Unless I ever run another full marathon (see last blog post.....pretty unlikely!), this will be the last time I hassle for sponsorship :-)
Monday 16 March 2015
Pilates, Pain, Parkrun and other news
Blimey I've not been very good at keeping on top of my blogging have I! I have a lot of little bits and pieces I've been meaning to blog for a while, however life has got in the way a bit. Work has been pretty stressful, meaning often the last thing I want to do when I get home is open up a laptop again. I've also been busy training, going to gigs and have upped my pilates sessions to twice a week.
I LOVE the pilates so much! The teacher Kadi is lovely and the exercises are just the right amount of tough. I've found myself feeling a little deflated on a couple of occasions when I've found certain exercises seemingly a lot harder than others in the class, however it isn't a competitive situation, it is just me being tough on myself usually. There is one particular move, called a spine curl, that we do pretty much every week, and I have trouble with it every time because of my dodgy hip - something needs to click and only once it does can I do the move properly. I asked my surgeon about this (oh yes, went to see him for the last time last week, more about that later) and he thinks it's the psoas tendon catching which is apparently common for people like me. Apparently if it becomes a real problem, there is a keyhole surgery that can be done to release it, but I don't fancy any more surgeries thank you very much!
I have been experiencing pain in my ribs/shoulder area on my right hand side, and every time I went running I would get a nasty stitch in that side too, so my GP sent me for an x-ray. It came back clear and the only thing he could suggest was going to see a physio - not a thought that filled me with optimism. Luckily, Kadi is also an osteopath, so I have had a couple of sessions with her. She has worked out what the problem is and has done some stretching of the offending muscles and some interesting diaphragm exercises! Essentially my ribs on my right hand side have compressed together a bit, probably a result of me being a bit protective of that side (which is the side that has had ALL the operations on, and the side that is missing a kidney btw). Alongside looking at this, she has done some work on my right leg, mainly my hip. When I run, my hip is fine but I have been getting sharp pains in my knee. Then when I stop running, my hip reverts to the same pain as before all the ops - namely sharp groin pain particularly going up stairs or trying to get into and out of cars. Kadi thinks that the hip flexors on that side have become slightly contracted and shortened, meaning that when I run I am causing my leg to twist, putting extra pressure on my knee. I'm not explaining that very well I know, but she showed me what she meant and it makes perfect sense!! Last week she did a bit of taping for me, and a bit of acupuncture to release the muscles, to try to get me through the half marathon.
Speaking of that, can you believe it is less than a week away?! Time has flown by. I have managed to steadily up the mileage to my peak last week of a 10 mile run. I found it torture - in fact all runs that have been more than 5-6 miles I have found really tough going! Since then I haven't actually been for a run, so I need to get one more short one in before the race on Sunday. My body is definitely letting me know that it doesn't like all this activity one bit. I still sometimes struggle even when I'm covering a short distance that I know I should have the fitness and capacity to run with ease. I have decided therefore, that this could well be my last half marathon. My Inspire running buddies if they read this will note the subtle change from what I said just after I had finished the 10 mile run (where I firmly decided I would not be doing another half marathon)!! At the very least I will be cutting back the distance to a more comfortable level after Sunday. I like the sound of 4-5 miles, and I can run that sort of distance without too many ill-effects (meaning, I can generally still walk up the stairs afterwards!).
In other news, I had a Saturday morning a few weekends ago that was full of firsts. My first run with the Hermitage Joggers/Newbury Runners, at the first ever Didcot Parkrun, which also happened to be my first ever Parkrun! It was really nice to put some faces to names, and I enjoyed the parkrun experience. The local one to me is actually Newbury, and a few of the people I met who live locally are regular attendees, so once the half marathon is out of the way I hope to get myself along to that more regularly. Maybe my new goal should be to finally get myself a 5k PB, aiming for under 30 minutes??!!
As I mentioned, I saw the surgeon last week for the final time - one last x-ray and chat about how things are going. I mentioned the pain after I run, particularly when I up the distance, and he said that maybe I should consider not running anymore. I managed to retain some composure, because actually the ONLY reason I had the extreme surgery I did was because I wanted to continue being active, and specifically running. If I had said to him back then that I planned to give up running, he wouldn't have done the osteotomy. So, I had the osteotomy and now the thought is that perhaps I shouldn't run? Forgive me if I find that hard to swallow!! I accept that I have pushed my body beyond comfortable limits for this half marathon, as recovery has been slower than I had hoped for and training has been harder than I have experienced for any other half marathon. I should have given myself more time to build up to this distance, however I'm struggling with the concept that I went through all those surgeries and it could have been for nowt! I'm just not having it!!
Monday 26 January 2015
Baby steps
I should start by saying, HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I know I know, it's almost February already.....time is racing so fast this year!
I picked up a nasty cold/virus type thing over the Christmas break, so had a little while off everything. I managed a run of a couple of miles on New Years Day, however a week later, still struggling with the chesty bit of the cold and a general lack of energy, I almost did myself a mischief trying to run the same distance again. In fact, I didn't make it! I thought I was going to be sick several times, and when I got home I literally made it through the front door before collapsing in the hall. Pete had to help me up as my world was spinning, I couldn't focus, and I just didn't have the strength to stand up. Bit scary actually! Definitely a case of too much too soon.
Happily, with a bit of a rest and a few changes in diet, I seem to be back on the right track again. I'm still doing Pilates once a week, and finding it enjoyable, and also a bit of an eye-opener as to how much muscle strength I have lost. It's nice to see it slowly coming back though, and I do love the classes, which are just the right mix of hard work and relaxation!
As for running, well, last week I managed to up my distance to just over 5k for the first time since the marathon back in 2013! I had been hovering around the 2 mile mark, and then I went for a run with my brother, who took me up to just under 3 miles. I think it really helped to have someone to push me to that extra distance, as I was struggling to have the confidence in myself. Since then, I have run 3.3 miles a couple of times. It has felt good, if tough, but then it has been icy cold, which has not been an easy re-introduction for my chest. When I first started running I had to use an inhaler, and there have been a few occasions recently where I reckon I should probably have used one again! Also, Hermitage is a tad more undulating than I had first thought!
When I was out running on Saturday, I did have a moment where I thought to myself, how feckin amazing is my body?! I have put it through so much, and yet here I am, out running again. I think folk would have forgiven me for deciding that distance running wasn't my sport....and yet here I am, out training for another half marathon. I think I might be slightly unhinged! When I look back, I literally have no idea how I ever managed to drag myself around the marathon, but I did it. In this (albeit slightly flawed) body, that is plainly not designed for running but that is getting on with it anyway.
I have decided this week to get my marathon vest and medal framed so that I can hang them in the hall and show them off. I've had them hidden away; perhaps subconsciously I didn't want to look at them and be reminded that I could once do that, at a time when I struggled with simply walking around a supermarket. Now, I want to look at them every day and be reminded that I could once do that!
I know I know, it's almost February already.....time is racing so fast this year!
I picked up a nasty cold/virus type thing over the Christmas break, so had a little while off everything. I managed a run of a couple of miles on New Years Day, however a week later, still struggling with the chesty bit of the cold and a general lack of energy, I almost did myself a mischief trying to run the same distance again. In fact, I didn't make it! I thought I was going to be sick several times, and when I got home I literally made it through the front door before collapsing in the hall. Pete had to help me up as my world was spinning, I couldn't focus, and I just didn't have the strength to stand up. Bit scary actually! Definitely a case of too much too soon.
Happily, with a bit of a rest and a few changes in diet, I seem to be back on the right track again. I'm still doing Pilates once a week, and finding it enjoyable, and also a bit of an eye-opener as to how much muscle strength I have lost. It's nice to see it slowly coming back though, and I do love the classes, which are just the right mix of hard work and relaxation!
As for running, well, last week I managed to up my distance to just over 5k for the first time since the marathon back in 2013! I had been hovering around the 2 mile mark, and then I went for a run with my brother, who took me up to just under 3 miles. I think it really helped to have someone to push me to that extra distance, as I was struggling to have the confidence in myself. Since then, I have run 3.3 miles a couple of times. It has felt good, if tough, but then it has been icy cold, which has not been an easy re-introduction for my chest. When I first started running I had to use an inhaler, and there have been a few occasions recently where I reckon I should probably have used one again! Also, Hermitage is a tad more undulating than I had first thought!
When I was out running on Saturday, I did have a moment where I thought to myself, how feckin amazing is my body?! I have put it through so much, and yet here I am, out running again. I think folk would have forgiven me for deciding that distance running wasn't my sport....and yet here I am, out training for another half marathon. I think I might be slightly unhinged! When I look back, I literally have no idea how I ever managed to drag myself around the marathon, but I did it. In this (albeit slightly flawed) body, that is plainly not designed for running but that is getting on with it anyway.
I have decided this week to get my marathon vest and medal framed so that I can hang them in the hall and show them off. I've had them hidden away; perhaps subconsciously I didn't want to look at them and be reminded that I could once do that, at a time when I struggled with simply walking around a supermarket. Now, I want to look at them every day and be reminded that I could once do that!
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| The most proud of myself I have ever been |
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| You don't get one of these without a lot of hard work...... |
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