Things I Have Learnt This Month

Destruction in Denham Woods

February 2014. Eight weeks into the Year of Silly. Not everything is going as well as planned. After an excellent start to the year, training was going well; diet was going well; confidence was high; books on Ultra running were bought and read. What could possibly go wrong? Then, in few short weeks, it did all go wrong. My training schedule was not so much derailed, as destroyed and washed away, as rapidly and violently as the railway line at Dawlish.

Shortly after my previous blogg entry, I felt tired and drained. I thought I had been careful and trained hard but smartly; but when running close to the edge, occasionally you fall off. I had over trained and needed a few days off. I rested, and felt good again. Revitalised, I hit the trails again. The weather was as foul as ever. Wind, rain, mud, fallen trees, meant some runs were as much assault courses as anything else- but that was part of the fun! Week end runs were regularly hitting 20+ miles. I was strong. I was confident. I felt invincible. This was going to be a great year.

Then an old injury stopped me in its tracks. In November 2013, I turned my ankle. I didn't think much of it. I rested it a bit. Iced it. Went to see a sports physiotherapist. Told there was no major damage, so carried on running. Thought nothing of it. Until it became sore again some 3 months later. Went to back to have it checked. NO RUNNING FOR 3 WHOLE WEEKS. Well, only 3 x 5 miles per week maximum.

Turned Ankle
8th November 2013

There was no muscle or ligament damage, but it was weak, and I had been overcompensating, so my other leg muscles were very tight. I didn't take this well. I was relieved that I was not damaged goods, but not that I couldn't run!  I was allowed to cycle, so it wasn't all bad. I like cycling- but this was a year of running!

It was a bad week. I was not in a good mood. I read up on ankle sprains & rehabilitation [I know, I know; bit late I hear you say?] and that made me even more depressed. Seems they can be quite serious and hard to heal. Great. So why not take the time to build a website. I have been meaning to do this for a while. Watched a YouTube video and away I went. It wasn't as easy as the video made out (!), but I now have the skeleton of a website: Get Out Moor now has a website. How exciting. It needs work, but I'm pleased with it so far. February hasn't all been doom & gloom then!


So, what have I learnt this month:

• Training too hard, too quickly, is not advisable.
• A turned ankle is a more serious injury than I realised.
• When your coach says,rest, ice, compress, elevate. Listen to her. [I was reluctant to do this when I first turned my ankle, as I did not recognise the serious of it; my coach did!]
• I don't take being injured very well!
• How to build a website: this is a skill I never thought I could master, but YouTube is a marvellous source of information. 
• The wind and rain will stop, eventually, and one can go out for a lovely cycle in the sun {not that I'm a fair weather cyclist you understand; it's just more pleasant}

A Cycle in The Sun