I'm sitting here with the last of a block of Toblerone beside me (but it won't be there for long - I've got some chocolate eating to catch up on! :-) ). If you don't have some chocolate handy then best go find some, 'cause this is a long one.
I guess it would be an understatement to say that Canberra didn't work exactly as I had planned, but as I said to Professor last week, I've done two impossible things this year (sub 5 hour 6ft and sub 41 min 10k), so why shouldn't I aim for a third? Well, it looks like two was enough and I can't complain about that, can I?
I actually carried a hip injury into 6ft, but the physio was happy that it wouldn't give me any problems on the day and that turned out to be correct. As the recovery period continued, the hip problems got a little worse but it was always OK when I was running - it only got painful after I stopped. I had got it into my head that I wanted to run Canberra and try to get that 3rd impossible thing before all the 6ft training wore off, so I discussed it with tiger angel and Dr Pain and, knowing that I'd be pretty sore after the event, went ahead anyhow.
I'd have to say that for a marathon, I ran a pretty comfortable 8k race. Sadly, that's just a little too short! Around about the 8k, but my calves started to solidify into blocks of wood. I was scared that they'd cramp up fully, but I figured that there was only one way to find out. At 10k, JD started to run ahead of Colin's 3:30 group and I picked it up there too. Apart from the aforementioned tree trunks for lower limbs, I was still feeling OK and sat on 4:45s for most of the way out to the mountain. However, I noticed from about the tunnel onwards that people were starting to overtake me.
Early on, wet, bedraggled and happy!
At the turnaround, JD was a good 100m ahead and Colin about the same distance behind so I was happy that things were still OK, although I was starting to wonder how long I could hold it. Those tree trunks were getting very heavy. I got to the 1/2 way point at 1:45, so theoretically on target for a 3:30, but in reality slowing up. I decided to stop and stretch my calves to see if that would help, but all it achieved was to let the 3:30 group go past. Not to worry. Onwards and upwards...
Tesso caught me coming along the road in front of the Old Parliament House, gave me a few comforting words and ran on like the gazelle she is. At the 25k aid station just before cowbell corner I decided to walk "just to get a drink" (I've never walked an aid station in a competitive race before). It was hard to get going again, but get going I did.
Tiger angel and Jen_runs were doing their long run around the course in the opposite direction to the race to maximise their cheering, so I'd had the opportunity to request some Neurofen. As I came around cowbell corner, there were my kids with pills and a drink waiting for me. (Outside assistance? Nah... :-) ). Sadly, it turned out to be too little too late. Running across the bridge the second time, I started to concentrate on form and see if I could lift myself a bit. I figured that if I could keep running (trudging) at the pace I was, I was still in for a shot at a pb (3:43), or failing that I might be able to run across the line with my mate Benny.
About 26k, still smiling (just)
At the bottom of Anzac Parade I stopped again to stretch my calves, but they weren't wanting to play ball so I sat for a moment on a handy fence post, and that's where all my chickens came home to roost. That little hip injury (you know, the one that only hurt when I stopped?), well, it decided that I must have stopped because it pulled out the knives and started stabbing! I couldn't put any weight on my right leg at all, so I sat in the gutter and took my number off my chest. I'm not sure why I did, but it just gave me a feeling that it was over now and I felt better for it.
Just then a bloke I know ran past so I asked him to notify the marshals. One walked over, checked that I was alive and comfortable and rang the first aid people. It only took about 5 minutes for him to arrive on his bike and he stayed with me for the 20 minutes or so that it took to get a pickup truck out there. As it didn't hurt when I didn't move, I was quite comfortable there and had a good time calling to everyone I knew (and lots that I didn't) as they passed. The first aid bloke was most impressed at the number of people that I knew, but he obviously doesn't know about the power of CoolRunning :-)
Getting from the gutter in Canberra to bed in Sydney turned out to be a pretty humbling task. First, the first aid bloke picked me up like a baby and put me in the truck. Back at the start, my two sons made a chair by gripping each other's arms and carried me about 500m to the car. That was a mighty effort on their parts, and they were both pretty sore afterwards. As we were staying in a flat at the top of 3 flights of stairs, I couldn't go back there. Instead, they drove me to the motel my eldest son and his wife were staying in as it had a lift. We got some funny looks as they carried me through the lobby and up to the room! :-)
Between the two boys and tiger angel, I've been carried everywhere I had to go. Yesterday, I was able to use an office chair with wheels to get around the house and this morning I got a pair of crutches. Mobility at last, but it comes at a price because it only takes one slip and the knives are plunging in again (and at the moment the slips come about once every 10 steps). Still, it's better than being flat on my back all day.
So, where to from here? I went to a physio today (unfortunately, Dr Pain is overseas at the moment) and she was completely confused. While I stay relaxed, she can move my leg through its entire range, and she can press and prod and not find any particularly sore spots. However, as soon as the muscle starts to contract, whammo! If it was the joint, then she shouldn't be able to move it freely. If it were a torn muscle then it should feel sore to palpitation, so what's going on?
I'm on some pretty strong painkillers and muscle relaxants which means that I sleep most of the time (I'm due my next lot about now, which is why I'm compos mentis enough to write this). I'm off to the sports physician on Thursday to see if he can make sense of it. 'Til then, the only option is to just wait and see, so that's exactly what we'll do.
Gnome
