The Running Diaries of a Personal Trainer

You may all remember my last post…talking about prep for the Wokingham Half Marathon? Well sometimes even the best laid plans go to pot. Which mine did.

Thursday afternoon I started to get some pain in my foot. I thought it was because I hadn’t remembered to swap from my running trainers into a different pair so spent much of the working evening bare foot. I even made sure I took pain relief before going to bed however by Friday lunch time I was in agony and could barely stand to put pressure on the foot by the end of my Yoga class. I instantly phoned Vicky who made sure Chris had a look at my foot that evening. Verdict…repetitive strain injury! BUGGER! I was taped up by Vicky the next morning and I kept myself going with Nurofen.

I knew I had to do this race. I had come too far to give up. Quitting was not an option. If I didn’t run the race I would never forgive my self. I would deal with the consequences later.

So Sunday morning, much to the shock, disbelief and disapproval of Owen’s parents (who we are staying with this week whilst the bathroom is being re done) I set off down to the start line with my brother in law to be, Evan. The foot was grumbling but I figured if I kept moving I would be OK.

First port of call as always…the toilet. I stood in the queue looking like a completely loon hopping from one foot to the next trying to keep the movement and warmth in my foot going. So far so good…ish. Still a bit of grumbling. ‘Just ignore it’, I kept saying to myself, ‘it’ll go away’. Having completed my pit stop I head back towards the area where I knew my Uncle Gavin was standing. Gavin is not my real Uncle, he’s my Dad’s best friend. He’s a brilliant runner and actually set his PB on Sunday. 1.23! Amazing! Anyway I digress. At this point I bumped into The DZ.

Some say she has been the Olympic Ice Dance Champion twelve times over and can make a man fall in love with her, just by completing a single routine. All know we know is…she’s The DZ!

At first I was confused as to why The DZ had turned up so early. She was supposed to be coming to watch me cross the finish line. The DZ had opted out on advice of many after she picked up a hip injury at the end of the boot camp week in the beginning of January. I became even more confused when I saw her number attached to her running vest. I couldn’t get my head around it,

‘I’m running’, she said.

‘You’re a lunatic’, I replied.

And she is. The DZ hadn’t managed more than 5 miles with out being in pain for the best part of 6 weeks but she had her own battles to fight as did I so I told her I was proud of her for trying and to enjoy herself! Just at this point my dad turned up completely last minute and totally under prepared as per usual. By the time he’d pulled himself together we managed to get ourselves down to the start line just in time for the beginning of the race.

AND THEN WE WERE OFF!! Dad stuck with me for the first 2 miles but just after we’d spotted Owen’s parents he shot off. And there he was saying the night before about how I’d beat him. Pah! However this was the least of my worries because about a mile later my foot started to go numb. Some people might think this is a good thing but trust me it was very uncomfortable. By mile 4 my determination started to waver. ‘Just get to 6 miles’, I told myself, ‘then you can find some one who can get you back to the start’. I hobbled for 2 miles and once I hit the 6 mile mark I realised…no one was there. No marshalls, no first aiders not even a flaming spectator. I heard some guy next me say, ‘Oh look we’re pretty much half way now’, and another one say to his friend, ‘We’re averaging 8.40 miles’. ‘Right, in that case’, I thought, ‘I’d better shift my arse and DO THIS’. I kept running through the numbness and somewhere around 8 miles the feeling in my foot came back however by the 10th mile so had the pain. The Nurofen was wearing off. I ran, walk, hobbled and almost crawled the last 3 miles. All I wanted to do was sit down and cry but by this point I had come too far. I managed to sprint over the finish line as I heard Vicky screaming ‘COME ON CINDY!’. I took my medal, had my chip removed, had a bottle of water placed in my hand and then I sat down on the pavement and sobbed! Vicky and her boyfriend Ben found me about a minute later in this state. I saw them and smiled. I was crying because of the pain but mainly I was crying from the happiness of finishing. I’d done it. I’d run through the agony. I was stronger than I ever believed I could of been! About 15 minutes later however I was crying again as we bumped into The DZ. She too had managed it! Against all odds she had gone and run that race. I was so proud of her. Yesterday was a good day.

My official time was 2.00.44. So even with the injury I had a PB that had smashed my other PB by a good 13 minutes! I’m getting better! So next stop is Reading Half Marathon! April 1st 2012 and I can not wait! I think we can all work out the morale to my story…when disaster strikes, either pick yourself up and start again or plough on through!

Before I sign off I have a group of people I would like to thank for getting me through the day.

Vicky & Chris for making is possible for me to run with the treatment they gave me.

Jackie & Alice for screaming like complete and utter mentaloids at me just after the 11 mile mark! Noticed how you were outside the pub girls

Vicky (again) and Ben for cheering me over the line and delivering my broken body back to the in laws to be.

Andy, Denise and Debbie Read for supplying me with so much encouragement before, during and after the race as well as providing me with a chocolate bar, gloves and a foil sheet directly after the run.

Owen’s parents (Carole and Mick) for looking after myself and Evan the night before and directly afterwards with pre and post meals…AMAZING GRUB!

Owen for calming me down before the race and forever believing in me.

Holly and Joanne for their supportive texts of encouragement.

Rachel and Emily for the dog walks which killed two birds with one stone, walked the dogs and tested the capability of my foot.

Finally…The DZ. Who really proved to me that anything is possible when you put your mind to it. Thank you DZ. You truly are my hero!

CBPT