Week Two - Shut Up. You're Fine!

The absolute hardest thing about running is not the actual physical act of running. It is the mental side of it. 

From buying those first thirty quid trainers in the only colour they have left because you're not quite convinced you'll still be doing it in three weeks, to dragging yourself out the door for the first time, to carrying on for the final half a mile when all you want to do is stop - it is all a battle with your own mental evil vs. good Kermit the Frog or whatever meme is currently every-bloody-where.

At the moment the biggest mental battle is believing that in under four months time I will be ready and able to run 26 miles. 

And that isn't because I don't have the motivation - in my head I feel like I have to run a marathon. I'm bought in to the training regime (albeit slightly adjusted after last week's faux pas). But the fear of my knee giving up the ghost again is a concern that is hard to shake.

I have therefore decided to embrace the following motto:

SHUT UP.  YOU'RE FINE!

The mind is an incredible thing, but it's also a massive pain in the arse. Structurally my knee is sound - the bloody knee specialist said so. There is no damage to the bone, there is no ligament or cartilage damage anymore - but my mind remembers the pain and what that meant in July last year. Quite simply, when I am not thinking about my knee it doesn't hurt, when I am it does. I think the mumbo jumbo word for it is psychosomatic or something. In any case, this is something I need to shake.

After last week I need a good week this week to kickstart the process and more importantly - start to have a bit more confidence in the knee.

As discussed last week, running back-to-back days is a massive no go for me currently so I have switched out the Wednesday run and replaced it with a spin/swim session on alternate weeks. This should allow for recovery time as well as changing up the training a bit to help avoid the utter tedium of four runs a week.

I've never had any sort of coaching so my running technique is pretty organic in how it has developed. I don't think my running style is an issue as I had ran 2000+ miles before my first real injury but it is important to take on any guidance that can be gradually be introduced in to how I run - it's certainly not perfect! So thank you to those eminently more knowledgable people who I have spoken to over the last week who have shared their thoughts with me.

If we can excuse the mad techno backing track, this video has been helpful. The main thing I am taking from it is to drive my knees 'up but forward'.

I think I have a habit of dragging myself a little bit and forget to make proper strides which probably isn't the best idea. I am also concerned that I do not move my arms in the most efficient way and look rather more like Peter Crouch doing the robot - obviously a squished down version of Peter Crouch doing the robot, but Peter Crouch doing the robot all the same.

So I'm going to work on all that this week.

Here goes.

Run #3 - Tuesday 10th January

Yaaaaassss, we're back in business. Well, I think we are anyway. Such a claim should probably be put on hold until I wake up tomorrow. If I wake up and don't have knees like a 65 year old then we are back in business. Steady four miles tonight at 8.43's which came in just under 35 minutes. I know I said I wouldn't run more than the planned time but I needed the confidence that I could do it without problems. About 25 minutes in I started to feel something but it quickly calmed down - I'm pretty sure that's because I told myself 'SHUT UP. YOU'RE FINE!'

Run #4 - Thursday 12th January

It's baltic and it's raining. This is not a face of happiness. This is a face of complete and utter resigned acceptance. But it's fine! My knee is behaving. No adverse reactions to Tuesday's run meant I could push on to the first more lengthy run of the plan - 50 minutes (or 51.31, but shhh), and a steady 6 miles at 8.34. There were a few minor instances of SHUT UP. YOU'RE FINE! (SUYF! from here on) but definitely an improvement again from Tuesday. Fingers crossed for no reaction and we move on to 70 minutes on Sunday and if we get through that then things really are moving.

Run #5 - Sunday 12th January

Today was really important. It was scheduled to be a 70 minute run which will easily be the longest run since the end of June last year, and the first of the more lengthy distances of the plan. Failing today wouldn't quite have been curtains but it would have been bad news. I got my sister to drive me out beyond Repton to allow for a fresh route and set off. The rain wasn't too bad until about half way when it absolutely chucked it down and I failed miserably to avoid the puddles - as did a great chap in a Sainsburys van who gave me a fresh soaking. However, great success!

Far too quick in terms of target marathon pace but no big issue at this distance. The most encouraging thing is the mile by mile times and to still be able to chuck out negative splits - something I could rely on pre-July.

I'll be doing my usual praying to the marathon gods for no adverse reaction to this distance and duration and then we will start week three on Tuesday!

Week two bangers for your listening delights - Let's Dance is great in the rain FYI.

It's been a good week!

Cheers kids.