Something Is Better Than Nothing

Last week ended on a sore note: I had a sharp pain in my foot which didn’t go away when I stopped running.

The pain was still there on Monday, but easing a bit on Tuesday, so by Wednesday I felt able to try a gentle run.  I was particularly apprehensive because I was away from home with work, so had no access to my Injury Peas if things weren’t great afterwards (on a lighter note, never, ever mistake your Injury Peas for your cooking peas.  My idiot proof system sees them stored in different parts of the freezer in different packaging).  Thankfully things were ok, although there was still clearly a little inflammation because some soreness remained, albeit not acute and sharp like it had been.  Having survived 5 miles easy on Wednesday, I did 6 miles on Thursday.  It was more of the same: nothing acute and sharp, but not quite right.  Having returned home on Thursday evening, I ran on Friday morning, but kept it to 5 miles.  The case I’d been doing was pretty emotionally draining, and I felt exhausted.

On Saturday, I threw caution to the wind and did 6 miles with some strides.  Really curiously, that seemed to help the foot (no, I don’t understand that either: running faster is usually more intensive, and likely to aggravate weaknesses.  I have no idea why that didn’t happen on Saturday).  On a non-running note, I then went for an amazing lunch with my parents at Casamia.  I do love a really fancy lunch as a (very) occasional treat, and this was sublime.  The wine flight was also sublime, but a bit more booze than I’d normally drink, so I came home rather merry.

This morning I ran 9 miles, still on the flat (it’s been a week of running on the flat to keep things as stable for the foot as I can).  The foot still isn’t niggle free, and I’ve returned to icing it as a precaution, which does seem to help (and supports my theory that whatever happened a week ago was some sort of very minor tear or strain which is slowly healing).  30 miles for the week, almost all steady.  But something is better than nothing, and too much would be worse than something, and ultimately lead to nothing!  Here’s hoping the gradual improvement continues next week.  I am at least mostly Bristol based so will have access to frozen peas in the mornings and evenings to look after it better.

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Signs Of The Times aka When Your Sanity Hangs By A Thread

A fortnight has passed since my last blog.

Two weeks ago I was feeling TATT: Tired All The Time.  I dragged myself around a recovery run on the Monday and then – perhaps foolishly – to my club’s 5km race on the Tuesday.  I finished just outside 20 minutes, which was a bit disappointing, as I figured I was in at least 19.45 shape.  Heigh ho.  And then slept like a log that night.  I ran a steady 10 miles the next day after work and had a sports massage.  Then, after a rehearsal, slept like a log again.  I took Thursday as my rest day.  Slept like a log (there’s a theme here) and did a recovery run on Friday.  I was still absolutely exhausted on Saturday, and so took an extra rest day.  The fact the weather was absolutely disgusting helped seal the deal there!  On the Sunday I had a long rehearsal (10-5) and was exhausted afterwards, so took a third rest day.  A grand total of 27 miles for the week, and about 6 hours’ extra sleep!  I can only assume that my body was battling and just about holding off a virus of some sort, hence my legs feeling rubbish and my times being slow.

On Monday this week I still felt pretty tired, but managed a steady hour (7.5 miles), and the same on Tuesday.   It wasn’t until Wednesday that my energy levels finally felt a bit more normal, and my 7.5 miles was slightly more spritely.  I took Thursday as a rest day and then ran another 7.5 miles on Friday.  By Saturday, even if the weather wasn’t great, I was feeling brave enough for my first attempt at faster running in a week and a half: 4 x 1 miles, the same as the workout I’d done a few weeks before.  It was a bit cold and windy, so I persuaded myself that explained times which were about 5-10 seconds down on the last attempt at the session.  And then as I cooled down I was very, very cold: I finished with pain in my hands and arms as the wind chill really took effect once my pace slowed.  It took a hot bath and a cooked brunch to help me defrost!  I had a concert on Saturday evening and was feeling a bit groggy after the post-concert beers as I headed off for my run.  It never quite lifted, so I opted to cut the run short at about 10 miles, to bring up 50 miles for the week rather than 55.  I bumped into a club mate who joined me for the last half mile, and just after he peeled off to finish his run, I felt a sharp pain on the top of my left foot (that’s the weak side).  It hasn’t really gone all day, despite some icing and strapping, although it has eased a bit.  I’m hoping that it will feel better tomorrow and it was just a tired muscle going into a spasm.  I’ll keep you posted, but safe to say I’m not going to risk racing next weekend.  Even if I do ‘get away’ with whatever this is, I’m not prepared to risk aggravating yet another injury.