Today's race was the first in the BlackSheep Series - the Fountains Abbey 10k.
Having resigned myself on Monday to having a 0% chance of running due to calf injuries, Thursday's brutal physio session with the former Birmingham City FC Head Physio meant that the knots had been unknotted and the legs able to run free(ish).
So, a 4th place finish in today's race was a satsifactory result. I am my harshish critic, and could have finished higher but the legs did not respond well to the hills and pushing them even more with dodgy calves could have meant re-occurence of injury. At 7k I tried to kick and nothing happened!!!
Thirsk & Sowerby won the team prize, and with Gary Dunn back for Ripon that will strengthen the team's credentials immeasurably. Only problem with being a coeliac is that I can't drink beer and so the BlackSheep Ale will find its way to willing drinkers down here in Brum.
25 miles training in 3 weeks is not ideal but I've already moved on to Ripon and hope everyone that beat me today races there so I can take them on in better shape. Anyway, I'll be wearing different trainers there as the ones I used today are caked in mud - so much so that I can't even tell if they are trainers to be honest.
Sunday 25 April 2010
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Lazarus
Been a while since my last blog mainly because of depression through injury.
I managed to race in the Easter Monday 10 mile on 5 April and was 2nd in 56m 39s. Really pleased (and with the prize money!) but I was held back by a calf injury in the right leg which then spread to the left leg as I had over-compensated in the race.
Unable to barely walk for 2 weeks I took matters into my own hands and treated myself to a self-harm session. No, not beer or drugs, but a deep tissue massage to unravel the clots/knots in my legs. Those who have had intenes physio know of that pain, but fingers crossed it has worked a miracle cure. Who knows, maybe the BlackSheep Gods have intervened for me.
From zero running to a 5k run on Tuesday, and then a 10k run today. Not super fast but fast enough and more importantly pain-free enough to cause me to be optimistic about not only making the start but also of finishing in one piece. Hopefully I can make a good fight of it with the leaders but I will of course miss the 2+ weeks of not running, but as long as I have two legs that can run pain-free I will use my lion heart to do the rest. My rivals legs may be in better shape and better prepared, but if I'm in touching distance with two miles I'll be happy to test their mental strength.
Will be making the trip north with the new Adidas Adizero shorts I bought today. All that remains is wrapping up in cotton wool and thinking about what footwear is best - the course should be dry given the forecast so I think it's the newish T6 racers.
I managed to race in the Easter Monday 10 mile on 5 April and was 2nd in 56m 39s. Really pleased (and with the prize money!) but I was held back by a calf injury in the right leg which then spread to the left leg as I had over-compensated in the race.
Unable to barely walk for 2 weeks I took matters into my own hands and treated myself to a self-harm session. No, not beer or drugs, but a deep tissue massage to unravel the clots/knots in my legs. Those who have had intenes physio know of that pain, but fingers crossed it has worked a miracle cure. Who knows, maybe the BlackSheep Gods have intervened for me.
From zero running to a 5k run on Tuesday, and then a 10k run today. Not super fast but fast enough and more importantly pain-free enough to cause me to be optimistic about not only making the start but also of finishing in one piece. Hopefully I can make a good fight of it with the leaders but I will of course miss the 2+ weeks of not running, but as long as I have two legs that can run pain-free I will use my lion heart to do the rest. My rivals legs may be in better shape and better prepared, but if I'm in touching distance with two miles I'll be happy to test their mental strength.
Will be making the trip north with the new Adidas Adizero shorts I bought today. All that remains is wrapping up in cotton wool and thinking about what footwear is best - the course should be dry given the forecast so I think it's the newish T6 racers.
Saturday 3 April 2010
Injury Rollercoaster
The last 36 hours have been traumatic.
On Friday I tried on my new lightweight Saucony Grid Type A3 trainers for a gentle 10 miles on the treadmill. Well, I say gentle, I mean around a 60 min 10 mile which I think is reasonable now.
About 6 miles in I felt a twinge in the right calf, and carried on for another 1/2 mile, knowing I had warmed up properly and was in fully fit shape an hour before. Then I couldn't carry on and stopped before I did some damage. I literally couldn't walk properly on my right leg and it felt like I'd strained or torn maybe a tendon, or trapped a nerve? Not such a Good Friday eh?
Ice to the ready, Ibugel, anything, a call to the physio.
This morning having had the ice pack on the leg was vastly improved, and a physio session at 9am has really helped. The cause we agreed was the new shoes so they are going on ebay and will be replaced by a pair of Adidas Adios shoes.
Not sure if I'll be able to race on Easter Monday (10 mile)but thanking my lucky stars that Fountains Abbey 10k should be fine.
Oh, nearly forgot about last week's race - first triathlon of the year. 12th (out of around 300), which was disappointing and great in equal portions. Only one swim in 4 months and managed a 7m 6s 400m, which is good for me (around 7m flat is my best), and was quickest in the 5k run. Cycling was mediocre thanks to the wrong wheel choice (a disc in windy conditions is a poor choice) which was due to my lateness in registering and no time to change the wheel, and then my chain came off in the race as I moved from low to high gears too quickly, another mistake by yours truly.
The good thing is that I was 12th due to making technical mistakes rather than physical ability. The technical errors can be ironed out and then the physical stuff takes care of itself. If I had technical ability but no physical ability then I'd be struggling. I do learn from every triathlon but as there is so much to learn it's tough to do a perfect race but one can hope.
On Friday I tried on my new lightweight Saucony Grid Type A3 trainers for a gentle 10 miles on the treadmill. Well, I say gentle, I mean around a 60 min 10 mile which I think is reasonable now.
About 6 miles in I felt a twinge in the right calf, and carried on for another 1/2 mile, knowing I had warmed up properly and was in fully fit shape an hour before. Then I couldn't carry on and stopped before I did some damage. I literally couldn't walk properly on my right leg and it felt like I'd strained or torn maybe a tendon, or trapped a nerve? Not such a Good Friday eh?
Ice to the ready, Ibugel, anything, a call to the physio.
This morning having had the ice pack on the leg was vastly improved, and a physio session at 9am has really helped. The cause we agreed was the new shoes so they are going on ebay and will be replaced by a pair of Adidas Adios shoes.
Not sure if I'll be able to race on Easter Monday (10 mile)but thanking my lucky stars that Fountains Abbey 10k should be fine.
Oh, nearly forgot about last week's race - first triathlon of the year. 12th (out of around 300), which was disappointing and great in equal portions. Only one swim in 4 months and managed a 7m 6s 400m, which is good for me (around 7m flat is my best), and was quickest in the 5k run. Cycling was mediocre thanks to the wrong wheel choice (a disc in windy conditions is a poor choice) which was due to my lateness in registering and no time to change the wheel, and then my chain came off in the race as I moved from low to high gears too quickly, another mistake by yours truly.
The good thing is that I was 12th due to making technical mistakes rather than physical ability. The technical errors can be ironed out and then the physical stuff takes care of itself. If I had technical ability but no physical ability then I'd be struggling. I do learn from every triathlon but as there is so much to learn it's tough to do a perfect race but one can hope.
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