Malcolm's running diary by malcolms

I can’t believe that it’s nearly 3 weeks since the last blog. Shame on me. So here’s an update.

After doing my intervals on 16^th Jan quite fast, I did a 10 miler with Kate on the Wednesday in a good pace round a familiar route and then a 4 mile tempo run on the Thursday. Pace was good again and felt full of running. The following weekend I eased back with a two lap run totalling 11 miles, I kept the first lap easy as Kate joined me on the 2^nd lap and as it was her only run for the day I knew she would want to make it count, so I found myself doing it with a negative split even finishing with a 9:30 mile which I was pleased with. Legs felt good though slightly stiff and that rounded off another 30 mile week.

The following week it was intervals on Monday shorter run on the Wednesday and then a faster 5k on the Thursday before setting off on a 16 miler on the Saturday.

I was running the route that I had done two weeks previously which involved a long slow 4 mile climb, which to be honest you wouldn’t notice as it was so gradual. The pace early on was good and once again was full of running – going through the first 6 miles about a minute faster than previous but as the climb wore on I felt a slowly worsening pain in the front of my right shin. Reaching a crescendo where I had to stop. In the middle of nowhere.  8.5 miles.A few minutes rest and it eased but trying to jog again just brought it straight back. tter agony and despair. I rang my wife who came to collect me. Ice, nurofen, tubigrip, stetches….nothing seemed to work. Sunday was the same, so on Monday rang the physio.

I didn’t run on Monday or Wednesday but saw the physio later on Wednesday afternoon.

The great thing about physios is the morale boosting lift they give you.

My knees were pointing the wrong way, my feet were flat, posture useless, ankles weak, dorsiflexors were hopeless….you get the picture. Anyway she quickly found a trigger spot on my tibialis anterior and worked it like mad. It hurt, but as I could see her doing it I knew she was only using her hands. Some acupuncture & ultrasound followed. I then turned over and she found a similar spot in my calf muscle. Somewhere in the midst of all this she clearly popped out to Screwfix and got the latest power tool to work on my calf. It was a struggle to talk while she drilled into my muscles. She decided that as my feet are so useless I have overcompensated with calf muscles and have neglected my anterior muscles. Made sense at the time, honest. Needless to say I was still in pain the next morning from the “treatment” in the calf rather than the front of the shin.

Just goes to show, there is nowhere to hide once these physios get going.

I was allowed to run this weekend, but frankly was going stir crazy with not running so treated myself to a gentle 5 miler tonight. No repercussions so far. I am allowed to do 10 tomorrow, and see how that goes.

Fingers crossed. The marathon dream lives on, but it has taken a battering to be sure.