Kielder Marathon Training – A Personal Journey – Week 2

As we learned last week, Felicity, one of our podiatrists has committed to competing in the Active Northumberland, Kielder Marathon on Sunday 8th October. Felicity has kindly offered to share her training diary so we can follow her marathon training journey, how did she get on during week 2…

Kielder Marathon Training – Week 2

I awoke on Sunday at 7:15am with a certain amount of trepidation. Not only was this possibly the first time I had seen this hour at the weekend for many (many) years, I knew that in 45 minutes I was to embark on what would be a 3-hour run of Newcastle. Too nervous, and not enough time, to have breakfast, I swallowed a cup of tea brought to me in bed by a sympathetic boyfriend (already up and dressed) and concentrated on opening my eyes. Blinking the day in, I followed tea with a glass of diluted electrolytes in water; whether this helps is up for debate, but the placebo effect is certainly seductive. I started the run enthusiastically, struggling to keep to the strict 9 – 10min/mile pace. As I don’t own a running watch, it’s hard to keep an eye on speed, which is where running with friends is a bonus: Adam kept the pace, I chose the route, and Chris – the most experienced marathoner upon us – kept us going by running very fast, so that if we weren’t chasing him we were yelling at him to slow down. It’s Ok though, we forgave him as he offered some pretty sage advice, such as “eat three bags of pasta the week before a marathon”; as if I need an excuse.

One Hour into Run

After an hour, we were 10km into the run and with two loops of Jesmond Dene under our belt, we had also completed the hardest of the hills. And it’s fair to say from the picture that we were still pretty happy at this point. I had a slight niggle in my calf, caused through wearing ballet pumps for hours around town the day before (a sure sign to invest in good footwear!), but not severe enough to make me worry.

 

 

Two Hours into Run

Still feeling good! The only thing really getting in our way at this point is ignition failure: stopping for a car/dog/person/bollard requires gargantuan effort in order to restart.  They do say that your body can only process pain in one area, but I can guarantee that restarting after 20 miles will test this theory to the limit. It’s not that everything is excruciating, but just that it all hurts, all at once. It’s a bit like learning to walk for the first time whilst under water and with a gale force wind always in the direction your body is facing. Oh, and at this point you will also realise you have not had enough water and you are suddenly the thirstiest person who has ever existed ever, and no amount of “only one more hour to go!” is helpful, or called for.

Three Hours into Run – The End!

I am often reminded of the time I shouted to my friend, 7 miles into his 3rd marathon out of 10 in 10 days, “you’re nearly there!”, and in response received a death stare. I used to think this story was funny, but after this run I know not to mess with a person in the midst of a marathon. After 20 miles, it was over and I threw a strop because my partner had bought me orange pop instead of orange juice. I say a strop; I cried. I have since found a new-found respect for anyone stupid enough to run a marathon because the training is brutal. And you will turn into a child once it’s over. But even after all that I am still very proud of my achievement.

Two Days After

The calf niggle that threatened to end the run after 10km, caused the medial aspect of right leg to swell up and bruise. The pain wasn’t so bad as to worry that I couldn’t continue with the training, however I did value the excuse to try out a Sport’s Massage at the clinic by the very excellent Sport’s Therapist, Jamie. The massage lasted half an hour and if I’m honest, it did hurt and I did swear. However, a few hours later and my calves feel amazing. Even if the pain wasn’t severe enough to prevent training, my calves were still very tight and without the massage, followed by an action plan of stretching and strengthening, I would be much more vulnerable to injuries in the future.

Tune in for more updates next week.

Felicity – Podiatrist at Newcastle Sports Injury Clinic