Woohoo. After my enforced rest the Physio gave me the go-ahead to start running again on Tuesday. I had actually gone to the Physio in my running gear in the hope that the answer would be yes. To be honest I knew it would be as my leg was much better and after some prodding and manipulation he agreed with me. Shame that I still had 30 minutes of my appointment left and so he massacred my tight calves.
So I left Achilles Heel limping more than I had when I went in but feeling fabulous that at last I could run again. I drove to a field beside my house and then attempted to run. It was pretty horrific and I must have looked hilarious as I tried to run again. Everything was tight and sore but after 5 minutes I was off. This lasted another 5 minutes and then my body decided it liked being a lazy bugger and decided to get slower and slower. Still I was happy to get out and logged 2.5 miles. On Wednesday I logged another 6 miles and then today it was 8. Today felt great and no problems with my shin but I honestly feel like I ran 30 miles. I was just tired, my legs ached and my HR was just way higher than it normally is for an easy run. Hopefully though after another few more runs everything will settle down.
I also spoke to Graeme at Hampden Park and it was this conversation that brought me back to earth a bit.
The Highland Fling race is probably not going to happen for me. It's not that I can't do it. Heck I could run it tomorrow but the problem is that if I get injured or take too long to recover then my WHW is finished and so is my season.
I am not going to make any definite decisions yet though. I am going to wait until the Monday before the race and I am going to train as if I was still doing the race too. I may still do it but the benefits really do have to out weigh the risks and with a race of 53 miles this is hard to justify.
I am not unhappy about this decision at all. Actually I feel quite grown up and I know that the Fling is a B race for me but the WHW is my A race. Last year I actually felt my fittest in the Fling. Fitter than the WHW and so this enforced rest may be a way to try something new. Richie didn't finish the Fling last year and he did pretty good at the WHW. So everything happens for a reason.
So at the moment I am 50/50 for doing it. I will see how the next week or so goes and make a decision then.
Good luck to Athole, Euan C, Euan G, Russ and everyone else that is doing the London Marathon this weekend.
4 comments:
Glad you're running again and a good attitude about the Fling. I've never been convinced it's the best preparation for the WHW race, but everyone does it because it is there. It will do no harm at all to give it a miss.
got to disagree about the Fling. There's 6 weeks to recover! It's the best preparation you can get for body and mind. I blew it last year and if i hadn't been on that start line i wouldn't have learned the lessons i needed to learn that day. Race, race, race that's what i say :o)
...mind you if you've a risk of injury then maybe best playing it safe?? You're the only one who can decide...
To counter-balance SAC, my gut is saying "don't do it" - you know the whw, you've raced on it many times already, and although there is something to be learned on each new experience, I just don't see how your performance come June would benefit from racing the Fling. I would argue that 6 weeks isn't enough time to recover properly, especially while commencing with further training for the "big day". I don't know the physiological intricacies here, but even though you may no longer feel sore or fatigued a week post-Fling, there is, to echo Nick Anderson (GBR endurance coach), "massive damage and disruption to our energy systems at a sub-cellular level. So even if we’re not feeling stiff any more, actually our muscles aren’t working optimally until the energy systems and sub-cellular structures are repaired and fully operational again. This can take a full month." It should be noted: I am basing all this on my experience with marathon training/racing and the exercise physiology as applies to the marathon distance. Ultras are very different in terms of which energy systems are used and how, but I would imagine that this so-called sub-cellular damage is at least equal to the marathon in many respects. However, all that said, if you treat the Fling as a true training effort and have the will power to stay on proper WHW training pace, as opposed to Fling race pace, then go right ahead with it - get a good training run on "race" day and enjoy the atmosphere that comes with it, while controlling the damage sustained to your body. You need to get training in at that distance anyway, I would presume. Whew, as someone who is totally ignorant about ultras, I sure have a lot to say! Take all this with a grain of salt of course. I just want to see you do well and enjoy it. In thinking out loud here, it seems like the really tricky bit will be allowing your body to recover properly in that last month without compromising your aerobic system through inactivity. Get that right and your golden.
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