The improver: Matt Kurton
Last weekend, four weeks before the marathon, I didn't do a long run. I should have done. These are the most training-intensive weeks of all, and a lot of people around the country will have clocked up around 20 miles last Saturday or Sunday. But after doing exactly that the weekend before, I went for a too-long bike ride the next day. Towards the end, my left calf started to feel a bit wrong. By the next day, it felt very wrong. And so began the physical and mental battle with another minor injury.
Sam Murphy's book, Running Well, tells me that runners tend to go through a five-stage process when they're injured: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. That sounds about right based on my past experiences, and I certainly spent the early part of last week feeling pretty annoyed. Mostly at myself: a 30-mile bike ride was clearly no more a recovery ride than it was a good idea.
But then something strange happened. After a few days of what Sam would call bargaining, and what I would call telling myself that by missing a couple of runs I'd be able to do another 20-miler as planned, I had a moment of clarity. You know you should listen to your body, I told myself. You've even passed that advice on through your blog. And yet here you are, seriously contemplating going out on a long run despite the tightness in your leg and the misgivings in your head.
And so it came to be that, miraculously, I did the right thing. I reasoned that going for a shorter run at the weekend and then building back up this week would massively increase my chances of fitting in one final, comfortable long run this weekend. I realised that the consequences of doing anything else could be disastrous. And I even admitted to myself that the sky wouldn't fall in if I missed a long run.
It felt like a weight had lifted. I'd finally started to see sense.
A week on, the leg feels a lot better. I'm running without pain and I don't seem to have lost much fitness. The main difference is that I'm now running with Paula Radcliffe-style knee-high compression socks. Recommended by Sam, they improve bloodflow to the heart and reduce muscle vibration (very handy when you're coming back from injury). They also make me look like I'm going to a cheerleaders' convention, but I'll gloss over that. I've only worn them twice, but I'm totally converted. Legs that feel stronger and don't ache are definitely a good thing.
Looking back, it's been a strange build-up, injury-wise (and one which I'm crossing my fingers won't get any stranger). Training for the Berlin marathon last year was as smooth as Sean Connery: no injuries and five runs of 20 miles or more. London has been a different beast. I've stupidly sliced my heel open on a cross-country run, which stopped me running for nearly three weeks in December. I've strained my adductor by training too hard, too soon. And I've strained my calf by failing to resist the charms of a bike ride on a sunny Sunday. Even if things go to plan at the weekend, that's only two 20-mile runs.
And yet I feel strangely relaxed about the whole business. For the first time, I've genuinely started to believe that doing what your body is telling you to is better than doing what you want. I've realised that my general happiness is probably too closely linked to not being injured, which means I need to do what I can to stop injuries happening - but also that I also need to keep my running in perspective. And I'm more determined than ever to make sure that I enjoy the experience of London.
Lastly, I know I'm lucky not to have had any serious problems, and I'd like to send huge best wishes to anyone reading this that is recovering from injury. May you be lacing up your trainers again in no time.
The beginner: Carol Williamson
With less than four weeks to go a mild form of hysteria has now set in - any time ambitions I may have had have been jettisoned in favour of just not disgracing myself. A printed copy of the marathon route is pinned to my corkboard at work. It gives me the shivers every time I look at it, but forces me to complete all my scheduled training sessions.
So far I have been lucky enough not to experience any serious running injuries, but then again I am not really overstretching myself with the mileage! The only niggling injury I have experienced is pain on my left inner heel, which is uncomfortable rather than excruciating, and it very much comes and goes. Having spoken to Sam Murphy, it sounds like a common runners' injury called plantar fasciitis.
Apparently plantar fasciitis, which causes pain in the heel or arch, occurs when the connective fibres that run along the bottom of the foot become inflamed at the spot where they attach to the heel bone. It seems the pain most often occurs in one foot, not both, because of a leg-length discrepancy or strength imbalance. Runners who suffer from plantar fasciitis often have weak muscles in their feet.
I have been trying an exercise that supposedly strengthens toes and feet: keeping your heel on the floor, you curl your toes down against a towel and try to drag it closer to you. My heel hasn't been bothering me lately, so maybe this exercise is working.
The only other twinge I occasionally get is in my left outer knee. As soon as it has occurred I have stopped running and had a day off (as Sam mentioned last week, I am a big believer in days off) and it seems to have gone away on its own. Neither injury seems to get worse on longer runs - they both arrive and depart fairly randomly.
I think I've been lucky enough to stay largely injury-free due mainly to not overdoing the mileage, although some advice Sam has given me has also undoubtedly helped. On her recommendation, for any fartlek or threshold training session I make sure I do a gentle warm-up and warm-down jog, which I probably wouldn't otherwise have bothered with. She also recommended running off-road as much as possible, to avoid the repetitive foot placement which running on tarmac entails.
A minor ailment troubling me at the moment is my trainers (which I have had for more than six months). Out of nowhere, they have suddenly started rubbing on the inner side of my big toe and sole. I'm wondering whether to go down to a specialist running shop and get fitted for some new ones this Saturday, but I'm not sure whether this is insanity so close to the race. Is a month a long enough time to run them in?
Now we are in the month of the race I'm also trying to focus seriously on my nutrition - and since all good intentions tend to depart with the whiff of a wine cork, I am a teetotaller from now until 26 April. Friends are betting on how long this will last, but I am determined to prove them wrong ...
Have you suffered from running injuries? Share your experiences or give your advice to Matt and Carol in the comments section below
