After three fairly relaxed months after Christmas and that silly, alcohol fuelled decision to take part in the marathon, I suddenly realised the size of the task in front of me. I found myself spending every available moment frantically researching training programmes, dietary requirements, running gear and stretching techniques. Completely overwhelmed with the large amount of information out there I decided to start using a simple running app on my phone.
This gave me a 24 week programme which I started 6 weeks ago. Full of enthusiasm I stuck to the training programme religiously and after two weeks I instantly started to get ahead of myself! Having completed 33 miles in the first two weeks I decided it was a good idea to run to work at the end of week three. Not only was this to test my stamina, there was an ulterior motive behind the run… As it was Friday a few colleagues had decided to head into Sevenoaks after work for some beers and a curry and I didn’t want to drive – hence the run.
This was by far the longest run I have completed in one go at just over 9.5 miles and most of it up a steep gradient. I soon started to regret my actions. The following Monday, a small twinge quickly developed into me hobbling all over the place in pain. It turned out that I had pulled my gluteal muscle which was a complete pain in the arse to say the least! Excuse the pun.
Here is my route which I completed in 1.5 hours:
This led to me resting for just over a week, desperately trying to repair my gluteal knowing that in just over two weeks I would be attempting to walk 24 miles across North Yorkshire with the work team.
Week 5 came along and my behind was feeling much better so I decided to head out for a short run completing 3 miles. It still felt a little tight so I rested for two more days and then completed my fastest 10k on the Saturday without any problems. I think that the rest was the best thing to do and it definitely helped in building my strength. I’m now back to full training knowing all too well that you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. Listen to your body and stop if you need to. Sticking to a training programme religiously is not always the best way to train!
I’m looking forward to the Yorkshire Three Peaks walk, hoping that my current fitness levels will get me across the full 24 mile distance.
