Firstly, I must apologise for the time that has elapsed since my last blog. Not because I believe you were waiting with bated breath for the next instalment, but because in winning a ballot place I did promise to write a regular blog.
I suspect training blogs are easier to produce when you’re getting the miles in and everything is going well and according to plan. Alas, I am at pains to report that this is not the case here.
Now I don’t tend to get colds. I had one last year and that was the first in about six years. I think I had another one about four years prior to that. So you’ll appreciate my surprise and disappointment when about three weeks ago I came down with my worst cold in a decade.
This was a chesty little number that refused to budge and left me so blocked up that eating and breathing became quite separate pastimes. Running with what feels like the contents of a swamp sitting on your chest is never a good idea as I discovered to my cost. It just makes you feel a hell of a lot worse. But let’s not be over-dramatic; it is after all only a cold and I refuse to big-it-up as ‘man flu’.
After about a fortnight it started to lift, but by then I had missed out on several training runs. As it happens this is somewhat of a moot point because just prior to my cold I had thoughtfully added to my injury list. My left leg, which until now had remained injury-free, decided it was time join in the fun and chose my Achilles is its weapon of choice.
Now my list of injuries is impressive, or possibly depressive depending on your point of view. I’m often asked if I have been increasing my mileage by too much too quickly. “Chance would be a fine thing,” is my usual reply.
I’m then usually asked any or all of the following: Are you warming up properly? Are you strength training? Are you cross-training? Are you stretching? Are you foam rolling? Have you had gait analysis? Have you seen a physio? The answer to all of these is yes, so if you see me please don’t ask me again.
I should stress that I am not looking for any sympathy here. I’m telling you because I agreed to write a blog about my training, and to my mind that means telling you how it is, the good, the bad and the ugly.
So yes the training is not going very well and I’m miles behind where I’d like to be. However I’m nothing if not tenacious and I’m not giving up yet. I have been heading to gym (colds permitting) in an effort not to lose too much cardio fitness whilst my injury hopefully improves. I must say that two hour’s running outside passes a lot quicker than one hour on the cross-trainer. Bloody hell gyms are so tedious!
They’re full of very odd people too. Yesterday I observed a woman walking very slowly on the treadmill whist reading a book she had spread out across the display panel. What’s the point of that? There are people in comas exerting more effort than this woman. The recently deceased have more get-up-and-go. Utterly ridiculous.
Anyway, if you’re in need of further amusement I think my cold is coming back again. Last night I was kept awake by a runny nose of near diluvial proportions. Still, mustn’t grumble, hopefully it will pass
If I do make it to the start line then like many others getting there won’t have been without its challenges. But even if I don’t make it, I’ll pride myself in the fact that I’ve put in more effort than the weirdo on the treadmill.
I’ll keep you posted…