Running the 2010 London Marathon - am I mad?? by nikkimosdell

After my last post I felt fine. I was hobbling a bit but seemed fine a couple of days later so I went for a 7 mile run. This was fine so the next day I went out for a 4 mile run. Not so good. It appears I had developed a big lump on my shin bone which was very painful to run on. I couldn't even manage 2 miles before I had to limp off home. I stopped running for a few days to rest it so that I could do a 16 miler before I went to Rome for a few days. Big mistake. 4 miles into it I was in a lot of pain and to top it all off I slipped on ice and twisted my knee. I was left to limp back to my car. Luckily, I hadn't twisted anything too badly and could even manage to jog for the last mile. So annoying!! 

I went to Rome and walked for hours every day seeing the sights. It hurt my shin, knees and foot but by the time I got back to running 4 days later, I could manage 3 miles without any real pain. I did limp for the first 5 minutes and must have looked like a right idiot to the passers by. Next day I managed 4 miles before doing the Sparks Half Marathon on 13 March.

I got quite nervous with it being my first pre-marathon race. No idea why as I knew I could do the distance. It was a really flat course around Dorney Lake so luckily no hills. It also ended up being really sunny. The first 3 miles went well and I even ran faster than normal. Probably because nearly every runner overtook me and I was getting left behind. I looked at my watch after 3 miles and realised I shouldn't be running that fast otherwise I'd never make the 13.1 miles so slowed down a bit. Into my 2nd lap of the lake, I was being overtaken by some of the faster runners, some on their last lap already! How on earth do they run so fast?? It was going well and I managed 2 laps in 1 hour and 7 minutes. I was starting to get tired and very thirsty due to the sun and I noticed I was slowing down. I kept looking at the other runners on the other side of the lake wishing I could be as fast as them and finish quickly. 

The fourth and final lap was a real challenge. I was tired and couldn't physically run any quicker than my shuffling pace. I was right near the back of the runners with only a few people behind me. Bit depressing when you're one of the last in a pack of 500 runners. I had to stop and walk at mile 12 but realised if I didn't keep running I wouldn't be able to run to the end so after a minute I as running again. My boyfriend ran with me for the last couple of minutes which I was really grateful for as I didn't think I could keep going. I finished with a time of 2 hours and 27 minutes wondering how I was ever going to finish a marathon. 

My legs ceased up despite stretching and the rest of the day was a right off what with me being tired and in pain. The shin splints were fine but I now seemed to have developed left calf pain and right knee pain. Hopefully it's just aching muscles from running. I have a 20 mile run on 28 March and am seriously wondering how I will ever manage that!

I've been watching the Eddie Izzard marathon documentary, which has been a real inspiration to me. If he can manage that many marathons in a row surely I can manage one?? However, after yesterday's half marathon I'm not so sure!!