Mile 18!

I did it! 26.2 miles in5hr 35min

It's over! I managed to run the whole distance and my knee wasn't too bad. Walked in places, particularly in the penultimate mile, but ran most of it. My body is sore, my toes are blistered, but I feel amazing!

Had some great support from friends and family which kept me going. It was a very sunny day, hot but with a sea breeze helping out over the second half. Stopped to load up on gel packs, drink and sun cream at mile 6 and mile 18. Had one gel pack every 45- 60 minutes, think I had six of them. Ran with my hand held bottle and drank water and Neuro Sport. Didn't need to go to the toilet so didn't have to stop and queue.

Was aiming to run at 4 mph and finish in 6.5hrs so exceeded my target. Felt pretty good until mile 10, that's when the quads began to hurt. Prior to that it was mainly my knee and my achilles tendons. The knee was ok, was hurting before the race and a little bit at the start, stopped and walked briefly when it twinged. In the second half of the race it was less of a problem. The bigger problem was my right quad, which still really hurts - was probably compensating for my weak left knee by running more on my right side. I have blisters on the inside of my right toe and outside of my middle toe. My face has gone red and patchy for some reason, possibly due to sun and wind exposure, hopefully will settle down a bit tomorrow so I don't look too mad!

Yay for me! Will aim for 5 hours or less next year...

Final stats for today:

Place: 6741 (of 7419 finishers)
Marathon time: 05.35.22

One day to go...

Knee is constantly hurting, at work, at home, in bed. Going to run anyway, or at least start. Decided not to run the day before, went for a walk on the seafront instead - very sunny which bodes well for good weather tomorrow!

It's decision time...going to run!

14/04/2010: Finally got out for a run on the seafront, knee didn't hurt too much but I felt pretty weak and tired. Only ran for around 30 minutes.

15/04/2010: A great 40min run round to Hove Park and back home. Felt stronger and had more energy. Knee not a problem. Based on this I am going to run!

Knee.

The left knee got worse. It hurts to bend it when I walk now. Icing and compressing. Will rest and see what it is like on Wednesday. Might have to pull out of the race if it doesn't get better. The injury is the same as the original...I haven't had that specific pain for a while, why now?

I hope I can still run next Sunday. Time will tell...

8 miles, The Road to Hell

Ran the part of the course today that has been dubbed 'The Road to Hell' by some nice person. Basin Road South, out to the Power Station and back to the Peace Statue. Warm sunny day, the warmest it's been since I've been training actually. If it's like this next week I am not prepared - only used to running in the freezing cold! There were a few other runners running the route, all much faster than me. Getting concerned now that I may not be able to maintain a decent pace on the day. Will just have to see what happens on race day. Both knees twinged during the run, plus had pains in my left quad and the centre of my chest. All passed in time, but it does not bode well! Have had to ice the knees as they still hurt a bit, especially on the left. Just have to hope that the 18th is a Good Day. Fingers crossed.

3 miles, seafront

3 miles on the seafront today, beautiful day, great sunset, lovely sky. Lots of other runners out and about today.

12 miles, marathon route

A great run today, started at Preston Park where the marathon will start and ran as close to the route as much as I could - out towards Ovingdean and back to town along the coast road. Lovely sunny day, but quite windy in places on the coast.

Ran with Bee, we ran and walked in places. Started 10.45am and finished about 1.45pm. Felt the knee a bit but not too bad.

3 miles, 5 miles, London

Stayed at mum's for a few days for the Easter break.

02/04/2010: 3 miles - ran to Orpington Station from mum's house and back. No idea where I was going so stuck to the main roads. Quite a steep hill which I managed to cope with.

03/04/2010: 5 miles - ran to Orpington Station and through Orpington High Street, round and back to Petts Wood. Lovely day, the knee felt ok.

4 miles, seafront

Ran (and walked) in a gale on the seafront today, it was difficult going west but on the way back I felt like I was flying! Beautiful sunset too.

Slowly slowly...

Thursday was 15 mins, Friday was 20 mins. Rest on Saturday.

5 miles today but had to walk a lot of it and the knee was not feeing too good...

10minutes

Come on! So again, as ordered, 5 min walk, 10 min run, 5 min walk. No pain, felt a bit weak but all ok.

Ran before work - I don't usually do morning runs, and was reminded why when I nearly fainted when I was walking back. Went all dizzy and sick for a moment and had to hunker down to recover. I've never fainted before but I'm pretty sure that's what it feels like before you drop. Not really a good plan to not eat anything and then go running just after you've got up. Will avoid the morning run in future!

Had a Sports Therapy appointment today, had some deep tissue massage which hurt like hell on the the quads, IT band and hamstrings. Bought a foam roller thing so I can hurt myself at home for free...great.

Plan suggested by the nice physio lady as follows:

Thurs: 20min run
Fri: 30min run
Sat: rest
Sun: 5-6miles
Mon: Rest
Tues: long run

Just got a marathon email reminding me to taper my training and not do a long run after this Sunday (28th)...

Finally accepting that I may not be able to finish the marathon, and if I injure myself like before I won't even be able to complete it by walking. At the moment my goal is the starting line. Anything else after that is a bonus.

5mins...A run! Woo!

Ok, I did it by the book, just as the Sports Therapist ordered: 5 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running, 5 minutes of walking. It was only a jog on the seafront but man it felt good! The rain was pouring down on a Monday night, and there we were, all the runners, doing our thing...I felt collectively proud of us as a people...

Bike ride, 4 miles

A gentle bike ride to Hove Lagoon with Alex. Knee felt weak but no specific pain, yay. Will definitely run tomorrow.

Knee knee knee

My knee hurt today so I couldn't run...so frustrating!

No run today or yesterday. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Getting pretty scared about the deadline now.

I've finally set up my sponsorship page, here: http://www.justgiving.com/Becky-Rose

More pressure on moi to finish the run, but it's got to be done. A very nice Ronhill running top arrived in the post the other day with the Afasic logo, it's a bit big but it's cool, a very nice blue :)

0.5miles, no pain

Right, so I'm not meant to be running but I can't bear it anymore, so I did 15 minutes of cardio work on the Wii then did a (very) slow jog and walk around the block. No pain. Man it felt good to be back out there. Fingers crossed I'm healing and can step up the pace again soon. The feet felt better than they've done for a long while, probably a combination of rest + the new insoles.

Sports Therapy

Ok, so it's been 7 days with no training, but it's finally feeling a bit better...sports therapy appointment summary: it's the hamstring, it's weak. The feet have plantar fasciitis. So, I had some ultrasound treatment and bought some insoles for my trainers to support my feet. And the therapist said I can't run until next Monday. And then only a little bit. This is crazy - I have a marathon to run in a month...

Worst. Run Ever.

Went out towards Rottingdean, new route. Will be part of the marathon route so wanted to try it. Plan was to run for at least 2 hours, 10miles +.

1) The bag. Decided to take a bag with me with water, gel, money etc. in it. Bad idea. Didn't work, kept water bottle kept banging my elbows but didn't feel comfortable carrying it. Had to dump the water. Kept fiddling with the bag to try and make it better so lots of stop starting. Lots of people on the seafront who were in the way too.

2) The nose. Very windy and my nose was running badly, ran out of tissues far too soon so very uncomfortable.

3) The knee. Here's the major bad thing. About 3 miles in my left knee starts hurting. So I stretch it and run on. Do that three times, and then I realise I can't run anymore. I have to walk back and get the bus (thank god I had money on me for the first time), and by the time I get home it hurts to walk, and I can't put weight on my bent knee (which means stairs aren't fun).

Not good at all...

Seafront, 5 miles

5 miles in 45 min with Bee and Uli. Another beautiful evening! Was a bit windy on the seafront but it was lovely and clear. It's great running by the sea. Followed by strawberry beers in the pub :)

5 miles, 50 min

Lovely run on the seafront with Bee. The stars were out and there was a rainbow sunset at the beginning of the run. Took 3 days off at the beginning of this week as my feet hurt :/ Ball of my toe on the left and arch on the right. At the end the arch on the left hurt too. Argh! Come on feet, recover quickly, I can't do this without you!

1hr 37min, 9 miles

Great run today, I slowed the pace and walked occasionally, a combination and that and the new shoes means that my knees don't hurt as much as before on my longer runs, and my right hamstring seems ok. Had some pain in my left thigh and right knee when running, but it passed. Saw a beautiful red sunset too.

2.5 miles, fast, in the sunshine

Another great run with my new shoes. Only meant to do 20mins as my mum was on her way to Brighton for the weekend, but stayed out longer than planned. Another fast run, and the sun was out, beautiful. Didn't have to wear my headband to protect my ears and actually felt warm in the sunshine!

3 miles, fast, new shoes!

Really didn't feel like running on Friday evening but I forced myself to go out and was glad I did. Put the mp3 player on random, and off I went with my new shoes - got the next half size up so this was my first test run. Wow. Did a fast couple of miles and arrived back in my road, then decided I didn't want to stop and ran off for another mile. Felt like I was running on air...they have just the right amount of support and bounce.

2 miles, seafront

Went running with Bee this eve, just a couple of miles on the seafront, then we dashed off to see A Single Man at the cinema. Great film, loved it.

1 hour 15 minutes, 5.5 miles

A longer run today, (duration rather than distance). Ran slower this time and my body feels better for it. Went up to the Old Shoreham Road and round Hove park, then out along the Old Shoreham Road again West and back again, down the Drive and along the seafront to the bandstand, then back up to home.

My knees feel a lot better this time, but the ball of my toe in my left foot is suffering. Went back into Run this afternoon and they will hopefully have the next size up for me to try on Wednesday, so I can ditch these ancient Reeboks and protect my feet a bit more. The padded socks are great though. I'm getting some issues with my right hamstring, no pain but it's like a pulling sensation about every 10 minutes or so of running - I'm stopping now to stretch everytime it happens.

Used a gel for the first time today after 40 minutes of running, not sure if it did anything but it tasted good! Will definitely use again as my runs get longer. Also carried water for the first time, which was fine but I was aware that I was making a sloshing sound, even though I couldn't hear it with my headphones on! Was listening to the Audiofuel first hour for marathon training, it was good - amazing how handy it is to be reminded to relax your shoulders and breathe.

Saturday night, 3.5 miles

Did about 3.5 miles today, went back up to the Old Shoreham Road and up The Drive, spotted my dad doing some painting in his house and popped in to say hello. Was out in total for around 40 minutes.

Bought some amazing new running trainers today (in black) but realised when I got home that they were a tad too small when combined with my new padded running socks (£10 for one pair!), so will probably have to swap them for the next half size up. Went to Run on Blatchington Road, heard they were good and they were - they started by videotaping me running in the high street with my jeans rolled up to check my running style!

Up to Hove and down to the sea, 3 miles

Ran up to the Old Shoreham Road and along Westbound, down The Drive, then left towards home, but then decided to head down to the seafront and back up. Beautiful night, lots of stars in the sky and a Cheshire cat moon. Not many people on the seafront so didn't hang around for long.

When I was running back home I encountered some mp3s that Alex had secretly planted onto my mp3 player, one being "Girl I'm Gonna Make you Sweat"...I was so amused that I couldn't stop laughing, and as I was running at a fair pace it probably sounded like I was choking...had to stop and calm down before I could carry on. Hilarious. The tracks from the Buffy Musical and Propellerheads were more welcome.

45 mins, 3 miles

A slow run today, trying not to hurt my foot. Went up to to Hove Rec and back down The Drive and along to home. Felt a bit lightheaded half way round so walked when I needed. Need new shoes and to eat properly before my run.

Bruised sesamoids, left foot

Or in other words, pain in the ball of my left big toe. It's been hurting when I walk but I think it's easing now. Will make new trainers my first priority but will see if I can pad my shoe in the meantime to take the pressure off.

Alex's birthday tomorrow so don't think I can drag him to a sports shop to go shoe shopping! Will maybe go on Monday.

20 mins, easy, in the snow!

Took a rest on Monday as I was feeling it after the longer run on Sunday. Tuesday I had something planned so didn't run.

Today I ran on the seafront but the snow earlier in the day had made the front very icy and slippery. Ended up following the example of some of my fellow runners and ran on the lawns, which had a layer of snow but weren't slippery. Ran fast on the lawns and slowed to cross the intersecting paths which were icy, so forced me to do some interval running!

1hr 14min, 7.5 miles

Ran out towards Shoreham Harbour today, bit of a grey day but not too windy and it didn't rain. Ran continuously at a fair pace for the whole run. Used my new Audiofuel 1 hour long run mix today, it was fantastic. Good beats and just the right about of voice over, for example letting you know when you've completed another 10 minutes of running.

Knees hurt a bit when I finished, and I'm sure I'll feel the pain tomorrow!

Quick run, 10 mins

Did 30 minutes of cardio on My Fitness Coach today and then a quick 10 minute run round St Ann's Wells.

35 min, fast

Well, fast for me. Went along to the Babylon Lounge and back, finishing at the angel, which has become my focus point. It's good to spot it at a distance and know where I'm finishing. Then I can stretch and jog back up the hill to home.

Felt good today, saw tons of other runners, some in groups, some loners like me. It rained a bit but I had my waterproof on. Not feeling as tired when I get home now, think my fitness and stamina are improving.

Run with Bee, 40 min

Okay, so now I'm going to be running 5 days a week. My rest days are Monday and Friday.

Tonight I went running with Bee, who is very fit and a good runner, but not doing the marathon unfortunately. We had a good run, went east this time on the seafront to the Concorde II and back, at a conversational pace. We went past a pile of pieces of the West Pier which has been partly dismantled.

Short run - 20 min

Felt really tired today after yesterday so did a 20 minute run, 2 miles on the roads around St. Ann's Wells Gardens. Good to run on slopes after the flat of the front.

Blue sky - 45 min

Had a great 45 minute run today, out to Hove Lagoon and back. Beautiful day, cold but bright with an amazing blue sky. Loads of people on the front so spent some time weaving in and out of people! Used my new Audiofuel 1 hour mix which was great.

Evening run - 30 min

Another seafront run, loads of runners out today. Felt like a bit of a slog today but kept going.

Seafront run - 30 min

Nice 30 minute run on the on the seafront today to the west, just past the King Alfred swimming pool and back. Short rest and stretch half way.

I'm back! 20 minutes slow

I'm back baby!

FINALLY went running tonight after a break of about a month. Felt the back twinge right at the start but then was fine. Only ran for 20 minutes but need to start off slow. Went along the seafront and it felt great, although it was windy! Warmed up using My Fitness Coach on the Wii for 15 minutes, which is a good way to do it I think. Will keep a close eye on my back and build up slowly.

Long time, no run

Well, first it was the ice, then we moved house and all was chaos, and then it was Christmas, and then I hurt my back (badly, doing hoovering of all things!). I think it's just about getting better now so fingers crossed I will be going for a gentle run on Monday.

Runners World have just sent me an e-mail with a marathon schedule starting next week I must have signed up for ages ago! Right on time. I would have lost my fitness by now so will have to start from scratch...