Feeling blue
The last week has been tough. Since the Ultra I have been experiencing the post run blues I have come to expect after the high of a big event. Having emptied myself physically, mentally and emotionally my body seems to have shut down in order to regroup and start to build up its reserves again.
On Monday morning I was surprised to find that I could quite comfortably walk down the stairs. Given how I had felt 12 hours previously that was a minor miracle. My legs didn't ache and, although I didn't have the best night's sleep due to our new kitten, I felt rested.
Tuesday was a different story as a splitting headache kept me in bed all day. This eventually subsided leaving me feeling drained and tired. I also had a strange numbness in my upper thigh interspersed with pins and needles sensations that seemed to move around under the skin. Something that I have never experienced before.
A trawl of the internet brought up all sorts of scary possibilities so I chose to ignore all the advice and rely on some good old fashioned stretching exercises. Nothing changed.
As the week wore on I began to notice how depleted my legs were of any energy. It is only a mile and a half to my workplace and I often walk it in twenty minutes no problem, I was now taking over half an hour although that is probably still faster than the speed I was going towards the end of the Isle of Wight race!
By the weekend I was feeling slightly better although the strange sensations in my legs continued to concern me. I hadn't run since reaching the finish line in Cowes and was raring to get back to it at Parkrun on Saturday morning.
The predicted rain hadn't yet come when I arrived at the Racecourse for the 9am start. There was a good crowd with 250 people taking part. My aim was to 'bimble' round at a steady pace and just give my legs a run out.
I started slowly and then began to pick up the pace on the second lap. As ever I couldn't resist pushing myself to overtake those in front of me on the final stretch and came in 36th in 21:44. I felt as though I had run a near PB.
I'm beginning to understand just how much long distance running takes out of the body. A week's rest is nowhere near sufficient to recover from the kind of efforts I have demanded of my legs. I'm realising that I need to be more patient with myself, listen to my body and give myself time to fully recuperate.
So as I let the mileage decrease for a while I am going to focus on the muscle groups that have been sitting around watching for the last six months. Yes, I'm talking to you Abs and arms. During July I am taking on a month's challenge which will include increasing reps of crunches, twix and snickers... I mean crunches, press ups and planks.
I'll steadily build these up over the 31 days in an effort to make these exercises a regular habit. I will continue with my Saturday Parkrun and a couple of short jogs but no more long distance events for me until September when I am entered into the Great North Run, a half marathon distance.
On Monday morning I was surprised to find that I could quite comfortably walk down the stairs. Given how I had felt 12 hours previously that was a minor miracle. My legs didn't ache and, although I didn't have the best night's sleep due to our new kitten, I felt rested.
Tuesday was a different story as a splitting headache kept me in bed all day. This eventually subsided leaving me feeling drained and tired. I also had a strange numbness in my upper thigh interspersed with pins and needles sensations that seemed to move around under the skin. Something that I have never experienced before.
A trawl of the internet brought up all sorts of scary possibilities so I chose to ignore all the advice and rely on some good old fashioned stretching exercises. Nothing changed.
As the week wore on I began to notice how depleted my legs were of any energy. It is only a mile and a half to my workplace and I often walk it in twenty minutes no problem, I was now taking over half an hour although that is probably still faster than the speed I was going towards the end of the Isle of Wight race!
By the weekend I was feeling slightly better although the strange sensations in my legs continued to concern me. I hadn't run since reaching the finish line in Cowes and was raring to get back to it at Parkrun on Saturday morning.
The predicted rain hadn't yet come when I arrived at the Racecourse for the 9am start. There was a good crowd with 250 people taking part. My aim was to 'bimble' round at a steady pace and just give my legs a run out.
I started slowly and then began to pick up the pace on the second lap. As ever I couldn't resist pushing myself to overtake those in front of me on the final stretch and came in 36th in 21:44. I felt as though I had run a near PB.
I'm beginning to understand just how much long distance running takes out of the body. A week's rest is nowhere near sufficient to recover from the kind of efforts I have demanded of my legs. I'm realising that I need to be more patient with myself, listen to my body and give myself time to fully recuperate.
So as I let the mileage decrease for a while I am going to focus on the muscle groups that have been sitting around watching for the last six months. Yes, I'm talking to you Abs and arms. During July I am taking on a month's challenge which will include increasing reps of crunches, twix and snickers... I mean crunches, press ups and planks.
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| I'm swapping leg-raises for push-ups |
