Marathon set backs

jen_23

Hi All,

I decided last August as a birthday resolution to run a marathon in 2015.. easy right? ... training started well but seems to have been a culmination of set backs since last December.

I suffered from heavy calfs, runners knee, a sprained MCL (still have no idea how I did that one) and now that i'm back up and running after being injured (and after entering the Cork marathon yesterday.. Murphys law!) seem to have contracted something not too unlike shin splints in my right leg (everything seems to be with my right leg).
I don't think it is shin spints as it's pain shooting through my shins, calf, knee and up as far as my thigh.. So back to physio fingers crossed for a quick appointment!

I'm wondering has anyone any advice? Or have experienced this before? I started doing crossfit as well to start building up muscle strength but clearly it's not helping! Are there supplements or measures I should be taking that could help?

NetwerkErrer

jen_23 wrote: »

Hi All,

I decided last August as a birthday resolution to run a marathon in 2015.. easy right? ... training started well but seems to have been a culmination of set backs since last December.

I suffered from heavy calfs, runners knee, a sprained MCL (still have no idea how I did that one) and now that i'm back up and running after being injured (and after entering the Cork marathon yesterday.. Murphys law!) seem to have contracted something not too unlike shin splints in my right leg (everything seems to be with my right leg).
I don't think it is shin spints as it's pain shooting through my shins, calf, knee and up as far as my thigh.. So back to physio fingers crossed for a quick appointment!

I'm wondering has anyone any advice? Or have experienced this before? I started doing crossfit as well to start building up muscle strength but clearly it's not helping! Are there supplements or measures I should be taking that could help?

Can't give medical advice here. But, I think the best advice I can give you is, don't run the marathon in Cork if you have been constantly injured. If your body can't handle the training right now, it won't handle an undertrained marathon.

A marathon is far from easy. Treat the distance and your body with respect and take another shot at training when you recover from injury and are able to train properly for it.

jen_23

I'm not asking for medical advice - between MRIs, doctors and physio I have had plenty which unfortunately does not seem to prevent new injuries occurring!
I was asking what supplements or for example stretches people were doing had they encountered similar problems in the past which may have aided their recovery or prevented new injuries.

I was recovered from my injury and had no problems up until yesterday with any mileage I was doing.
(p.s. my comment in regards to easy wasn't exactly serious..)

amcgee

jen_23 wrote: »

Hi All,

I decided last August as a birthday resolution to run a marathon in 2015.. easy right? ... training started well but seems to have been a culmination of set backs since last December.

I suffered from heavy calfs, runners knee, a sprained MCL (still have no idea how I did that one) and now that i'm back up and running after being injured (and after entering the Cork marathon yesterday.. Murphys law!) seem to have contracted something not too unlike shin splints in my right leg (everything seems to be with my right leg).
I don't think it is shin spints as it's pain shooting through my shins, calf, knee and up as far as my thigh.. So back to physio fingers crossed for a quick appointment!

I'm wondering has anyone any advice? Or have experienced this before? I started doing crossfit as well to start building up muscle strength but clearly it's not helping! Are there supplements or measures I should be taking that could help?

Hi

i had similar experiances when i restarted running when i was 39 with the aim of running the cork marathon before i was 40. this did not happen. i had not run for 20 odd years, and everything was going great until i got to 13 miles on my training run one afternoon and i was actually thinking to myself..this is easy and then bang out of nowhere my calf went on my, couldnt walk, rang the wife and was out of running for 3 months. from then on it was one thing after another. i did get the cork marathon done the following year but have had injuries of all types since, have 3 marathons under my belt now and all going well now.
Give yourself time, ease into it and do a few halfs and be patient in terms of doing a marathon. and another important part of training is your long runs need to be SLOW..so if you are going for a 8mpm marathon run 9mpm in your long run. Cross train. At the end of the day, unless your a very fit person before you decision to run a marathon, it will take time. if marathons were easy every one would do it. and the training for the marathon is probably harder than running it!
good luck and be patient

rom

When I started running first I was getting injured all the time. When your current injury is gone you should do a bit of maintenance with a foam roller daily. If you do this post run then you will reduce the likelihood of you getting injured. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3su0 Also a common mistake is people do static stretching before they go out on a run. This is bad. Basically you weaken your mussel before the run and then damage it when you run. I don't do any stretching at all. When I stopped stretching completely I stopped getting injuries. I do use the foam roller and the stick though.

If you were to run for the time you do crossfit you would be preparing better for Cork. There are no shortcuts. Also if you can run some of the time on grass it can help with reducing injuries if you are prone to them when starting off.

NetwerkErrer

Oops, sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me this morning. I thought you wanted to know how to fix your current injury.

+1 to what Rom said about foam rolling, it's like having your own mobile physio at times. It rarely addresses the issue at the root in my experience though but I find it great for maintenance and loosening out the muscles when they get really tight.

Most of the injuries I've had were caused by muscle imbalances. Weak muscles in certain places which caused overuse and tightness. Ask your physio the next time about what imbalances you might have and how you can strengthen them and what stretching you can do. They will have a better idea of what needs to be worked on to help you treat and prevent injuries as best as possible.

Enduro

I'd suggest incorporating cycling days as a regular part of your training. I find it seems to help with muscle imbalances, and gives the legs a bit of a break from the impact of regular running training.

rom

Have you done any races to date. Have you completed a half marathon?

How many times a week are you running and are you following a plan?

jen_23

amcgee wrote: »

Hi

Give yourself time, ease into it and do a few halfs and be patient in terms of doing a marathon. and another important part of training is your long runs need to be SLOW..so if you are going for a 8mpm marathon run 9mpm in your long run. Cross train. At the end of the day, unless your a very fit person before you decision to run a marathon, it will take time. if marathons were easy every one would do it. and the training for the marathon is probably harder than running it!
good luck and be patient

Thanks amcgee - I was thinking of cutting down to doing just the half and maybe trying for the Dublin full to give myself more time. I thought I was fit before I started this as i've always been active doing something and walked up to 6/7 miles daily - I trained for a half marathon a few years ago in 3 months so I expected this would be okay but it's definitely hard work with loads of obstacles!
Lol i'm definitely not fast - most days particularly long runs i'm as slow as a tortoise stampeding through peanut butter but I through in a few short but fast runs during the week as well. (Fast for me anyway! )
Thanks for the advice

rom wrote: »

When I started running first I was getting injured all the time. When your current injury is gone you should do a bit of maintenance with a foam roller daily. If you do this post run then you will reduce the likelihood of you getting injured. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3su0 Also a common mistake is people do static stretching before they go out on a run. This is bad. Basically you weaken your mussel before the run and then damage it when you run. I don't do any stretching at all. When I stopped stretching completely I stopped getting injuries. I do use the foam roller and the stick though.

Thanks Rom - I would nearly always stretch before a run and not do anything after... I think i'll switch that around and see if it helps! Thanks for the advice about the foam rolling too

Enduro wrote: »

I'd suggest incorporating cycling days as a regular part of your training. I find it seems to help with muscle imbalances, and gives the legs a bit of a break from the impact of regular running training.

Thanks Enduro - I hate cycling! But if it helps i'll give it a go so thank you

NetwerkErrer wrote: »

Oops, sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me this morning. I thought you wanted to know how to fix your current injury.

+1 to what Rom said about foam rolling, it's like having your own mobile physio at times. It rarely addresses the issue at the root in my experience though but I find it great for maintenance and loosening out the muscles when they get really tight.

Most of the injuries I've had were caused by muscle imbalances. Weak muscles in certain places which caused overuse and tightness. Ask your physio the next time about what imbalances you might have and how you can strengthen them and what stretching you can do. They will have a better idea of what needs to be worked on to help you treat and prevent injuries as best as possible.

Thank you for the advice

rom wrote: »

Have you done any races to date. Have you completed a half marathon?

How many times a week are you running and are you following a plan?

Hi Rom,
I've done a half marathon a few years ago (prob doesn't count now) and had entered the Mallow 10 but that's when I was recovering from my Sprain.
I run 5 days a week, with 3 sessions of crossfit and I walk daily as well (Dogs). I don't really run to a plan as such - I would do relatively short runs during the week ( 4/5/6 miles) alternating hills & speed with a long run on Saturdays or Sundays and I would have upped that mileage about 10% on a weekly basis then. Probably should have been following a plan but I read plans to get an idea of what to do and I wouldn't have varied too much from them.

rom

Even if you did a half a few years ago its ok. At least you are not going into it blind. Many have the marathon their first race which ain't the best idea ever. Static stretching which is the typical stretching that most people do is often done incorrectly. I don't do it as I can't do it right and will cause myself to get injured. Dynamic stretching (basically the warm-up you see that teams do before a game) is much better if you feel the need to stretch. Personally I use the first 2 miles to run at a very slow pace like 2 mins slower than marathon pace. After this I start my normal running. Then I cool down with the same 2miles at the end of the session. I find this results in my legs not being sore. The first 2 miles I feel is as good as stretching without the risk of getting hurt. A cooldown is required after fast running as you use lactic acid as fuel when running slowly and the following day the legs don't hurt. As you are running shorter distances even if you used a mile at the start and finish of the run or 15 mins in time both sides to do much slower running then it would help. If you ever had the feeling that after 4 miles into a run you are only getting into your stride and its starting to feel easier its basically it is only then you have warmed up. Its basically its only then you have engaged your aerobic system. Running at a purely aerobic pace such as 2 mins slower than marathon pace does this also much quicker. The fitter a person is the less warmup or cooldown that they need. I find 2 miles or 15 mins is what I need.

PS: since doing this back in the end of 2011 I have had no running related injuries when previously I had one every second week. I only go to the physio now for a shoulder injury that is not running related.

Clearlier

jen_23 wrote: »

Thanks amcgee - I was thinking of cutting down to doing just the half and maybe trying for the Dublin full to give myself more time. I thought I was fit before I started this as i've always been active doing something and walked up to 6/7 miles daily - I trained for a half marathon a few years ago in 3 months so I expected this would be okay but it's definitely hard work with loads of obstacles!
Lol i'm definitely not fast - most days particularly long runs i'm as slow as a tortoise stampeding through peanut butter but I through in a few short but fast runs during the week as well. (Fast for me anyway! )
Thanks for the advice


Thanks Rom - I would nearly always stretch before a run and not do anything after... I think i'll switch that around and see if it helps! Thanks for the advice about the foam rolling too


Thanks Enduro - I hate cycling! But if it helps i'll give it a go so thank you


Thank you for the advice


Hi Rom,
I've done a half marathon a few years ago (prob doesn't count now) and had entered the Mallow 10 but that's when I was recovering from my Sprain.
I run 5 days a week, with 3 sessions of crossfit and I walk daily as well (Dogs). I don't really run to a plan as such - I would do relatively short runs during the week ( 4/5/6 miles) alternating hills & speed with a long run on Saturdays or Sundays and I would have upped that mileage about 10% on a weekly basis then. Probably should have been following a plan but I read plans to get an idea of what to do and I wouldn't have varied too much from them.

Keep an eye on your overall weekly mileage and go easy on the rate of increase of mileage. I know that 10% per week is a rule of thumb often given but it's actually pretty aggressive. If you started off at 5 miles and increased by 10% per week you'd be at 27.8 miles after 18 weeks! I'd suggest increases after every 4 weeks - 3 weeks of similar level, 1 week a bit less then a jump up) or if it feels too easy (and too easy should only be measured against the weakest part of your body) you could consider every second week taking a down week after every 4 weeks.

The above is conservative but you're far more likely to end up training consistently than if you push hard with increases in your training load week on week.