Warning: there are medical issues towards the end of this post!
Started training for this at the beginning of the year. Since I was already running HMs, that was plenty of time. However, due to a mixture of icy weather, colds and a ski trip, I didn't follow the plan too closely. Also, Strava’s fitness graph showed that I wasn’t as fit as I had been for previous marathons. Hence, I really didn't know what to expect.
My previous attempt at Newport was a week after my first Marathon so, this time, I figured that, at least, a course PB was on the cards.
I’d focused on the logistics of getting there with the right kit so hadn’t really though about race strategy. I resorted to my standard approach of starting off at a comfortable place and aiming to maintain it. My previous Marathon times have varied between 4:15 and 4:30 so I was aiming for something in this range. Looking at previous events, that translates to a place of 6:02 to 6:22 per km. I used those figures, along with average pace on my watch (with auto-pause turned off) to give me an idea of how I was doing. Turned out that my start pace was around 5:40 which would have given me a 4 hour finish (like that's going to happen😆).
If memory serves me right, I completed the first half of the Marathon in under 2:02 which is frighteningly close to my HM PB. Still, on the way to my Marathon PB (in Manchester), I hit an HM PB so I wasn’t concerned. Around 25k, my pace started to drop. Ate some flapjack and kept on with my hydration but it continued to drop off. Still, average pace showed that I had plenty in reserve. On balance, at this stage, I still had no idea what my finish time was likely to be.
With, maybe, two or three k to go, I realized that I would comfortably achieve a course PB. By the last k, average pace was 6:00 meaning game on for a marathon PB. I held it to 5:59, giving me a finish time of 4:14:20, beating my previous PB by 1:30.
After the finish, I had a significant pain in the centre of my chest. Tried sitting down for a while but it didn't go away so, instead of driving home, I decided to ask the medics at the finish line to check me out. After an ECG and taking to a doctor, they took me by ambulance to a local hospital where they confirmed that I’d had another heart attack. Thought that I'd done enough after the first one to prevent another but seems not.
Looks like I'm in for another long period of convalescence 😕
Written by
SkiMonday
Ultramarathon
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Gosh that is very scary SkiMonday! Good that you had finished and you were sensible in seeking assistance. I hope that a solution is found for you to convalesce and return to running in the not too distant future. Congrats on the PB. by the way.
Oh no SM! So,so sorry to hear that. You've done extraordinarily well since the last one - off the scale extraordinary it seems to me! Take care. Get well soon. Listen to the medics and try to keep your spirits up. You will be back xxx
Oh no SkiMonday - what a contrast! It'd be funny if it weren't so serious. Congratulations on the PB, and wishing you a full recovery from the heart attack. xx
Would have been good if it had worked, unfortunately, a nice sit-down doesn't cure a heart attack 😕. Still, at that point, I had no idea what was wrong so it might have done the trick.
Oh no I’m sooooo sorry SM. You’ve made such a remarkable comeback after last time and I’m sure you thought that was all behind you. Congratulations on your amazing race, and stay well. We’ll be here waiting for your return. ❤️
Sorry to hear about this SkiMonday. I hope you make a good recovery and you aren't feeling too bad. And thank you for your post - telling people about your sensible actions is a good encouragement for the rest of us to do the right thing and get worries checked out.👏👏👏
That's an interesting thought. I suppose I haven't come to terms with what's happened yet.
My usual routine has gone completely out of the window and I'm in a hospital I've never been to before. However, it all feels completely normal! I sometimes wonder what's going on in my head!
It wasn't too much of a shock because finding out is a gradual process. The symptom of my first heart attack was a tightness across my chest and a cardiologist told me that, if I had another, I was likely to have the same symptom. This time, I had a grapefruit sized sharp pain in the centre of my chest so I had no idea what it was (trapped wind, maybe?) The medics at the finish line ran an ECG and said I should be checked out in hospital so, at that stage, it looked more likely to be a heart issue. In hospital, the first troponin reading was 200. Normal is 20 but it normally goes up after a bit of exercise so that was inconclusive. It wasn't until the second test came back with a reading of 2200 that the diagnosis was confirmed, by which time it wasn't too much of a shock (although, before we got the second result, I did think that it might come back as normal and I'd be able to drive home).
Congratulations on the PB but so sorry to hear about your heart attack. Thank goodness you decided to get it checked. It doesn’t bear thinking about what might have happened if you’d set off to drive home. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
I shouldn’t really press ‘like’ on this run report, but think of it as a message of support SkiMonday .
I’m so sorry to read about you suffering a heart attack and UTS and I send all our best wishes to you as you recover. Like you say, many of us are running to stay healthy and avoid such occurrences. Take your time, listen to the experts and we hope to see you back in those running shoes .
Oh flip SM, I hope all goes ok, you were so chuffed with your PB on Strava too (and of course you should be!!). Take care of yourself and see you when you’re back up to it 😟
I had my popcorn ready and was reading your post with anticipation but I didn’t expect how it ended SM! Thank goodness you were sensible enough to get your pain checked out, but I am so sorry you’ve got to deal with this, especially after a fab race on your part and a PB!
Take care, be a good patient and keep us updated if you can. You’ll be back x
Oh gosh, so sorry to read this SM - and when the run had seemingly gone so well!
As others have said, you were so right to seek help at the end of the race. Here’s wishing you a careful recovery. Listen to the medics, take care of yourself - running will be waiting when the time is right.🙂
It's great that you got the PB, I didn't actually realise you were going for a full marathon.
Because of your experience, your the main person I follow for my own training and I compare times etc. I seriously doubt I'll get close to your results, but it's something I can aspire to. Take care.
It still surprises me how much there is to learn about running!
Looking at your status on Strava, you're quicker than me for every distance apart from the Marathon so I'm sure you could beat my time. With a marathon, I think the problem for a lot of people is finding the time for the long runs. The Nike Run Club Marathon plan made a huge difference to my performance. Still, I think you're running HM distance fairly often and it's only in the final 8 weeks that the long runs in that start going beyond HM.
Thanks, yeah that marathon time was the run I did in Cork when the full was cancelled and I ran the second half myself. I stopped a few times for that. I was going for 4hrs until I hurt my knee over Christmas and have been training for a time around 4:30. It's on the 30th and I've done my longs and 4 hms in 2 months, the last 2 were under 2 hours and the other runs were deliberately slower.
At the moment I'm going for the experience, I'll see how it goes on the day. There's two or there I have potentially lined up for the rest of the year if this pans out ...
I reckon that going for the experience is a great way to approach a marathon.
Your experience in Clonakilty was a real baptism of fire! The weather was horrendous, completing the second half as a solo run and having to go for a drive in the middle aren't really the ingredients for a great run!
I do now have some experience of running successive marathons! Definitely don't try and do them a week apart! It can be done but the time for the second will be way off! As a rule of thumb, a physio suggested one day of recovery for every mile of a race. So, for a marathon, that's a month of recovery. During the recovery period, gentle runs are fine but hard or long runs should be avoided. After that, I reckon that another month is needed to build back the distance and then a month's tapering which means a gap of three months in order to be back on form.
Thinking about it, I’ve seen a few runners recently who seem to quite comfortably complete two marathons a week apart so maybe I’m a bit off the mark here. Although I still think it’s a good idea to leave a bigger gap, especially when new to the distance and definitely when trying for a fast result.
Oh my goodness SM I wasn't expecting that 😰 sorry this has happened and hope you're OK. Congratulations on your PB though! Take care now! You're not stuck in hospital in Newport are you?
Towards the end, the run felt a lot more effort than normal. I have a suspicion that the HA started whilst I was still running. On the other hand, it seems crazy to be able to run in that condition.
😳 A marathon PB and a heart attack! I’m glad you sought help and are being looked after. Hopefully that marathon fitness will stand you in good stead. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
O my goodness, what an eventful day. I hope you receive excellent treatment and care. I look forward to seeing you back on Strava when the time is right. Best wishes for your recovery.
Wishing you all the best. I hope you make a speedy recovery. You were wise to seek medical attention and I think this is something we can all learn from.
Oh dear - what a kick in the tail of your story. Best wishes for a full recovery and return to running. Food for thought for many of us at our age, I think.
I think there's a clear consensus that regular 5k / 10k runs are good for health.
I've been doing some reading about heart health and running (seems kind of topical for me). For longer runs like the Marathon, results seem to vary between "it's good for your health" to "it's no better than staying on the sofa". However, it seems that the "no benefit" studies looked at the results if all the benefits are ignored!
I am loving longer easier runs at low heart rate, but I would be very hesitant about taking on a marathon. I'm thinking HM may well be my limit. Though that is not to decry your own running, which is admirable and inspirational as Freecloud has said! 👏
I didn’t ‘like’ the post as it’s just bloody awful. So sorry this has happened to you after all your training after your first HA. So gutted for you, it’s actually crazy you ran so well and got a PB too 😳. I hope you get some positive news to help you back on the road to running again.
oh my gosh, that's awful and how scary, thank you for your really kind comments both before and after my HM . You take great care and best wishes on a full recovery.
Bloody blimey SkiMonday ! I didn’t know whether to like this post or not. So I’ll just say well done on that PB but what a shock and thank god you sought that medical help when you did. I wish you a safe and steady recovery.
I was sorry to read about the end of your event. I wish you a speedy recovery. I know it sounds like a strange thing to say but I sometimes believe we find out things about our health because we run and get on the case a lot faster than non runners. Look after yourself. Rfc x
Wishing you well on your recovery and sending our thoughts to you. An exceptional achievement to be proud of for your race. Health really is wealth so take great care and look after yourself 💚
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