w/e 21/3/10 - Little by Little

Little by little, the time goes
Little by little, the days pass by
Little by little, the air clears
Little by little, I can breathe again
I can breathe again --

An inauspicious week's training, in terms of where I should be right now, heading towards that date in June....but a leap forward from where I thought I was going to be.

Little by little, that's the key right now I think. Too much too soon and I'm going to set myself back very quickly.

The knee - another trip back to the osteo, having done the exercises, and it's definitely feeling easier although there's still a slight niggle that seems to increase when going up steep slopes. Nowhere near as bad though. Osteo said it felt a lot smoother, but did warn that it was "early days" and to be cautious.

The ankle - the best recovery I've ever had from a badly sprained ankle. The bruising has pretty much gone, there's a little pain with the foot twisted, but the proprioception seems to have returned remarkably quickly :-)

The achilles - well it's certainly proved to be an achilles heel! I thought I was pretty much over this, but a speedy type session with Kirsten on tarmac on Wednesday night saw it flare up again on Thursday. When I saw the osteo on Friday, he was more concerned about this than the knee! In particular he warned that there's a "nick" in the tendon. Now this MIGHT be the way it's healed (I suspect so) but it's clear that there is a chance of it snapping at some point. Nowt much I can do though, apart from carry on regardless, and back off if it feels overworked or tender.

So, in all, 3 runs for the week - which is 3 more than I expected at this stage!!

Tuesday - a gentle 6 miles, initially along the canal to Hebden, then up over Erringden Moor and down into Mytholmroyd and home. Lovely day for it. Felt awkward to begin with, favouring the right leg badly. But it felt easier by the end to be honest.

Wednesday - the idea was a speed session for Kirsten, with me trotting around. But of course, I joined in!! Lampposts....lovely!!! Quite a long session, and Kirsten started out at a reasonable pace....but gave the game away by talking immediately after finishing one of the longer reps....mistake!!!! "You shouldn't be able to talk so soon...you're not putting enough effort in!" :-)

So the rest of the reps were run at a noticeably quicker pace...and there's no doubt the leg speed is there for her. Just more training, more speedwork in particular,and an appreciation of the level of effort you have to put in when you're running fast :-)

I enjoyed the session as well. I used to love speedwork when I was down in Shropshire. And it does improve you. But it also takes a hefty toll on the joints etc when you're on tarmac. Hopefully, with the lighter nights, we can do some sessions on grass.

I rested for a few days then, to let the achilles calm down a bit, then went out for 5 miles or so on Sunday afternoon. And, significantly, this was the first run back with proper off-road and a wee bit of climb. Along to Foster Clough, around to Old Town, back past Churn Milk Joan, through Midgley, and down. A nice run, met Richard B at Joan and had a nice chat. Knee twinged a bit on the steeper ups, but was fine on the down...and the ankle held out fine :-)

So, it's cautious, but the comeback is at least underway. I'll see how it progresses this week. Run planned tonight, possibly a trot out tomorrow, then an LDWA event at the weekend.

I can breathe again.......

Total for the week - 16 miles and 1,500ft