Injury is a dirty word…

Today was Gillian’s last PT session before she heads off to New York this Saturday for the big marathon…

We thought it would be good to give you a bit of an update as to where she is at right at the end of her 6 month training regime to get to the end of the New York Marathon.

Unfortunately it’s been anything but smooth sailing…

For the record, even though Gillian’s prep for the marathon hasn’t gone to plan, she really has showed me a great lesson in never giving up.

We have had some tough conversations, lots of tears and a few down days but even amongst all of that Gillian keeps picking herself back up and getting on with the solution.

I always knew Gillian was a strong one, she has been through more hardship than most but once again her resilience has been amazing.

Gil, I am going to be cheering you all the way to the finish line. I really don’t mind if you run or walk. Most of all I am just super proud of your for sticking with it!

Read on to hear about the last weeks of Gillian’s preparation for the marathon.

Karen xxx

I breezed through the early months of my training, with not a care in the world. I’d mastered the sub-two hour half marathon & felt myself getting fitter & fitter. I’d honed my training schedule to include six to seven training sessions a week, including two runs, interval training, PT, pram fitness & pilates. I sought nutrition advice, and learnt how to properly fuel my body in the lead up to, and during, my long runs.

I was loving all of it. Then, something happened …

I had begun to push beyond 25km on my weekly long runs – which is typically the time injury creeps in (i.e. an increase in distance, pace, or both). And I am not immune.

It started as a feeling of weakness in my left knee, and quickly developed into lateral knee pain of a level that prevented me running on it. A quick trip to the physio confirmed what Dr Google had earlier ‘diagnosed’; runner’s knee – most often associated with friction of the iliotibial band over the femur. Also known as ITB Syndrome.

Knee pain is the symptom, and the root cause is most often tight hips and/or weak glutes. In my case – my glutes are strong (I have Karen to thank for that!), but I was struggling to properly activate them while running. It’s harder than it sounds! Cue weekly physio, a zillion glute activation exercises, stretching upon stretching, and foam rolling every.single.morning.and.night.

Slowly but surely, it came good.

Unfortunately, I’m now battling another ‘friction’ injury associated with my right knee (I won’t bore you with the diagnosis), and this time I’ve had to resort to appointments with a sports physician, and (so far) four cortisone injections, under ultrasound, to my knee. It’s helping, and is getting me through my final weeks of training. The things we do!!

What I’ve learnt through this whole injury experience:

* When your PT, chiro & physio all tell you to foam roll – you listen!
* Make stretching a priority, not an after-thought
* Weekly physio, pilates & physician treatment is expensive! Prevention is cheap.
* A run technique assessment is a great idea early on – as slow, incremental changes or tweaks to your run technique will pay dividends, rather than trying to make big changes well into your training schedule
* Get yourself properly fitted for running shoes – Running Science is on our doorstep, and they’re specialists. If you’re running a lot of kms, you should replace your shoes every 4-6 months.
* Build your distance slowly, particularly once you begin to push beyond 20km. Same goes for picking up pace – do it slowly.
* Injury sucks!

I’m currently resting my legs before the marathon happens in just over a week.

I’m hopeful the cortisone holds and my knee stays pain-free, allowing me to get to the finish line on the day.

Stay tuned – final editions from New York!

Love Gillian