The Next Step

TRR

Sorry to hear about the discomfort. I've had shin splints twice in the past and they are head wrecking. My advice would be do absolutely no running for the next couple of days. The best test you can take is the "getting out of bed test". If you are sore in the morning, forget about it. If you have no discomfort then chance a run. A couple of days off could do it the world of good. Oh yeah and don't overdo stimulating the area with a foam roller or massage etc. A lot of shin splints are muscular and basically inflammation of the muscle fascia. This is not medical advice just common sense And seriously you won't gain or lose anything by doing or not doing those reps. Your priority should be making the start line niggle free. Good luck

neilc

Younganne wrote: »

.....think you told me something similar recently;)

Yeah Anne you're right but much easier to give advice than take it:)

TRR wrote: »

Sorry to hear about the discomfort. I've had shin splints twice in the past and they are head wrecking. My advice would be do absolutely no running for the next couple of days. The best test you can take is the "getting out of bed test". If you are sore in the morning, forget about it. If you have no discomfort then chance a run. A couple of days off could do it the world of good. Oh yeah and don't overdo stimulating the area with a foam roller or massage etc. A lot of shin splints are muscular and basically inflammation of the muscle fascia. This is not medical advice just common sense And seriously you won't gain or lose anything by doing or not doing those reps. Your priority should be making the start line niggle free. Good luck

Thanks TRR, great advice there, thanks. Hopefully I can avoid panic over the next few days and heed it. Priority definitely the 29th.

theboyblunder

ahh crap sorry to hear about that Neil. Hope it clears up. Dont be afraid to knock the 3 x 1600 back to friday. Our race is on a monday not a sunday so friday would actually be the right number of days out from the race (weather suppiosed to be better on friday too )

Ive got fingers crossed for you

PaulieYifter

Hope you're on the mend.
Have to agree with Road Runner - at this stage the 3 x 1600 won't make much odds improvement wise but could prolong your recovery - give yourself a few days and look back on all the good stuff you've done over the last 16+ weeks and more.

neilc

PaulieYifter wrote: »

Hope you're on the mend.
Have to agree with Road Runner - at this stage the 3 x 1600 won't make much odds improvement wise but could prolong your recovery - give yourself a few days and look back on all the good stuff you've done over the last 16+ weeks and more.

Yeah thanks PaulieYifter, looks like I won't be doing that session alright. Leg felt a bit better this morning (still wouldn't have passed the getting out of bed test) but had to work late tonight which meant i was on my feet a lot so pretty sore again now. 10 or 11 days left yet so hopeful I'll still make the start line, just have to avoid doing something stupid in a fit of panic, it's a long time since I've gone 4 days without running, 5 tomorrow!!

neilc

Decision made, I'm out.
Wasn't feeling too bad yesterday so decided to test the situation. Having RICEd all week P&D called for 6 on Saturday so I thought I'd give it a go. Started off fine but I was waiting with every footfall for the pain to start, it did, within half a mile. It was tolerable though so I finished the run. Spent the rest of the day icing and resting (very understanding wife).
So today I woke up and it was still a bit sore but I wanted to do a bit of an experiment so decided to do the prescribed 13 miler. The experiment was to pop 2 nurofen+ pills with breakfast and see would it make the run any easier. It didn't. The run started off being able to tolerate the pain but at just over 7 miles I had to pull up, run and the dream of a sub 3:15 DCM over.
What can I say, it's fooking depressing but now that the decision's made I'm surprisingly accepting of it. Life really is more important.
As for the injury, I'm thinking it may be a stress fracture so I'll be off the road for a while but hopefully will be back before Christmas and finally hit the 2000 mile target by the end of the year.

Micilin Muc

Really disappointed for you Neil. Probably the best decision all the same. 3:15 will be easier next time

Marthastew

Neil I'm so sorry to hear you have had to pull out of DCM, you most definitely had a huge PB in you if it weren't for the injury. Tough decision, but the right one, you'll be back to claim your PB as soon as you get it sorted. Give yourself a big pat on the back for the last few months of hard work and then another one for making the right call about next week.
Then pour yourself a beer:)

PaulieYifter

Jeez Neil - gutted for you but I'm sure the right decision - a few weeks out and you'll be back stronger and all that training will stand to you - come December DCM will be forgotten about and you'll be back into the swing of things for your next target

theboyblunder

Im on a downer after reading that neil. Hard luck buddy, awful luck. We did the same programme so i think ive survivors guilt now :-). As others have said; definitely the right decision. Ive had two of those this year and my recovery time was much worse for not being sensible like you are. Youve stopped before it became chronic. Complete rest and you should be back well before christmas.

Great training cycle - you know you have it in you for next time.

menoscemo

Really disappointing news Neil but most likely a good decision. No point flogging a dead horse. Get the injury fixed and you can look to an even faster marathon in the Spring. I hear Barcelona is the place to be

neilc

Thanks for the comments everyone. Not going to feel sorry for myself, I'll definitely get over it. Meno was talking to tbb in Marley a few weeks ago about his run in Barcelona, sounds really good, is it a PB course? Might just be too soon for me depending how long it takes to get over this. Friend of mine wants us to do London with that Irish sports travel company but its fairly pricey.

One good thing about the whole thing, will now be able to celebrate properly next Friday night when Sligo Rovers finally lift the league title in the Showgrounds against Shams

menoscemo

Definitely a good course Neil, more importantly they just do everything right: lots of gels, energy drinks, fruit etc every few miles.

One for a PB for sure (only a few drags, no hills).

Younganne

neilc wrote: »

Thanks for the comments everyone. Not going to feel sorry for myself, I'll definitely get over it. Meno was talking to tbb in Marley a few weeks ago about his run in Barcelona, sounds really good, is it a PB course? Might just be too soon for me depending how long it takes to get over this. Friend of mine wants us to do London with that Irish sports travel company but its fairly pricey.

One good thing about the whole thing, will now be able to celebrate properly next Friday night when Sligo Rovers finally lift the league title in the Showgrounds against Shams

Hey Mister, i'm on to you, the real reason is right there ^^:eek:...only joking!!

Ah Neil im gutted for you...your training has beein 100% up until last few weeks, when the injury kicked in....Very difficult decision this close, but yes the bigger picture and all that....., whats the physio say about it....??

are you going to head up anyway, we;re staying the night after in Dub, was hoping to meet up in Mcgrattans!!!

I'll text you!!!

neilc

Younganne wrote: »

Hey Mister, i'm on to you, the real reason is right there ^^:eek:...only joking!!

^^:D

Didn't see the physio since Monday Anne but after today there's no point really. When I pulled up I really had to, tried to restart but just wasn't possible. Rang Christy and he came over to Trim to collect me. Normally don't bring the phone with me but made sure I had it today.
Not sure when we'll come back from Sligo now so will hardly make it up. Ye must be planning some night if yer staying up

Younganne

neilc wrote: »

^^:D

Didn't see the physio since Monday Anne but after today there's no point really. When I pulled up I really had to, tried to restart but just wasn't possible. Rang Christy and he came over to Trim to collect me. Normally don't bring the phone with me but made sure I had it today.
Not sure when we'll come back from Sligo now so will hardly make it up. Ye must be planning some night if yer staying up

Glad you had the phone and wasn't stuck miles from home...

as for staying in Dub, whats seldoms wonderful!!!:D:D
My cousin (her kids & some friends) are coming home from USA to run/walk her first marathon, present to herself for her 60th birthday!!!! fair play to her and another cousin is coming from Galway for her first so will be meeting up with them all that evening...so might as well enjoy it!!!!
Enjoy your weekend and the celebrations and we'll defo catch up soon!!!!

TRR

That's crap, hard luck. Make sure you get a proper diagnosis before deciding on recovery period/plan. Pain in the lower leg can feel like bone pain therefore people usually conclude they have a stress fracture. A lot of the time its actually muscular and recovery times for both injuries differ greatly. May mean you have to shell out for a scan but definitely worth it in my book

beeduybe

Sh1tty luck Neil. Your training seemed to be going so well but better to be safe than sorry.

On the plus side at least you can enjoy yourself on Friday night and we can all look forward to your latest dying.com 3am post

neilc

beeduybe wrote: »

...we can all look forward to your latest dying.com 3am post

Younganne

beeduybe wrote: »

Sh1tty luck Neil. Your training seemed to be going so well but better to be safe than sorry.

On the plus side at least you can enjoy yourself on Friday night and we can all look forward to your latest dying.com 3am post

Ha ha, Boards...never forgets!!!

neilc

neilc

Dublin City Marathon - 3:11:45
Having abandoned all hope last week of competing yesterday I was thrilled to toe the line in the end. A couple of Sundays ago I picked up a nasty shin splint injury which put me out of action in the build up to the race. A test run last Sunday seemed to confirm my worst fears that it might actually be a stress fracture. So it was a major surprise a couple of days later that the injury seemed to have completely disappeared. I contacted one of the guys on here for advice who suggested a short tester on Wednesday and if that went well try four miles at MP Thursday. Having come through both without a twinge I was good to go again. My main goal from the outset was to qualify for Boston 2014 which for me meant sub 3:15 but to give myself a bit of breathing space I trained for 3:08 pace. The only adjustment I made to this was to drop back to 3:10 based on the last two weeks.

Race
I lined myself up between the 3 & 3:15 pacers and after a fair bit of congestion in the first half mile it gradually started to open up a bit so got into a nice rhythm pretty quickly. The first few miles flew by and before I knew it we were turning right at Dolphins Barn and into the first challenge of the day with the drag up to Crumlin and the half way point. At this stage I found myself in no mans land between two groups, against the wind and worried for the first time on the day. Mile 12 & 13 were the toughest so far but went through the half way point just over 1:33, a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. Once we passed the Walkinstown roundabout with the amazing support there things got a bit easier. Again the next few miles flew by and I was feeling very comfortable. Then just like that everything changed. It wasn't the wall, as I was passing the Dropping Well I got struck down with a bloody massive stitch. It took me a couple of miles to run it off and the pace obviously dropped off in the process. Once that happened I found it hard to pick it up again. By the time I got to RTE I kinda knew 3:15 was in the bag barring disaster, my shin was starting to show a little discomfort so I took the easy option and just finished out the race at 7:5x pace. I lost the psychological battle with myself. In the end it was a 10 minute PB so I'm delighted but only for that stitch at 18 miles I think I could have gone sub 3:10. Next time I really have to get myself stronger mentally.
Enjoyed the few pints (& ciggies :eek:) in mcgrattons afterwards and was good to chat to so many boardsies. The shin is pretty sore again now so I'll rest it for a week or two but already can't wait to get back on the road again.

theboyblunder

great stuff neil. 10 mins is a huge chunk to take off an akready good PB. BQ too

rest up, hope the shin heals quickly.

Younganne

Congrats Mister...well earned!!

PaulieYifter

Great stuff Neil - delighted you got to the start line and that the shin held up - great time and well deserved after all the hard work.

neilc

Thanks Paulie, absolutely outstanding time yourself, congratulations.

liamo123

Well done Neilc... Delighted u got to start line and great run........

neilc

Finally got around to entering Barcelona tonight and booking flights. So it's on and the training schedule started yesterday :eek: luckily enough with a rest day not so lucky today though, an eight miler with 4 @ LT pace. I did this on the treadmill, 2 warmup @ 7 mph, 4 LT @ 8.8 mph and 2 cooldown @ 7 mph. 90% of my mid week runs this time around will be on he treadmill with the roads at the weekends. It worked out pretty well for Connemara last year so not too concerned. This time I'm going to go with a mix between the 55 & 70 mile 18 week P&D plans. I kinda broke down a bit towards the end of the 70 mile plan last time. Finally to my goals for the next while, I'm going to target 3:05 in Barca and hopefully then an all out attack on 2:59:59 in Dublin with Boston 2014 as a backup if the sub 3 in Dublin goes pear shaped.

theboyblunder

best of luck with the goals Neil. Will follow with interest. Id back you to get both if you stay healthy!

neilc

Tuesday 13th - 8 Mile LT
Treadmill, 1:01:56, 2 warmup @ 7 mph, 4 LT @ 8.8 mph and 2 cooldown @ 7 mph

Thursday 15th - 9 Mile General Aerobic
Treadmill, 1:12:39

Saturday 17th - 4 Mile Recovery
Nice handy four miler at very easy pace as prep for Sundays run in the Park.

Sunday 18th - DNY Marathon, Pheonix Park
As a lot of the regular boards pacers were busy elsewhere I decided to offer my services for what I thought would be a pretty special event in the park. Thankfully Paul accepted and I was lucky enough to get the 4 hr group with the_boy_wonder. Conditions on the morning were pretty perfect for running if not just a tad cold at first. Typical of me I found my ronhill hat and gloves in the car when I got back after the race :rolleyes: We got into a good rythem pretty quickly and had a nice sized group along with us for the first half of the race. After that we lost a few, a couple pushed and of course picked up a few more as well. Chatting to the runners along the way the feelings of gratitude towards the DCM organisers for arranging the event was huge after the disappointment of the cancelation in New York. And I couldn't agree more, they put a lot of hard training into New York with nothing to show for it, for most of them it was a first marathon so to get this opertunity was fantastic. To top off a great day got a pretty cool DNY tech T at the end too.
Oh yeah, spotted Marthastew too on her last run up chesterfield and after a quick look at my watch knew she was set to smash her sub 3:30 target. Delighted for her, totally deserved after a tough few months between injury and the New York disappointment!!
Thoroughly enjoyed the day and am already looking forward to the next one.