Like Trying To Drive a Car with Three Wheels
Like Trying To Drive a Car with Three Wheels
I had an interesting situation occur this week. The day in question was Sunday 6th July and the event was the famous Gold Coast Marathon. For those of you who missed it, there is a 5km walk, 10km Run / Walk, 21km Half Marathon and 42km Marathon. The weather was fantastic, the surroundings beautiful and atmosphere was electric!
My particular event was my first 42km marathon. The preparation was substantial leading up to 4 weeks before the event when a lovely bout of tonsillitis had me in bedridden. The final 4 weeks of preparation was minimal to say the least, however I had myself certain that with this race (as with any) my mental drive will push me through. This certainty, coupled with my pre-sickness preparation was my driving force. I simply could not fail!
The (pre-sickness) goal was to finish in 3hours 30mins in good health without injury, sitting at speed of 12km / hour or 5 min / Km. The post sickness goal was to finish in good health without injury! My body felt great weighing in at 101kg’s just before commencing my carbohydrate loading process of blueberry muffins!
The run was going perfect – I was comfortably holding 2 minutes in front of the (pre-sickness) goal at the halfway point, and on to the 30km mark. Then something happened. Something I had never felt before. Knee pain.
The brain then switched from counting minutes and seconds to focusing on holding the knee stable. At the 38km mark I was on track to finish in under 3hours 40mins, however the stability was non-existent in the knee. It was like trying to drive a car with three wheels! My psychology was torn between my positive mental attitude, feeling great cardiovascularly and the desire to finish my first marathon and potentially creating or exacerbating an injury.
I took the bus from the 38km mark back to the finish line and directly to the physiotherapist’s tent. The analysis was encouraging as a small muscle behind the knee joint was incredibly spasmed, hence pain and no stability. The excitement to hear this definitely outweighed the feeling of uncertainty of what would possibly be the diagnosis after the 4km bus trip!
And the Moral of the story is:
1) Pain is telling you something. Listen to your instincts and your body, whenever you feel something that is just not right!
2) Distinguish between good pain and bad pain – For example: Good pain in the shoulder is the throbbing sensation like its filled with air. Bad pain in the shoulder is that sharp sensation when you lift you arm up to the side.
3) No marathon is worth potentially sacrificing a healthy knee for! When you go to the horse races do you put your money on the sure thing or do you take a gamble? Make the right choices with your body!
Some Peak Physique Legends at the Gold Coast Marathon
1) Megan Barron (Marathon). Unbelievable effort as Megan gave it Everything to finish. Great work!
2) Tina Gilbert (Marathon). The Pilates girl proved how the “core strength” paid off!
3) Delia Watson (½ marathon). Looked so fresh at the end…how does she do it?
4) Lynne O’Brien (½ marathon). Personal best time yet! Running like a champion.
5) Donna Ferguson (½ marathon). Was thinking about running the 10km – but smashed the ½ marathon!
6) Stan “Body Bronze” Ellerm (½ marathon). Held back his spew in the last 100m to do his personal best!
7) Miles Ellis (½ marathon). Peak Physique Personal Trainer and physical freak smashed out a great time.
8) Joel Cook (½ marathon). Peak Physique Personal Trainer can’t wait to put on some weight, as he has abs upon abs!
9) Kath “Flight Centre” McCasker (10 km). Personal best time in under 1 hour. Is there anything this girl cannot do? Book your next holiday with Kath and learn her secrets!
10) Susan Finney (10km). Hit her goal and Personal Best. She suggested in Feb that she could not run…now she is running 10km in 1 Hour!
11) Beth Beal (10km). After missing the start, the enthusiastic taxi driver got Beth to the line for her to mow the field down!
I had an interesting situation occur this week. The day in question was Sunday 6th July and the event was the famous Gold Coast Marathon. For those of you who missed it, there is a 5km walk, 10km Run / Walk, 21km Half Marathon and 42km Marathon. The weather was fantastic, the surroundings beautiful and atmosphere was electric!
My particular event was my first 42km marathon. The preparation was substantial leading up to 4 weeks before the event when a lovely bout of tonsillitis had me in bedridden. The final 4 weeks of preparation was minimal to say the least, however I had myself certain that with this race (as with any) my mental drive will push me through. This certainty, coupled with my pre-sickness preparation was my driving force. I simply could not fail!
The (pre-sickness) goal was to finish in 3hours 30mins in good health without injury, sitting at speed of 12km / hour or 5 min / Km. The post sickness goal was to finish in good health without injury! My body felt great weighing in at 101kg’s just before commencing my carbohydrate loading process of blueberry muffins!
The run was going perfect – I was comfortably holding 2 minutes in front of the (pre-sickness) goal at the halfway point, and on to the 30km mark. Then something happened. Something I had never felt before. Knee pain.
The brain then switched from counting minutes and seconds to focusing on holding the knee stable. At the 38km mark I was on track to finish in under 3hours 40mins, however the stability was non-existent in the knee. It was like trying to drive a car with three wheels! My psychology was torn between my positive mental attitude, feeling great cardiovascularly and the desire to finish my first marathon and potentially creating or exacerbating an injury.
I took the bus from the 38km mark back to the finish line and directly to the physiotherapist’s tent. The analysis was encouraging as a small muscle behind the knee joint was incredibly spasmed, hence pain and no stability. The excitement to hear this definitely outweighed the feeling of uncertainty of what would possibly be the diagnosis after the 4km bus trip!
And the Moral of the story is:
1) Pain is telling you something. Listen to your instincts and your body, whenever you feel something that is just not right!
2) Distinguish between good pain and bad pain – For example: Good pain in the shoulder is the throbbing sensation like its filled with air. Bad pain in the shoulder is that sharp sensation when you lift you arm up to the side.
3) No marathon is worth potentially sacrificing a healthy knee for! When you go to the horse races do you put your money on the sure thing or do you take a gamble? Make the right choices with your body!
Some Peak Physique Legends at the Gold Coast Marathon
1) Megan Barron (Marathon). Unbelievable effort as Megan gave it Everything to finish. Great work!
2) Tina Gilbert (Marathon). The Pilates girl proved how the “core strength” paid off!
3) Delia Watson (½ marathon). Looked so fresh at the end…how does she do it?
4) Lynne O’Brien (½ marathon). Personal best time yet! Running like a champion.
5) Donna Ferguson (½ marathon). Was thinking about running the 10km – but smashed the ½ marathon!
6) Stan “Body Bronze” Ellerm (½ marathon). Held back his spew in the last 100m to do his personal best!
7) Miles Ellis (½ marathon). Peak Physique Personal Trainer and physical freak smashed out a great time.
8) Joel Cook (½ marathon). Peak Physique Personal Trainer can’t wait to put on some weight, as he has abs upon abs!
9) Kath “Flight Centre” McCasker (10 km). Personal best time in under 1 hour. Is there anything this girl cannot do? Book your next holiday with Kath and learn her secrets!
10) Susan Finney (10km). Hit her goal and Personal Best. She suggested in Feb that she could not run…now she is running 10km in 1 Hour!
11) Beth Beal (10km). After missing the start, the enthusiastic taxi driver got Beth to the line for her to mow the field down!