. So for now the exercise bike is great. Well you can guess it’s been a while since I got on a bike… and… well within a minute I was thinking ‘OMG my legs, my thighs… I think I prefer running’ well I stuck with it for 15 minutes in fact and it did come easier but it did make me think about all the different muscles that take part in each and every action we do and sport we participate in. You would think you use your legs for running and for cycling so what’s the difference? A lot actually… the mechanics of running and cycling are different and use the muscles in different ways.

During running, the muscles of the lower body help to move the body through four stages – foot strike, single limb support, push-off and leg swing. Cycling has only two stages, the power phase and the recovery phase. It is during the power phase of cycling that the leg muscles are used the most. Because cycling does not involve impact, it is easier on your joints and muscles. However, running demands more energy, and is more effective for burning calories. So by cross training ie. running on some days and cycling on others it can help balance out your muscles, it gives your joints a break and it helps build up your overall strength quicker. I’m also keeping up with my maintenance massage which helps me get through my training effortlessly and it’s also preventing me from developing any injuries whilst I increase my miles. Remember the car analogy in my last blog?… you wouldn’t increase your cars mileage and expect it to run problem free.

So overall I’m glad I went for a cycle (so to speak) as what I’m talking about now wouldn’t have come to mind.

My running app running coach Erin has now retired and I’m running alone, well not quite I still have Erin’s voice in my head occasionally saying ‘Strike the ground mid sole and underneath you’ ‘remember to keep those shoulders down and back’ and ‘you can do it, you know you can do it!’. So, I’m now using just the app’s pace setter and my music. (Thanks to all your suggestions via social media.)

So off I went on a 6k run just before the end of 2018 a run I was really enjoying… sorry did I just say ‘enjoying’? So, there I was enjoying my run and with a split second decision I decided to go the long way home hasten to admit after 30 yards I did think ‘what the hell am I doing’ but do you know what…? I smashed the 10k mark something I thought I’d never do, and I did it in 1 hour and 4 minutes so with my first competitive race this weekend (a 10k) I’m running knowing I can do it and I’m hoping to beat my time!

I received more good news which is I’ll be running alongside Sir Mo in March at the Vitality half marathon, well not quite so alongside as he completed it in 61 minutes and 40 seconds last year which was actually faster than my first 10k. I imagine he’ll be sat at home with his feet up by the time I finish but I do hope to see him there. What an inspirational sportsman he is!

Before Christmas I was doing a 5k and with 200 meters to go I developed stitch. ‘Stitch’ I thought to myself, something I’ve not had since I was at school. But what on earth caused it? My routine before my run was the same as any other day. So, I thought this month I’d talk about stitch.

Most scientists believe stitch is caused by a reduction in blood supply and oxygen to the diaphragm (the main muscle involved in breathing), causing it to cramp.

Tips for acute stitch

1.    Breathe! Proper breathing can contribute to relaxation of the diaphragm and respiratory muscles.

2.    Use your hand. Press with your hand on the painful area and relieve the pressure while breathing out.

3.    Shift down a gear. Run at a slower pace.

4.    Stop for a moment and stretch.

5.    Stop and bend your upper body forward.

So with 2 months to go my training continues!

So I completed my first 10k event on Sunday 13th January and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Registering, collecting my race number and lining-up with hundreds of other competitors was a completely new experience for me but thankfully I saw a couple of clients who put me at ease.

My husband had spent the week prior to the event trying to convince me that this was a race for competitive runners as it was ‘The Draycote 10k Race’ not “Run”, that a ‘race’ was different to a ‘run’ and that we would be last, miles behind everyone else and would look foolish.

However, since I had already run 10K in training sessions I was mentally and physically prepared for it – he may not have been, but he wasn’t going to put me off.

So, there I was at the start line (well some distance back as there were quite a few of us). It didn’t take long to cross the start line and we were off, taking it nice and easy to begin with and yet still overtaking a number of runners.

It wasn’t long before I saw someone walking and I thought to myself “I’m doing well at least that wasn’t me, I’m still running and feeling good”.  I repeated my affirmations, or mantras if you prefer, in my head… ‘my legs are as light as a feather’…‘I run as fast as the wind’…‘I do not stop running until I have crossed the finish line’ and ‘I am strong, I know I can do this’.

It was around the 7k mark when I felt my legs become heavy so once again I started to repeat my affirmations. Then at the 8k mark I caught up with a gentleman running with his coach and as I approached them I got a sense of comfort and security so I decided to run with them.

The coach asked if I was ok and we started chatting, it turned out it was also the man’s first 10k race so as I started to flag and become weary, she (the running coach) picked me up and encouraged me along. She even had some music playing and asked us to run to the beat, but I just couldn’t get these thoughts of self sabotage out of my head. I even lassoed her visually so that I was “being pulled” by her, but the more I saw people walking the more I wanted to give up and this was slowly undermining my positive thoughts even with the encouraging words of the running coach.

However, I didn’t stop and I didn’t give up, crossing the finish line in 59 minutes and 46 seconds, a PB for me and one that I was very pleased with as it was sub 60. I collected my medal and a goodie bag that contained an orange juice, a bottle of water, a chocolate bar, some Haribo star mix and a head band.

My first competitive run was over and although I felt great, I had to ask myself whether I could do it all again as this is what the half marathon will consist of… (2 of what I had just done)… I thought to myself… a lot more training is needed but I’ll get there!

So this may well be my penultimate running blog, it’s less than a week to the half marathon and I’ve had a rather eventful past five weeks. I pulled a muscle in my lower back something I’ve never done before and something that was excruciatingly painful. Maybe it was from pounding the pavements, maybe it was neglect as all my massage treatments have been focused on my legs, so I refrained from running for a week then I didn’t run the following week because I just didn’t have the desire to, I'd completely lost enthusiasm for running!

I was determined to get myself back on track though so I could complete this half marathon for a very worthwhile cause. I eventually motivated myself and managed 9.1 miles which completely surprised me after having a two week break. 

So now back on track I ran my longest run ever last weekend of 10.1 miles, my joints knew about it afterwards and my gluteals (buttocks) were aching the next day but nothing a maintenance massage couldn’t fix. My time for 10.1 miles was 1 hour and 46 minutes and I was hoping to run the half marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes, I guess its still possible but to think that Paula Radcliffe set the London Marathon record at that time in 2003 made me gasp. I thought ‘she runs twice as fast as me or do I run twice as slow as her?’ I’m hoping I can keep up the enthusiasm as I have won a Place in the ballot for the Two Castles.

So with a week to go until I’m running alongside Sir Mo Farah I’m mentally preparing myself and hoping I can get my husband round too as he’s had endless injuries… nothing I can’t cope with as a sports therapist but when it’s been one after the other I’m starting to think running isn’t for him and I guess that brings me to the question of are we really made to run? 

The health benefits of all that running are solid and well documented. But at the same time, injury rates are astonishingly high. In a poll at runnersworld.com, 66% of respondents said they’d suffered an injury in the previous year. The knees account for about half of those injuries. Most of the rest are below the knee.What causes all that pain?

Amby Burfoot wrote this in Runners World…”Running injuries can be caused by being female, being male, being old, being young, pronating too much, pronating too little, training too much, and training too little.”

In other words, take your pick. Running is a repetitive activity, so overuse injuries are more common. Exercise should be enjoyable and something you look forward to doing and just because running is a good form of exercise for many, it doesn’t mean its right for you.

Don’t feel obliged to run – if you don’t enjoy it seek out activities you do enjoy as you’ll get much better results from activities you like doing. There are lots of ways you can improve your cardiovascular fitness and control your weight – running is just one of the things you can do. If you like running and it suits your body type that’s great BUT if you don’t like running or you find it uncomfortable, don’t feel guilty because you choose not to run as you are not alone. Just pick an alternative activity and leave running to those that are best suited to it. After writing this I’m now starting to wonder whether my joints are up for all this running, who knows maybe you may see me on a bike next!

I did it!! The half marathon is over and done with and I came across the finish line in 2 hours 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Sir Mo was home with a cup of tea and his feet up by then having done it in 1.01:14. Running for the first time in (many) years I’ve gone from couch to half marathon in just 5 months . What an achievement!!

The week leading up to the race was mentally challenging with a pain in my knee appearing on the Monday, just a day after my last long taper run, then on the Thursday after a last 5K run I developed shin splints. I was soon questioning whether running was for me let alone my husband who had experienced injury after injury (my last running blog). So with some yoga stretches to ease out the shin splints along with a RockBlades treatment to my knee and shins, taping and extra taping to my achilles (a precautionary measure from an early training injury) I was ready to run my first and probably last half marathon.

On race day I had few if any nerves, if anything I just felt excitement. I’d prepared well which is unusual for me being the worlds biggest procrastinator! As a result of the tips from my clients (thanks to all of you) and the training  I ran the full 13.1 miles without stopping. In fact my running app said I had actually ran 13.69 miles which I guess that was because it’s hard to keep to the race line especially when you are weaving in and out of people.

I started the race running with my husband and alongside a gentleman wearing a full ‘Paddington Bear’ costume, I didn’t see him again but running in a costume like that would be extremely difficult. I heard my name being called regularly ‘come on Lisa’ which is a great boost and along with my adrenalin, the crowds enthusiasm and kindness (those handing out haribos & jelly babies) I accomplished something on my bucket list.

I was handed my medal as I crossed the finish line along with a goodie bag and I felt a massive sense of achievement. The pint and roast beef dinner before heading home was well deserved. I feel I’ve got a bit of the running bug now as I continue to train for The Two Castles. Who knows maybe another half marathon next year but never a full marathon. I couldn’t imagine doing that twice over.

During my training and after completing the marathon I used a foam roller in between having sports massages.

Using a foam roller really helped with my flexibility, performance and recovery.

It’s like having a massage but not as deep or focused as a therapist would give and it’s not done by us but at least it helps until you can get a professional massage.

To read more about how foam rolling can help you and your marathon training please click the link below.

https://www.leamingtontherapycentre.co.uk/foam-rolling