2008/09 - Winter

[El Gordo]

The news just got bad again. Full of confidence that my troubles were behind me (ho ho), I went out for a short run this afternoon. I lasted about 50 yards, and it went again. Not as painful as last time, but a sudden seizure that stopped me in my tracks. I tried very slowly jogging for a bit to see if I could run through it, but as soon as I increased the pace even slightly, it became too painful to run. There's still no lump evident, so I'm reasonably confident that it isn't a tear or pull -- but there's something badly wrong that I need to get diagnosed. As soon as I got back home I called the doc and have an appt for the day after tomorrow.

Absolutely no chance of the 10K tomorrow; not even as a mild jog. I'm so disappointed to miss these two races -- they were an important part of my plans.

You're right -- the gym gives me hope. I have to try to keep improving my aerobic fitness, and with a bit of luck the running won't suffer too much. Obviously I need to make sure that I get this problem sorted now. Even the worst case scenario (I don't know -- a month of no running) gives me the chance to get to Boston as long as I try to continue losing weight and getting fitter. Almeria will be a bit of a fight now, but here's hoping. It's very, very disappointing because I've been making better progress than I have in years.

The only good thing is that I can guiltlessly go to the pub this evening to toast the new year. But honestly, I would be twice as happy to be going to bed sober and healthy, with a chilly 10K to look forward to in the morning.

Added: Oh yeah, the Noakes book is a biggun. Actually very readable though pretty technical in places. No, I've not read it from cover to cover. I dip into it to pluck information. Annoyingly, it has very little about calf strains or gym routines for runners, which were my two most recent forays. I love the book though. Noakes is a very experienced Comrades and Two Oceans runner, so you'll find plenty in there about ultras in general and the Comrades in particular.