Valencia Marathon is a No Go for Me!

After Berlin Marathon my recovery hasn't been so good! Actually it's been the worst yet after a marathon....

I knew my legs would hurt for a few days but I hadn't figured on my knees, especially my right one, still hurting on and off after 9 days :-(

I've always had knee problems after a run but since training for Valencia Marathon last year they stopped hurting and have been fine since. I can only imagine that because I was pushing my body to the limit in Berlin, and didn't slow down for the last 5k as I normally would, that my knees just couldn't take the extra pressure. Also maybe going from not running at all to running 4 marathons in 16 months might not have been so smart!

Not that I regret running Berlin for one second as, thanks to Paul, I DID finish in under 4:30!!

My plan for the next couple of months is to take it easy and learn to land on my fore or midfoot to take away  some of the jarring on my knees. I'm also going to stengthen up my quad muscles as this should help too. Right now my plans for next year include no marathons but at least two of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series half marathons in Europe. Next year I will have the choice of Nice, Edinburgh, and Dublin and probably Lisbon. Edinburgh and Lisbon are the ones I'm thinking of doing! So next year for me is going to be no serious racing and just running for fun :-)

So basically because I'm going to be learning to land differently and I want to give my knees some time to recover I won't be running Valencia Marathon :-( I will, however, be running the 10k there if my knees are feeling better by then but I'll just be using it as a 'fun run'. I'll also have to jump on the marathon course in a couple of places to run with my good friend Ciry and help her beat the 4:30 time as I did in Berlin :-)

I last saw Ciry in Madrid in April and can't wait to see her again in Valencia!! See you real soon Ciry!

Berlin, Valencia, and Gran Canaria Marathons!

First of all sorry there are no photos on this blogpost. I know how we all love to see them. My computer is still being repaired so I have no access to all my photos :-(

I had no idea what to call this blogpost as so much has happened and I have so much to share! I'll start with Berlin Marathon...

My training is going ok except.....I have had stomach pains for over 3 weeks but just kind of ignored them and cut back a little on my running. Last Saturday I thought it was time to have a long run so I did 25k with a 6:25ish pace. Early Sunday morning I woke up with a really sharp pain on my left side and extremely bad nausea so I went down to the ER on the Sunday. They didn't give me an ultrasund but I thought I needed one so I rang my doctor monday and had a scan. Nothing is wrong and it seems I just had a bacterial infection. So I'm now on antibiotics and am feeling the best I have for over a month.

So back to training for Berlin I think :-) I'm planning on a 17k this Saturday and next Saturday with a couple of smaller runs and some interval training inbetween. I do feel ready for Berlin and will be happy as long as my time is under 4:30:00!!

Now this is where my world gets complicated.....

As you know I have signed up for Gran Canaria marathon 2013. My good friend (lost long sister) Ciry from conquering26-2 was going to run Rome in 2013 and I was going to meet her there. I found out the other day that she will no longer be coming to Europe in 2013!! Ahhhh but I really want to see her again! I knew that she would be in Gran canaria in late November so started looking at my flights to Gran Canaria to see if I could change them.

As it happens because one of my flights down to Gran Canaria had been changed by the company and I hadn't accepted these changes I was entitled to a full refund :-) I decided to do this, then buy some flights to barcelona for November and from there take a train to Valencia and back a few days later. (it's actually cheaper than flying from Copenhagen to Valencia as there are no direct flights anyway).

You see Ciry will be in Valencia running the marathon on Sunday 18th November!! What does all this mean for me?

Basically as I am no longer going to Gran Canaria I will no longer be running the marathon there! I will try and transfer my entry to 2014 if I can.

On the other hand as I'm in Valencia to see Ciry I suppose it would make sense to run Valencia marathon together with her :-)

No times or anything just run and have fun!!