On 24 March 2013, I ran my newest PB (personal best) in my 4th marathon, in Marseille, 3:01:30, also my 4th PB. With also a new love birthing for the trails and the ultra distance following my first forray into that, end-2012, I sensed I really was made for this. Sub-3 hours for the marathon was also surely just a stone's throw away!
Three weeks later I twisted my ankle. Nothing too horrendous, nothing I would not get over in a few weeks, the important thing was having bagged the good-for-age place at London, to be my first big-stage marathon, what a setting for smashing the 3 hours with all my family and friends present too! 13/04/14 - woohoo! But the ankle did not fix quite as quickly as I thought and I bowed out of my next two races, didn't make it to the start of the next, and began to clear the 2013 racing agenda to ensure proper recovery time for London. Only the injury, which either evolved into or always was a cartilage one, only got worse over time, until the unthinkable: with little fitness and a dicky ankle, this dream had to die too. In 12 days I have the opportunity of re-applying through a very thoughtful backdoor those nice guys at London Marathon have made for us injured / sick folks for the 2015 race. But I am not going to. Life can be tough, even in running. Some people die having run, others soldier on with missing or dysfunctional body parts, artificial limbs, with pacemakers. Many people would love the joy of running but are too preoccupied with difficult lives, squalid living or war conditions to even consider this escape. As for me, my injury is near-microscopic and while it does not effect my "normal" life, and in this context it is a privileged life, my ankle prevents me from nearly all sport and especially running. It's all about the gentle walks.
I have considered the question "am I a marathon runner?" a bit (previously discussed on running media). For a while it really got to me when I heard others, even my family, describe me as a runner. I wanted to butt in there and correct: "I think you mean EX-runner!" But is it so thoughtless? Am I an ex-runner? I still LOVE running - I never miss my favourite running shows - and I dream of getting better one day. Perhaps I will, and this will just be a blip in an otherwise fulfilling long-distance running career.
Conclusion: zero appreciation for the obvious but plus 4 for what I have enjoyed, the ability to still appreciate the sport and still being a runner at heart.
Sunday, 15 June 2014
Almost stopped... but persevering! Here's some more ankle advice
Hey.
Just to let you know and to remember that I very very nearly stopped this blog - in fact I had drafted the announcement a couple of months ago and got interrupted by something, but I am glad I didn't go through with it. I recently wrote a reflective article which I am going to post in a second, but I have deliberately not focussed on any attempts to interpret any divine purpose or intervention, or lack thereof, as I felt like I thrashed that angle so thoroughly in the final quarter of 2013. One of my theological musings, which is a pretty significant one, is around the question: does s*$t happen? It seems pretty obvious to say yes! But the point of the question is not so much about bad things happening as bad things simply happening. But this is not the point of this post.
So we are 15 months into the injury now, but recent treatment using Hyalgan injections (I have actually had 5 injections in total now, although only the last three have been Hyalgan), which is hyaluronic acid for treatment of joint inflammations, cartilage trauma etc. I believe I am experiencing some improvement through this treatment. But imagine how hard it would be to measure a 5%, 10%, 15% improvement for something so hit-and-miss as this (reminder: pain or discomfort usually offset by at least 3 hours, sometimes as much as 16 hours).
A couple of videos I want to remember regarding foot exercises.
Heel walking and
Just to let you know and to remember that I very very nearly stopped this blog - in fact I had drafted the announcement a couple of months ago and got interrupted by something, but I am glad I didn't go through with it. I recently wrote a reflective article which I am going to post in a second, but I have deliberately not focussed on any attempts to interpret any divine purpose or intervention, or lack thereof, as I felt like I thrashed that angle so thoroughly in the final quarter of 2013. One of my theological musings, which is a pretty significant one, is around the question: does s*$t happen? It seems pretty obvious to say yes! But the point of the question is not so much about bad things happening as bad things simply happening. But this is not the point of this post.
So we are 15 months into the injury now, but recent treatment using Hyalgan injections (I have actually had 5 injections in total now, although only the last three have been Hyalgan), which is hyaluronic acid for treatment of joint inflammations, cartilage trauma etc. I believe I am experiencing some improvement through this treatment. But imagine how hard it would be to measure a 5%, 10%, 15% improvement for something so hit-and-miss as this (reminder: pain or discomfort usually offset by at least 3 hours, sometimes as much as 16 hours).
A couple of videos I want to remember regarding foot exercises.
Heel walking and
and 2. another exercise to strengthen the shins:
That said, this article would suggest this is not the full story. Pronation on top of an ankle injury could have been worsening the injury. With that in mind, this chiropractor provides this exercise. WARNING - this reminds me of an early exercise I did with a French physiotherapist which made the issue worse (after seeing initial improvements in the first few months).
Sunday, 13 April 2014
Race predictor
Much better predictions in my view than the runners world simulator: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/
London marathon from the sofa
Some very real emotions sat here watching the marathon from the sofa I should be running with my family even on the streets to support!
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Out of London, but 2 new keys to recovery
So I gave myself one week of marathon training and of course just couldn't hack any of the quicker stuff. So by last Sunday the chouce was obvious- pull out! I am grateful for the support of family and friends who gave their wisdom and encouraged this.
I hadn't realused this but London have specifically considered the disappointment of injury and I will have a guaranteed place for 2015. This has softened the blow. This event has actually been a good prod to me - why do yoy run? The question is back! Because I could just rock up and trot round in 5 hours. But there would be no challenge here and perhaps a bit disrespectful also to race organisers and my other sub 3:05 good for age runners arpund me at the start.
My two keys to recovery:
1. Swede-O Ankle Lok. Amazed at the support that tgis product is giving me and the difference it is making.
2. A pace/distance chart, where I mark either 1 or 0 depending on whether there is discomfort in the two hours following the run. More on this in a future post when I have done a bit more work on this.
1. Swede-O Ankle Lok. Amazed at the support that tgis product is giving me and the difference it is making.
2. A pace/distance chart, where I mark either 1 or 0 depending on whether there is discomfort in the two hours following the run. More on this in a future post when I have done a bit more work on this.
Friday, 27 December 2013
2 January 2014
The injection is happening on 2 January. I do not feel too much emotion about this, it just seems like the only next step and the right decision after 8 months of i-think-i-am-getting-better-i-am-not.
So the appointment is booked and the product (diprostene) booked in my local pharmacy to take with me.
The NHS have a site that gives me some helpful insight into my chances of recovery and recovery process: see here. What I retain from this is that I need to ask for local anesthetic (!), that discomfort from the injection itself could last about 48 hours. Improvement is not likely to be quite as quick as I had been hoping "over the next few weeks or months". I \also am going to be asking for a second MRI scan of the "articulation sous-talienne", that is, the foot bit under the main ankle joint.
I have to keep hope however! I will draw up my usual marathon training plan, based on the usual one, but with a few changes I suspect. I am still fascinated in particular about the long run and will be ensuring that I get the balance as bet suited to my needs as possible. Lessons learned from last year's preparation were that the long-run-encompassing-intensity-sections could be very heavy on energy levels and I think I need to proceed carefully to reach these without them destroying my training potential. To be developed once we know training is even possible.
Some more prayer recently for healing has not shown any signs of immediate effect, but the prayers are also that I would honour God through all of this and he knows I am ready to resume to run for him and take to the hills and races for him.
Right, off to have a look at the programme and post a link to a good knee-injury prevention tip I just read in Runner's Weekly! Please see my updated Recovering from injuries and prevention page.
So the appointment is booked and the product (diprostene) booked in my local pharmacy to take with me.
The NHS have a site that gives me some helpful insight into my chances of recovery and recovery process: see here. What I retain from this is that I need to ask for local anesthetic (!), that discomfort from the injection itself could last about 48 hours. Improvement is not likely to be quite as quick as I had been hoping "over the next few weeks or months". I \also am going to be asking for a second MRI scan of the "articulation sous-talienne", that is, the foot bit under the main ankle joint.
I have to keep hope however! I will draw up my usual marathon training plan, based on the usual one, but with a few changes I suspect. I am still fascinated in particular about the long run and will be ensuring that I get the balance as bet suited to my needs as possible. Lessons learned from last year's preparation were that the long-run-encompassing-intensity-sections could be very heavy on energy levels and I think I need to proceed carefully to reach these without them destroying my training potential. To be developed once we know training is even possible.
Some more prayer recently for healing has not shown any signs of immediate effect, but the prayers are also that I would honour God through all of this and he knows I am ready to resume to run for him and take to the hills and races for him.
Right, off to have a look at the programme and post a link to a good knee-injury prevention tip I just read in Runner's Weekly! Please see my updated Recovering from injuries and prevention page.
Thursday, 12 December 2013
be warned runners of driving as well as of drivers!
It seems that the osteopathy is maybe helpful to the ankle PROVIDED I DON'T DRIVE. I have known for some time that both running and driving were triggering the ankle discomfort, but I now believe that the driving is worse than the running, which I think is a good thing.
That said my decision has been to proceed with the cortisone injection if the doctor agrees. Time is tight now, with marathon training scheduled to start January 1 in just a couple of weeks, and, yes, I would love to run the dawn to dusk race on dec 27.
You never know!
That said my decision has been to proceed with the cortisone injection if the doctor agrees. Time is tight now, with marathon training scheduled to start January 1 in just a couple of weeks, and, yes, I would love to run the dawn to dusk race on dec 27.
You never know!
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