So it looks like a while yet until I can run again. In fact running is becoming a bit of a distant memory and I almost don’t think of myself as a runner any more

I’ve been doing some work on the exercise bike but need to work hard to get my lungs going at anywhere near capacity as the leg muscles need working up. I did manage to do 5 miles a couple of times, and much faster the 2nd time, but ended up with huge sore welts on my bottom from the saddle So having to give that a rest for a little while now as well.

I guess all I can say is that sporting challenges very finely focus human motivation and the ability to triumph, but these are traits that nonetheless can be repeated in every aspect of our lives. Sometime the challenge is getting a PB on a race day, or running further than ever before. But at times the challenge is just getting through the day, or staying mentally strong to get over an injury, or coming through any of the other 100’s of trials and perils we face on a daily basis.

Because it suddenly came on during the run, I am hoping it’s an acute condition rather than a sign of something more serious/chronic - so hope it goes away as quickly as it came! Ah well - running and injuries - you run and learn!

After the long tunnel, my feet and legs were soaked and numb with the freezing water! I was still feeling good though, and turned back as planned. On the way back I started to feel quite heavy legged and felt I was tiring - but with only 4k to go to reach the 10 mile mark, I knew I could do it. Shortly after that my right hip started to twinge a bit, so I slowed, and just decided to make it back to Hulme’s Wood so I could then walk home. I passed what I thought was the right marker before my entry back into Haughton Dale via the waterfall, but soon I was approaching the cobbled footbridge on the way to Hyde, so had to turn back. This was when the real problems began - I headed into what I thought was the right path, and this ended up being a dead end into bushes. Out again, and I tried the next one - this looked more promising, but was very unfamiliar, I thought if I followed the path it must lead back through to Haughton Dale - I had no idea where the correct path had gone! There was a treacherous path, wet and unstable, over a deep drop, and then the path went down a very steep hill covered with tree roots, and I ended up at the side of some kind of river or stream, with no further way forward - now I was at the bottom of a huge hill, and looking up it I couldn’t make out where the “path” was I had just come down, so I had to make my way up and it was almost vertical; I had to grab tree roots with my hands to drag myself up at some points! Finally I got back to the canal and the next path I tried, although unfamiliar, did lead through to the waterfall. I had expended a lot of energy for a 10 minute kilometer and was feeling really dead now, but managed to tick over the last k and by 16.1 at the foot of the hill back up into Haughton Green I could hardly pick one leg up after another.

It was a struggle to walk home, and the hip started flaring up more and more. After sitting down to check a few emails, etc, I stood up and almost fell over, wincing with the pain of putting the slightest weight on my right hip. I had to take mega painkillers to be able to do a couple of things I needed to do. In all, I think the atrocious underfoot conditions are what caused both my hip problem and unusual tiredness - there was a lot of slipping and sliding, running at odd angles with weird impacts and over such a long distance/time this took its toll. The Indiana Jones excursion into the wilderness didn’t help either, as I was already struggling by then!

Ah well, it is a lesson learned, that 10 milers over rough underfoot conditions are probably not a good idea, at least for me. Maybe 5 miles next time, and when the hip is better I will try a long run on the road.

Although I didn’t feel up to it much, I wanted to get out to keep the legs turning over, so planned a 5k jog. It was freezing, so I didn’t hang around too much but set off a bit quickly to get warm. Did the first k in 4:50 then just decided to keep it going. Fourth k really hurt as the split shows, slowed to 5 mins per k after doing my fastest k split to date of 4:34. Desperation to get under 24 minutes kept the legs going near the end but staggered over 5k as Garmin clocked the last metre and 1 tenth of a second over 24 minutes

Still, a PB despite feeling totally rubbish when I walked out the door, and didn’t do much of a warmup either, so there has been improvement even though I took a week off, which must have done me some good too!

Splits were:

4:50
4:45
4:34
5:00
4:48

Didn’t want to go out to run at all especially in weather, having got used to the milder weather of earlier - now facing freezing cold, gusty wind and pouring rain - but forced myself again (as I will have to get used to it!) and started to feel my old self once I’d got past 4k and warmed up a bit, and even got a bit annoyed with myself and sprinted up a hill to get the endorphins flowing. Was planning 7k but threw in an extra k to make it 8 and threw in a speedy last 300 metres.

Managed average pace of 5:20 per k, which is faster than my comeback run over 5k at the weekend, so I am coming backfor real now - felt knackered by the end of this one though. But glad to get back into the over 5k territory and will slowly build back up

I was pretty ok once I started, albeit breathing hard, and the legs were turning over a lot quicker than in the last 5k I did on Sat, so without really trying I ran under 26 mins on what was planned as just a nice easy paced run. It started pouring down second half of run and I couldn’t keep rain out of my eyes! I think I need a few more 5k’s under the belt before I really get going again, felt a bit knackered at the end of this, but then again could be down to the lack of sleep and had no appetite at all yesterday and didn’t eat much over the weekend. Cold going round so maybe I am symptomlessly fighting it off.

Planned a 5k jog around random streets. It felt a bit cold to start with but soon warmed up and the sun seemed to be beating down.  Pace was nothing special but legs were feeling a bit heavy.  This was my first run of my “off” season - I have no races planned, and the next 10k (my preferred race distance at the mo) looks like being not until next year. It was a bit strange running without the motivation of an upcoming race and the possibility of a PB - so just made sure I completed 5k, and think I will need another few recovery runs like this back to back just to get back into the swing of things, before I start attempting time trials and hill work and long runs again

The race started at 11:15, so I had ordered my taxi for 10. I got there with plenty of time to spare and managed to locate the toilets. I also had chance to enjoy watching the 3k fun run for young athletes before getting myself geared up for the main event. I did some stretches and for a minute thought I had damaged my hamstring but it was just a spasm as I managed to go and jog around the track a few times, and after a few trips to the loo it was time to be under starters orders!

This was quite a small race compared to some I’ve done, so I milled around near the back of the pack as usual, and then the horn went. Starting off on the track was a bit confusing - we did 2 and a bit laps before heading off on to the road, so I asked this lady I was passing if it was all on the track, lol! I set off pretty slowly, trying not to go off madly, and just get into a rhythm, as I knew some hills were coming and didn’t want to blow up half way through the race. Off we went on to the road and things were already thinned out where I was. A veteran lady (Louise Gilchrist) I have seen at other races came past me, and we headed into the park, down something of a slope, as I clocked the first k in 4:39, and then another couple of ladies overtook me, then we reached the first hill, where I powered up and overtook the ladies and the veteran, and left them behind, as well as leaving behind some people who were clearly knackered by the top of the hill and I must admit my legs felt a bit wobbly, but I just carried on trying to maintain my pace. Weaving around the park was lovely, it was lovely and sunny but I was feeling pretty hot already, just kept reminding myself of all the training, and just to keep going.

Further on, the veteran lady and the other two ladies came past me again as we went round an out and back cone extension thing, and then we got to the biggest hill of the course and I took them again there and left them behind again. Just after the cone extension there were some small dogs wandering around off leads, the marshall nearby had obviously told this woman to leash them, because she was yelling, “Yeah, I’m selfish aren’t I, you miserable, nasty old bast&*$”. I’m sure she would have been delighted if a runner had run into one of the beasts injuring the thing. By that point I had been running sub 50 pace, my splits for the first 3-4 k were all under 5 minutes but the hills were double whammies - first slowing me going up them, and then the sapping effect they had on legs and energy, so about k’s 6. 7 and 8 I lost quite a bit of time. I kept digging deep, and there were some people in the distance in front of me who I caught over the last 2k. The ladies and veteran caught me again, but I left them on the hill again, and thereafter I overtook some people and there was one chap I clung to like glue but he still passed the line a second before me - the hills had taken it out of my legs, and although I was motoring the last 200m, I couldn’t really call it a sprint! I stopped the Garmin at 51:40 - and was amazed that I had had taken a chunk off my PB again - when the last PB was gained on a flat PB course in perfect conditions

My Garmin went a bit haywire in the last 2k - it was clocking k’s just shy of the markers all the way round, and then towards the end it showed 8.4k, and next time I looked it had gone down to 8.27, and was stuck at 8.5 when I went past the 9k marker. Figure it must have been the extesive foliage overhead, as I don’t have a supersensitive GPS model, just the old Forerunner 101! Still, it did me good for the time and the early splits - I know now on a flat course, I can run sub 50 pace for the first 5k, and without hills to sap my speed and energy, I feel confident I could maintain that for another 5k. Now I just need another 10k race, but there may not be one until the spring, so it’s time to look at my winter strategy and I aim to smash through 50 minutes first race back next season

It seems the recent race and hard training miles all coming one after another have finally caught up! I was going to run easy on Friday, but might try to gain something from a full 2 days rest before a light jog on Saturday before Sunday’s race. Or I may even take 3 days off altogether, as my body is telling me it needs to recover, and there is no point being knackered for what could well be my last race for sometime!

Lesson learned: Increasing mileage and including hard hill reps leaves you needing a rest, so I am going to take one, and try to catch up on sleep and eat well