Firstly, I’m not going to mention my mini stroke anymore, I feel by doing that I’m hanging on to it and it’s there ready as an excuse, I have no lasting physical effects so there is no reason why I should be running any differently. However I have had quite a few niggles recently, but they are worse in the morning and actually feel ok when I’m running fast, so get over it and crack on I think. Having said that, the wedding is coming up fast, we have a lot to do and then it’ll be hard to train on Honeymoon, so I’m thinking about ticking over until then, then back into full training when I get back.
0 Comments
You know when everyone tells you not to race, and you know yourself that you’re not ready to race, you would think that you might listen, wouldn’t you? Not me apparently! It’s now about eight weeks since I had a good block of training done. In fact it was before Blyth 10k. Since then I’ve been tired, had illness and raced too soon after my lay off and have had lower back pain because of it. Last Sunday I was at my lowest point, I’ve managed a couple of decent sessions but each time it’s taken about a week of limping around to get over it. I’m normally Mister consistent, I train week in week out, 70 to 85 miles a week, never miss a session and never get anything other than tired legs. This year started so well, January, Febuary and March I was running my best ever sessions and my highest miles, but I did over do it. I had a couple of good races then my Blood clot and a few weeks off. After my race on Sunday my legs were a mess. Usually if I go into a race fit I recover quite quick and find I’m ready to train again by the Tuesday, however at Manchester last week I ran well to 5k then realized that I was going to have to dig deep to run a good time. By the time I finished my quads were mashed. Prior to the race I was making a comeback from the blood clot in my eye, as well as this I had a few niggles going on in and around my Glutes. As I was racing I got a few shooting pains from my groin down my hamstrings and through my Glutes, by Tuesday this was getting really bad. After my PB on my bench mark loop last week I did another decent session on the track on Tuesday, not my best ever but certainly back on track. Normally after a hard Saturday session, I’m usually recovered by the Tuesday, however this week I still had the run in my legs. I had to dig deep on Saturdays run, having missed so many sessions in the last few weeks I’m fit enough to run a fast 3.6 mile but am I fit enough to keep it going for 10k? I got home Tuesday evening after the session to find a letter from the TIA consultant. In the letter it says that the blood clot in my eye is to be considered as a mini stroke, he also went on to say that I was able to return to running but not maximum effort! Well regular followers of my Blog will know that I’ve had a rough few weeks, what with overtraining fatigue and the blood clot in my eye. I’ve missed about three weeks training. To put you all in the picture, I’ve had blood tests, an ECG, Utra sound scan on my neck and a visit to the TIA clinic, so far everything is coming back clear. I still have more tests to take but I’ve been given the all clear to go back to work and run again. I’ve been told on a couple of occasions that I should stop running, firstly when I broke my leg rock climbing, then when I found out I had arthritis then after a knee injury. On each occasion my response was “you’re not telling me to stop running” however this time I was fully prepared to hang up my racing shoes if I was told to. Most people reading my Blog will know me for road running and cross country races, but what a lot of people don’t know is that my heart is in the Fells. There have been a few truly great athletic moments that have motivated me over the years. The Moscow Olympics, with the Coe Ovett rivalry, more importantly the Coe comeback after the whole world wrote him off, Seeing Steve Cram getting a Championship qualifying time at a local Tyneside track league, myself and about 100 other local young athletes did a lap of honor with him. Seeing Steve Cram breaking world records on the track. Well this is fast becoming a non running blog! A week gone Tuesday I had a stinker of a session, one of my worst ever, we put it down to being tired and over training so decided to have a week off. During the rest week all I did was core work, but was still feeling tired, even falling asleep in the chair, which isn’t like me. On the Saturday I didn’t feel right, but I managed to pin point why I was feeling a bit nauseous, when I closed my left eye, I couldn’t see properly out of my right eye. I had a blind spot, it was as if I was looking through frosted glass. This left me feeling quite uncomfortable, but I just put it down to possibly a scratch or something that would just go away in time. After a really good winter of training, I have eventually ran myself to a standstill. As anyone who has been reading my blog will know the first 3 months of this year I was running 80 to 85 miles and 3 good sessions a week, I did a few of the local relays and then Blyth and North Tyneside 10k’s. My races went well, but looking back I think I actually peaked about two weeks before Blyth, I was flying in sessions, running fast and feeling strong. The last few sessions haven’t been going so well, I’ve been feeling more and more tired and this Tuesday it all ground to a halt. After my race on Sunday my legs felt tired so I had an easy run on the Monday and a light massage off Clare. I remember a time long, long ago when I was young and I had bouncy fresh legs, Id go down to the track do 800 meters warm up blast a session 800m warm down, get home, go to bed and wake up ready to go again. It was also possible in those days to race a couple of times a week and have no problems, now however, it’s another story. I race on a Sunday and it takes me best part of a week to get over it. |
Iain TwaddleIain Twaddle is one of the most popular runners on the North East athletics circuit. He joined his local running club, North Shields Poly, at the age of 9 and reached County level as a teenager. He since gone on to become one of Britain's top veteran distance runners. Archives
March 2013
Categories
All
|