Monday 28 January 2013

Busy Doing Nothing, It’s A Pain In The Back

I like that song, reminds me of watching those old movies during my childhood, of course they weren’t so old then. For those who don’t know the song here’s the first verse:

WE'RE BUSY DOING NOTHING,
WORKING THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH.
TRYING TO FIND LOTS OF THINGS,
NOT TO DO.
WE'RE BUSY DOING NOTHING,
ISN T IT JUST A CRIME?
WE'D LIKE TO BE UNHAPPY,
BUT WE NEVER DO HAVE THE TIME

Simple but very truthful, I’ve met plenty of people who seem to be busy doing nothing.
Unfortunately it’s also how I feel about myself at the moment, I’m busy doing nothing, or rather I’m busy but unable to train. I’ve had a few issues with my back and hamstrings over the last couple of years and last Tuesday I was taken out of the game again with a back twinge. It seemed innocuous enough when it happened, a short sharp pain in the lower back and I stopped what I was doing, but it seems to be taking a long time to heal. It’s getting better day by day, but I just know by experience that it’s not quite right yet.

What caused it? I’m in absolutely no doubt that it has been caused by love, my love of cross country to be exact. Two weeks ago I was at Boggart Hole Clough slipping and sliding my way around one of the muddiest cross country courses I’ve been on. For four days following that experience I had aches in my lower back. One week ago, ache free, I ventured out to Leigh for another cross country race. This course was much more to my liking but there was a short section, a mini Boggart Hole Clough, that I struggled on and then just as I was making a long dash for the finish I slipped whilst taking a corner and nearly came a cropper, it’s that moment where I managed to keep my footing but clearly put undue pressure on my lower back that I believe is the culprit for my latest lay-off.

I’ve not done anything other than mobilisation and some mild back strengthening work and I had to miss making my debut at the Northern Cross Country Championships this Saturday. That was a bit annoying, but, judging by the reports I’ve heard and the pictures I’ve seen, was probably not a bad thing. Today, Monday, I was hoping I might be able to start jogging again, but the tell tale signs are still there and I need to be more patient. Maybe tomorrow, hopefully as I have two client fartleks booked on Wednesday. At least it’s only my running clients that have been affected, I’ve managed to work through with my gym fitness clients, even if it can be a bit painful at times.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you train, these little incidents can catch you when you’re at a weak point. I’ll admit I have been negligent on my lower back exercises, I will do better. But don’t think that I’m giving up on cross country, my relationship with cross country is a bit like a marriage, we have our glory days, though they seem to be mostly in the past, we have our arguments, but at the end of the day we’ll still be together for better of worse – though I’m not making any promises of returning to Boggart Hole Clough this winter.

Thankfully Salford’s Men’s team didn’t suffer any consequences from my absence as they ploughed through the mud for 5th place. The Ladies also acquitted themselves well with 7th. My mate Ray, who had to drive up on his own, as I felt unable to stand around for a long period of time, also had a good run, making the scoring team for Chester Tri, in 528th place.   

Hopefully next time I write I’ll be back doing what I do best. And to ensure I end on a positive, at least I missed running in some pretty horrible icy conditions. As I’ve often said, if you’re going to have an injury or an illness, at least have it when the weather’s rotten.




Written by Roger Alsop
www.rogeralsop.co.uk

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