Off the Fence....and looking to go sub 3 hrs

Murph_D wrote: »

Great report, M. Didn't notice the marines on rooftops near the start myself, and I'd forgotten about the Framingham BBQs - reminiscent of that guy in Inchicore multiplied by about a thousand!

Your day sounds a lot like mine in many respects, except you had to deal with the hip pain on top of everything else. Your description of the sun sucking all the energy out sums it up, and the frustration of being aerobically grand while the body won't cooperate also sounds so familiar.

Wish I'd stopped feeling sorry for myself earlier and embraced the experience more like you did. You're right - it was an unforgettable experience regardless; you'd have to be made of stone not to get something out of it regardless of the personal performance.

Terrible luck all the same, so much went so right for so long and then the ****in' sun decides to torture us!

It was a pleasure to spend the weekend with you, A, P and the others. You certainly deserve to wear that jacket with pride (if only for being able to put up with "YOU GOT THIS!!!" for as long as you did). :pac: Well done.

Cheers D. I did consider just cutting and pasting from your report as you did such a great job in describing our day

Firedance wrote: »

What a great report M, despite everything, the weather, your hips you made the best of a difficult day, this undoubtedly got you home as quickly as you could on the day. I''ve said this before but you are a great example on this forum of how to do things right, even when **** goes wrong. Well done - this will make your sub 3 all the sweeter when it comes.

Thanks AM. Actually I probably could have gotten home a few mins quicker on the day but with target gone I just settled in and "enjoyed" the ride.

Younganne wrote: »

+1 to this,

great report & sounds like a truly amazing event!! Well done.

Thanks Anne. Yes it is a super event. Worth doing!

Kennyg71 wrote: »

Another great read, hope the hip feeling better, sounds like you had good end
to bad day, on wards to London and new log title You Got This

Cheers, G. Hips are OK. They are getting plenty of rest this week. Will bank that title if I ever need a new one

MisterDrak wrote: »

Well done and a great report M.

Just pick a "colder" marathon next time and a sub 3 is in the bag

Thanks D. North pole marathon is always something that interested me now that you mention it.

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Thanks for that. Sounds very like my DCM 2014 experience. Ouch ouch ouch. Recover well. Am very very sorry that you didn't get the result you deserve however at least you know that was down to 'uncontrollables'. Uncontrollables suck.

Cheers DG. Uncontrollables are indeed a pain in the a*se. Speaking of results people deserve. I heard on the grape vine that you had a good day out at the road relay. Congrats. I am a little behind on boards but looking forward to catching up over the weekend.

Gavlor wrote: »

Do you have a gfa for London???

I know you're old n all but come on

I didn't say what year that we would be heading to London.

Bungy Girl wrote: »

"You got this". That has been missing from my cheerleading repertoire. Not any more

Great report, FBOT and kudos for embracing the event despite the target slipping away. Hope the hip is on the mend and you're recovering well.

Thanks G. Recovering OK and physio booked for next week.

aquinn wrote: »

Christ tough day and then with hips locking too.

I was very relieved to see you smiling in pictures at the finish afterwards with the men.

Glad you did get to appreciate the experience after struggling and aeroplanes at the finish, ah.

The day didn't work out and I'm sorry but the Boston marathon! Wow. Top looks great so enjoy it. I hope you are feeling well and congratulations.

Cheers A. Sure you got to smile about it. Life's too short

Mrs Mc wrote: »

London ?????? Wtf ????

Sure you have known for years that London/New York/Chicago are all on the list!

Kennyg71 wrote: »

Ah yes remember advise, about braking news on future targets, good to see
practical application:pac:

Practice what you preach, G!!

AuldManKing wrote: »

congrats on getting some enjoyment out of a bad situation.

What do you think caused the hips to lock up??

Thanks A. I am not sure what the issue is with the hip or what triggered it on Monday. I can trace it back as far as the 4:10 pacing job in DCM 2014. That was the first time I experienced it and I put it down at the time to time on my feet. That was the longest run I had ever done by 30mins and it was also at a pace that meant using a shortened stride. Stupidly I played it down and I pretty much ignored it, working around it until it took me out of DCM 2015. I rehabed it after that and got going again early in the year but stopped all the specific strengthening exercise and all the rehab work when I kick off marathon training. This is probably when I should have been increasing it rather than ditching it. I think a bit more aqua running will be the order of the day to try to address it and I may have to find a way to work that into my ongoing training.

Killerz wrote: »

Super report Mark, you really captured the essence of the event. I'm gutted for you that the day didn't work out to target... I don't think there is anything more you could have done - the training was there, the results were there, you have the experience... Unfortunately between the heat and the hips, there was nothing you could do.

I'm delighted that you enjoyed the experience after cutting the losses and sounds like you had a blast nonetheless. Well done.

Thanks J. I have to say that some of your words of wisdom and the passion that Mrs Killerz and you have always expressed when talking about this event played a part in my decision to lift the head and taking it all in.

aquinn wrote: »

Ha, that's what fbot said a year ago. Never say never

I think you'll find that that's what Mrs Mc said....what I said was "yeah, she doing the marathon she just doesn't know it yet!"

Firedance wrote: »

for now.... she'd make a great addition and we need more wimminz

Speak for yourself......I live in a house with 3 wimminz so that more that enough for me, thanks.

19/04/2016 to 30/04/2016 Rest

Took a full week off running last week and based on Physio advise yesterday I will be taking the rest of this week off too.

Basic recover going well and the DOMS was all cleared up by Wed/Thurs but hips flexors still stiff in particular when seating at my desk. I had decided on no running until after Physio visit and earliest one I could get was yesterday. She throw some needles into the hammer and although extremely painful, I actually limped back to the car, I can feel the benefits this morning. This is most definitely my prefered option for that type of injury as it give much more immediate relief. On the hip front she was a little baffled about what triggered both hips on the day. If it was the left one she would have put it down to the hammer issue. She pushed and pulled at the joints and thinks it might be down to the joint itself with the hip flexors triggering to protect the joint which appeared not to like being pushed into flexion. Seating on long haul flights, buses, etc combined with using a shorter stride in the downhill miles to help control speed and leaning slightly forward on the uphill are likely to have been the straws here.

So she gave me some exercises for now with a focus on getting my glutes going properly to encourage better bio-mechanics that would take the strain off the hip joints thus not triggering the flexors to protect the joints. No running for this week and a recommendation to avoid hills for the next 6 to 8 weeks.

The real message here is that I need to do more S&C work if I am going to stay at this marathoning lark

29/04/2016 Friday 4.7m @ 08:45 avg pace (Recovery on Grass)

First run since Boston. Legs had felt very fresh during the week and I was itching to get out. But had decided to leave it until after my planned sports massage early this morning. She battered the crap out of my legs and when I did get out this evening quads felt like they had been through the mill. On the positive side no problem with the hips and only time they are giving me any issue at the moment is when I am driving or seating at my desk.

Lovely evening out there and glad to be back at it. Next up 26min pacing in St Anne's in the morning. Sticking with the take it handy theme for a little while longer.

Firedance wrote: »

I got a standing desk at work recently, link here you can raise or lower it to sit and stand, best thing ever for my hips! Can't believe the difference its making & just goes to show the damage sitting all day every day for years is doing...

They look pretty cool. You must be working in the public service or be a very valued employee if the Boss shelled out for one of those. My boss is a right tight git so let me know if you see them come up any time soon in Aldi or Lidl