Road to nowhere: No half… but another opportunity??

The more you sweat in training the less you bleed in combat

The above quote has been attributed to various military groups and individuals and what came to my mind the other day. Whichever, I'd like to add an extra bit: and that's not to bleed in training. Otherwise there may be no combat ;).

So, how did the half go, Adam??

A quick update on my running exploits… 

I didn't make my half-marathon yesterday due to injury. During my last run on Thursday my knee 'situation' flared up and I stopped after 3 laps of the park I've been using recently. Following the previous run last Monday, I had a couple of niggles and decided I would stop as soon as anything untoward showed, so I could make the race which was the main priority (first one anyway ;)). 

I thought I was over the knee thing but clearly not. I didn't push it during Thursday's run… ran about 8k in just under 45 minutes. Felt strong to start with and was thinking 'what's all the fuss about, 21k, whatever', but came to earth with a bump when I felt it go. I could have continued and would have done if it was the race but that would only do more damage. 

Long story short (well, it's quite a short story really), I hoped the couple of days in between would see it ok and then I'd deal with anything come race day. Suffice to say, it didn't happen. I found myself limping a little just walking around Friday and Saturday, so no way I could rock up to my first 21 frigging K with an injury at the start of the bloody thing. 

Picked up my dorsal and 'goody bag' anyway… got a new blue t-shirt out of it all! Oh, and quinoa… don't forget the quinoa. 

A second chance in 2 weeks? 

On the weekend I had an idea. I still had some delusional hopes of making this race. Even though I'm glad I didn't in a way. If my knee was 'good enough' to make the start line, I can bet you there would be some issues in the second half of the race. Could have been a disaster. Remember Derek Redmond at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics? Yeah, that. 

But the idea I had was the realisation that it's the Madrid Marathon in 2 weeks. A day in which they also have a half and 10k race, respectively. Hmmm, that would give me 2 more weeks. 

I'm actually already entered into the 10k so have tried to contact them to see if I can upgrade. It's a bit close with the deadlines etc for signing up/switching so we'll see what they say. That would give me a bit of time and still get my half in before the end of the month. The downside to all this, is that the knee is still 'off' and it will take a few more days to recover. That will allow me a couple of easygoing runs, try not to do myself another mischief and do myself justice on race day. I say 'downside' as there isn't much time and may be too much, too soon. 

Emerson said, do the thing and you will have the power. But in this case it will be a less is more scenario!

So, I'll wait to hear from the organisers and see what the possibilities are. It may be that I'm not able to switch (which may or may not be a good thing at this time… I'll leave that up to the proverbial gods!). If not, I'll just stick with the 10k and try and improve my time a little (of course, that's injury permitting… it's still 10 kilometres!). Then I'll look for another half-marathon somewhere later in the year. 

One thing I need to make a priority is to speak with a professional (physio etc) and get some advice. It could be a case of certain exercises to strengthen the joints, appropriate running shoes etc. Or just get a bike and take up cycling. 

I'm obviously a bit disappointed, but shit happens. I'm very fortunate I can even consider running 21k and other than a gammy knee, I'm in pretty much tip-top health (and the knee is only as a result of pounding the earth). Plus I've got a blue t-shirt and some quinoa out of it. I'm not even 100% on what quinoa is. But I digress…

I saw a great quote from Martin Luther King Jr the other day, so will finish with that:

Run (or walk/crawl) wild!

~ Adam
@adambarratt

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