This is an even more delayed week round up to last week’s delayed round up. There’s no excuse this time. I could have done it on Sunday, or even on Monday.
However, here it is, on Wednesday morning, now that I’ve stopped feeling sorry for myself. Not about the failed run on Saturday so much as an injury of sorts that I have on my right leg. Not really an injury, but more of a pre-injury niggle that probably needs to be attended to rather than ignored.
My right leg never feels as strong as my left, and is often the one that starts feeling the calf burns first, on a long run. It is the side where the lower back pain might start or the glute feel tight. It’s definitely the Danny DeVito of the two. I’m not saying my left leg is Arnold Schwarzenegger but there is a more invincible swagger to its walk.
I woke up on Sunday morning with a tightness in the buttock. And as I swung my legs out of the bed I could feel a pain travel down the outside of my leg to the quads and down to my knee. When I asked Nigel to investigate on Monday, he gave me movements to do with a tennis ball and a foam roller (not at the same time) which have eased it a little. It’s a little like Sciatica although it’s a different nerve to the Sciatic nerve – the ‘femoral cutaneous nerve’.
With it getting better, I attempted a little 5K jog yesterday to try it out. It took 37 minutes, which normally, for me, would be completely comfortable but my breathing was starting to feel laboured so I think I’m going to give it another couple of days to rest.
This does not bode well for my Oulton Park 20 miler on March 5th. It was a race I’d booked late last year, to keep me on track for the marathon. I wasn’t planning to race it but use it as a catered long slow run, although to be fair, my long slow run pace is probably my marathon pace at the minute. If I rest now, I may still be able to do it, and even if I run/walk it and take 5 hours, which I probably will end up doing, it will still be a confidence boost. This bit of down time could almost be looked at as a mini taper if I can get my mindset in the right place.
I shouldn’t be moaning at all really, as yesterday we were sitting in Arrowe Park’s emergency room as my wife Anne was suddenly having some incredibly acute pains in her hip and glutes – obviously in sympathy with me but quadrupled down in the pain factor. We ended up coming back without really being seen as there was a three and a half hour waiting time. Apparently that was better than the six hour waiting time of the previous day.
Anne has a high pain threshold with what she sometimes has to go through with her Rheumatoid Arthritis but she was almost crying with this pain so there was no way she could stand (it was too painful to sit) in that waiting room that long. As she could walk we were fairly certain we could manage it by painkillers and ice and heat rotation. They’ve squeezed an appointment in for her at our GPs this afternoon, so hopefully we’ll get to the root of it.
Anyway, here’s my Week 7 training breakdown:
| Day | What I Did | What Ben Wanted Me To Do |
| Monday | nothing | 3 miles easy Strength (30 mins) |
| Tuesday | Early morning run 4.34 miles easy [6.98 km] (avg: 11.51 min/miles [7.15 min/km] ) Babysitting both boys Club run 5.16 miles tempo [8.3 km] (avg: 10.56 min/miles [6.56 min/km]) | Rest |
| Wednesday | Strength and Mobility class – 1 hr | 4 miles Tempo 1 mile easy, 2 miles tempo, 1 mile easy |
| Thursday | Club Track Session 2 mile warm up (with jogging to the track) drills 2 x 200 metres (avg 6.48 m/ml [4.03m/km]) 1 x 1200 metres (avg 8.32 m/ml [5.17m/km]) 2 x 600 metres (avg 7.28 m/ml [4.52m/km]) 2 x 200 metres (avg 6.47 m/ml [4.02m/km]) | 3 miles easy and 4 x strides |
| Friday | Babysitting both boys | Rest |
| Saturday | 13.86 miles [22.30 km] I did do the first 3 miles of marathon pace but kept the easy pace for the rest of what I managed. (avg 11.58 mins/mile) [7.19 m/km] | Long Run (18 miles) 4 miles easy 3 miles marathon pace 4 miles easy 3 miles marathon pace 4 miles easy |
| Sunday | A lie down in a dark room | Rest |
(heading photo taken from The Independent)
theleadlesspencil 
I have every sympathy with you Rita as I am currently experiencing a similar injury but with my left leg! Could the track session have brought it on? I always found running round the bends on a track could aggravate any weaknesses. Good luck and keep stretching.
Oh bad news Gordon, sorry to hear that. I never thought about the track. It’s not happened before but then I’ve not had this level of tightness before for anything. The tennis ball is working, and each day it feels better.
My wife also has a painful glute at the moment – it must be in fashion. Hope all the glutes get better quickly and, especially, that the GP has been able to help Anne.
It would be the only thing I’m fashionable with then! Anne’s getting an X-ray tomorrow. It’s either bursar inflammation or a possible compression fracture in her lower lumbar. Makes my glute issues sound pathetic!
Fingers crossed for the best outcome.
Sorry to hear about Anne having pain issues. I know how miserable that can be. I hope she is feeling better, and the x-ray can give answers with how to treat it. As for your pain, I hope rest will help you in that department. You have worked trained too hard for an injury to sideline you. Prayers for both you and Anne.
Thank you Kat. Anne’s issue, a compression fracture on her lower spine will heal itself slowly (albeit always be there). She’s managing with painkillers but she’s started to go to the pool to do aqua aerobics, so she’s doing well. My leg is two steps forward and one step back but it is going to be alright!
Yay! Glad to hear both of you are healing.