C25K and Beyond

The Muppet

Sorry to read that. Is it right up the outside of you knee? Mine was and kicked in around 5 miles so I just ran 5ks for a few weeks . I also wore one of those neoprene knee supports my thinking being it would keep everything where it should be. I think it helped .

Hope it settles down soon for u .

pcuser

Im fine again on the shorter runs, But for the longer runs the pain kicks in. I ran today and had to stop at 5 miles due to it. Il pick up a knee support and see if that helps.

Im determined to finish the marathon even if i have to run/walk/crawl

The Muppet

pcuser wrote: »

Im fine again on the shorter runs, But for the longer runs the pain kicks in. I ran today and had to stop at 5 miles due to it. Il pick up a knee support and see if that helps.

Im determined to finish the marathon even if i have to run/walk/crawl

Sorry to hear that it's still an issue.I fully understand your comments re. Finishing but be sensible with it too and listen to you body , I know that can be a struggle at times for all runners but you don't want to make matters worse .

pcuser

Hi Muppet,

I have not updated this thread for a while,but im glad to say I finished the Dingle Marathon today.

The reason I did not update the thread is I could not run. Anything over 7/8 miles and the knee got quiet sore. I know if I mentioned it I would be advised not to run. Since late June I was not able to follow the plan correctly. Any long runs and the knee got too sore. I decided to run some 5Ks and 10Ks each week to keep my fitness up. No more than 30K a week.

I figured since the marathon was paid for and I would go for it.

I started this morning at 9am like a complete noob lol. I had my bib on but decided to go to the very back in case I got in anyone's way. It took me 30 mins of running to realize I was running with the people completing the half marathon (Different Colour Bib). It was a 9am start I passed the start line at 09:11.

I was watching the other runners use various stretches, I was going to copy them but realized then I should not change anything on the day.

The first 14 miles were fantastic. I ran around the 11/Min Mile mark and loved it. In places people were cheering and it was encouraging (Il come back to this)

Not long after the knee started to get sore and I had to slow down. Around mile 16 I got a shin splint. I have never had this in my life. Not long after that the groin was giving trouble, again I never had this problem before. I do believe it is because I changed my style of running after the knee got sore. Blisters also ensued, I dont think there was any way to stop this. The weather was brutal and there was a yellow weather warning which was upgraded to orange. My whole body was soaked to the skin. I also forgot to put plasters over my nipples and got joggers nipple on one of them. Again this has never happened me before. To be fair that did not get sore until after the race.

The last 3 miles were excruciating. Every time my right foot hit the ground a pain shot up my groin. The shin splint was also on the same leg.
Fitness wise I only used 4 energy gels I did not feel fitness was the problem but I was in a lot of pain.

I managed to cross the finish line and get my medal and top.
The time on my gps watch was 5hrs 40 mins. For some reason my timing chip never worked. I have emailed them to see if there is anything they can do.

I met a woman on mile 14ish I honestly think we got each other through the marathon. We chatted non stop the whole way. We kept encouraging each other. Around mile 20 another guy joined us who actually lives in the same town as me. We had a great chat and the 3 of us finished together.

The volunteers at each station were out of this world, They were standing in torrential rain for hours and cheered and encouraged every single runner that went past them with smiles on their faces.

"In places people were cheering and it was encouraging" to go back to this comment. AFter the people running the half finished up it became a lonely run. The roads were closed to the public and we passed through a handful of places with people cheering. To be fair when we passed them they were fantastic but the vast majority of the run did not have these people. I can see why the Dublin marathon would have being a better choice for my 1st marathon. If I had not met Celine it would have being much lonelier.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Il take it easy for a few days and go for 5Ks again. Il run the Dublin Marathon in 2018 if the body holds up.

I looked at my watch after the run, The height covered was just over 1000 feet. Its very hilly in places.

Muppet I was thinking of you a lot during todays run. Thanks for all the help and encouragement through out the year.

This may sound strange to a few people but I started with the 5k,10k,10 mile, half and full. I still think my biggest achievement was when i ran my 1st 5k. Everything after that just needed a bit more training. To be able to run my 1st 5k I had to start a fresh and change my lifestyle.

The Muppet

Hi Damien. Congratulations and welcome to the club. It sounds like you had a really tough first marathon, atrocious weather, injury , pain etc but your positivity about it and determination to get through it is so inspiring.

I understand why you stopped updating , no doubt the advice would have been to not run, that's the thing about us runners we are full of sensible advice to other runners but have a tendency to ignore it when it comes to ourselves .

Rookie mistakes are all part of it when it comes to racing , there so many little things to remember that can really have a bad impact on a run if not done, like the plasters , body glide, fuelling ,keeping dry and warm pre race and starting from the proper position etc , still learning that stuff myself. That's one of the main bonuses of being part of the novices thread here , all that stuff is covered in detail in the run up to the day , on the day we are prepared for any eventuality .

The soreness from 16 miles on is interesting , I've noticed
from others race reports a lot of people start to really suffer around this time , that was my own experience too though I didn't suffer anything like you did and I had ideal running conditions. I've only ever had runners nipple once and that was enough , I'll never forget to tape up after that . I,m really impressed at your determination to finish, those last few miles sound really tough.

Thanks for posting the update I had though of you a few times but didn't post here, I though the injury had scuppered your plans tbh and I did not want to be a nuisance.

Felling that your 5k is you biggest achievement is not strange at all , I'd share that , I don't think the the marathon is my biggest achievement either and like yourself lifestyle change would be top of that list. The biggest buzz I've got to date was in my first timed event, a paced mile , I went out with the 8 pacers , doubting I could hang on and finished in 7:12 with all my family cheering me on, The marathon is pretty special too mind.


I appreciate the comments , and am chuffed to think I helped you in some small way , that's really why I log here , to show that with determination anyone can run and improve their health and life. Your log is the same .

The best of luck with you plan for DCM 2018 , that's in my sights too , we'll definitely
have to arrange to meet up if we both make it to the start line.

Recover well , they say a days rest for every mile raced , you'll know yourself when you feel ready to get back to it , just take it easy when you do and try get that knee issue sorted , it might only be an overuse problem which will improve with rest anyway .

Congratulations you are now part of the 1 % of people on the planet who will run a marathon , that's pretty special , your family must be very proud of you achievement.

I'm looking forward to following your progress.

pcuser

Thank You Muppet,

Im going to get sensible now and wait until my body is ready to run again. There is a Half Marathon on the 9th December in Clonakility. I will sign up for this. The half marathon looked like great craic. Runners were in fancy dress and having a great time. The party at the end looked immense.


My only gripe with whole experience was the litter, There was designated areas to throw water bottles and anything else that needed to be dumped. Around 99% of the people obeyed this but there was a few who threw their bottles and gel packs in to ditches. I cant say I saw anyone do this if I did I would have pulled them on it.

Im looking forward to be able to drop back in to the 5K thread and support other runners. I was talking to a cousin of mine last night who was curious to know how I started running. I sent her a link to the 5K thread. Its probably the best advice you will find when new to running.

Im actually in Dublin with the Wife for a few days in March if you are interested in meeting for a cup of coffee.

Talk soon.

The Muppet

pcuser wrote: »

Thank You Muppet,

Im going to get sensible now and wait until my body is ready to run again. There is a Half Marathon on the 9th December in Clonakility. I will sign up for this. The half marathon looked like great craic. Runners were in fancy dress and having a great time. The party at the end looked immense.


My only gripe with whole experience was the litter, There was designated areas to throw water bottles and anything else that needed to be dumped. Around 99% of the people obeyed this but there was a few who threw their bottles and gel packs in to ditches. I cant say I saw anyone do this if I did I would have pulled them on it.

Im looking forward to be able to drop back in to the 5K thread and support other runners. I was talking to a cousin of mine last night who was curious to know how I started running. I sent her a link to the 5K thread. Its probably the best advice you will find when new to running.

Im actually in Dublin with the Wife for a few days in March if you are interested in meeting for a cup of coffee.

Talk soon.

The knee thing might be something very simple to sort out and definitely something to work towards, Long distance running is hard enough without carrying injuries into races.

The half sounds like fun ,I don't know how they run in costumes, I don't cope with heat very well . Re litter I've seen that myself on races .

The 5k thread is very quite at the moment , it was busy when you were doing it with sumsar and quickbeam and a few others helping each other. It goes like that , January is usually busy in there with new year resolutions etc. It is a brilliant resource for novice runners as its very easy to make things harder than they need to be.

Yeah I'd love to meet up for a cup of coffee if your plans allow , just drop me a pm nearer the time and we'll sort it out.

Good luck with the plan and take it easy for at least the next month.

The Black Oil

Great report, well done on persevering.

pcuser

The Body feels fully recovered but I will wait until Sunday and try an easy 5K. The plant for the rest of this year is 2 half marathons in November and December. I will follow a training plan for them. I found the 1st 13 miles quiet easy during the marathon and very enjoyable so im really looking forward to these.

I have booked hotels for the Limerick and Dublin Marathon for 2018. I will run the full marathon for these. I may add another Marathon for sometime in the summer 2018.