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A Week to Go: Martin Truelove

James Chard Athletic Events, Events & Talks

Martin Truelove

AVIVA Product Manager / Longtime fun-runner

Status Update: A Few Days To Go

With one week to go, my attitude is one of acceptance that my training has not gone as well as I would have hoped, but I am in good enough shape to survive. Ultimately, my dreams of a top ten finish are over.

Having had a bit of an injury and been struck down with a minor cold in the two weeks before the race, I have had moments where I felt I might not make it to the start line, but thanks to some good advice from Ian, and the subsequent visit to a myofascial massage clinic, I am back in the game.

What have I learnt:

  • I need to stretch more and do more complimentary exercise (I gave up my gym membership to concentrate on running, but I should have done gym work alongside the running really).
  • My long runs are better with people; I haven’t always had the most fun out in the rain, on my own, wondering why I’m doing this, but running with people has made it more bearable and I have pushed myself further.
  • I wouldn’t have done a 20 mile, 200 obstacle cross country race three weeks before the marathon as that took a bit out of me and my training suffered a little.

In Summary

I’m looking forward to it, relishing the challenge as it’s my first marathon. I’ll achieve a Personal Best time for sure, and thanks to the wonderful support team we have the weekend away to Edinburgh will make it all worth it!

The Rat Race obstacle course, with its demands on our muscles being different to those of running, has caused us a few injuries; the biggest of which was Martin’s hamstring pull. Using our legs to pull us over walls had not been part of our running training, and while undoubtedly improving our muscular and aerobic endurance, it put extra strain on our bodies. Martin’s hamstring has recovered as planned, and massage therapy has improved the quality of that recovery as well as allowing him to continue his training while recovering. As we were able to identify Martin’s injury almost immediately, I was able to give him some care on the Rat Race event as well as advise the best plan to get him to the start line of the Marathon in good shape to finish.Ian Sadler