My Training Review: Training Week 14

MONDAY:  this week has been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions (although I hate using such a cliché phrase) and definitely the most testing of all my marathon training weeks so far. I started off the week with an 8km run. My IT band on my left leg was tight and my left shin was also painful. It was not enjoyable and I was glad it was only 8k! I went to Body Pump afterwards, but the level of pain in my leg had scared me a little.

TUESDAY: a foam roller session and ice seemed to have sorted out my tight IT Band but my shin had been causing me bother all day just from walking. Needless to say I approached my Body Attack class in the evening with some caution. My shin felt ok though throughout and this gave me some hope the pain was nothing major.

WEDNESDAY: a 9.5km run before Body Pump. I ran this reasonably fast, just below marathon pace, as I had limited time available before my class. My shin felt slightly uncomfortable but no where near the pain I had been experiencing at the start of the week. Again, this gave me a level of optimism.  

THURSDAY: today my optimism came crashing down. I ran 11.5km but hated it. The weather was very warm and caught me out, so that made it tough to begin with. My shin also hurt me a lot, which made me feel extremely down and extremely scared. As I sat that evening on the sofa with frozen vegetables covering my legs (see image top right which epitomises my depression) I honestly felt like all my weeks of marathon training had been wasted. I was angry with myself thinking I must have done something wrong in my training, and scared at the prospect of not being able to run. It was only the support and wise words of my friends that picked me up from my state of despair. They made me realise that I had done all the hard work during training so far, and that I AM prepared for the marathon. I now just need to make sure I get to the start line, maintain my fitness during the taper, and most importantly listen to my body!

FRIDAY: today I was supposed to complete my long run due to weekend commitments (see Sunday). However paying attention to my body and making sensible choices, I decided to cross train instead. My long run would have taken me about 2 hours, so I opted for two hours on the cross trainer…! The first hour went past reasonably quick, the second was more of a chore, but my shin was rested and I got 2 hours on my legs in the bank (see image middle right which I felt the need to take just for proof!).

SATURDAY: Rest Day. I managed to speak to my sports therapist and get her to quickly look at my shin. Her diagnosis was that there had been some form of trauma in the area, a twist or something similar, and recommend continuing with ice, ibroprofen, and also trying to tape the site (see image). I also asked the question every runner hates ‘can I still run?’. The answer… yes… but I need to be very careful and rest/cross train when possible.

SUNDAY: the news I received on Saturday meant I actually could enjoy my running today, which was the Brighton 10k. I lost focus on this event all week with my shin issues, I had won my place at the race via a competition, so was in the mind set I may not even run it. But I did, and loved it! I will write a full blog on this later in the week, but the day was just what I needed after my experiences this week and reminded me why I love running so much!