5 weeks to go till I hit the start line of the Dublin Marathon
I must admit I am the first that would say listen to your body and listen to your team. But I must confess that as the Dublin half marathon date arrived I did the opposite. In the last few weeks my mileage went from 25 miles to 68 miles and my confidence rose, at the same time I started to become one with my running blade. At this time I also started to get pains from an old injury on my shin where I broke it 20 years ago .At first I said nothing thinking it would soon go , but instead it got worse and I could no longer hide it from the team . My Sports Injury Therapist Orla Smyth had spent the last 8 months keeping me in shape and injury free, so she was the first to realize that something was not right as she treated me . I never let on how bad it was but knowing her profession inside out I could not fool her for long .She asked me to pull back on the training to give the site a chance to heal , I agreed but deep down I knew that this was not an option for me . My Trainer / Coach Jason Kenny was soon also on my case to pull back from training and gave me other exercises to do which would work on my cardio while taking the pressure of my shin. I agreed but again knew this was not an option. I am not a fool and didn,t think I knew best but it had taken me so long to tune my brain into running with the blade , this had been the hardest part the getting used to the sensation and I knew from research and by my own experience that if you go more than a few days without running on the blade you lose the connection between blade, brain and stump . I can assure you its not like riding a bike . I had the Dublin Half Marathon only a week away and was told by my team that I was not to run . Like a bold child I agreed and the next day headed off to my Doctor for some pain killers, I felt that if I could just get this half marathon out the way , my confidence levels would be high and I I could rest after.. As I stood on the start line with 5 min to go I texted Jason [trainer] to let him know where I was and apologized for my actions. As I crossed the start line I put myself hypnosis techniques into place and focused on the positive with only the finish line in mind … all was going well and the pain killers and anti inflammatory tablets were taking the edge off , until the 10 mile mark when the shins started to burn . I thought I was in trouble and would have to stop , but my running companion helped push me on and over the line in a time of 1hr and 48 min, Even tho I was glad we had finished I was disappointed with the time . Once across the line I headed for my kit bag were I dosed up on my pills. Now I had to face the team as I knew they were going to stick me in the naughty corner when I got back. As much as I understand and respect their decisions and realise I have made their job even harder, I do think they also know why I had to cross this mile stone in our challenge .Now i have been given strict orders to put the blade away for at next 2 weeks and its in the pool for 3 to 4 hrs a day aqua jogging [ they tell me its for recovery ,, its harder than running on the road ] also some Tibiallis stretching … I know this time I have been lucky.. Have I learned a lesson??
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND LISTEN TO YOUR TEAM …..
I must admit I am the first that would say listen to your body and listen to your team. But I must confess that as the Dublin half marathon date arrived I did the opposite. In the last few weeks my mileage went from 25 miles to 68 miles and my confidence rose, at the same time I started to become one with my running blade. At this time I also started to get pains from an old injury on my shin where I broke it 20 years ago .At first I said nothing thinking it would soon go , but instead it got worse and I could no longer hide it from the team . My Sports Injury Therapist Orla Smyth had spent the last 8 months keeping me in shape and injury free, so she was the first to realize that something was not right as she treated me . I never let on how bad it was but knowing her profession inside out I could not fool her for long .She asked me to pull back on the training to give the site a chance to heal , I agreed but deep down I knew that this was not an option for me . My Trainer / Coach Jason Kenny was soon also on my case to pull back from training and gave me other exercises to do which would work on my cardio while taking the pressure of my shin. I agreed but again knew this was not an option. I am not a fool and didn,t think I knew best but it had taken me so long to tune my brain into running with the blade , this had been the hardest part the getting used to the sensation and I knew from research and by my own experience that if you go more than a few days without running on the blade you lose the connection between blade, brain and stump . I can assure you its not like riding a bike . I had the Dublin Half Marathon only a week away and was told by my team that I was not to run . Like a bold child I agreed and the next day headed off to my Doctor for some pain killers, I felt that if I could just get this half marathon out the way , my confidence levels would be high and I I could rest after.. As I stood on the start line with 5 min to go I texted Jason [trainer] to let him know where I was and apologized for my actions. As I crossed the start line I put myself hypnosis techniques into place and focused on the positive with only the finish line in mind … all was going well and the pain killers and anti inflammatory tablets were taking the edge off , until the 10 mile mark when the shins started to burn . I thought I was in trouble and would have to stop , but my running companion helped push me on and over the line in a time of 1hr and 48 min, Even tho I was glad we had finished I was disappointed with the time . Once across the line I headed for my kit bag were I dosed up on my pills. Now I had to face the team as I knew they were going to stick me in the naughty corner when I got back. As much as I understand and respect their decisions and realise I have made their job even harder, I do think they also know why I had to cross this mile stone in our challenge .Now i have been given strict orders to put the blade away for at next 2 weeks and its in the pool for 3 to 4 hrs a day aqua jogging [ they tell me its for recovery ,, its harder than running on the road ] also some Tibiallis stretching … I know this time I have been lucky.. Have I learned a lesson??
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND LISTEN TO YOUR TEAM …..
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