Running for the pies

Running for the pies

Monday, 18 May 2015

3rd May: DNS

I had to do something this week that I have not had to do in a long while... Not since before I ran my first marathon back 2 and a half years ago: Drop out of a race.
 

On Wednesday I awoke to find myself in a lot of discomfort... Somehow during the night I had managed to trap a nerve in my left hip, so even the slightest movement was excruciatingly painful.
 

Not only was every slightest move painful but the leg had no strength in it to lift, so to even place my foot on the clutch when getting in to drive I had to lift my leg with my hands to put it on the pedal.
 

Come Friday morning, having worked with the pain for the last 2 days whilst necking ibuprofen and paracetamol to make my day's work bearable (changing all the radiators in a house plus some electrical work), I realised there was no choice but to withdraw from Saturday's CTS Pembrokeshire marathon as there was no guarantee the nerve would have worked free by the next morning... And besides would driving for 3 hours and sleeping on an air bed be helping it to recover in any way?
 

I emailed the organisers of the marathon to notify them of my withdrawal, who have kindly agreed to defer my entry to next year, so at least I have not lost my entry fee which is some consolation.
 

In running circles, there are 3 3-letter acronyms beginning with D:
  • DNS - Did Not Start
  • DNF - Did Not Finish
  • DFL - Dead F*cking Last
So I now only don't have a DNF to my name (and long may this continue!) with the Pembrokeshire CTS being the race that now sees me rack-up a DNS and a DFL (from my first ever official marathon).
 

Fingers crossed the next few days will see my leg return to normal so I can get out and put some miles in my legs before the last of this season's Coastal Trail Series in Flete, although with me missing out on Pembroke I have missed on my chance of a hat-trick of the 7x challenge they run each year... But hey, there's always next year.
 

From the feedback of those who ran in Pembroke, it seems I 'chose' the right one to miss through injury as the weather was foul - continual rain and a cold wind for the duration, so if I had driven down there to struggle round the course at a shuffle, it would have been a truly miserable experience for me with the double whammy of pain and the weather.
 

Eat pies.
Drink beer.

Run far.



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