Time to feel a runner’s high

By Lesley Hart

Published:

TWO weeks and 60-odd miles into my half-marathon training, my legs feel overrun; in fact they feel like they’ve been run over – by a bus.

As I write this I am taking an unscheduled rest day due to a worrying niggle in my right knee. At this point I must stress that being run over by a bus would not stop me from completing this race – nothing would. I will cross that finish line on hands and left knee if that’s what it takes.

For those who missed last week’s column, I have entered the Stonehaven Half Marathon, which is taking place on Sunday July 6 (go on, sign up – I dare you). Perhaps foolishly, I jumped in on week seven of a 10-week training programme exactly two weeks ago, and on Wednesday this week felt an old injury return to my right leg. Originally gammied through lack of rest and stretching over three years of jog-junkie road running, my right leg is now a permanent liability.

The main problem of diving hell-for-leather into this sub-one-hour-50 training programme (an overstretch to begin with) has been building in fast, high-impact runs too early on, when my legs are still quite tentative about running at all. Long and slow I can manage, it’s the interval sprints that knock the knees.

Lucky for me, my mum is a sports remedial massage therapist, and while I’ve been up running the Stoney braes, she’s been on hand to soothe any niggles and muscle strains – bless her. Indeed if it weren’t for mum and her healing hands I’m not sure my gammy leg would hold up for the race. Who knows, I might still have to hop it.

But there’s no point dwelling on worst-case scenarios; positive thinking is crucial for recovery. In fact, by the time you read this, my niggly knee will be back to normal and my training back on schedule. Today I’ll be doing five miles with fast and slow intervals. Then tomorrow, if I’m in good shape, I’ll be attempting the half marathon distance (13.59 miles) at a nice easy pace. I can’t do the actual course because it runs down the busy Slug Road which is too dangerous to share with motorists.

My 13-ish-mile training route will involve the first four hilly miles of the official route, plus one extra mile from my parents’ house to Stonehaven’s Mineralwell Park, where the race will start. After reaching Cheyne Hill, I’ll backtrack towards Fetteresso then detour round past the ford, through Toucks and up to Dunnottar Castle. From there I’ll follow the coastal path and head back along the beach to Mineralwell, and finally back up to the house. If I can manage all that without ruining my legs, I’ll be well on my way to bagging the real thing, and hopefully plenty of cash for charity.

Which brings me neatly to my rallying cry: if you fancy entering the Stonehaven Half Marathon yourself, or the 3K or 1K Fun Run, get your name on the list at http://stoneyhm.webnode.com and create your own online sponsor page with www.just giving.com. If you want to sponsor me, please feel free to donate online at www.justgiving.com/ lesleyhart1 and your money will go to Clan (Cancer Link Aberdeen and North), the race’s nominated charity.

I know Clan are keen to enlist a lot more people, and there’s nothing like a good cause and a list of sponsors to motivate those legs. So for goodness sake, if you’re halfway inclined to put one foot in front of the other, sign up now. Entering now as opposed to on the day may preclude opting out at the last minute, but entering on the day precludes fundraising. If you consider that running for charity might actually motivate you, boost your performance and help you overcome any pains, strains and fatigue, it seems the only sensible approach: mutually benefiting you and whoever you choose to run for.

It may be too late to train from scratch, and I don’t recommend jumping in at the end of a 10-week plan, as I have foolishly done, but if you are fairly fit and run three or more times a week, try running every other day, do at least one 10 to 12-mile run before the final week, and you should be ready for the halfy in a fortnight. However, please do seek advice on how to prepare from someone who knows better than me. Some online running sites give brilliant advice, so look for accredited and medically-prescribed information about training, how to avoid injury, kit, clothing, diet and so on.

On race day you’ll have adrenaline on your side, and the buzz of the crowd will no doubt spur you on. One girl I know who ran last year said it was the first time she’d experienced “runner’s high”, and it carried her all the way round.

Despite getting a little knocked knee this week, all this intensive training has seen me return to my old jog-junkie ways. Two years ago I gave up running almost entirely due to the gammy leg and had scarcely enjoyed it since. But now that I’m training proper again and experiencing runner’s high for the first time in ages, this unscheduled rest day has been more of a bummer than a welcome rest.

To avoid too much repetitive strain on the gammy leg I am alternating some running sessions with fitness classes, and am getting as many daughter’s-rate massages from the mother as possible. And now that I know I’m doing the race no matter what, it seems less of an ordeal. Signing up, telling everyone you’re doing it and having them sponsor you removes any get-out clause. I can’t recommend it enough. Get your name on that list – trust me, you’ll feel better in the long run.