Pre Marathon Blues

These saved my life after I got home from Great Eastern Women's Run

Right after Great Eastern Women's Run, I was walking with pain in my right knee, that was especially so when I tried walking down stairways or steps. I didnt know that my ITB issue could escalate to such a scale and I certainly did not foresee that this will pose a problem to my 2nd marathon quest. The previous few times I encountered the issue, it just went away after a few days.

I was seeking suggestion from the guys in the forum, and they were sharing information that was both depressing and shocking to me. ITB is the most common injury among runners and I cant do much except for allowing it to heal and rest. I was glad that the Hello Kitty race pack included two strips of Acti Tape, I didnt know if it'll work but as soon as I got home from the race, I dug out those tapes, plastered it onto my knee area and the pain was relieved immediately. I didnt know how long those strips of tape can last but I made it a point to get to Watsons so that I can get my hands on a full roll of tape since it worked wonders on me.

Even though I heard a lot of horror stories about ITB injuries, I was still hopeful. I put on long pants when I go to school the next few days, to cover up the tapes. I thought a week of rest should be more than enough, but things dragged on... After a whole week of rest, I tested things out in gym but my knee ached when I started jogging lightly on the treadmill. I was alarmed but could not do anything about it. I cant remember the last time I attended gym classes, but in order not to waste my trip to gym, I went into a yoga class which had just started. It felt good doing some stretching and I realised yoga would help me in recovery. Another week went by and the same thing happened, I ended up in yoga class after another unsuccessful attempt on the treadmill.

Yeah! I love my Garmin, its a real investment. 

On the other hand, I had not given up all hopes of going for my 2nd marathon. In order to replace the two dead iPod nano, I need my music fix and also a GPS watch to track my running progress. I had been eyeing a GPS watch for quite sometime and was waiting for SITEX so that I can get it at the best price. Even though I wasnt sure if I'll still be running a marathon this year, it was motivating after I've gotten them.

New Sony Walkman with my Garmin

One week before the marathon, the pacers were having one final training and I decided to test out my gadgets and tried to see if I could at least complete that 15km. For weeks, I already had no issues when walking and the sharp pain only resurfaced when I tried running on the treadmill. As I started running with the 5.30h pacers, I could feel the pain coming back. But after awhile, I wasnt even sure if it was still there, it almost felt like the pain was not there anymore, but I had gotten so used to it that it lingered on my mind. There was a very big group of people following the pacers that day, so I just stayed right behind trying to get used to the feeling of running again.

A huge turn-out for the training run. (Photo courtesy of Running Department)

I was also not used to the sound quality of my Sony Walkman W series, its very compact but it felt so different from my Nike sports headphones. As I was running along, I could hear the air vacuum bouncing around in my ears, some songs even sounded like a broken record, its almost like 20 years ago when I was carrying a CD player in my bag while walking. I cant really explain it in words but I took some time to get used to the extra noise in my ears.

I got worried about the slight pain in my knee and felt that I had to stop running before it became worse, so I turned back early and ran back towards Parkway Parade on my own. At that point, I was almost convinced that I should just let my knee recover and skip the marathon since its not my maiden attempt anyway. I was in a dilemma and over the week before the marathon, I kept wondering if I should go ahead or give up.