Three lessons in sports therapy, learnt the hard way. Part 1

Before we start, I'd like to apologise to anyone who really knows about sports science and/or physiotherapy, for undoubtedly getting the detail horribly wrong.

I've had an eventful few weeks, and right now I'm seriously worried about whether I'll be able to run this damned thing.

It all started on the saturday after my last post - my first go at a 20 mile run.
Miles 1-18: fantastic.
Miles 19-20: Oh dear God.

In the last few weeks I've learnt a bunch of really hard lessons about distance running, so I thought I'd go through them in 3 parts

Lesson 1: hitting the wall is really bad
Your body can store a limited amount of fuel known as glycogen, in the liver, muscles and red blood cells. This can readily be broken down into glucose for you to use when doing things like running. The problem is, the body only stores around 1500-2000 calories worth. Which, on this particular run, got me through the first 18 miles.
After which...

•  I couldn't think straight – I was nearly in tears, and got lost despite being in my own back yard, and having a GPS watch telling me where to go
• my legs Just Wouldn't Work Any More
• the outside of my left knee started hurting. A lot. (Unfortunately, we'll be coming back to this in lesson 3)

I've since learnt that the key to not hitting the wall is to load up on carbs in the days before big runs, and to eat sports tablets, gels or jelly babies every 20 minutes or so during the run itself, to keep the glucose levels up.

I'm very glad I've found this out now, and seriously hope I get another shot at at 20-miler before the marathon to try it out in practice.

Meanwhile, I eventually got home and jumped straight into an ice bath. more about that in lesson 2...


p.s. In better news, I Just met my sponsorship target! :-D Thank you all so much - it's going to a wonderful cause, and is a big motivation to keep going right now.

W.x