Since the end of September I had what I thought was groin strain after hopping out of bed one morning. It has been painful on and off for weeks causing me to withdraw from the Bournemouth half two weeks ago. I saw the physio who did various things to conclude this is hip pain, ligaments, tendons and muscles are all fine. I may have aggrevated it causing some inflammation or we could be looking at a stress fracture or degenerative changes, only xray will tell. She didn't say I couldn't run but to listen to my hip discomfort or pain. Well as my hip was well rested and pain free GSR was game on!
I travelled down with members of our run group, many who have been following my 10k to 10 mile training plan for the last 6 weeks. Most of my group (32 in total) were in green or moving back to green so I was running alone. The event was very well organised and we were quickly off and away. I was very wary of taking it easy on my hip as the more miles I ran, the less I would have to walk if it became painful. So I kept tucking in behind other runners at a nice pace (6.20-30min/km) rather than zooming off at 6.00-6.10min/km. The dockyard was great as were the bands/drummers for a good pace and atmosphere. All was going ok. I took my camelbak so didn't stop for water or have to throw water bottles on the floor. After the long section down the dual carriage way and back we came back round to the race village, passing the faster wave going to the finish. Along this section I could feel a niggle in my left SI joint, was this my hip? I carried on at a steady pace and over 5 minutes it eased off, phew. We headed up through the residential area where they had some great music and motivation going on. Finally I could see the sea and the 1hr 45 Pacers were in front. For the first time I actually saw Pacers en route! In an ideal world with no hip problems, I had planned to chase the 1hr 40 pacers if possible. I wanted to beat last years pb of 1hr 46. I figured they started in front of me so if I finished ahead I must just scrape a PB. On the promenade i edged closer until i finally overtook them before 9.5 miles. I was feeling tired but good so sped up to finish in an official time of 1hr 42. A new pb over 10 miles on a dodgey hip! The walk back to the gosport ferry was a long 2.8 km post run! Today my hip is a bit sore but so far so good, I will take that and a bit of rest!
And I was on the TV fleetingly, although my family missed it! I am in the sapphire blue t shirt on the left.
Well done getting round with that hip. Regarding the bottles, Oxford half went plastic free this year. Recyclable cups and cartons
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I just dont know what the answer is really. They say they recycle the bottles but do they? At southampton marathon we had water pouches which created less waste but were interesting to drink from. At the new forest they had water available for people to refill their own bottles from. It is a difficult one isn't it. But I hate seeing all the littering. I found a bin for my gel wrapper and put the second empty wrapper back in my pocket.
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I was really impressed with Oxford half’s handling. Everything was recyclable and volunteers were cleaning up as we went round.
I can assure you that the bottles are recycled, but this is the first year I’ve seen screw caps - usually they are flip tops which stay on the bottle so create less problems for other runners. I did have to kick a few bottles to the side where thoughtless runners had left them in our path.
The clif area was the worse I think with gel cube s and wrappers everywhere. I like the way the New Forest said you could be disqualified if you dropped wrappers - it seemed to focus people’s minds better. I think people should just bring their own nutrition and be responsible for keeping wrappers until the end. But sponsors like to be seen and have their products tasted.
I dont mind people wanting to get rid of sticky wrappers if bins are provided. I ran onto the path to use a bin but I think more temporary bins could be included. I put the second wrapper in my pocket, which later leaked sticky gel on my capri, t shirt and hoodie so all went in the wash along with my medal, oops!
New forest made a valid point and I had no issue in abiding by their rules.
Well done you with a dodgy hip. Really good time too. I’m suffering with mine at the mo since doing longer runs. My sports masseuse has been working on deep glutes and I’ve been doing Piriformis release Pilates moves but it’s still niggling. So much so that it still hurts with just day to day walking. I’ve been worried it’s my actual hip that’s the issue ( being 66) and trying not to think along those lines 🤫. 10 miles is a nice distance though isn’t it?
I had that convo about how my joint may have degenerated as I had menopausal issues at 39. 7 years on and we are approaching that issue so bone density checks may be needed. That said my physio thinks we can work round it to keep me running! I will look at pilates or yoga for runners I think, just to keep me more mobile in the joints.
I belong to an online Pilates group. I couldn’t always get to my classes around work, as they were nearly 6 miles away but my lovely Pilates teacher set up a website for us where she has videoed classes, relaxation ones, strength ones, ones for specific parts ie legs, arms , core etc and some cardio classes , recipes etc. It costs £14 a month and you can log in and do 15 , 20, 30 minutes sessions and pic and mix classes to fit round your life. She is brilliant and there is a Facebook group for any questions. The link is rachhall.com/yourdreambody. Take a look - she is fabulous and I love her classes.
I was a bit concerned in case it gave way mid race. I had run on it last sunday for 10k and it was fine but boy did I pay for it a day later. I am bracing myself for lots of limping!
Fabulous PB! It's horrid running and constantly checking for signs of an injury - some mornings I've put off getting out of bed because I don't want the repeated disappointment of foot pain 🙄. But you rose above it all in great style, great job 👏👏👏
Thank you. I'm running a bit now, building up slowly. Aiming for parkrun in a couple of weeks and I have a 10k booked for 7th Dec which I may not have to cancel if all goes well. Right now I'm the happiest I've been for about 5 months 😍
That sounds really positive! It is good to have some goals to aim for, however small, and seeing progress. Good luck for your parkrun, I hope it goes well.
Yes wide mouthed bins would be great so that runners were not tripping on bottles or caps. Or we all carry our own water and fuel with water bowsers for refills?
Well done! The pacers have often confused me and especiall more so at this event. They all started at the front of the wave. So unless you were right behind them you had to play catch up to get close. I was about halfway round by the time I caught up with (and overtook) the 1:55 pacers and I ended up posting a 1:36. If I was running a 1:55 pace I wouldn't have got anywhere near them.
That's odd, the white wave pacers didn't seem to do that. I started next to the 1:35 chap and we got to the start about a minute after the gun. I caught the 1:30 man (who did start at the front, but then he was the fastest) after about 4k, and stayed with him until speeding up a bit for the last 3k, so it worked perfectly for me. I never saw any of the slower pacers. But I did get into the start funnel early enough to sneak my way up towards the front, as I knew from the pacer times I would want to be somewhere up there.
The 1:30 pacer finished with the clock spot on 1:30 (I waited for him to say thanks). I assume the 1:35 guy ran 1:35 from crossing the start pads, so finished with the clock on 1:36, but I didn't hang around to find out 🥂
The trouble with any attempt at pacing is that it relies entirely on the runners positioning themselves realistically at the start. I was overtaking orange wave runners soon after I got out of the dockyard ….
Absolutely. But with 20,000 not everyone can be near the pacers. I was in the white wave and I couldn't even see them at the start. I don't use the pacers myself, I just run by feel, so it's no bother to me. It's worth mentioning though, for those who would benefit to make sure they position themselves nearby as you can't make up the time in the race.
I dont usually use pacers but thought as I was running solo it might give me a time to aim for, stalking the 1.40 pacer! However with hip niggles I just thought that was out of the question. I was white wave and took only 3 mins to cross the line but didn't see any pacers in front. I caught sight of the 1.45 pacers ahead at 6 ish miles, was alongside them at 8.5-9 miles and then went ahead. They were in at 1.45 and I was timed at 1.42. I guess they must have been fairly close to the beginning of white wave. I suppose I thought the pacers from 1.30 to 1.55 would be in order spread through the wave, but maybe not!
The pacers are great, and the support the give is amazing. There have been a few times when the pacers have encouraged me to the end on a hard race, the job they do is wonderful.
However, you are right they should probably spread throughout the pack. I don't know if they were or not, but it would probably help more people to benefit from their invaluable efforts.
Well done you, that is a great time, especially on a dodgy hip. I think you are the only HealthUnlocked member to get on the TV too. I’m so glad you enjoyed running on our doorstep.
I felt quite strong but a little reserved. Many people unknowingly helped pace me and stopped me pushing too much. As I kept saying too myself 'the more miles i can run, the less i need to walk'. Hoping next year i will be a running gazelle able to do a sub 1hr 40!
Look at you, you're famous on TV now! Fantastic job on your great time RFD and happy your hip held out. Hoping you are not in for too much grief from it today.
Ooh I feel like a tv star now, although I only wished I could run like those elite ladies 🤣 Hip is a bit stiff and sore today but I have been popping the pills since sunday afternoon. No pain so far though. I am hoping my hip is slowly healing and it will get some rest now.
Oh good on the pain front Helen - Hope your hip appreciates the rest and heals up nicely. I thank my knees after a long run, maybe it works on hips too ?
Ah but I feel like I won a fortune, I am on cloud 9 still!! Bit still in the hip and sore but no pain so far. Just organising xrays to check for damage but hopeful that it is slowly healing.
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🥂 
GSR... it was ugly but I did it (and finished LEJOG)
And another GSR race report - almost certainly not the last either! ❤️
5mile jog then 10k race
