Suddenly the month of May is upon us & the Helsinki City Run a mere 9 days away. I was hoping that my final stretch into Helsinki would be plain sailing & positive, unfortunately the cloud of negativity has been to visit. So here are three runs that explain where I am.....
The Run #1
The weekend started well. An overnighter at work was aborted early on, which meant a chance for a gin at the hotel bar, some decent sleep & a London parkrun where I'm not running like a zombie! I finally made good on my promise to check out Brockwell parkrun, just south of Brixton. A fifteen minute walk from the end of the Victoria line will take you to the meeting point, Brockwell Lido.
After an excellent brief we were walked across to the start line & I'd already taken note that the course included a hill of some description & that it might be partially averted on the second lap.
A slow start, narrow course & lining up badly left me with speed to burn, or so I thought as we turned to start the first ascend. What I didn't realise was that this hill was just like Grovelands, slow and long & unforgiving. A twenty metre climb in total over the course of 1km, the downhill just didn't seem to repay this effort. On the second lap I was already writing this off as a mid 25 as the route cut across the park & felt steeper, this time the same 20 metres over half a km. If this were a long slow run I'd have been ok, but this was a sprint race!!!! By the top of the second climb I was wishing my work had run late & that I'd have still been bed bound.
The Conclusion #1
Thankfully I was able to speed up a bit downhill & finish strong, crossing the line in a streak maintaining 24:56, 6 weeks in a row of being sub 25 was very satisfactory.
I'd have to rate Brockwell up there with the toughest of parkrun events I've attended. This was a course that with an elevation gain of 46m took more than it gave, a real leg & lung buster. Sadly there wasn't even an eat to talk about as I headed back into the office to try & make use of my time!
The Run #2
Sunday was to be my debut back in my home town. The Braintree 5 would be an interesting challenge, a five mile race, of which I've only experienced around an Olympic park.
I went to bed on Saturday with two sore achilles from the hills of Brockwell & a bloated, uncomfortable stomach thanks to my persistence with eating things that don't agree with me.
The Conclusion #2
Did Not Start.
Did not even contemplate getting into my running gear. Although a pile of Deflatine had almost resolved my stomach, both achilles kept me awake & were no better in the morning. Just tight & painful.
Instead of lacing up, I put my feet up on the recliner & placed my trusted medical peas underneath my sore legs.
I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, aggravating the injury certainly wouldn't help me in Helsinki. Despite all of the stretching that has followed, the dark cloud of doubt has hovered over me. I find myself questioning whether I'm underdone once more. Whether I'm a few long runs shy of that 2nd hour stamina I was searching for. I was hoping to knock out a couple of long runs this week, but ultimately rest is going to help me more now.
I also made a decision that is was time to stop causing myself pain through dietary choices. Without being too graphic, heavy carbs appear to provide me with nothing but IBS like symptoms. So I've resolved to try & eat better. Cut down on bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, chips and of course, pizza. If I can at least get to a point where I can be more comfortable then it will be worth it. Less stodge is the key! The changes will also hopefully kick my weight loss back into action following a plateau since Christmas. I was hoping to line up close to 13st for the HCR, yet I've sat hovering at 14st unable to shift!
The Run #3
Finally some positivity!
Rather than try & gain a 10 mile catch up I headed out on Wednesday morning for a simple lap of the Stansted loop to see where my achilles were at pain wise. My intention was to take it easy, see how the body would respond, knowing that my cardio would be fine. The run itself provided no problems, giving me a nice boost to the confidence. Afterwards I stretched out to try and minimise any damage, though this wasn't helped my developing a nice knot in my calf during the working day.
The Conclusion #3
It was nice to get back out an partake in a gentle run, it was like the fog had lifted. I had a challenging swim class in the evening, managing my calf & attempting the Butterfly stroke for the first time. Paula then worked the knot to as much as I could take with a roller & it has eased off as the day has progressed. I've got three more runs ahead of me, a parkrun on Saturday, a challenging 10k on the bank holiday & an easy, keep ticking over run planned for Wednesday, then it'll be time to fly to Helsinki.
I'll be managing my various ailments & continuing to try & eat better. This week has gone well so far, it'll be important to not be tempted by the take away gremlin after overtime this evening.
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