I mean, obviously this was going to happen. Going from 30-35 miles to a straight jump to 50 miles in a week is going to cause me, the delicate injury-prone runner, issues. That said, I regret NOTHING. Austria and all the running was amazing.
I have to say, I do somewhat regret last Sunday’s wholly unnecessary race which I’d forgotten I’d entered. I shouldn’t have run it but because I’d agreed to drive two friends down I felt compelled to still do it. My legs felt niggly and tired beforehand. I should have known better. My knee started niggling a little during that race and so I took the week off to let it settle…then decided to test it at parkrun.
I turned up early, as usual, to help set-up and in true English summertime style, it rained. I felt grumpy, tired and nervous about my knee.
And, as expected, I began running and it didn’t feel right. It wasn’t painful per se, just stiff and uncomfortable. I was pretty sure I could carry on running but it would probably make it worse. So I stopped 0.5 of a mile in and called defeat.
Lots of lovely people asked if I was OK and I assured them, grumpily, I was OK and just playing it safe. Then I went and sat under a tree to shelter from the rain. I should have stood and cheered but I was, well, grumpy and it was raining. I know, pathetic.
But I went to the cafe after helping pack away, again in the rain, and got back into a happier mood with my running friends. Can always count on running buddies to get you out of a funk! Especially ones who bring you cake that you miss at the local league races on a Wednesday night. True friends indeed!
After breakfast (yes I had both cake and breakfast) I headed to the gym as I still wanted to get a workout in for the day after the failed run. I managed 30 minutes of boredom on the elliptical machine and some strength training so not a complete wash-out. Though obviously I’d preferred to have run!
Then I headed to my parents to go for some food and a cinema trip. We went to Nando’s because we wanted a simple and fairly healthy meal (my parents are trying to be good). I went for my standard whole chicken, salad and corn. It was delicious. Probably not that healthy portion-size wise but ehhh.
At the cinema we saw Dunkirk. I’ve been wanting to see this film since the first trailer and Christopher Nolan is just a genius. And with such good reviews since it’s release I was pretty confident we were in for a good watch. It was incredible. I was tense the entire time. A fantastic film. I’m usually not a war film fan but this was something else. An important watch as well. I liked that there was minimal backstory to the characters and it was purely about the events taking place. And Harry Styles wasn’t bad surprisingly!
Sunday again was no running. I wasn’t foolish enough to attempt going for a run and decided a walk down the beach with my dad and the dogs was a nice way to get the day started before heading to the gym for another dull dull cardio session. More for my sanity than trying to replicate any sort of marathon training. It’s always nice to get a good weekend sweat on.
And then I had a date on Sunday afternoon, of which I will leave you guessing on how it went 😉
But back to running… my knee thing isn’t that serious. Previously I might be freaking out, moaning and getting all sad about it. But I’m realistic in knowing a bit of much needed rest from running will be enough. It doesn’t hurt when I walk, it just feels a bit off when I run. I’m not going to Google like a maniac how I can make things better or any quick fixes. It’s just time.
I know exactly why it’s happened. I jumped my mileage up a fair chunk and ran six days in a row (which I never do – I barely run more than two days in a row). The running I did was intense with lots of gradient and terrain changes. It is what it is! Though I do do a lot of strength training to minimise injuries (my injuries are so much less than previously!), it can’t quite shield me from mountain running consecutive days. I don’t regret Austria – of course not. And I still have seven weeks before the marathon so all is good. Sensible may be boring, but it is best. Better a couple of weeks off than making things worse and getting to the marathon broken.
How was your weekend?
How do you cope with being injured?
What film did you see last in the cinema?
That’s me on the app screen for the 2017 race! OK granted you can’t really tell as you can’t see my face, but you can see my running club vest! Clearly the organisers thought that my red, white and blue vest was ideal. And check me out running to the tangents 😉
I’m used to tin openers that go alongside the vertical sides of a tin, whereas this contraption sits on top. I couldn’t get my head to work it out. I mean I know it’s simple. I just couldn’t connect those simple dots. So I Facetimed my dad because, well, he solves everything. He explained in very simple, Anna-coherent terms how to use it and hey presto! I got it to open my tin of salmon.
They remind me of being in America with their pickles they serve with sandwiches and burgers. It’s weird, but it’s good.
It’s a frozen smoothie made up of dates and fruit and cocoa powder and some other bits and bobs (but actually no nasty-looking chemically things from what I can tell). The whole tub is 350 calories and a whole lot less sugar. Considering normal ice cream portions can be around that for just two scoops, this is pretty damn good! And it’s surprisingly dense.
Just casually taking a selfie at the gym in my new Nikes with my London Marathon finisher tee as you do 😉
They’re super comfy. I mean like bouncability is a strong 10/10. Though technically speaking they are running shoes, I’m reluctant to run in them as I’m so injury-prone and particular about running trainers but for the gym and everyday life, they are PERFECT.
They literally fit like a glove. Ahh I do love Nikes.
It was amusing to watch I must say. Never a dull day.
I held out strong on the final stretch it seems! 🙂 Weirdly I was actually passed and was overtaken for the first 35k the exact same number. Not sure how that works!
I was so in the zone that an elderly man cycled past me and said “you go girl!”. I stopped my watch exactly at 3.1 miles and couldn’t believe the time! OK not my fastest and still over a minute off my PB but for not having done any real speedwork lately, I WILL TAKE THAT.
And happily, a royal flush negative split. Pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. And this has encouraged me to do one speed session a week. So last night I headed out to do a speed session (my intention was some 1km repeats with a couple of minutes rest between) but my legs went “nope” so I decided to do hills instead. Four hills (0.3 miles long, 11% gradient)…ooof. I do prefer hills though because even when you’re not feeling it, it’s still a good workout for your legs despite not actually going that fast. So mentally I can deal with it.
Whenever a film comes out that is based on a book I’m always prompted to go and read the book if it takes my fancy. This book was quite short but sad. I was literally crying into my porridge one morning reading it. But a good story.
My meals are verrrrry basic but it’s so nice to come in to a home smelling of food and having dinner ready. LAtely I’ve been throwing in chicken drumsticks and thighs with butter squash chunks and other veg and just adding some basic seasonings and spices, like paprika, garlic, fish sauce (trust me, it works), Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.
I’ve also been drinking a 
So with a coffee machine I could dictate how much coffee I had (and whether it was caffeinated or not) and reduce my coffee/pre-workout expenditure. Killing two birds with one stone.
So I bought this very cheap 
It was annoying not to be able to run but I enjoyed cheering everyone on and then being the funnel manager. I’ve never done the funnel manager job before (basically you stand there ensuring that people don’t overtake each other within the funnel so everyone gets their right barcode. You check with the timekeepers and the people handing out the barcode every now and again to make sure the numbers are corresponding). To be honest it’s quite a boring job.
Trying to get as much wear out of the t-shirt as possible 😉 Not that anyone at the gym cares at all! I did about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine and then some upper body strength work, such as lateral pull-downs, cable face pulls, lateral raises and rows. I felt very well fuelled!
We attempted to watch a film but in the end we were chatting through it so just gave up and chilled. It was a nice easy evening catching up with good friends. They’re also going to help me host my Divorce Party. Yes, that’s actually going to happen 😀 I’m officially divorced and I think that deserves a bit of cake and a knees-up.