niggle - AnnaTheApple

June 2, 2016June 28, 2019

Tough decisions and hamstring tendinopathy

As I mentioned in a previous post, running and me are having issues. Running is never simple for me. I really should know what’s what by now but still I make mistakes (and some I’ve made so many times before).

I suppose it’s to be expected when you do something for so long and so often, and when you’re as injury prone as I am (and as stupid…). As I said, I should have taken a break from the marathon. I’ve already promised myself that I will next time and have instructed my parents to take my trainers away from me for at least a week after Chester in the autumn to ensure this actually happens. But anyway, I didn’t take a rest post Boston and here I am, feeling the effects of being over-trained, a niggly hamstring (more on that in a bit) and an indifference to running.

Luckily I have no races coming up and I’m in a nice comfortable position to take a break (a bit late but hey ho). Though I’m still doing parkrun as I can’t quite give that one up (like I’ve said so many times, it’s more than just a run). I made the tough decision to not do the Cakeathon on Monday. Too far to go for a race I wasn’t up for and it wasn’t fair to make my dad to give up a day’s holiday and drive me there. Only then for me to then undoubtedly have a crap race and be grumpy for the three-hour drive home.

Similarly, I was signed up ready to do Endure24 in a couple of weeks time which I’ve decided not to do anymore. It involved being part of a group of eight and running laps of five miles for 24 hours as a relay. It was going to be a great weekend of camping, larking about and running but realistically I know I wouldn’t have the best time. I a) would feel a bit down because I wouldn’t be able to run much (having barely done more than a parkrun for the past three weeks) or b) would be tempted to run too much and probably turn my hamstring into a full-blown injury. As my marathon training is due to start in July it’s risky business. I don’t want to start a training cycle injured. I’m very sad to miss out on all the fun but realistically I need to be sensible.

So my hamstring. Well it’s been niggling since before the Boston marathon as I said. Kind of came out of nowhere as a tightness and now it’s more of a niggle. I can run through it – it’s not painful or sharp, just a bit of a nagging discomfort that I can’t seem to shift. I don’t think doing deadlifts at the gym helped things. It seemed no worse after running (hence why I kept running – I have learnt something at least).

I’ve seen a physio and had a sports massage and both seem convinced it’s nothing serious, just a mild case of hamstring tendinopathy. After Googling it (obviously) and then proceeding to fall into a well of depression and despair I realise it’s actually not as bad as all the people online seem to have it. Whew.

What exactly is hamstring tendinopathy? Basically it’s a pain in the bum – high up on the hamstring, just under your butt cheek. The tendon that connects the hamstring muscles to the sit bone becomes painful. Things like prolonged sitting, running hills and sprinting can aggravate it. Thankfully my niggle isn’t full-blown tendinopathy but it could get there if I’m not careful. It is an annoying thing to get rid of though it seems as it’s a tough place for blood to reach and heal and because it’s not inflammatory, there’s little that icing can do. However, you can help things along with strengthening the tendon and massage.

Here’s where my friend the tennis ball has come into play…

Oh how my glutes do not enjoy this. Also, my sports massage therapist gave me a nice tip: sit on the tennis ball on a firm chair so you can roll you hamstring more easily as it’s tricky to do on the floor.

And I’ve been doing lots of strengthening exercises as well. Ideally the exercises you want for this are eccentric exercises. I received good advice from my physio and sports therapist and also online (good article HERE). I am obviously not a trained sports or medical anything, but I thought this might be useful if anyone has been/is in a similar boat. The exercises I’m doing regularly are:

Bridges

Lying on your back with your feet flat on the ground and shoulder-width apart, raise your bum towards the celling using your glute muscles trying not to arch your back (keep your body in a straight line).

I found the bridges to be quite easy as I’ve done them many times before so I straight away moved to single leg bridges, taking one foot off the ground and moving one leg up and down in a controlled movement, not allowing hips or bum to drop. At first I could feel the niggle when doing it (no pain, just an awareness) and now I feel nothing.

Hamstring Curls Using a Swiss ball

Lying on your back with your feet on a Swiss ball and arms by your side, roll the ball in towards you by bending your legs until your knees are above your hips, again not arching your back and using your glutes and hamstrings. Then straighten your legs, rolling the ball away from you in a controlled manner. Again you can progress to single leg versions of this.

Nordic Hamstring Curl

This is quite an advanced movement and tricky to set-up if you’re on your own. Basically you anchor your feet and calves to something stable (or have someone hold them) and then, while maintaining a straight-line from your shoulders to your knees, you bend forwards at the hips using your hamstrings to control the movement until you either cannot maintain the position any longer or you reach the ground. It’s a great hamstring isolating exercise.

Planks

Obviously good old fashioned core work helps as well. Planks are great for this and so easy to do at home. I mix it up with different variations, such as raising one leg (using my glute muscle) and then lowering again, or stepping out to the side while maintaining control and stability, or a new-to-me plank the supine version where you’re facing up rather than down (adding in leg lifts for this is great for targeting the hamstrings and glutes too).

Side planks

Side planks as well are good for focusing on any weakness you might have on the different sides of your body. Raising one leg makes things more challenging.

I’m limiting my running and supplementing the above exercises with my usual gym work (though no deadlifts or really heavy squats at the moment). I don’t feel depressed that I’m not running, I’m just frustrated with myself for allowing this to happen again. And sad to miss out on a couple of good races. But these things happen and hopefully I won’t make such obvious errors in the future.

Have you ever had a hamstring injury or niggle?

Do you do any exercises regularly that keep you injury free?

Have you had to DNS from any races lately?

June 1, 2016

Dad’s first parkrun

If you’re a regular reader you know my dad is a big supporter of my running. My mum is too, of course – after all, she came with me to Boston to support me in the marathon and has gone to many of my races too. But my dad likes to really get involved.

Though he isn’t a runner (though he did used to run back in his navy days) he still “gets” it. He knows what my good paces are and my capabilities, he listens and gives advice when I’m training and he stops me sinking too much into darkness when I’m injured. He’s my coach in many ways.

He came and supported me at my 100th parkrun recently as well. When I’d finished and we met up at the end, he was smiling and said “I’m going to do one”. Apparently he was so inspired by everyone running and the fact that there were walkers and run-walkers that he thought, “I can do this too”. This is exactly what parkrun is about. It’s about getting people out there moving who might not be inclined to on their own. So we planned for the next week for him to come down and power walk the Netley parkrun.

I got there early to help set-up and I was going to meet him at the start area at around 8.30-8.45am. He arrived bang on 8.30am looking a bit nervous.

He had his iPhone with him and headphones. He said he needed a bit of distraction and something to help him round. I was going to run and then come back for him.

Wearing my Boston finisher’s t-shirt

We parted ways and parkrun began. My run was surprisingly speedy considering I hadn’t run all week (or was I speedy because I hadn’t run?). As a side note, my mojo is still flagging and my hamstring is still niggling. It’s a combination that doesn’t get me riled up to run at the moment. I’ve been going to the gym but running is taking a backseat. I don’t have any races coming up that I’m desperate to run or do well in but I do want to be fresh and niggle-free for when I get back into marathon training in July (ideally with some base-building beforehand as well). So a bit of time off now seems ideal.

A photo of the Abbey while setting up

Anyway, it was ridiculously warm and I felt stupid in my long-sleeved t-shirt. When I left the house it had felt quite cool but now the sun was burning through. Running attire fail. My hamstring niggled a bit during the run but otherwise I felt fresher than previous runs which I think just confirms that time off is helping.

Someone asked me while I was running what time I was aiming for. I actually didn’t have an aim so I felt a bit flummoxed with the question, especially while running. I said I didn’t know and the man kind of laughed and said “of course you know, come on you must have some idea” Um, no! I wasn’t even paying attention to my watch so I actually didn’t. I said “Err around 23-24 minutes?”. That’s where my current parkruns have sat to seemed a fair bet.

Each lap I could high-five my dad or shout encouragement to him which was great. I also noticed he wasn’t at the back. He was storming along nicely.

I surprised myself by finishing in 22:27 and second female which I was quite pleased with. Fastest parkrun since the beginning of April so I’ll take that! I quickly scanned my barcode and then headed to find my dad. He had just under one and a half laps (and miles) to go. He was doing well.

He jogged a little occasionally but he found it quite uncomfortable on his joints. In future he’s going to stick to power walking rather than jogging just yet as he needs to lose a bit of weight first before he puts any stress on his joints.

He was keen for me to keep an eye on the tail runner, who was a few minutes behind him. He didn’t want to be last so it was a good motivation for him to keep his pace up and his eyes on the finish. I stressed it wouldn’t matter if he was last but he was keen to hit his target.

At the end he was cheered in when he jogged to the finish. I was so proud! So many people encouraged him and cheered him on as he did the course. He said it really helped and he was very chuffed. Every marshal clapped and spurred him on and runners who knew me and knew he was my dad would yell “go on Anna’s dad!”. It was lovely.

He completed it in 51:11 (two minutes faster than the last two people and the tail runner). He was over the moon.

One down and hopefully many more to come. I told him it’s only going to get harder now as he strives to beat that time now Next week we’re going to do the Lee-On-Solent parkrun as a couple of my friends are doing it and it’s literally just up the road for my dad. He’ll be doing his first parkrun tourism! (Not that I’ve decided for him that Netley is his base of course…).

He won’t do it every week but once in a while it’s a fantastic thing for him to do as he continues to try and lose weight (a long-standing battle…). I’m so so proud of him and glad he came. And it just proves, you don’t have to be a certain shape, a certain speed or a certain type of person to do parkrun. It’s open to everyone.

Are you family fit and active?

Do you do any exercise with your family?

Does your family support you at sports events or races?

May 25, 2016

I’ve lost my running mojo

Despite having such a fantastic 100th parkrun general experience on Saturday, the running itself was fairly rubbish. I know I only have myself to blame for this of course.

I say it every single time but I never follow through: “I’ll take a couple of weeks off of running after my marathon”. Then lo and behold, I don’t. I know I’m stupid. I just love running – especially the mental side of it and the thought of not doing it for a few weeks isn’t particularly appealing to me. And after Boston I was on such a running high I just wanted to keep going. I thought by not pushing any sort of hard pace I’d be OK. Run easy runs, shorter than I did previously, and I’d be fine. But the love that was there was slowly dwindling away as the training and the race caught up with me and I’m now not enjoying it.

It doesn’t help that my hamstring still isn’t 100%, though it’s never worse after running and some runs feel absolutely fine whereas others I can feel the slight niggle. To be honest, I think deadlifting at the gym has aggravated it *sighs*.

So anyway, Saturday’s run felt like such a grind and my hamstring was niggling slightly (probably due to my Friday deadlifts). I’d planned to run a long run on Sunday to reattempt my previous failed 16 miles from the week before. I felt demotivated going to bed, I felt demotivated when I woke up and I was dragging my heels to get myself out the door. And when I finally did, I felt my hamstring as soon as I started and that was all the excuse I needed to throw the towel in. I must have looked like a bit of loon to anyone nearby as it was literally a 30 second run from the front door and then me turning around saying out-loud “no, nope. Not happening”.

I was at my parent’s house so when I stormed back into the house moments after leaving my dad said, “Didn’t go well, then? I thought you might be back sooner than expected…” apparently my lack of running mojo was evident before I left. I wasn’t even that upset. I was relieved. This tells me something that should have been fairly evident to me: I need a rest.

I’ve done too much post-marathon. I should have taken a full week off at least. I was just on that post-marathon “I love running, everything’s awesome!” feeling and was looking ahead for the Cakeathon.

Unfortunately the Cakeathon is hurtling towards me quickly and it’s not a race I want to DNS…That said, it’s not a race I want to travel three hours to (dragging my dad with me) on a Bank Holiday Monday and then not enjoy it. It was such a great race last year I don’t want to mar that memory.

So what’s the plan? Well, I’m not running all week. I’ve made that absolutely certain because I left my trainers at my parent’s house. No temptation there. Then I’ll try parkrun on Saturday. If I feel a) tired/heavy legged, or b) demotivated, or c) my hamstring feels niggly, then I won’t go. It’ll be such a shame obviously but, at the same time, it’s not worth trying to recreate how amazing last year was. It wouldn’t be the same.

Have you ever lost your running/exercise mojo?

How do you motivate yourself?

How far are you willing to travel for a race?

February 23, 2016

Niggle begone and a newbie gym goer

Last week I hugely surprised myself by not panicking or fretting about my foot niggle that had cropped up during the previous weekend’s long run. Perhaps this is because I’m so used to getting injuries and niggles that they no longer surprise or frustrate me or perhaps it’s because I know how to deal with them, having had them so often.

As I wasn’t limping and there was no sharp pain, just a dull ache and a persistent niggle when I walked, I knew I was relatively safe from a serious injury that would keep me out of the game for weeks. But I also knew that jumping back into running immediately because it didn’t feel so serious would be a huge mistake. I gritted my teeth and took five days off of running. I was tempted to run Thursday (a usual day I run) as it felt pretty good but I withheld a bit longer as I really wanted to make parkrun (I’m still 2nd on the points table!) and possibly a long run on Sunday.

I carried on at the gym doing my weight lifting thing as usual (though no explosive plyometric moves obviously). When I woke up Saturday morning my foot felt pretty good and I went to Netley parkrun with the intention to run. I’d bitten the bullet earlier in the week and bought a new pair of trainers (identical to my old, trusty Mizunos) and was ready to see what would happen. I could feel a slight niggle when I walked but I carried on as usual setting the course up and then having a warm up.

Luckily my friend Mike had run a long run the night before and fancied an easier parkrun so I ran with him at an easy pace (well, it was easy for me but apparently didn’t feel so easy for him and his tired legs it turns out!)

My foot didn’t feel 100% awesome at the beginning but by the end it felt fine.

I finished in 25:32 (and 100th position – nice number!) and with a foot that was no worse than before. Hurrah! It actually continued to feel better and better throughout the day. Huge sigh of relief!

One of my friends, Julie, from the running club (who also did the Cakeathon last year) was celebrating her 100th parkrun (sorry, brief tangent – could you imagine getting 100th position on your 100th parkrun? How cool would that be, but nearly impossible to orchestrate. But I have 10 weeks to figure this out…). She’d made a whole bunch of cakes which all looked amazing. She’d even made some GORGEOUS cake pops. I think cake pops are my new favourite cake. OK size-wise they do leave a bit to be desired but icing to sponge ratio is absolutely spot on. I just need about six to be satisfied…

Luckily she still had a few left by the time we headed to the cafe after closing down the course so I could sneak another one to have with my peppermint tea. Divine.

That evening I went out for dinner… *coughs* on a date. I won’t talk too much about it because it’s not really fair on the other person who I don’t think knows that I have a blog. I will talk about the food though because, well, it wouldn’t be right not to on my blog!

We went to Relentless Lobster and Steak House in Port Solent. We shared a baked Camembert and then both had surf and turf with a rib eye steak and half a lobster. I had my steak medium rare with blue cheese sauce I didn’t take any photos because I didn’t want to be that weird on a date but it was delicious. Probably slightly unwise to have had cheese for both courses, both of which were quite rich, but it tasted great.

For pudding I had brownie with chocolate sauce and ice cream. Now I’ve had a fair few brownies and chocolate fudge cake puddings in my time (as have been well documented on this blog) so I’m a pretty good judge on them now. They’ve got to be just the right amount of firm but also gooey, soft in the inside with a slight bit of a crunch on the outside, nuts are optional but always a nice addition for texture and it OBVIOUSLY has to be warm. Ice cream is absolutely essential. This brownie is right up there as one of the best I’ve had. Oh it was heavenly. I tried not to look too much like a weirdo in my brownie heavenly bliss.

I planned to have a lie-in the next day before deciding whether to run or not and if I was running how far I would run. Alfie however did not fancy a lie-in and checked on me (nudged my face) every 20 or so minutes from 7.30am to just before 9am. I took the hint and got myself up and walked him. My foot felt good. The run was on!

I decided not to try and do the 18 miles I missed doing the weekend before (that would be stupid post-niggle). Instead I decided to do a standard six mile loop and then judge how I felt at the end. It also meant I was never in a position that I’d be miles away from getting home if I needed to bail. The run actually went really good. I could slightly feel the niggle but in a way that suggested it was on its way out. By the end of the six miles I decided to do the loop again.

I’d love to say the run felt amazing however it felt pretty crummy. The richness and large amount of food the night before and the glass of Prosecco I had (I rarely drink) really weren’t doing me any favours. Potentially not having run all week probably didn’t help either, nor did the wind and the unseasonably mild weather. In capris and a long-sleeved running top I was sweltering (probably sweating off cheese and brownie…nice).

But I refuse to complain (ignore the above…) as it meant I was back in the game and getting some needed miles in the marathon bank. 13 miles to be exact!

(Ave. pace 8.12min/miles)

My tummy felt pretty retched at the end and it took a long shower before food to be even near possible. Best to stick to ribs or Indian food in the future

I met up with my mum at her gym after eating breakfast (well brunch/lunch at this point). She’s joined in the effort to help her back (as she had a back operation a few months ago) and to help lose a bit of weight. So far she’s lost nine pounds through Slimming World since October and I’m very proud of her. But she’s quite nervous about using a gym so wanted a bit of support and help for her first visit.

Her gym (at the Solent Spa & Hotel) is very posh compared to my usual gym (PureGym, open 24/7, cheap as chips). For starters there’s free fruit!! The only thing free at my gym is a possible bacterial infection and lechery stares. But you get what you pay for. To be honest, I do prefer my gym as it’s HUGE and has all the weight equipment (squat racks, barbells, cable machines, etc.) I want, whereas my mum’s gym is a bit more cardio-focused with a few weight machines and some dumbbells. But it was rather lovely. Check out this water dispenser.

We both tried a small cup, expecting it to be some ridiculously sweet fruit concoction that would probably negate everything you’ve just done… but it was like unsweetened, weak squash. Weird.

My mum did a power walk on the treadmill and some time on the recumbent bike. I did a bit of walking next to her, some rowing and used a couple of weights machine.

But really I was just there for my mum. I was actually freezing in the air conditioned gym in my shorts and vest!

She’s going to become a regular now apparently. With that, Pilates and swimming she’s becoming as exercises obsessed as me! After that we had a nice coffee in Starbucks. A pretty good Sunday in my eyes!

Do any of your family go to the gym or keep fit?

How posh is your gym?

Have you ever had cake pops before?

February 17, 2016

The most sensible route to take

Continuing on from my trip to North Wales recap…I’d planned to run 18 miles on the Sunday. My grandad, the legend that he is, had said he’d cycle alongside me while I ran.

Before the trip I previously asked his advice on where to find a good running route for the 18 miles I needed to run and he came back with a fantastic route (below) that was comparable to the Boston marathon elevation. My grandfather is truly inspiring. He’s 83 years old and used to be a mountain climber and mountain guide, but is still very active cycling, playing golf or walking most days. One of his most exciting jobs back in the day was taking 40 SAS men out to whittle them down to the 10 best leaders during a gruelling week’s worth of outdoor activities and traversing the 15 peaks of North Wales (which my grandad did in just one minute over nine hours!).

So my grandad is in great shape and knows his stuff when it comes to being outdoors. On Sunday morning I joined my family for breakfast while they all had normal stuff while I munched on a tasty, albeit rather sad, Trek bar and black coffee.

I would have much preferred a hot bowl of porridge but that would have meant getting up a lot earlier to allow it to digest. After quite a big meal the night before I was happy enough to settle for something small instead and get more sleep.

Ginny, my step-gran, was quite worried about my grandad going out with me as it was very cold and windy but my grandad had his plan and felt confident. He had on lots of layers (as he’d be cycling alongside me at my running pace, so fairly slowly as a cycling pace) and a rucksack with snacks, drinks and First Aid.

Ginny drove us up to to our starting point at the Great Orme and we got ourselves together.

Sorting the bike out

I did my warm-up routine (leg swings and lunges etc.) while I was waiting and then decided to hop back into the car as it was very cold and windy at this elevation.

My grandad had sent me the route before the weekend and had talked it through with me, but I was still a little nervous in case I got lost if he decided to speed on ahead or turn back because of the cold. He said once we saw the sea though it was really straight forward: keep the sea on my left and continue along the path all the way to 18 miles. Even I can handle that!

We set off straight away with a fairly steep downhill for the first couple of miles. This is very similar to Boston so was a good test for me to hold myself back and not go crazy burning myself out for the following miles.

I took it nice and gentle and my grandad chatted away to me. It was really nice having the company. My grandad remarked that he was like a boxing coach cycling with me! It did seem like that way – he was able to chat away quite easily and though I could talk too it was harder for me than him. The wind though was tough going and we soon realised it would be against us the entire way.

Despite the cold wind, the views coming down the Great Orme were fantastic. It’s such a beautiful part of Britain I can’t believe more people don’t come here. Llandudno is somewhat touristy but not as much as it deserves considering all the natural beauty it has to offer.

After the first couple of miles I started feeling a bit of discomfort in my left foot, just under the arch. It felt like something was sticking in to my foot or that my trainer wasn’t hugely comfortable. As it wasn’t painful I just ignored it, thinking of stopping at some point to maybe have a fiddle and readjust.

We got to the Llandudno promenade and the wind was really tough going now. My pace was forced to slow. My grandad said he was going to make sure he wasn’t drafting me as that would be unfair training… I value that now but at the time in the thick of the wind I didn’t appreciate this When training is hard it means racing is easier!

Anyway, the wind slowed my grandad down and he dropped behind me. It’s harder to cycle into the wind than to run due to the surface area and weight I guess. I just wanted to get off the direct seafront as quickly as possible so powered on. As soon as I reached the end of the prom though I reached a hill. It was tough going! As my grandad was a distance behind I decided to take the time to check my foot out. I stopped and took my trainer off, fiddled around, felt my foot (slight niggle spot where it felt like it had been rubbing) and then put it back on and retied it back up slightly looser.

The niggle disappeared for a bit so I felt a bit happier. My grandad caught me back up and we carried on along another part of the seafront, again against the wind, but at least back on the flat.

Ginny appeared occasionally alongside us in the car to check how my grandad was doing – which was very sweet but I think exasperated my grandad a little. He’s very driven, so when he plans to do something he gives it his all to complete it.

The miles ticked by. The foot niggle reappeared and I started to worry. It was annoying me and I couldn’t seem to shake it. Eventually my grandad called it a day with cycling as the wind was so relentless and Ginny was persistent that he’d get cold cycling so slowly alongside me. I think he stopped around 10 miles. Ginny had stopped ahead and we could see the boot was open, basically her saying, “End of the road. Time to stop”. Hehe. In the distance I could see where I was heading (Rhyl) as the route just wrapped along the seafront so I was in no danger of getting lost. But now that I was alone I felt the demons come into my head.

This foot niggle… what was it? Was it serious? Was I making it worse running? Should I try and get to the end regardless? Would my grandparents think I failed?

After a mile of umm’ing and arr’ing I decided that the best thing to do was stop. The niggle wasn’t going away and 7-8 more miles of running on it wouldn’t help at all and could compromise later weeks of training. I rang my grandparents and they said they’d meet me at the next car park as I was now on an enclosed cycle/walkway away from the road. When I got there I sat down, took my trainer off and poked and prodded. Hmm, very tender and painful if I poked hard.

A man started walking over to me, quickly saying “don’t worry, I’m not trying to chat you up! I think I know what’s happening here though”. He looked vaguely familiar. “Running injury?” he asked. I nodded sadly. “I’ve been there many times! I’m a past runner too.”

He gave me some solid advice about icing and elevating. He also kindly offered me a phone or a lift but I assured him I had people coming for me. I asked about his running and he said he doesn’t run as much anymore now he was a bit older but he likes to stay involved through race photography. Ah ha! I knew where I’d seen him before. I mentioned that I ran Conwy parkrun the day before and he smiled and said he’d been the photographer there. What a small world! It was lovely to chat to him.

Then my grandparents picked me up. I felt like a huge failure and had a huge amount of disappointment for not completing the entire 18 miles. My grandad was frustrated too as he had wanted a good cycle as well but found the wind just too much in the end.

I managed 12 miles in the end (8.38min/mile pace) which were tough in the wind and mentally tough with all the injury fears flowing through my mind. I’m actually quite grateful for the wind because I think if it had been a perfectly still day my choice for stopping might not have happened as soon, if at all. The wind had mentally drained me and not having my grandad alongside me wasn’t as fun.

I know I did the right thing stopping. I don’t believe I have an injury, I reckon it’s a niggle that might take a few days or possibly a week of rest to calm down (FINGER’S CROSSED). I wasn’t limping at the end, my gait wasn’t changed, it just felt like something had kept battering against a certain spot in my foot for too long. And today (Wednesday) it feels much better, still not 100% but barely noticeable.

I wore a different pair of trainers for this run. I’m so annoyed at myself. I saw on Strava that my older Brooks had only been worn just over 100 miles and I thought, to save money, I should wear them out a bit before having to buy new trainers. I forgot that they were my gym shoes for a long time and that there was probably a reason I no longer ran in them. What an idiot. Though I don’t know for sure if it was the trainers it’s the only thing I can think of as it’s sort of out of the blue. Perhaps the steep downhill at the start aggravated something? Who knows! What I do know is I’ve purchased a new pair of trainers that I trust.

Ahh well, as per usual injury prone Anna picks up a niggle. But on the plus side, it’s a small niggle (I’m confident but not certain…) and I have about nine weeks until Boston so it’s not panic stations yet

Anyway, the run, despite not ending as I wanted and being tough with the wind, was a fantastic experience. Running with my grandad was great and 12 miles is still a good distance. I also felt like I could have gone on and on (which is another frustration that it was just my foot letting me down rather than anything else). The scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed it. So not a fail at all!

Importantly, it didn’t take away from the enjoyable and fun weekend I had with my family anyway!

Have you ever run with someone who was on a bike?

Have you ever had a foot issue before?

Do you enjoy spending time with your grandparents?