1. Life is too short to paint louvred doors; trust me, it is. If you take nothing else away from this post, please remember this point!
2. There truly is no end to the number of ways my body can fail me.
3. Running with others truly makes a difference for me; race magic is real.
4. The playlist and commentary helped me more than anyone.
5. Engo patches are ace (and so is this community)
The first sign things may go wrong appeared last week. I've been trying a 1.4k/0.1k run/walk ratio for my longer runs. Last weekend I suddenly realised that HM distance would be 13 reps ... noooooooo!!! I wasn't having that, so I set up a warm up of 1.4 k, a recovery of 0.1k and then 12 x 1.4k run /0.1k recovery laps before a 1.6k 'sprint'. Problem solved 😀
I'd remembered to switch everything on that needed to be on - Garmin, Spotify and Rungo. I'd successfully turned Garmin autolap off (although the alert change to pace didn't seem to work - I was still getting lap time rather than pace🤔; that made for some challenging maths en route, we never learned our 14 times table).
Physically things started so well - calves and shins behaving; hip keeping quiet, then from out of nowhere, sometime after 11k - Pop! - of all things my back decides it wants it's turn at kicking me off the road and on to the IC (to be fair it's probably attributable to gardening and painting through the week, and the run was just an unhappy coincidence).
Oh the irony. You see I knew what was coming on the commentary .. how I said (more than once) that I had never given up no matter how bad I felt ... I could only laugh at 12k when all I could do was walk despite several attempts at running again!!! I knew I didn't have time to walk the rest of the HM(too many afternoon commitments with a paintbrush) and was sure I was going to have to quit. Still pondering this I tried to run one more time. Yes! maybe I could both breath and run at the same time without pain stopping me in my tracks. I was so relieved when I managed to run on. I'm not sure I really relaxed again though, except maybe at 13k when I reached my lovely Black Park and Riding on a Donkey began to play; a broad grin and a quick laugh out loud - I maybe forgot about my back for a little while 😍
I just love 'race magic' and yesterday came closer to it than any virtual event I've run. I was so committed to the concept that I even managed to set off on the dot of 9:30am and at many times I thought of everyone and where they might be and what they might be thinking on their run, what they would think after the run. The commentary really 'spoke to me' in that second 10k: it was a great distraction, even though I pretty much knew it by heart! Thanks to everyone who contributed.
Despite blistering both feet only last weekend on an 18k run, yesterday I got to 21k with no pain in one foot and lessened pain in the other. I was using Engo Patches again; they're an absolute pain to get in the shoe, but I highly recommend them. My feet were so much more comfortable.
My finish time was nothing to shout about, although it was virtually identical to my 2019 LLHM so I can't be too disappointed.
This HU virtual event pushed me to get back to HM distance in a much shorter time than usual and gave me a fabulous focus for this winter/spring. I honestly got as much, if not more, out of this than anyone!!!
Thanks so much to everyone who took part or cheered us on; roseabi and I had an idea and all you wonderful VRBs brought it to life in the most amazing way. I've loved reading all the reports. Maybe we should do it again some time ...
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Couldn’t get my RunGo to work and had walked 5miles in rain with friend few hours before so sadly only did a 5km today, not the 10 I’d hoped for,😕, will try again later in week but no waking beforehand , what’s the cut off date? ! Thanks
You have until next Saturday to do it, so no hurry! For Rungo, make sure you press the Virtual Outdoor button and not the Run this button. Someone else reported that clearing the cache solved their issue, so maybe that would help you too?
You’re a superstar Linda! How on earth you can soldier on in such pain amazes me! I had no body malfunctions at all, apart from fatigued legs, and there’s no way I could have run another step. You’re something else. 👏👏
I loved the whole “event”. You’re right, it was almost like we were running a real live one with actual other runners.
To be fair Cheeky I carried on after the pain had subsided a great deal. Today I'm still moving which is great, but it feels a bit like after you've cricked your neck - that constant burn that hurts a bit more every now and again if you move wrongly😀. No yoga - I can't breathe deeply right now 😅
Linda, you are amazing and a real inspiration. It's great that you enjoyed your race despite the setbacks, and especially after all the work you've done to bring this virtual event to life. I'd certainly be up for another event in the future. 👏👏🏅🎉
Loved reading this, sorry about your back but very glad all your efforts rewarded you so much, it was a fantastic event and definitely one I’d join in again 😊
Definitely do it again sometime! It really was motivating and encouraging and like you m, I loved running knowing others were all doing it together! Thanks again- hope the back is better today x
Not sure about grappled ... for some reason I found it quite amusing, I think it was so sudden I was shocked to be honest and all I could do was laugh. Oh and a nice long forward fold in the middle of a country lane 🤷♀️. We need a really good punch line right at the end to squeeze an extra 1k out of you 😍
I'd said I'd only do the 10k but after reading this I feel I ought to try and do the HM instead. Not sure I can find 2 hrs in the week even with the lighter evenings, but maybe next Saturday...
Thank you for sharing that. I have some louvred doors, I'd been vaguely wondering about doing something to them and now the matter is settled: I won't!
You’re an absolute trooper to run through the pain like that!!
Thank you again to both you and roseabi for organising everything. I’m not really a team player but it felt great being part of this with all of you 😊 I’m in for the next one!
Once I could breathe through it the running was relatively easy 🙄😀. That's why I love races ... you can be part of something big and share all the atmosphere, but there's no need to be involved with anyone.
Tough run linda9389 but wow how you came through it was absolutely fantastic. 👏🙌Looking forward to Wednesday to complete HM and then the 10k could be Friday or Saturday depending on how I feel! How is it I signed up for both - must be a moment of madness!
I looked at your name on the list earlier this evening ... and thought what? why? ... could I??? LOL! I couldn't do half my pilates class tonight so I suspect my answer is in there somewhere. Good luck to you - we are all cheering you on!!!
I just msg'd you. I've set them both up - the 10k and the HM. Lots of people struggled with them. I should have set them up in advance but it was a bit of an afterthought. Take another look and they are both ready to print for you.
Just full of admiration Linda!! You just keep on going. That run was nothing short of heroic. Like you I am totally fed up of niggle after niggle; but we don’t give up...ever!! 💪
Torn between irony and heroism? The heroism bit never occurred to me - all I could see was the irony. I'm kind of getting used to niggle after niggle ... in a grumpy, fatalistic sort of way 🙄🤬😕🤷♀️
Can you imagine me coming back saying ... err well, I didn't manage it 😀😀😀 i was telling myself, well that would be a good thing ... takes the pressure off everyone ..... but still ... it wasn't really what I'd been aiming for. What's more, they'd only have expected more painting back home!!!
You did an amazing but difficult run! AND you made our runs fun by organising with roseabi all you did ⭐⭐⭐you are inspiring! My lessons learnt are : do your core strength stuff then you won't ache so much after a longer run 😂
Wow - well done Linda! 👏👏🙂 You really are such an inspiration and I can just see you out there, absolutely determined to see your run through despite your back💪 - it was your race after all and I am so glad you were able to carry on! Here’s to a good recovery and I am sure a huge sense of pride in what you and roseabi have achieved on this forum for us all. Thank you!🥰👏x
I am a bit on the stubborn side!!! But that's what got me through C25K in the first place - and when you're as injury prone as I am I think you have to hone the stubborn skill set!!! A speedy recovery would be great though 🤞
Oh most definitely Linda! I'm up for it!! It was such a good day, as you say, the best Virtual run by miles. Thinking of cheekychipmunks helped get me through the Bath Half, and each week damienair 's (not)parkrun gives me a good push on a Saturday morning but there were so many of us yesterday, it was incredible! So glad your body allowed you to finish. Surely you didn't carry on painting when you got home? It was all I could do to get out of the bath 😂 I hope you're feeling better - back spasms are the worst.I am now trying to find an excuse to use the RunGo commentary that doesn't involve running another 13.1 miles. I really want to hear it all, especially after all the work you and roseabi have put into it. Sadly, it may have to be the April HM Strava badge (does the commentary have a use by date?). Need to keep this madness up now it's in the tank (although I've said that before!). Tbh, Katnap and I don't speak much whilst we're running after about 5km unless there is something to see, so maybe I'll just do that.
Brilliant. I find it so much harder when I'm out on a long training run and can't decide if I'm going for speed, or heart rate, or Garmin's VO2max ... or what!!! In a 'race' I know what I'm aiming for! I've never had a back spasm like this before (it was sore and achy midweek which has happened before, but had eased and my run on Thursday was fine). This was a pop of pain, then it went, then it came back and stayed. Now it just feels super inflamed - very much like a cricked neck. When it has happened to you does it take long to ease off again? ('no' would be the right answer...).
The Rungo routes will just sit there. I can't work out how to delete them anyway 😀🤷♀️
I found the best thing was to just try and relax, even if it took a bit of alcohol (always worth a try!). Pain killers never touched them, sleeping was the best remedy. You could put an ice block on it or peas to calm down any inflammation? But once I slept it off it usually started healing. So, I suppose overnight is the answer I could give you. Otherwise, Osteopath - if it didn't go away, mine always felt better a few days after he'd given me a good crunching. Gardening in the cold wind really doesn't help as you tense up so much against it. Hope that helps in some way?
Pilates this evening suggests no running tomorrow 🙄😍 Am making do with real race searching... there's a local trail HM here the same weekend as MK HM, which I have to say I fancy 🤔
Great Post Linda! You are certainly very resilient and determined! The spirit of a virtual race achieved to a T due to great organisation so Thank-you! Ps.i too was primed watching my watch to see when 9.29 turned to 9.30! Xxx
At one point I was getting cross with myself ... why not aim for 9.20 then you could be stood outside warming up and definitely be ready ... instead of flying round inside trying to everything together🙄🤷♀️ You sound altogether more organised 😀
I ALWAYS had porridge before a long run. The last two long runs though I just had an energy bar and cup of tea before setting out. Quicker to digest (extra hour in bed) and I could tell no difference on the run. I had 3 or 4 little chews during the run and electrolytes in my drink. Post run yesterday, I didn't throw down a chocolate milk, didn't stress about eating protein when I got home .... just drank and ate lightly as normal .... and yesterday I didn't have any of my usual post run nausea. May have been a fluke, but having stuck with tried and tested for a couple of years I'm now experimenting again 😊. Still not made those flapjacks ... maybe next weekend 🤔😊
As I ran on Sunday I was thinking about fuelling and recalled the time that I had to stop running as I was in agony. I’d run about 27 km and was thirsty so I ran to the shop and downed a chocolate milk. I never drink the stuff but thought it would do me good A few hundred yards down the road I was in agony and practically crawled home. I’d not thought of a link before, but on Sunday I pondered if the two were somehow connected 🤔
I don't think milk is easily digestible is it. There may well be a link. I don't think it sits well on top of what I eat (sugar) and drink (salts) on a run either
It's still very sore and awkward. But then I reckon a cricked neck feels bad for a few days and is then completely gone. This feels very similar so I'm hoping the time frame will be similar too 🤞
I did a looooong forward fold in the middle of the country lane on Sunday 🤪 - I actually do think that's what got me going again! I may just look for a session later 👍
Brilliant work Linda! You are made of tough stuff. 👊 I do hope your back eases up and that you have no more louvered door painting in your future. Like everyone else I want to thank you for this amazing event. You and Roseabi have created such a close community here on the forum.
Hi Linda. What a hero you are to get through that. Sounds like a total nightmare but you still triumphed. Hope you won’t need to do any more painting now!
Thank you again for all the amazing work you and @roseabi do here to make this place and these events so successful.
Well done for carrying on when you were having so much trouble! I didn't start on the dot of 9.30am, but I still felt as if we were all running together; race magic *is* real (& I haven't been in a real one since 2007 😄). Good luck to all you smashers still to join us. We should definitely do this again, it was a lot of fun. Maybe I'll leave HM until I get my new hip though...
2007? Yikes! I'm sad I've only had one since last January (I just managed to sneak in Kew 10k in Sep last year)!!! If I can paint three louvred doors, maybe you can renovate your hip for a HM, no need for a replacement (even if you do then say 'never again') 😀
I know - it was a 6k just before I had my first hip resurfaced & I really felt it was needed after I finished! Just my bad luck that I graduated C25K last March just as lockdown was arriving, so no real races for me. I wish I could renovate it myself as it's a literal (sometimes) pain in the bum, but I'd better go easy I suppose. The surgeon has promised me that I can still run afterwards, but it might be "a bit clunky" as he eloquently put it. Who cares, as long as it's fixed? Louvre doors are the work of Satan by the way - well done & I hope your back survived!
I hope you don't have to wait too long. There will be races waiting for you when you're ready 👍 A bit clunky sounds very surgeon like! I wonder if he/she was a runner themself? I can only agree with your description of louvre doors!!!
Yes, I hope so. He's not a runner as far as I know, but a big beefy rugby type (tends to go with the territory for orthopaedic surgeons I think). He did the last one so I trust him.
You are amazing Linda to pull through after that back spasm and to complete the run. And another amazing needs to be given to you and Roseabi for the concept of this event and all the hard work you put in to make it fun and enjoyable. I didn’t use the RunGo in the end or listen to music as I can’t get on with earphones when I run, but I am going to try to do so on my next run just so I can hear it.
I am glad to read your back is improving. I can fully sympathise with anyone who suffers.
I must try and write a run report for my 10k too but writing is not my strength.
Well done to everyone who took part so far and those yet to do so. 👏👏👏
Just daft I think!!! We had an idea but it really was everyone else who brought it to life, just great! Do write a report, after all we're runners not literary critics!!!
I’ve read so many reports here that I’m really disappointed I couldn’t make this. It sounds a fabulous event and you and roseabi obviously worked hard to bring it all together. Here’s a crown for each of you 👑 👑
Linda, your run sounds painful but you clearly loved the whole experience. I’m with you about gardening. I’ve had as many gardening injuries as running ones and it’s always a fine balance between that and still being able to run 🙄
Take care of that back and just bask in the glory of your run 🏅💪
Having put all that effort into organising it, I can’t imagine there was any way you weren’t going to complete it yourself. Glad to hear that you don’t seem to have done yourself any serious damage, but perhaps continue to take it steady until that pesky nagging ache goes and avoid those paintbrushes 😂
I'd have been very disappointed by now if I hadn't been able to finish, but I felt quite philosophical about it at the time - I was just so shocked I think because there was no warning. I have a few days off painting until the flooring is finished which is timely! Going to see how my bike feels ...
And many thanks for organising it - it was a truly magical event for everyone involved. As you say, race magic is real. I think I will have to use the RunGo commentary on all future HMs.
I'm just hoping that you didn't hurt your back while trying to lick your elbow. Or laughing at the very thought of it! Wishing you a speedy recovery.
I do think there is 1 lesson that you missed from your post:
"I've started so I'll finish"
It applies equally to running and also to painting louvered doors😀
All I can say is thank God I've finished those louvred doors already (Sunday afternoon, complete with wretched back!) 🤣 I couldn't lick my elbow before, and definitely can't now - but you have a point, perhaps I tried too hard!!!
Bloody heck Linda, you know we'd rather keep you in 1 piece right?! 😉
I think you're probably right about your other activities causing the problem, we get lots of injuries on here but not usually back probs thank the lord...you may be the 1st 🤷♀️
Very well done on making it round...I can imagine what with you arranging the whole thing you really really didn't want to have to stop but kudos for rising to the challenge 🎉👍
I hope your back forgives you and doesn't give you any trouble tomorrow 🤞
I'm still in one piece. I don't quite bend and twist like I used to - yet, but it'd only a matter of time 😀 I'm definitely blaming the gardening and painting!!!
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Aborted Run 😞
HM Target
Blimey what a Hoohaah! 🏃♀️That’s Wimpole HM....