Monday: 20 mins on the bike, physio exercises + foam roller
Tuesday: Grass XC session - in a Keith Brackstone/Mike Downs style from my days in Bristol I did a session of 6 mins, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 w/ rec of 3, 2, 90s, 60s. I wanted to test out how my knee coped with running in XC spikes before another potential race at the weekend. It was a tough session and I really felt my lack of fitness, but I didn't have any problems with my knee or IT band and got some good stretching, core & physio exercises in later in the day.
Wednesday: 8 mile run. Accidentally ran more than the 5 miles I planned. The paths I'd planned to run down were closed due to sewage works and I ended up taking a detour that was much much longer than I thought. It was a good run though! Physio exercises & foam roller later.
Thursday: 5.5 mile run + strides. Feeling ok despite yesterday, physio exercises & foam roller
Friday: Gentle swim and a good 20 mins in the jacuzzi to try and water massage any stiffness in my legs from the last few days training.
Saturday: North Staffs XC - 11th.
Lisa, Juliet, Me, Amanda
So it was a decent result, and the highest I've ever finished in this league, but unfortunately that's not the whole story and I'm so unhappy with this race I can feel a proper good whinge coming on! I was expecting a 5km course, and looking at the course map and the results from last year, it definitely should have been 5km. However after running 1 lap it was clear this was going to be more like 4 miles! I woke up not feeling terribly enthusiastic for racing, and I guess my heart wasn't in it. Without the confidence of consistent training I set off a bit too slow and once gaps open up it can be tough to close them. I also really struggled with the distance and did at one point contemplate walking, until I realised I was doing quite well and it would be ridiculous to walk. I just slowed down a bit and took it a little easier. I also underestimated the effect of twists and turns in the woods and the undulating terrain. By the time I finished the race my knee and IT band were both very sore and warming down was pretty uncomfortable.
I felt like I hadn't really "raced" the race at all, apart from a nice sprint finish when I realised I had a mere 20m to go! Despite my individual disappointment it was a great day for the team - and that was my whole reason for racing today. With 11th (Me), 18th (Amanda - having a fantastic first XC race back after giving birth!), 27th (Juliet), 33rd (Lisa) and 46th (Sarah T) we finished 1st team in our division. Well done ladies! It's great to be part of such a fantastic team - delicious cake from Lisa and Juliet definitely cheered me up!
Lisa, Sarah T, Juliet, Me, Amanda
Sunday: I managed a very slow 1 mile jog before admitting that it was just too painful. Knee and IT band very much in need of some TLC. I'm not sure whether it was the terrain or the distance I raced on Saturday that's affected my injury so badly, or more likely a combination of both. Either way, I'm now a very grumpy non-runner for at least a couple of days till it eases off.
In the meantime I'm working on my Yoga and have a set of poses specifically for ITBS...which given my IT Band problems are exceptionally hard. They better work!!
One of the most frustrating things about being injured, apart from not being able to run, is not being able to plan! I love planning - racing, training, etc and not being able to even know if I'll be able to do a race in a couple of days let along plan my training for the next week is really annoying me. At least I can plan all my physio exercises and stretching...silver lining, yep!
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