Week 12 Run 1

Since my last post there have been a few set backs that have put me a little off track.   A big one was an arm injury. One doesn't really think about how injuring an arm would impact your running, but my left arm was very bruised and swollen around the elbow joint, making it hard to bend. The picture on the left really doesn't do it justice. Given the important role arms play in running, not being able to bend my arm without pain was a problem. I allowed myself some time off to recover. The weather hasn't exactly been favourable either, and as a result I've been doing lots of staying indoors in the warm and dry. Sadly, I think my body got the message that the hard times were over and it could start to get lazy again. I was doing a lot of computing while my arm was recovering, which meant lots of sitting, which meant sore knees through lack of movement (the precise thing I started Desk to 10k to avoid).



The psychological effects of not running for a week were quite noticeable. It was really frustrating, and made me a bit anxious that my progress would start to be undone. So I finally decided to go out today as the weather was pretty good. My arm still hurts but at least it bends now. I woke up this morning with that sickening feeling you get when you recognise the early symptoms of a sore throat, so I thought I better get out on the road in case it turns into a full blown cold.

As my body had been lured into a false sense of security, there was a definite sense of panic as I put my running kit on. Run 1 of week 12 was supposed to be 40 minutes. I've done that before and enjoyed it so I wasn't too anxious about it, especially on a nice day. However, my body took a long time to adjust to the idea. 20 minutes in at the point where I was going to turn back, my lungs finally settled down. Breathing had been hard and I had felt breathless on most of the run out. I allowed myself a few very brief pauses on the run out to catch my breath, which I haven't needed to do for a while now. I was incredibly slow. I knew I'd be well short of where I'd normally reach in 20 minutes. My legs felt heavy and I was seriously lacking in energy. I was clock watching a lot, which is usually a strong indicator of struggling.

On the run back I developed a new niggle. Achilles tendon pain. On both sides. Maybe it was my body's desperate attempt to make me stop. It worked. I made a few adjustments and tried running a little further. I checked to see if my socks had bunched up in my shoes but there was nothing obvious causing the pain. Probably just my running form. I haven't had achilles pain before, but given how tight my calves get and how poor my dorsiflexion STILL is (it really isn't improving much), I'm not surprised. I had run for 25 of my 40 minutes when I decided to stop running. Running through pain is never a good call. When I started walking the achilles pain stopped. I'd rather cut the run short than carry on and develop a bigger injury that could take weeks to heal.

I'd say I made the right call. I'm not particularly disappointed. It was so good to be out again. I don't mind that I didn't last 40 minutes. The exercise I did made me feel better. It got my blood pumping and it got my legs moving, which is kind of the point really. It also got me outside and away from the computer, which is absolutely the point. As for the training plan. Yes it said 40 minutes, but so what? It's a plan that works on the assumption that the weather will always be favourable, that I will never be ill, and that I'll never be injured. Under these circumstances just adjust times and frequencies accordingly. I'll make it to 10k eventually, but I'm not going to be a slave to numbers and injure myself in the process. This running stuff is meant to be fun right?