No niggles so far, thankfully, and amazing how the fitness starts to build back up – but as I’m just going to increase the mileage gradually, and then maybe worry about speed next spring!

Anyway, off I went and felt good, just keep the pace slightly slower than Sunday’s run as didn’t want to burn out and the idea was to increase the distance and endurance just a little, not go out all guns blazing. So I ran a pretty random route. It was nice to get a bit more into a run – the ones lately have been pretty short, so no sooner have I got myself geared up and going, than it’s time to halt again, and that can play some pretty odd tricks with the old running psychology! But this time, at 2k, I was able to settle into a steady rhythm and keep going for the remainder of the run, and it felt pretty good to do so. Was breathing hard but steady and not wincing with the effort as I was on Sunday, and clocked 24:41 for the 4k, so at least am now running for around 25 minutes at a time and will keep upping the pace and distance very gradually.

No speed work, intervals, or madness like that for me just yet! No races planned, so I can progress at my leisure now, though this is the first season where I have pretty much missed all my favourite races And to think I got that PB sub 50 10k right at the beginning. Ah well, let’s see how I come out of the blocks after, fingers crossed, a gentle winter’s build up to great things

Still, I have managed to keep running with no re-injury problems so far, fingers crossed. It has been proving quite hard to claw the fitness back but I am slowly getting there, increasing the distance in very small increments.

I am now up to the grand old distance of two miles. I ran this last week in 19:43, and then this Sunday just gone, I went out and ran the 2 miles in 18:56 – so my speed and endurance are very slowly coming back and the plan is to persist with the gradualism and not try to do too much too soon.

I have also been swimming on and off, though my discipline for getting to the pool isn’t great at the moment, what with all the kids throwing beach balls around and being annoying.

Onwards and upwards!!

First run since Bolton 10k on April 25th. Ran 400m, back felt a bit odd so walked for a bit, then ran the next 1200m. Actually ran further than I thought, could have gone further I expect, but didn’t want to push the legs in any way. That I’ve run a mile is a miracle. Ten minute mile seems to be my absolute slowest possible pace without walking!

Will try another in a few days.

No knee pain, so far. Fingers crossed, eh?

To recap – prior to the Bolton 10k, I had a trapped nerve left shoulder, which was going away, then had bad lower back pain for 24 hours, which vanished, and then ran the Bolton 10k with no problems until the last k, where I started feeling pain in my groin area and had to limp to the finish line. After the race it was hard to walk with the pain, and the pain seemed to move down the thigh and into the knee subsequently, where it has remained ever since, apart from occasionally seeming to move back up to the groin…

So a month later, there is still some pain on walking, so I took myself off to the physio. I went in and gave him an account of what happened, and also explained that I have a long standing issue with that knee from when I was 21 – once, while playing cricket in a drunk state, with a crazily inappropriate action, my leg collapsed under me with a blaze of pain – and this happened several times, once when jumping over a wall, and in fact the worst time was actually just turning over in bed. I went to hospital, they X-rayed, etc. Didn’t have a clue. I went to my on campus doctor. Didn’t have a clue, so I left it… And every now and then the knee would still “lock” if it got nudged at the wrong angle, and I would have to really pull my heel back against my backside in order to “pop” it back into place.. When I started running I came across the concept of meniscus tears, and my symptoms seemed to fit 100% so I figured I have one of those… And was extremely worried upon hearing that untreated they can cause bad arthritis (NB I tried twice to get NHS treatment at the onset of the problem and it was not dealt with very cluefully, let’s say…)

In any case, my new friend the physio did some tests involving me moving my leg and placing pressure on different places, and did what he called a patellar apprehension test – and pointed out my leg was like rock, compared to the other one, as my brain was doing its utmost to prevent another episode of the “locked knee” problem. I wasn’t quite with him at the time, having been convinced for years I have a meniscus tear – but he said he was 95% sure it wasn’t a cartilage problem, ie not meniscus, as those seemed OK – but that I could keep dislocating my knee cap – eek! He also said that my current issue could be caused by some kind of scraping of the knee cap, which is solveable… Anyway, he then did an ultrasound and I am due to go back in for the results and further instructions next week.

I looked up the knee cap displacement thing and it’s called patellar dislocation or possibly subluxation (not as severe as dislocation but can lead to it). It makes sense to me that this could be it, and looks like the symptons being similar to a layperson, it was easy to mistake for a meniscus type injury (especially the “locking” that was fixable by moving the joint/stretching/bending the knee). So looks like that could be it – and the current pain is possibly chondromalacia caused by something in there scraping together.

I guess what still worries me, until the ultrasound results – is that a) the injury had a very sudden onset rather than something that appeared as overuse over time b) I built up very slowly and at 15 miles a week was not doing very high mileage c) it’s stuck around for a long time now, after no running…

I guess I will just have to wait and leave it in the expert hands of my physio therapist, sports injury expert, medical type new friend and keep my fingers crossed he will be able to give me positive news and get me back running sooner or later. Even if it’s later, I’ll take that!

I had been aware of the fact, ever since the Bolton 10k, that my season’s preparations were in tatters, and that the next race, the Great Manchester Run, being a bit of a ritual for me, and for charity, could be in some jeopardy So at some point my twisted mind gave birth to the idea of joining the fancy dress fun runners, and not long after, the concept of running it as a daffodil sprung up (pardon the pun!) – I was running to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care after all! So I started sourcing the goods to make it all happen! I got my race pack, and was in the white wave, but on the day just had to elect to run in the pink wave. Well, walk in the pink wave, with my right leg buggered to buggery, there was no way I would be running

And so it was not going to be a day for fast running, PB’s, or anything serious – but a day to savour the atmosphere of Britain’s premiere 10k, the Great Manchester Run, and just enjoy being out and running with 36,000 other runners. My eve of race ritual was a little different, concentrating not on eating well or resting, but making sure my daffodil head fit! And then the day itself came, up a little late – and then I braved my neighbourhood streets in my green tights, tutu, and yellow top – saving the daffodil head for the race itself. But I was not to get away with it! There were another bunch of pink wavers at the bus stop – girls – and they insisted I put on my daffodil head for a group photo, and then we piled on the bus and I got admiring comments about my legs. As we arrived in town, I jumped off at Piccadilly and went to get daffodilled up in the loos, and finally emerged resplendent as a bone fide daffodil.

I went to join the pink wave, and got someone to take a photo with my camera, so I could text various friends who had sponsored me. And then it was time for the off and I finally got to the start line mats! It was an odd experience having to walk, I couldn’t even have managed a jog with my knee – yet I knew on a good day uninjured I would have been flying past all these people… But this soon wore off and I just resigned myself to walking. The 1k marker came up pretty quickly, but without my Garmin I had no idea how long it really took – and it would turn out I was in for the long haul in this race! Along Chester road I was overtaken by a caterpillar and accosted by a mad woman shouting “Ray, Ray, Ray!!!” at me – it would later turn out this was someone off Runners’ Forum who had recognised the daffodil outfit but had forgotton I go by the name of Road Runner Rob and not Road Runner Ray It was amusing that I just didn’t click at the time!

Towards old Trafford I decided I needed to use the loo, so looked out for the portaloos – there were some of those weird public urinal things, but decorum insisted that I didn’t stand at one of those as I would have to pull down my tights, skirt, shorts and underpants in public, so I waited for a cubicle. I have never “been” in a race before, so it was another novel experience! So much so I would avail myself again later! This was becoming more like a leisurely sunday walk than anything else, particularly so as the runners thinned out and the roads were sparsely populated. At the 5k drinks station I asked if they had Baby Bio for me but am not sure if they got the joke – and then at the 5k timing mats my sister texted me to ask what time I had finished in

At about 7k Bats off RF started texting me encouragement and said he would wait at the end for me. Poor soul had a long wait but his e-cheerleading text service was appreciated! I gave the showers a miss! And then it was the final walk down towards the finish. I joked with a couple of people proferring vaseline coated rubber-gloved fingers, that although it may look like it, I wouldn’t be welcoming of such attentions – and then finally into the finishing straight, which although less populated than it would have been earlier in the race, still had a good crowd showing – the good thing was I had it more or less to myself, so raised my hands, waved to the crowd, and even managed a flowery little bow as the cameras clicked away, and even got my name announced by the commentator as I crossed the line waving my petals about.

Then I met Bats briefly, before going home to get changed, then going back to catch some of the Great City Games and hooking up with Bats again – both of us ending up on the telly as two shady looking characters standing in a doorway.

So no PB, not even a run – but in a way probably one of the best things I have ever done. You just have to take what you’ve got and do your best with it, is my philosophy. And so I had a ball and wandered lonely as a daffodil

Here are the pics – I will post the video of my Great Manchester Run finish in a subsequent post!

With thanks to Liz, Rachel(s), Janine, Neil, Dawn, Dave (bats), the mad woman, Ray (whoever he is) and the entire daffodil support team Oh and my time? 01:45:50

Did an OK time but was struggling as went off too fast, really don’t know what happened to the leg, as apart from my back problems, there was nothing wrong with the leg

Hey ho – was good to see Neil and Dawn though…

2k warm up

5×800@

3:19
3:36
3:34
3:49
3:35

with 3 minute walking recoveries

Took ages to recover from first one and never quite got back into it – I would start the laps off at decent speed and at about 400m I just hit some kind of treacle or force field and started slowing down and my gasping rate was off the scale. I was giving it everything put just couldn’t a) push the pace up and b) maintain anything much under 7 minute mile pace.

Cooldown – walked, couldn’t be arsed by that point!

Not done intervals for a while so maybe speed edge goes off quickly – or i just need more rest after park run on Sat and a higher mileage week (for me!) last week, will probably take week easy now and let the batteries recharge ready for Bolton 10k.