Thanks OSN and Sluggie. It has given me something to think about, why I want to do this marathon. Its really because its such a nice course though I think I will be satisfied if I do the shorter one instead considering the problems I've had lately.
The one I really wanted to do was the Neolithic which was today. That was a goal for me to work for and somewhere that I really wanted to run as what could be better - to prove myself over a tough marathon course in the presence of ancient monuments that I look at as part of my culture and beliefs.
But - I am not going to keep being so down about it. I am HappyasLarry and always an optimist. This leg will get better, I will get to run longer again soon, I will do the Neolithic next year.
I would like to be able to do lots of marathons as I like to push myself hard so that I can feel that sense of achievement that comes with the effort of attaining something very difficult.
I love doing the long runs, the feeling of being at one with the surroundings, the feeling of having exhausted my energy and that afterglow that keeps me smiling for the rest of the day.
I won't give up or be despondent.
Its only a blip.

I've been for a 7 mile run and the calf started to tighten up a 6 miles but with a rub and a stretch it was ok. I walked 3 miles this afternoon and it still feels ok.Don't know how I'm going to get from 7 to 26 though.I am wondering if its my shoes that are causing the calf problem. I haven't had calf trouble before and it started when I got these ones although the physio said he doesn't think I need to change them. I am not so sure.Trouble is that after buying 2 pairs of these not very long ago I can't afford any more at the moment.Fingers crossed that whatever it is causing it will go away and training can resume again now.
It was a lovely morning at times, alternating sunny then cloudy and I had to take my jacket off as I got so warm. Tee shirt and shorts at last. I was thinking as I ran along the seafront that the last time I ran here it was blowing an icy wind and probably raining too and I would have been bundled up up long trousers and gloves etc so it felt so good to have some nice weather at last, even if its mostly not that warm yet.
I have been having trouble with my breathing this week. I am taking antihystamines but all the spraying of the fields and the rape pollen here is affecting my asthma so I think that made my heart rate higher today than it should have been.

7 miles
Average HR 155
Peak HR 180
Average pace 11.48
1 hour 20 minutes

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

I have been feeling pretty fed up about not training lately. I can't even cycle or swim as I have this groin strain that really needs to be rested otherwise that will be the next thing that stops me running so its been walking only for me lately and nothing more than 4 miles each day.

The physio told me I could try a couple of very easy short runs this week so I did a 1 miler on Wednesday which didn't go well as I had shooting pain in the calf for the first half a mile though it was ok for the second half mile after stretching and rubbing it. I did a 2 miler yesterday which was much better but it felt a bit tight. Again stretching it eased it off and it was ok for the rest of the day.

I have put on weight lately which I am not happy about so I will be very pleased when I can get back to running and I know everything will seem better then.

I don't know what to do at Halstead now. There is an option to stop running after 15 miles so I may do that if the calf doesn't feel too good on the day, but then is it even worth doing that?
The next couple of weeks will tell I suppose.

I've been a bit sulky lately. Its all down to not running and having to keep fit on the bike or swimming. I like cycling but I need to run. Its what keeps me sane and happy and I want to get back to doing it as soon as possible, but I know I have to be sensible this time and take it slowly and not ignore good advice for the sake of a few more miles.
My physio has said not to run on the calf until I can do 20 calf raises with no discomfort. Unfortunately its been 13 days so far and I still can't do this. I can't even do 5 without discomfort so there's definately no running for the time being. I should be thankfull I can still excercise doing other things and I will be back running soon, I know I will.
Unfortunately the Neolithic Marathon is definitely out of bounds for me this year but the organiser has agreed to defer my entry till next year so I will look forward to that. Hopefully Halstead will still be possible on 14th May. That is my goal for the moment and I will follow that with the Southend Half Marathon in June, a couple more races in July and August then Windsor Half Marathon in September. Maybe too I'll manage to get to Beachy Head this year, though the New Forest Marathon sounds tempting. So there's lots to look forward to, the year is young yet.
I am getting caught up in FLM fever and getting excited for everyone doing that. I shall be sitting in front of the TV from 8.30am tomorrow and not budging till its over.
I may be able to get sponsorship from a couple of companys I have been in touch with so maybe next year I will do that one again.
In the meantime, back to the bike.

A visit with my physiotherapst today. He said I've got inflamation of the instertion point of the achilles tendon into the calf. Also, the muscle at the outside of the lower calf is cramping and making the whole lower half tight and sore. I've been told not to anything that makes me go up on my toes till it stops hurting (easier said than done, try walking up/down stairs flat footed) then do calf raises to strengthen the muscle. He did some massage and ultra sounds and said to ice it and stretch VERY gently. He said NO running for a week and go back next week to see how it is. The Neolithic may not be a possibility but I have to wait and see. I have Halstead on 14 th May so hopefully I will be better in time for that one and then I may do the New Forest Marathon but that's not till September, if the Neolithic is out of the question. He also said I can cycle, swim and walk and have to go back to running very gradually.
That's not as bad as I had exptected, nothing torn so great relief about that. But its still sore to walk on so I'm staying put indoors today with a book and my feet up and I'll start the x training in earnest tomorrow.
I am disappointed, of course, about the Neolithic. I don't realistically expect to do this now as I haven't got time to get the inflamation down and then have time to try it out over a longish run to see how it will behave before the marathon. I certainly don't want to get all the way there then find out I have to drop out of the event after a couple of miles and then maybe mess it up again so that I can't do Halstead either. Better to get the leg strong again and go for another one a little later on.
I did also mention the groin to the physio. He said its a hip flexor overstrained - probably stretching as I thought - and to ice it and of course, I'll be resting it anyway.
So, that's my marathon training for today. I suppose I am lucky to only have the injuries I've got as he keeps telling me how well I am doing to keep running all these miles as I am biomechanically unsound with my tilted pelvis and my dodgy back and that running is not a very good sport for me to be doing but I like him because he keeps me running anyway and always tells me what I want to hear, and I just ignore anything I don't want to hear!!

A change of mood for me today. I was happy and thought it would be a good idea to venture out and test the groin strain to see how it would hold up to a run. so off I went and it felt ok ish till I'd done a couple of hours, so that's promising.
Now on the other hand, I'm bloody annoyed cos the calf started hurting again and it got so sore that I had to do a fair amount of walking and ended up stopping the run as it had turned into a walk with a limp!
I've made an appointment with my physio as this needs sorting out, something I really should have done a month ago I suppose, but you know how it is, when it keeps getting better you think its all ok now.
Its wierd how its better for one run, then hurts on another but I can't keep guessing what's wrong, so hopefully he will be able to give me some good advice (he always does) and I promise to do whatever he says!!
I feel full of energy now as I only completed just over half the run I wanted to do, but I suppose it would be silly even to get the bike out today. :0(

11 miles (approx)
2 hours 10 minutes 32
Average HR 144
Peak HR 165

Doh! its the right leg!!

I am fed up today. Well, yesterday I was fed up too actually. I seem to have developed a "groin strain" which I think is my adductor muscle on the left leg. I am pretty sure I strained (hopefully not a tear) this doing some stretching and I am cross with myself that I have done something so silly. Its a bit tender to touch and stretch so I contacted the sports injury lady and she said to ice it and rest till after the weekend and hopefully it will be better by then, if its not, I have to let her know and she will do some "treatment" on it. That will hurt no doubt and to be honest, I am a bit dubious about letting anyone get their hands on my anatomy this close to the marathon. That's something I will have to think about. She says there is a risk that it could heal with scar tissue and if its not broken down the muscle will be short. I know this but I am scared that doing anything to it may make it worse and there's only 3 weeks left from this weekend.
So, I will miss out my last 20 miler which I was really looking forward to doing. I am glad I did the last one, at least I've done a 19 and a 20 but I feel they might be a bit too far away from the marathon to be much use.
The only way I will find out will be on the day. The training I've been doing probably won't be much help anyway as I have been road running and its an off-road marathon mainly. I've also only run on the flat and there are hills on the day so I may be under prepared and this setback won't hinder my progress too much.
There's nothing I can do about it so I've got to stop feeling sorry for myself and get a grip!
I did go for a cycle today while the sun shone and realised just how much my legs need a different form of excercise to keep them fit, the running alone just uses certain muscles and that's good for the running but the cycling left them wobbly and weak. Now the weather's getting better I will get out on the bike more often and get the legs stronger. Maybe I won't get injured so easily then.
So far during this 4 months on training I've had a somach bug, a cold, a calf problem and now a groing strain.
I just don't know what I could have done differently to prevent these things happening.
Reading through the threads on the forum I find that a lot of other people marathon training have had similar things so maybe its not just me who has been suffering, it just feels like it sometimes!!

1 hour cycling
11 miles

Rest, stretching and self-massage yesterday on the calf. It felt ok so I thought I'd check it out with a nice easy run this afternoon. The run went better than expected, even though the farmer's are trying to kill me with the spray they are putting on their fields,( it sets my asthma off) and it turned into a brisk run which started with hail and ended with sunshine.
I used today's run to try out the hydration backpack I bought in LIDL last week. Its a strange contraption but I found drinking from it to be very easy and it was a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be. I used it with a jacket underneath it today so I have yet to try it next to bare skin, hoping it doesn't chafe. The only drawback I could find with it is that its very noisy as all the water sloshes around inside it but as I had my mp3 with me the noise didn't bother me too much. Still, another usefull piece of kit, one I hope will come in usefull on those longer runs.
The calf was fine, a little stiff up to mile 3 but ok thereafter so its looking good for a long run again later in the week.

6 miles
Average pace 10.36
Average HR 142
Peak HR 169
1 hour 3 minutes.39

Its very windy again today - when isnt it? - but at least its not a freezing cold wind and its very pleasant to be outside with the sun shining again. A lot of rain fell last night and so I was splish-splashing about in the puddles though I have to do this quickly as I am a wimp when it comes to getting wet feet as I just hate running with squelchy socks.
Hubby has a cold and when I took my Resting HR this morning, it was 53 (average over 2 minutes) instead of yesterday's 47, so I will take care as it could mean I am going to come down with the cold. Then again, it could mean nothing and I am just panicking. Anyway, I felt ok so I did an easy run for an hour, hoping the dodgy calf wouldn't be any trouble today.
The calf tightened up at about 4.5 miles, which is twice as good as yesterday, and with a little stretch was ok again. Other than that, everything is feeling good so I am a happy bunny again. I had to deviate from my usual route because the road was closed for trials starting tomorrow (I live on an MOD establishment and we have to put up with this sort of thing sometimes) so I don't know the exact distance.

Approx 5 miles
59 minutes
Average HR 146
Peak HR 165

The last couple of days I've just walked as I've been a bit stiff and sore but today I had a gentle, easy run and found that everything still works ok. The calf was stiff and needed frequent stretching but other than that it was a lovely run in the spring sunshine, which turned into torrential rain once I was back indoors. Good timing.
I'll get another sports massage soon and hopefully that will sort the calf out.

3 miles
Average pace 11.00
Average HR 138
Peak HR 150
33 minutes