Kildare 2011. Here we go again..

Sweater

I've been down this road before, not too long ago and I need to purge the demons..

Background

In 2007/2008 I graduated from a 16 stone Mr. blobby to a 11.5 stone (overly skinny) runner by not eating junk and going to the gym regularly.

Running

I did a lot of running between 2008 and 2009, did a lot of 5 milers, 10ks and 10 milers and the addiction was properly formed.

I gradually improved my times and topped out with a PB of 69:18 in the Ballycotton 10 in 2009. Ballycotton was part of my training for the Zurich full marathon.

I was targeting Zurich for April of that year and I had reached 19 miles in training on a Higdon marathon novice training schedule when my right foot gave a little hassle and then more, and then more.

Injury

I went to my friendly local physio for advice.

She said I had flat feet, one leg shorter than the other and low strength in my legs. It couldn't hurt to put in a gel heel insert in my right shoe to give a little lift. Guess what? It did hurt (not bitter). I irritated tendons in my foot that meant I couldn't stand on it. Zurich Marathon was over for me after 17 weeks of training.

Recovery

After the tendon issue was sorted I went to a consultant surgeon who xrayed the foot for a stress fracture but none was present. He suggested that there was a level of arthritis on the joint (I'm 28 by the way) and he could inject the bone with cortizone once in a while if it was giving me trouble.. I didn't like this answer so I started focussing on low impact sports. I bought a bike and took to the road. I did the Wicklow 100 last year and cycled from Cork to Galway but it never had the same appeal.

I then heard about a physio in Monasterevin called Michael Davis (Well Shod). I booked an appointment with Michael and after the three month wait (he is good), I went to see him.

He agreed that I had very low strength in my legs but disagreed that I had flat feet. The first appointment was free and he said he'd either fix me or tell me to go away no hard feelings.

Long story short, he prescribed some orthodhics for me and put me back on the road last September. I've been doing a little training since then (mainly on grass) but I've just completed a number of longer runs and I feel pretty good.

Today, I did my first official 10k in about a year and a half on the road and the body held up. So, what am I waiting for? Let's do a marathon in 2011.

The Plan

The inaugural Kildare marathon is on the 15th May 2011 and I will be doing it.

It will be my first marathon and I can't wait. I'll put up some innane comments on this thread over the next 4 and a half months about training and preparation and hopefully I won't bore you guys too much.

I appreciate any advice, good or bad!

get_d_hand_in

Good man, go for it... Just dont try too much too quickly with the foot.

Oisin11178

Good man. Any idea what time you target in kildare? Nice to set a target early i find.

Sweater

Did the Great Heath 10k today sub 53.

I thought it was quite hilly but then again it is quite possible I'm just a complete wuss..

The event was perfectly well organised and the Heath GAA club members were very friendly and welcoming. Obviously it was a fundraiser for the club but I could easily see it becoming an annual event.

The results page is here http://heathgaa.ie/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=88


Relatively happy with that time given it's my first race back..

Now, to pick out a 10 miler or half that fits in with the marathon schedule.

Oisin11178

We posted at the exact same second. Well done on the 10k.

Sweater

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Good man. Any idea what time you target in kildare? Nice to set a target early i find.

I'll try for the 4:15 - 4:30 mark if I can.

As this is my first one I really just want to get around. The course is hilly enough. I think I need to do a little training on the course before I firm up on the time.

Sweater

get_d_hand_in wrote: »

Good man, go for it... Just dont try too much too quickly with the foot.

Thanks for that. I'll try to train on grass as much as I can and hopefully that'll take a little pressure off of it. I guess the high milage will tell a lot.

Sweater

5k in 25 (treadmill)

useurename

Best of luck with the training.That marathon is not too far away.Are you going to follow a plan?

Sweater

useurename wrote: »

Best of luck with the training.That marathon is not too far away.Are you going to follow a plan?

Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm following the Higdon novice plan. I have used it before and it was a nice gradual build up. The hard part is being disciplined enough to just do the prescribed distances ( in the early weeks)..

6.5k today slow (treadmill 10.5kph)

NeverAlone

Hello there,

I have had several problems with my feet (dislocating bones) and my lower back pain (due to pelvis joint) and was told that I needed orthotic insoles.

My Osteopath recommended a visit to Michael Davis of Well Shod in Monasterevin. I was diagnosed with over pronounciation. And when Michael pointed this out to me, it was clearly visible - how I never noticed before is beyond me. He recommended some orthotic insoles (2 pairs for €120). He would make these himself for me. They were certainly softer than shop bought insoles.... However they are not custom made for me.

At first wearing the insoles caused me discomfort (as expected) but it wasn't long before I got use to them. Now I find they do not offer enough support. Especially on my left foot as this is severely over pronounced.

My question is, has anyone else dealt with Well Shod and what is your experience. I want to run the half marathon in May but find this defect is causing me some discomfort especially on long distance running. Plus I don't want to over do it on these insoles as they don't seem to support me correctly. Should I have gone elsewhere and got custom made ones?

Hope someone can share their experience with me.

asimonov

Hi

I haven't been to him myself but i've heard from some others lads who race at a higher level than me that he is the one for orthotics. So I really don't think you need to worry about that. If you have a specific issue though it's probably best to pick up the phone. It might be a case that you have just got used to the support and can't feel it anymore even though they are still doing their job.

Sweater

Hi,

Just an update in case it looks as if I've given up..

The Kildare marathon is this day next week (15th of May) and I'm all rev'd up. Yes, I'm still doing it. My time prediction has decreased slightly (going for sub 4) but getting around the course is still my main aim.

The long range forecast is predicting 14mph winds and light rain so I need to have a look at my running gear for the day.

http://bit.ly/ixQdY2

I do apologise I didn't post more runs during training but for those of you interested in the half marathon course, here it is:

Kildare Half Marathon Course (Please ignore mile 1 & 13.5 - 14.5)
http://bit.ly/mtsLG0

Advice for half marathon runners:

Hills: Mile 1 - 2.5 (through the Curragh Camp)
Inclines through: Mile 7 - 9, 11 - 13

Now I need to put the marathon playlist together!! Any ideas, please do let me know.

Woddle

Sweater is this really you don't think I've seen you since Dungarvan 09. Best of luck next weekend.

ger34

Hi Sweater,
My first full also,have been following hh novice 1 aswell and going for sub 4.
Went for a walk on the curragh this morning and the wind was blowing a gale,hope its calmer next sunday.
Best of luck,are you sticking with the 4 hr pacer or going solo?

Oisin11178

Sweater wrote: »

Hi,

Just an update in case it looks as if I've given up..

The Kildare marathon is this day next week (15th of May) and I'm all rev'd up. Yes, I'm still doing it. My time prediction has decreased slightly (going for sub 4) but getting around the course is still my main aim.

The long range forecast is predicting 14mph winds and light rain so I need to have a look at my running gear for the day.

http://bit.ly/ixQdY2

I do apologise I didn't post more runs during training but for those of you interested in the half marathon course, here it is:

Kildare Half Marathon Course (Please ignore mile 1 & 13.5 - 14.5)
http://bit.ly/mtsLG0

Advice for half marathon runners:

Hills: Mile 1 - 2.5 (through the Curragh Camp)
Inclines through: Mile 7 - 9, 11 - 13

Now I need to put the marathon playlist together!! Any ideas, please do let me know.

Looks like ill be pacing sub 4 hours so maybe come along for the jaunt?:D

ronnie085

How did it go for ye?

Sweater

Woddle wrote: »

Sweater is this really you don't think I've seen you since Dungarvan 09. Best of luck next weekend.

Thanks Woddle, yeah, it was a pretty long time ago! How are you keeping?

I got around Kildare in 4:17. My longest ever distance, so I happy to finally have a marathon PB!

Sweater

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Looks like ill be pacing sub 4 hours so maybe come along for the jaunt?:D

Fair play to you. You really kept people going during the event. I have to say I suffered a bit towards the end. I think I'll need to rebuild the body before I think of doing my next marathon! Thanks again for the motivational shouts.

Oisin11178

No probs:D