BIG COTTONWOOD MARATHON 09/09/23

I go back to the 12 week Pfitzinger and Douglas 55-70 week programme. It starts well and after a few weeks we go on holiday to Cadiz in Southern Spain. The only practical place to run is the long promenade which is great but a week on concrete in the hot sun is very hard on my body. Back in the UK I do an 18 mile long run outside followed by an eight mile one the next day. They go well but that evening I have a very sore left heel. I quickly realise that if I carry on running outside it won't get better so I retreat to the AlterG together with sessions on the stationary bike. I make an appointment with Daniel, one of the Balance Physiotherapists and he diagnoses the scary Plantar Fasciitis. It's another big hurdle on the way to my September marathon which is now six weeks away.

I'm able to keep running by mixing treadmill runs, outdoor runs and AlterG sessions, mixing in the usual cross training. I have to limit the outdoor mileage but I do get up to 12 miles. This feels much more brutal than it should and by the next day it's clear that I have the return of my old foe, a chest infection. It is really grim and I spend hours coughing and bringing up mucus. Covid tests are thankfully negative. After two really shitty weeks sleeping on the sofa with a bean bag to prop my upper body up, all I've been able to do is go for long walks every day which is the one time I feel almost ok and get a respite from the coughing. I strain an intercostal muscle in my chest so every cough is now painful. The plantar fasciitis improves slowly with a combination of my rehabilitation exercises and presumably extra rest. My mucus changes from clear or white to pale green which can mean the viral infection now has a bacterial element. My GP prescribes antibiotics, these are overused nowadays but as soon as I start the course I start to get better quickly. I have two weeks to the race so I can fit some running in just to get my legs moving in what should be the taper. I'm going to have to wing the marathon off residual fitness accumulated throughout the year.

I make it to Colorado, and at 4am, once again we are on the shuttle bus to the start. It is dark and cold, but not as cold as Mt Charleston earlier in the year. We stand along the side of the mountain road waiting for dawn. I chat to a 75 year old guy who was in Vietnam. He asks if I've seen Apocalypse Now. He was a front gunner in the small 14 foot boats like those in the movie. The stress of running a marathon is put into perspective.

As the dawn comes up the beauty of the mountains reveals itself. We are off. The first mile is so steeply downhill I find it difficult to run in a relaxed manner and I remember this from last year. Other braver, or more foolhardy and possibly antisocial souls, are off down the road weaving through the crowd. By the second mile it's clear my chest is still not completely recovered. I cannot cope with the altitude. However, I am staying on pace. We get to the short uphill section at mile four and I slow right down to avoid overcooking things early on, and also because I kind of have to. The pacing on marathons is so tight and although I stay on pace for most of the first half miles, this mile plus a couple of others at slight uphills puts me well behind at halfway in 2.05.42. With the downhill sections, the altitude has reduced a bit and I am able to breathe normally. I am being disciplined about taking gels but I still don't take nearly as many as recommended by the new performance nutrition standards. Realistically though, I know I'm not going to be able to pull the pace back by running a faster second half. I haven't got the fitness and all I can do is try to maintain as steady a pace as I can. The route is different to last year, the nasty undulating loop at 18 miles has been taken out and instead we leave the road and run along the Big Cottonwood Trail, It is beautiful and the narrow path is still well paved. Despite my careful nutrition the day before and in the morning, I still can't get it right and a long portaloo visit approaching mile 20 takes over ten minutes. Two Immodiums have been no match for my system. The race is already gone in terms of performance but I can still maintain a disciplined effort over the flat last six miles. It's disciplined but very slow, I'm run/walking. As a result I at least have the energy to put in a decent final run in, but my overall time is 3.39.34, my second slowest official marathon. The Plantar Fasciitis followed by the chest infection did mean I couldn't train for four of the last five weeks and I wasn't really recovered - but there's always something and no excuses.