week ending 25/5/14

just 55 miles in 9 runs - cramp in quads, feet, and chest still stopping me.  This run of low milage weeks in an already inconsistant season means I believe I cannot now run a good 100km this year.  So, I have decided to bow out of competition and pass into retirement with a fizzle.  I might try again if my Lyme symptoms disappear, but being now two years post-treatment, they are most likely to remain.

In the end, I have not achieved anything of note over the 100km, but I certainly could have.  More important than anything else, I put heart, body, and soul into giving it 100% and so retire contented.

Week ending 18/5/14

The cramps continue, limiting me to just 58 miles in 9 runs this week.

week ending 11/04/14

Just 15 miles this week in 3 runs.  The knee cap appears to be OK again so I will try a week of steady running and plan where to go from here.  The edinburgh marathon is certainly now off though, falling less than 2 weeks away.

Cramps and fatigue have been pretty bad again for all of the last 10 days, and I've needed lots of sleep despite not training - the third period like this in the past 9 months - hopefully its just another virus triggering the Lyme symptoms again but it is worrying.

week ending 04/05/14

Just 5 miles this week, a mid week test for the kneecap - was painful the next day.  Cycled to work 3 days, but cycling doesn't stop the fitness draining away in my experience.  Have also been feeling fatigued and headachey this week, hopefully its just a virus and not Lyme symtoms returning again.

week ending 27/04/14

Another set-back:  Just 25 miles in total this week in 4 runs, because I have a sore knee cap - a problem experience tells me is unlikely to disappear quickly.

I've had this 4 or 5 times in the past 4 years:  Its caused by cramping (Lyme related) and shortening of my quads which alters patella tracking and irritates the cartiladge.  Its fixed by lots of quads massage along with hip and quad strengthening exercises.  In the past it has taken between 3 weeks and 4 months to get back to running.

Very frustrating - yet again I've travelled the route from anger to sadness to acceptace that this is just how it is.  Now, it boils down again to my choice, either to give it up or to give it 100% one more time, and I can't answer this until I see how long it takes to heal.

week ending 20/04/14

A good week.  The 2.2mile race was a shock to the system, I felt strong but uncoordinated, and never really settled.  I didn't push too hard because of the recent mystery injury - with no sign of that coming back I should now be safe to start 800m reps this coming week.

Total Miles	Total number of runs	Quality sessions	Longest run	Other
111	14	2.2mile race 6.5mile Fartlek	18.5	c.30mins massage X7 c.10mins yoga X7 Hip+Core work X1

wk ending 13/04/14

The injury...healed! Whatever it was causing swelling and pain behind the tibia for 5 days subsided by last weekend, so after a couple of short test jogs on sat and sunday, I restarted training on monday:

Total Miles	Total number of runs	Quality sessions	Longest run	Other
105	13	4 mile fartlek	18 miles	c.30mins massage X7 c.10mins yoga X7 Hip & Core work X1

Decided not to do any testing speedwork this week as a precaution and after feeling pretty stiff monday and tuesday, I felt better as the week went on.

I really don't know what the injury, even with cycling and aquajogging last week helping with bloodflow and speeding up healing, 7 days for something so painful is almost unbelievable.  (I did 13 rides totalling c.90 miles, pushing with my heels on the pedals to rest my toes, and 1/2 hour 'hard' aquajogging)

I'd say my chance of a 6:40 at Winchoten in Sept has lept back up, maybe as high as 10%!