Paris Marathon 2013

Just registered for Venice in October - anyone else joining me?  ATM - you know you want to 

Bedders...and this comes with all the usual caveats...3 weeks before my first Half, I developed ss and was told to rest, completely, and to spend my time walking, barefoot, on my toes. The physio said I did not have the muscles( somewhere...on the front of my legs?) for what I was asking my body to do.He may just have been ensuring that I had something to do while I was doing nothing... If you've tried everything else, maybe trying that wouldn't hurt...anyway, I remember the ' gutted' feeling. It might've been co-incidence...of course...but the ss never came back.

And +1 for giving tomorrow's race a miss. It can't make things better. the current goal is not a 5k PB.It's getting to the Paris Start...not the Finish, just the Start.

Well done, RR.

Is anyone having problems posting pictures? I can post them when they're a link to another website, but not when they're coming from my computer. And the text I'm writing's really teeny, altho when it appears on the thread it's normal sized.

Anyway...

Hi Kieren

Sarah - Ditto wot Eggy and others said. I'd be tempted to just rest if I was in your shoes. As you say, it's a major cold. If you run, it'll delay your recovery by a day or two. PB's still on the cards if you take care of yourself.

Kaz - reckon a dog walk's best.

RR - Ditto Simon.

Bedders - hope you get sorted. Never had shin splits before but they sound grim. Do you keep a training diary? Might help pinpoint what's causing it if you can look at the times it appears and what you've done in the week leading up to it.

Jimbob - I'm there! Landing 9.20am at CGD. Only 28 days to go from village idiot to suave and sophisticated - not sure that's enough time.

DLR - just got Kosheen's latest album. Might be up your street. Some of the tracks are already on my run playlist.

Question for the medical doctors in the house...

We have just realised (somewhat curious that we never noticed before) that my little boy (aged 8) can't bend either of his thumbs...!   They are both rigid and he has learned to get movement by kind of over-extending the joint where the thumb joins the palm.  This explains a lot as to how he holds a pen and his messy writing.  Indeed, how he holds anything.  

I shall get some medical advice next week, but in the meantime do any of you medical people here have any thoughts on this..?    He does seem to have a joint in the thumb, but it won't bend at all.  There is simply no flexibility at all on either thumb.

He has never mentioned this before and we've never noticed...   nor have his school teachers...  no one..   poor little lad.  I think an x-ray is required, but I'm wondering if this is something that might be fixable..?

They are straight..   no bend at all in either of them..   the only bend he can achieve is at the join where the thumbs meet the palm of his hand.  I had a feel and he does seem to have a 'knuckle' joint in there but it doesn't move at all on either hand.   He has never mentioned this before, and we've never noticed it...   but now that we know, we can clearly see why he can't hold his pen properly and he kind of grips it...   so..  to get any kind of use out of the thumbs he has learned to over extend the joint at the palm..   it looks almost unnaturally flexible now and I certainly can't bend my thumbs anywhere close to that....

His skin on both thumbs is perfectly smooth..  he doesn;t have any wrinkles over the joints like we all do.  He says they have always been like that and that he has never been able to bend them.

Bedders wrote (see)

Aye I considered giving it a miss tomorrow Dannirr, but regardless of if I did run or not, I'm still clueless as to what I should be doing between now and April 7th. As I say, I've tried everything I can think of in the past, it just seems to be 'the luck of the draw' on the day if the SS play up or not!

Hi Bedders - can I dare to suggest there's nothing 'luck of the draw' about your shin splints, it's just that you don't YET understand what is triggering them. It's important that you accept it is not random pain but it works in a consistent way. It is simply an accumulated overload injury which responds well to rest and is provoked by exercise stress. There is a pattern. Long term it requires strengthening of the dorsi-flexor muscles (like ATM and Wi hinted at). Lots of walking around barefoot with your toes in the air! Good luck mister.

PC91 - well done on bagging your first 20 miler. A major milestone.

As for my race yesterday, went with the (non-white T-shirt) which seemed about right. Details here or here.

Extremely muddy with some killer hills. Needed my trail shoes, didn't have them! Was a struggle to stay upright and to push when your feet are slipping & sliding. Was amazed to complete the course upright. Pushed hard to 8k then eased off a bit. Was taken by 11 guys in the first easy km. Just didn't want to overdo things in my first proper race back.

Picked up the effort again around 10km and finished well, pulled back 3 places. 12.2km in 51:36. Official results in the southern end of Belgium seem to arrive by bicycle courier via Patagonia, but I think I was about 65th from 700+ runners. Not too shabby then but I will go faster

Happy long running today and remember, it will be better weather and more pleasant in Paris in what... 28 days!

LSR postponed 'til tomorrow..It's snowing! All very pretty but just too  Scott-of-the-Antartic for a Sunday. Can't face 20+ in this...

wi, the photo you sent me is the best ever...Can I have a note of your number and time goal, again, please?The world has to see this one.

dorsi-flexor...yep, that might have been it. I remember the ' on toes with feet pointed in/out' thing..* Impressive elevation graph, TD.  *

And I know it's easy for us to say, DV, but try not to worry.

PC91 wrote (see)

Malcs - how's your training going? I know you're helping Ady. Going to be hard tapering whilst we're running but you'll only have to wait a week. I have friends running Brighton, the course has been changed so it's flatter. Should be exciting.

Indeed - been trying to lend my support to the Shady one. 

My training is going suspiciously well thanks. I have a little niggle around the knee area but it seems to ease off on long runs. Reckon a trip to the sports massage will sort it.

Yes, with all the talk of tapering and the race excitement building it's easy to forget that I have an extra 3 weeks. However, that's good because I always seem to pick up niggles at this point so if I get them early I have more time to get rid of them  

Well done everyone on banking those final LSRs and good luck to anyone out today! Anyone got snow yet?

LSR postponed here too due to snow and strong winds and its so cold with the wind chill.

Tested my mental strength instead with 1.5 hours on the treadmill..............How I ever used to do 3hrs is beyond me!

Hoping if things settle later on I will get out for a 10k or something......

DV - Try not to worry.

TD - Great result!

Some good running being done by you guys...  and sorry to hear of the ones picking up injuries...

It seems that everyone is out running this morning...  I saw lots and lots of runners as I was doing a trip to the recycling centre....

Alas, poor Eggy. He's doing a Half in one of the lovliest parts of the country but it's probably Hell.. There's a hollywood-style blizzard going on outside.