Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
A Troublesome Tendon
by Russell Turner - 16:08 on 30 June 2021
Approaching four years of training, I’ve been lucky to suffer no more than a couple of short-lived minor injuries, early in my running career, probably linked to my body adapting to the shock of an unexpected end to its sedentary life.
This doesn’t mean I’ve not experienced the occasional twinge or niggle, but nothing to compare with the tales of woe from Matchgirl and Triathlon Cathy, who’ve both endured much in pursuit of their sport, and the many other sagas of suffering recounted in innumerable books and magazines. It sometimes appears that three-quarters of all runners are injured or recovering, so I’ve been lucky (or sensibly cautious).
However, for a while I’ve had an occasional left-heel ache the day after a run – not enough to keep me indoors, or slow me down, but a warning that there could be worse to come if I don’t remain sensibly cautious.
The ache had returned a week before my GNR81 effort so a couple of training runs were cancelled; by the time of the run, all was well. Afterwards, it was back, slightly worse than it had been. Matchgirl, who uses a 1-10 pain scale (1 = faint discomfort, 10 = amputation without anaesthetic), was unimpressed when I hazarded a 2 as my level of suffering. Nevertheless, she offered sage advice with regard to rest, icing, compression and the number of hours in my training schedule.
Her diagnosis is a grumbling Achilles tendon: a common problem for runners, caused by overuse, weak glutes, poor hips or all three. Feeble blood flow to the area – one of evolution’s design flaws – doesn’t help.
Today, after an achy start, all seems well. Either her advice worked or the healing titanium patches she offered me (she has a vast store of runners’ remedies) and the magic massage stick did the trick. Despite that, I’ll be sensibly cautious and take another day or two off before donning the shorts again; Leamington HM is only 11 days away and training was easing off anyway.
My plan post-Leamington was a two-week break before beginning the challenging 16-week ultra training schedule that ends with the Dava 50k. Now I’m not so sure. The alternative is to begin my regular marathon schedule at Week 7, ending with the Loch Ness Marathon, then switch to the final weeks of the 50k plan (which incorporates the Yorkshire Marathon two weeks after Loch Ness). Or maybe just play it by ear after Loch Ness and Yorkshire. The ultra’s only another five miles; how hard can it be?
I can be flexible – I’ve not signed up for Loch Ness yet, although it’s felt like a done deal for weeks, ever since I discovered the two marathons fitted nicely into the 50k schedule – but I’ll remain sensibly cautious. I don’t want to be another runner’s cautionary tale.
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