…Wooooooaaah livin’ on a prayer! Take my…………Ahem. Got a bit carried away there!
So what do these lyrics from the slice of pure 80s cheese have got to do with anything? Well, it’s in honour of me achieving a half marathon today.
13.1 miles is long way, and it took me a long time on my treadmill, but I wanted to prove that I could go this distance before New York, just as I did before London in 1998. Man, it felt good!
So how do I feel now? Tired, but more worringly I’m a bit bothered about my knee. I was wearing my compression socks to help with possible calf problems, but I think they’re a little too tight at times and they were hurting my right knee after about nine miles. That’s when suddenly you become a physio/doctor and have to diagnose your own pains whilst running. Is that a pain or a niggle? How long has it been there? Is it getting better or worse? Have I had it before? Does it hurt when I do this? Working out if it’s something you just get on with or something serious you need to stop for to prevent injury is key to training. Trouble is, ego and ambition tends to get in the way. I wanted a half marathon as an achievement; I also know that I can’t hide away from pain on the day – I have to know how far I can push things.
So right now I’ve got my leg elevated having iced it a few times already. Hopefully it’ll be fine and will survive until Monday’s short run. I’ll make it, I swear.
Shout out to my mate Steve in New York (the one who got me into this marathon thing in the first place) who took a nasty fall the other day and has a multi-coloured ankle right now. Next time you run in the dark, take a torch! Hope it improves and you get back on the road soon.
Finally, I have to mention the football that I watched whilst running. While Newcastle implode, Utd struggle on, and Arsenal’s first team embarrass themselves in front of their kids, I enjoyed another great derby victory as we beat Everton. It’s shaping up to be an interesting season…