As a 'veteran' of two marathons and one ultramarathon, it was no surprise when my body 'fell over' at the start of the year.
I'd been racing continually from May to December 2011 and scored several PBs along the way, from 5K to 42K, culminating in a 4 hr 30 min marathon. I was pleased with my progress but knew I was running the gauntlet, with a progressive calf strain (coupled with my mandatory blisters of varying size and pain). I managed running between September and the marathon with an increasing amount of rest - I did no specific training, just going from one race to the next with a couple of long runs up to 20 miles - and eventually with pain killers.
So when the calendar flipped over to 2012, I re-set my training calendar and decided I would do very few races and aim for some specific training schedules - a half marathon for spring and an ultra for summer. Unfortunately I didn't get that far! After running a few track events for fun, I found that lack of recovery (less than 12 days since completing the marathon) and then straight into spikes and toe-running over 60-400 metres left me with a sore achilles. This plus the ongoing calf injury meant that even a few miles run was painful. I knew the achilles was not one to mess with, so I started seeing a physio every two weeks and a sports masseuse inbetween. (I had been using the masseuse the week before PB attempts with good success last year). I realise the massages were just band-aids and the physio started work on the chronic issue- the achilles and working out the underlying issues which had lead to my calf injury.
Well, I know I have poor flexibility, especially on my left side and it's been like that since I was a child. The calf strain is on the left and the achilles injury is on the right. Three months into physio and we've traced it to two issues: my hip is an inch higher on my left side; my pelvis is tilted east to west but also rotated forward. I now have more exercises than I can shake a stick at and my warm-up and wamrdown takes longer than my running duration at the moment. But I have to get this sorted out. I don't enjoy running with pain and I did 3 miles a few weekends ago and the very first foot strike sent a huge pain up my calf, although the achilles was only mildy painful afterwards and stiff the next day.
It has certainly put paid to any goals I had about more PBs and a spring half. For now, I'd be very happy with a 5K without pain.
I plan to start a beginners kettlebells class. I've done a 10 weeker before but never kept it up. I found the flexibility and warm-up session to be difficult but I remember improving after just a few classes. I also have a nice 8Kg KB at home; just want to brush up on the techniques again. I'm not a fan of yoga or pilates in that, I cannot bring myself to go to a class, but I may have to revise this.
So my goal for June 2012 is to re-align my pelvis with help from the physio, flexibility and stretching exercises. I've been told it's not a strength issue- my muscle development and control is good and my glutes fire well. However, my hip flexors are very short (the desk job doesn't help) and I need to address this before setting any race targets. Oh, but I 'might' have already paid for a place in a marathon held in October.
Feel very optimistic about sorting this problem out. I miss running but I don't miss the pain or the thought that if I was nearer to 100%, my times would have been even better last year. Just need to watch the weight and maybe take this opportunity to lose some extra weight to give the tendons a helping hand.
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