Joy - tired legs but no calf injury

Tuesday - Trail run
Route: Aspley Heath loop
Distance: 9.82 miles
Ascent / descent: +823' / -792'
Time: 01:23:39
Splits: 7:59 (fastest), 9:13 (slowest), 8:31 (average)

I went for my first run on Tuesday since pulling my calf muscle last week in a daft accidental overly zealous stretching move. The first run back from an injury, regardless of however small, is a little nerve wracking when you have the biggest race of the year so far in less than 2 weeks. I reckoned that the worst case scenario would see me lose most of this week training wise but I'd still be fine for the Fling even if my calf twinged during the run. A few other folk have also suddenly come down with injuries of one sort or another over the past week (Tim, Tom and Davie B - best wishes to you all!).

Anyway the run started off fine. Actually it felt really good. The sun was out and shining through the pine trees of Aspley Heath as I started and it felt good running and jumping over the gnarled roots and tree stumps that pepper the forest floor. I felt a few twinges after about a mile but began to think stop it dafty, you are looking for odd feelings. I find I do this after an injury - when I run I almost try to feel something wrong somewhere. I decided to ignore the tiny little funny feelings here and there and just run.

The sun disappeared and a chill wind began to strip the heat from my hands but my legs kept it together through the various ups and downs of this run (see profile below) which is about half way between my work and house. I finished the run in a pretty quick time for this route with my muscles feeling fatigued and perhaps a little tight in places but nothing to complain about. Roll on the Fling!

I hope the other injured WHWR runners make a speedy recovery.




Aspleu Heath 10 mile loop elevation profile (about as hilly as it gets in MK)

Wednesday - Road and towpath run
Route: Great Brickhill - Grand Union Canal loop
Distance: 7.97 miles
Ascent / descent: +246' / -234'
Time: 01:03:26
Splits: 7:50 (fastest), 8:29 (slowest), 7:58 (average)

I thought it best not to push my calf too much by doing another trail run so opted instead for the convenience of one of the road and canal loop runs that I can do straight from my house. This worked a bit better with taking care of baby Eilidh who is going through some developmental spurt just now is consequently a bit grumpy.

My legs felt surprisingly exercised from the previous night's trail run which did slightly bother me - I only did 10 miles, why were my legs so muscle fatigued? Not sure, but I dug in and ran the route around the 8 min/mile average mark with a speed up towards the end.

My wife gave my legs a quick massage to relieve some tight spots on my calves and my ITB. I've not seen my regular physio for a few weeks now as he is racing (cycling) in the US. I see him every 2-3 weeks and find this necessary to keep my legs free of niggling complaints. I won't see him till after the Fling so am a little nervous that my legs will tighten up too much. Well, that's my excuse for getting a massage from Kirstin, my wife. (sshh nobody tell her).



Great Brickhill - Grand Union canal loop elevation profile

Thursday - Trail run
Route: Aspley Heath loop
Distance: 9.77 miles
Ascent / descent: +836' / -805'
Time: 01:27:04
Splits: 8:05 (fastest), 9:20 (slowest), 8:55 (average)

The three runs I have done this week have upped my mid-week mileage towards the 30 mark, which I intend to maintain (with rest weeks post-race and tapering) until the WHWR. I'll combine this with a long (23-25 mile) run at the weekend. I think I'll have to start eating more to do this though as I got to about 2 miles from the end of the run today (Thursday) and started to feel my head go foggy and hunger come on very quickly. Its a sure sign of decreasing blood sugar when all you can think about is greasy and/or sugary food mmm fish n chips. I've never bonked in a short (10 mile) training run before, or in fact in any training run but I wasn't carrying any food or water so had no choice but to hope I had enough sugar left in my system to get back to my car and a waiting bottle of ribena. I managed it at a slower pace than I'd wanted to run at and will now have a serious think about what and how much extra to eat as my training intensity increases towards the big date in June.