Well it’s been four weeks since my last blog and I suppose
that’s mainly due to me having nothing much to say, certainly from a running
point of view. The winner of the free entry, mentioned in the previous blog,
for The Spartan Race was Paul Simons. Not only did he win the free entry but he
won the race he was put into. Well done Paul. I’d mentioned that I also had an
entry should I choose to enter. I’ll admit I wasn’t that bothered but in the
end I picked up some injuries that meant it would have been a particularly
stupid thing for me to take part.
This year’s injury woe goes back to May, just when I was
starting to find some form I got a niggle in my groin. I thought it was
manageable and I was able to represent Salford in the BMAF Road Relays, where
we picked up silver medals. A couple of weeks after that it started to get
worse so I rested it, not easy when you spend your life showing people how to
get fit.
I had an entry for the Hollins Green 5k, I’d entered after
the BMAF relays, confident of a sub 17 clocking, but I didn’t think I’d be able
to take part as I was resting and losing fitness right up to the day. On the
morning of, I decided to try a short run, groin was ok, but it had only been
slow. However we were going to be in the Hollins Green area that afternoon so I
might as well turn up and, if nothing else, I could have a pleasant run around
the new circuit. So I did.
But, running’s one thing, racing’s another, after a bit of
discomfort in the first 200m, I settled down and realised I was running ok and
was also not doing too badly. Being around a few of my regular competitors was
like a red rag to a bull so naturally the competitive instinct kicked in and I
started to push the pace. I still felt good, and I felt surprisingly fit,
considering the lay off I’d had. Coming up towards the finish I realised I was
actually on for a time not that far off my season’s best, so I pushed harder,
and that was the mistake. Clearly the groin issue had caused my other muscles
to tighten up and I felt my hamstring go, thankfully only 10m before the finish
line. I hobbled over and still managed a 17:21 clocking.
At first I thought it was just a minor strain but I was
unable to run on it for over a week. The following weekend we were booked to go
to Spain, my intention, when we booked it, was to fine tune my training before
the BMAF 5000m, but now I was just hoping I’d be able to run whilst out there.
Spain was hot, but I don’t mind that, and I was keen to
start running. So I did, on the day after we arrived I went for a 5 minute
spin. Well it was actually a shuffle and a very uncomfortable one at that, but
no reaction on the hamstring, so later that day I did 10 minutes, this time
with Carole. I felt much better and much looser, such that, although I wasn’t
actually going that fast, Carole was struggling to keep up with me. The next
day was 15 minutes, much quicker again and I was starting to feel like I was
going to be ok. A gradual build up over the week saw me get close to the hour
and feeling good, I even threw in a speed session. Just one little annoyance, a
niggle in my left knee, the same one I get occasionally. It wasn’t stopping me
doing anything so I thought I’d just monitor it.
there was even a 10k on while we were there but I wasn't ready for that, shame I enjoy racing when conditions are hot |
Arriving home my first session was a speed session, but this
time the knee started to hurt more. I decided to lay off the pace and just run
for a few days, then by Friday it started really hurting. So I’ve made the
decision to stop again and see if a rest will serve as a cure all, again, not
ideal when you’re working in the fitness industry.
I’ve got a scan booked on my groin, it’s still niggling, but
come the day, I might see if I can get them to scan my knee too, I’m not
hopeful but if I smile nicely you never know.
Effectively that closes the book on 2015, the re-ignition of
my enthusiasm for racing, following the BMAF Road Relays, has been dampened down.
I no longer have any interest in racing, I know this will change once I’m clear
of injuries but I suspect it’ll take me a while to get back any decent level of
fitness, in the mean time I’m trying to do anything that I can to keep fit and
healthy, without causing any further grief, but it isn’t easy.
Written by Roger Alsop
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