Decisive December

[marathondan]

Just checking in with a quick update. 3 weeks (of 19) completed; one run missed due to Christmas hassles but apart from that all going OK.

In the last month or two I've noticed an occasional shooting pain in my right sole / ankle. After Sweder & Glaconman's recent comments about their problems with plantar fasciitis, I wondered if that was the cause. I soon realised that whatever it is is being exacerbated by the fact that I almost always run clockwise circuits, on the inside pavement. This means I'm more likely that not to be on a right-hand pavement, which generally has a right-to-left camber. This amplifies my naturally significant pronation on the right foot. I quickly found that just by stepping into the road, where the camber is reversed, or crossing onto the other pavement, the problem all but went away. If it is PF, that's pretty bad news when I'm just about to step up my mileage. But so far so good; I'm running all my routes in the reverse direction and it's limited to the occasional twinge only.

Last night I ventured out in the deep snow for 7 miles, the longest run of the campaign so far. Hopping across the frosted ruts was a good workout for the ankles; the right Achilles is a bit sore today. Pace was signficantly down on the usual, but given the conditions this was a very comfortable run and I'm feeling that I've achieved my main goal so far of getting back into the routine.