Tapering and Taped

Apologies to small children and those of a nervous disposition for the following bum shot. But in the spirit of "a picture is worth a thousand words" I thought I'd stick this one in. What you're seeing is a result of my local physio deciding that my hip pain is due to my "side bum" muscles being weak relative to my "back bum" muscles, allowing excessive lateral movement in my hip joint. So he taped me up very tightly, like a belt, in an attempt to reduce that lateral movement.

It seems to have helped a bit. I've done two short runs since getting taped - a 40 minute and a 30 minute - and the pain is manageable. And by manageable I mean that ibuprofen is, and will be, my best friend.

I'm in the "tapering" phase of my training program... the winding down, the calm before the storm. The theory is that all the hard work is done, and now it's about ensuring that I'm in the best, most rested shape I can be in for race day - which is a week today as I type.

Despite the hip issues, I'm feeling excited and strangely confident about the marathon. That said, I think there's a huge amount of naivety in my confidence :-)