Rest, Rehab and Strengthen

The hardest part of any race, is getting to the start line injury free and fit.  As I stood next to Beth in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam I thought it was mildly amusing we were both undertrained and unfit, for a marathon due to various circumstances, and she had a cold and I had an injured knee and lower back.  But we were there and going to give it our best effort while enjoying the course.
My strategy was, for the first time ever, to run consistent 5 min 20 sec KMs to get a time of 3hrs 45 mins.  I knew it would be hard and was quite prepared to give it a go and if it went t1ts up, I'd either jog in or stop.  What I wasn't prepared for was that on exiting the Olympic Stadium, what an atmosphere, there would be the first of many "pinch points" which reduced you to walking.  I ran harder than I wanted to after each pinch point but my first km was still 5:40.
The course was fantastic.  The crowds were amazing lining the whole route.  Running beside the river Amstel and admiring the beautiful houses took my mind of the niggles, but I knew around 30 km it was going to start getting painful.  I got a massive boost when 2 of Beth's cousins with partners and kids gave me a big shout out.  If you are ever in a crowd watching a race, encourage the runners with a shout out as it works every time.
The weather was almost ideal at 11 degrees and no wind but there was some torrential rain and hailstones which was normal for us!
When I got to 21km I knew I couldn't keep the pace going and therefore 3hrs 45mins wasn't possible but I wanted under 4 hours so I gritted my teeth and hobbled on.  I couldn't afford to stop as I knew I'd cease up but at the same time I had to restrict my gait as my right hamstring was ready to blow - tight as a snare drum!
On reaching the Olympic Stadium the crowd was even more lively and doing a lap in that atmosphere is what had kept me going.  I crossed the line, 3 hrs 55 mins and promised myself that was my last race of the year - my body was relieved to hear that.
As I was about to exit the stadium, Beth came flying in with a huge smile on her face.  She was having a great time "living in the moment".  Despite her cold, having to stop and tie her laces and posing for a picture with her cousins, she was only 9 mins behind me.  Two days before I doubted she'd make the start line and was hoping she wasn't going to pass her cold to me (I fortunately avoided it).  What an effort and she enjoyed every moment of it.
It was good to have our friends Team Gall racing in the Marathon and they had a great race and enjoyed it too.  Unfortunately we never saw them due to the number of runners.
My knee, lower back and hammy were painful when we got home and I got a massage and saw my sports therapist who taped my knee.  I won't be running for a week to give it a chance to repair.  Today I was back with my Personal Trainer and it was more like a rehab session.  Bartek is getting to know my physical limits and adjusting the programme accordingly. The strength training and yoga are the answer and essential to me being able to carry on with these adventures. That is our winter plan and we'll have to dust down the turbo trainers.  
It's a fine balancing act, training / racing when injured but I've ran more races this year than in any other year since I started this madness in 2008.  A lot of that is down to Beth and we are hoping to have an exciting 2024 if we can get through the ballots for certain races.