Berlin Marathon Training

Berlin Marathon 3.5 weeks to go!

The RNNNG blog is back!!! I have really missed putting my weekly musings down in black and white, but over the summer, something’s had to give. Tuesday is my day to commit to running admin as my veterinary work takes a back seat, but over the summer things got hectic! The kids were off school, plus I decided to personally rebuild my website from the ground up (I hope you’ll agree that https://rnnng.co.uk has had a significant upgrade). I’m also working really hard on https://niultrarunning.com and trying to build that site as well as get the NIURA membership working (note to self….this is WAY HARDER than you thought it would be 🙄), so the blog was the victim.

Anyway, enough lamenting about my hectic summer, the kids are back to school and life is settling down. So how’s the training been going, what have I done to manage my achilles tendinopathy and how is my attempt at Berlin marathon in 3.5 weeks shaping up?

Decision making - to race or not to race, that is the question

As ever I’ve been under the watchful eye and honest opinions of my physio Niamh (https://yourrehabphysio.com). We had a decision to make a couple of months ago, we knew the achilles tendon issues were here to stay. The options were to a) pull the plug on Berlin, treat the injury as an off season issue, focus on easy running, cross training and lots of tendon rehab in the gym with the hope of getting back to full training and largely pain free by the autumn. Or b) race Berlin, accepting this was an in-season injury, manage the pain as best we can with reduced intensity and no hills or speed, do a bit of rehab to stabilise the issue, and just get the thing done. Then focus on rehab fully after the race.

Clearly I chose option b! But I was starting from SO FAR behind, it was unbelievable. Having been very aerobically and endurance fit for the 100k in March, it was hard to accept that in May-June, with the injury and then 2 weeks taken out with what I believe was Covid or a Covid like virus, I was in no-man’s land struggling to put one foot in-front of the other. My lung function was shot to bits, with a 6:30 mile being at the absolute edge of my capacity. And my achilles hurt, every step of every day. I couldn’t wear my favourite shoes, even at work I was wearing trainers with a high heel-toe drop. Walking around on holiday at a water park all day in July nearly had me on crutches! I just couldn’t see how on earth I was getting round this marathon at anything other than a shuffle. I was unable to wear carbons for running but I found the 8mm drop on the Puma Deviate Pure at least allowed me to start building some miles at an aerobic base.

Training Through Injury

The first week in June I ran 22 miles. By the July I was up to 40miles per week. In August I averaged 60-65 miles per week, which I consider to be not far off optimal mileage for me at this stage of a marathon block. So the mileage is now where it needs to be. I’d also been working very hard in the gym, twice per week religiously, with lots of achilles specific isometric work, ankle stiffness, soleus and gastroc strengthening on top of the usual glute medius, quad, hamstring and core stability exercises required to keep my creaking body functioning at the level I want. It’s not pretty and it’s not that much fun, but I know that by following advice and staying consistent I will get my function and form back. Who knows, maybe this has all been a blessing in disguise and this new found gym routine will see me stronger and faster than ever in the future 🤔

Anyway, back to the training. Whilst I was able to build mileage, it was not easy. My early phase ‘long runs’ were 10-12 miles and EVERYTHING hurt. I was getting hip pain and DOMS in my right quad. Clearly my right leg was doing all of the work as I was trying to limit any toe off or power from my left. My normal pop and spring had gone, landing heavily and literally muscling through my sessions. My biomechanics were totally unsuited to this after years of working on a more elastic, high cadence flowing style. I was landing heavily on my left heel, unable to utilise any spring from my foot/achilles without significant pain. Running economy was at an all time low. Check out the wear pattern on the Nike Vaporfly I have been using for my intervals and threshold runs in the last couple of weeks.

But let’s focus on what was possible. I could run at threshold (by using heart rate as a metric) and started off doing simple sessions like 3km on 1km recovery x2, then x3, then I extended the threshold to 5km. I as barely holding 6:00/mile (3:43/km) and it was everything I had. I wanted to quit nearly every one of those sessions, my lack of fitness was depressing me given that in Nov 2025 I could hold 5:50 for 26.2miles. But I’ve been here before. I understand that regaining fitness doesn’t happen by avoiding the work, by quitting early, by fudging the sessions. It comes by giving your all, regardless of the pace, regardless of how hard it feels. Week by week I could go a little further, a little faster and my long runs got a bit longer with a bit less fatigue. The signs were there that my aerobic capacity was building, but the last time my paces looked like this was 2021 when I was aiming for sub 2:50. Berlin should have been my chance at 2:30, now I was staring at something nearly a minute per mile slower. A 5k TT on 1st July was 18:05, and left me absolutely finished by the end. The thought of doing that 8.5x in a row was like deciding to fly to the moon.

Through mid August I felt confident enough to commit to a proper marathon structure. Strides on my toes were still a no no, but the intervals - 5-6x 600m-1km were manageable. So whilst the pain was still there, with walking after a session or after sitting for a long time being especially problematic (limping like an old man), the function was improving. Then factoring in rest days or easy days to allow everything to settle before stressing the body again. This is the way with tendons….there is no magic bullet, no quick fix, just working within acceptable limits, allowing recovery and repair and hope the limit ceiling gets higher.

Belfast Victoria Parkrun test

By the last weekend of August I decided to risk a little tester at Belfast Victoria Parkrun. Flat and fast, normally with a good crowd to follow at pace. I started conservatively but quickly found my rhythm at about 5:30/mile and finished with a strong kick. 17:18 and probably a bit left in the tank. Nearly 60secs away from the times I was running in the build up to my 2:33 in NYC last year, but probably 60secs faster than where I thought I’d be. The next test is Laganside 10k this weekend. I ran a whisker over 34mins there last year, this year something starting with a 35 would feel like a win!

What can you do if you’re an injured runner?

If you’re suffering with something similar to achilles tendinopathy, keep the faith, look around for others who have suffered the same and ask their advice. Get a physio on board, do what you can to stay fit with gym and cross training and keep your mind from wandering into a depression. Those other injured runners…. They are back running, you will be too!