Tapering off...
Following Sunday's run at the Leamington Regency 10k it has been a week of training and resting. On Monday I went for a short 3.5 mile run as a 'loosener', then on Tuesday I went for a 6 mile run. Quite early on my knee became very sore and had wondered whether three runs in three consecutive days was asking too much. Overnight my knee stiffened up so was still quite sore to walk on in the morning. It was the worst it has been for some months now, but at the same time never really felt like it was going to stop me running.
On Wednesday I travelled down to Exeter with work and decided to stay at the YHA instead of a hotel. As the hostel was on the outskirts of the city and it being a really nice evening I went for another run along the canal path. It was really enjoyable following the wide meandering canal down to the coast. The knee at this stage didn't feel as bad as yesterday and it almost seemed like running on it was actually helping a bit to loosen the ligaments. Once I reached the coast I crossed the canal bridge and ran back on the other side. This turned out to be a really bad decision. There were warning signs saying that this side of the canal was a nature area and it recommended to use the tarmac path on the other side where I had come from. I decided to carry on and soon after I came across loads of nettles which just got worse and worse. The problem was that by the time it got really bad there was only another mile to go before I could cross back on the other side, so decided not to turn back the way I came. Lets just say I got stung a fair bit! Overall it was still an enjoyable run and wished I had access to run on scenic areas such as this back home. I think the distance was roughly 7 miles.
I then had dinner at the hostel and a reasonable nights sleep. Thankfully the hostel wasn't that busy and I think there were only about 10 of us that evening. I had my meetings at Exeter and then moved onto Bristol YHA for Thursday evening. I was slightly dubious about booking this hostel being an urban YHA and lets just say that my feelings were not far off the mark. It was full of rough youngsters making the place feel a bit like a Wacky Warehouse. I met a Dane who was sharing the room with me and we went out to Pizza Hut in the evening. Getting back at 10.30pm the kids were still making a total racket and thankfully my earplugs did the job. I did wake up at 4am and took the earplugs out and it seemed the kids were still making plenty of noise. I kind of felt really sorry for the others I was sharing the dorm with! I eventually woke up at 7.30am and the kids were still going strong even then!
During the daytime I had some more meetings, but by the end of the day things were catching up with me so decided not to have a run when I got back home in the evening. Besides what with the half marathon next week I need to taper off my training and also to let my feet recover as much as possible.
Today I went out for a short 3.5 mile run, but really struggled as my legs felt heavy and my chest tight. I'm hoping its just because I'm still really tired from the last couple of nights. On the plus side my knee didn't hurt much. I havent got a race tomorrow and in the coming week I wont do more than a couple of 5 mile runs at most to ensure I'm as fresh as possible for the half marathon at Stratford next Sunday.
On Wednesday I've got my next appointment at the Podiatrist which will involve lots of foot assessments etc and then a cast of my feet taken. I'm hoping that the custom make orthotics will solve the blister problem I've been having. I'll update the blog on Wednesday if there is anything interesting to report.
On Wednesday I travelled down to Exeter with work and decided to stay at the YHA instead of a hotel. As the hostel was on the outskirts of the city and it being a really nice evening I went for another run along the canal path. It was really enjoyable following the wide meandering canal down to the coast. The knee at this stage didn't feel as bad as yesterday and it almost seemed like running on it was actually helping a bit to loosen the ligaments. Once I reached the coast I crossed the canal bridge and ran back on the other side. This turned out to be a really bad decision. There were warning signs saying that this side of the canal was a nature area and it recommended to use the tarmac path on the other side where I had come from. I decided to carry on and soon after I came across loads of nettles which just got worse and worse. The problem was that by the time it got really bad there was only another mile to go before I could cross back on the other side, so decided not to turn back the way I came. Lets just say I got stung a fair bit! Overall it was still an enjoyable run and wished I had access to run on scenic areas such as this back home. I think the distance was roughly 7 miles.
I then had dinner at the hostel and a reasonable nights sleep. Thankfully the hostel wasn't that busy and I think there were only about 10 of us that evening. I had my meetings at Exeter and then moved onto Bristol YHA for Thursday evening. I was slightly dubious about booking this hostel being an urban YHA and lets just say that my feelings were not far off the mark. It was full of rough youngsters making the place feel a bit like a Wacky Warehouse. I met a Dane who was sharing the room with me and we went out to Pizza Hut in the evening. Getting back at 10.30pm the kids were still making a total racket and thankfully my earplugs did the job. I did wake up at 4am and took the earplugs out and it seemed the kids were still making plenty of noise. I kind of felt really sorry for the others I was sharing the dorm with! I eventually woke up at 7.30am and the kids were still going strong even then!
During the daytime I had some more meetings, but by the end of the day things were catching up with me so decided not to have a run when I got back home in the evening. Besides what with the half marathon next week I need to taper off my training and also to let my feet recover as much as possible.
Today I went out for a short 3.5 mile run, but really struggled as my legs felt heavy and my chest tight. I'm hoping its just because I'm still really tired from the last couple of nights. On the plus side my knee didn't hurt much. I havent got a race tomorrow and in the coming week I wont do more than a couple of 5 mile runs at most to ensure I'm as fresh as possible for the half marathon at Stratford next Sunday.
On Wednesday I've got my next appointment at the Podiatrist which will involve lots of foot assessments etc and then a cast of my feet taken. I'm hoping that the custom make orthotics will solve the blister problem I've been having. I'll update the blog on Wednesday if there is anything interesting to report.
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