Its time for another weekly running update. I'm pleased to report that I'm still keeping it consistent, and keeping up with the regular sessions. This was meant to be written earlier in the week, but time got away from me, for reasons which will be explained later...
Monday
The week got up and running on Monday... I was working from home, and had wanted to run straight after work, but first I needed to post a parcel to my partner. We don't really 'celebrate' Valentines Day that much, but we do get each other a card to mark the occasion. As she is currently studying in Carlisle, then its not worth sending her anything extravagant, but I did find some heart shaped Haribo sweets, so I sent those... she does like her Haribo lol
After a mostly relaxed day working from home, I logged out sharp at 4pm, and headed straight to Post Office in the village to post it
The weather was cold and dry by this point, but rain was in the air, and I expected to be soaked later that evening...
And lo and behold, I did indeed get soaked!
I wasn't sure where to run, but I was aiming for about 12km (which is standard for a Monday evening). In the end I eventually decided on the bypass route. Its 5km out to the farthest point, and features a long, gentle but relentless hill which is about 1km long.
So 5km out, 2 hill reps, 5km back - would make 12km... perfect!
However, as expected, the rain started literally as I left the house. Zero degrees, cold headwind, rain AND in the dark... it was NOT a fun session, but I persevered and got it done.
Distance for the week so far: 15km (12.5km run, 2.5km walk)
Tuesday
I was in the office on Tuesday and after I had a fairly boring and non-descript day, it was time to head home. As I knew I wasn't running today, I decided to have a long walk home instead.
The people in the office think I'm daft for doing this, but I explain that as I don't drive, I often walk long distances. It doesn't really bother me, and I think many people have become so reliant on driving.
Besides, If I finished at 5pm and both buses were on time, I'd get home at 6pm, so it takes a whole hour. I can walk the whole way in less than 1hr 20 minutes, its not much different, plus I get the bonus of finally getting fresh air and moving after 8 hours staring a computer screen
Distance for the week so far: 22km (12.5km run, 9.5km walk)
Wednesday
Ah... and then we get to Wednesday...
I'm really annoyed about this day. I'd had another unmemorable day working from home, and as it was my turn to 'man' the office phone, I couldn't finish until 5pm.
I immediately got changed and headed out, but realized that my head torch wasn't fully charged, and so wasn't as bright as it should be. I decided for safety's sake (!), that I would stick to running round the village streets under the streetlights
The run was going well, and I was feeling great, it felt easy and yet supremely comfortable... I was having a gret time until disaster struck...
er...yep, those are pictures of my battered knees.
In a moment of my mind wandering, I managed to trip over the edge of a paving slab, and in what felt like slow-motion, I collapsed in a heap on the ground. Both my hands are a mess, both Knees are sore, I've scrapped the skin off my right knee, I've scrapped my left elbow... and the worse bit was that in the fall I've managed to land in such a way that my left arm has managed to bruise my ribs.
Fortunately it was dark, so no one saw this. After a moment to pause, I clambered gingerly back onto my feet and carried on running the best I could.
So annoying. I'd felt so good, the previous hip-niggle was no where to be seen, and then suddenly it all goes wrong.
By the time I eventually got home, the blood had run down to my socks, and splattered my shoes (luckily its an old pair due to be retired soon) and I spent the rest of the evening trying to patch myself up.
Although the hand/knees/elbow are bloody and painful, the biggest concern is my ribs. After I had a shower, and the adrenaline had worn off, I noticed just how sore they felt, and how much it was limiting my mobility. I struggled to put my tshirt on, and reach up to get some food out of the kitchen cupboard... it even hurt just to breath in, and I wasn't looking forward to sleeping that night
Distance for the week so far: 35.5km (26km run, 9.5km walk)
Thursday
Well, as expected, my nights sleep was appalling. I initially laid on my back as that was pain free, but there is no way I'm sleeping in that position, after a couple of hours I managed to get into a position on my right side which was pain free as long as I laid completely still.
After waking a couple of times during the night, and struggling to get comfortable again, I eventually got up at 6am. I could've don with a day at home (as I have the option/ability to do this), but I wanted to go in as I had a meeting with the Cashiers team
Its a post for another time really, but there is a new job which will be advertised so, and I wanted to talk to the team involved to find out more about it. Its not that I don't like my current job, I'm just getting a little bored and complacent with my current role
The day at work wasn't too bad, but everyone noticed my lack of mobility (or rather they noticed me pulling faces everytime I tried to move!)
My hands/knees seemed to be ok for the most part, it was just my ribs that are sore... I'd planned to walk part of the way home today, and I couldn't see that making any difference (good or bad) to my ribs
After I walked home, I decided to go for a little run.
It might not have sounded like a sensible choice, but I had already planned to do a shorter run on Thursday evening before the fall the previous day, and I'm not vey good at changing those plans!
As it happened, the walk showed that my legs were fine, if slightly sore, and I had no reason to think the run would make my ribs any worse (I don't use the ribs in running lol)
After the run was a quick shower, and then I headed early to bed, for another fitful nights sleep. I spent a lot of time laying there resting, which is better than nothing I guess
Distance for the week so far: 46km (31km run, 15km walk)
Friday
Friday just seemed to drag. There wasn't much to do, there were only a handful of people in the office and most of 'em were already in weekend mode... it was a goodthing really, as I wasn't interested in doing much work today anyway.
At 4:45 I'd had enough and logged out, and walked down the hill to the bus station to catch the bus home:
Distance for the week so far: 48km (31km run, 17km walk)
Talking of weekends, its actually a 4 day weekend for me, as I've also booked the Monday and Tuesday off next week. There is no real reason, and I've got nothing particularly planned, but I need to use up the last of my Annual Leave for this year. I think I'll check with my Dad and see if he wants to go out for a walk somewhere... I may even dust off my camera for a rare outing, but we shall see
to be fair, I'm not sure I can carry a camera at the moment haha!
Anyway, thats enough for now. I'll be back with another post tomorrow, where I'll talk about my weekend activities... and more importantly, will I ignore the bruised ribs and attempt a long run, or play it safe and sensible...?
I think you can already guess what I'm gonna do!
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That looks like it was a nasty fall. I've had a few scrapes from trips and it always happens so quickly. You did well to run again, but I know it can be hard to sleep when you are sore. I hope you can recover fairly quickly. I do wonder if things like this toughen us up. I think runners can develop better balance and stability that can be useful as you get older.
Its the worse I've had in a while... so annoying. I thinks its down to the fact that I don't always pick my feet up high enough, especially if I'm tired. Its ok if the path is flat, but there's been a couple of near-misses where I've nearly tripped.
I hope so too, especially so I can get a proper nights sleep, thats seems to be the worst bit at the moment!
I could do with practicing some of this lol!
I don't pick my feet up much either. My worst trip was at a parkrun on a gravel path.
I have been working on my balance. I sometimes stand on one leg whilst brushing my teeth. The Wii Fit had some good exercises for balance.
Ugh! Gravel is the worst!
Yep have been looking for some single leg balance exercises to incorporate into my stretching routine
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BEER.Ouch!! That looks nasty! I managed to avoid blood so far and I would like to keep it this way (knock on the wood), not counting bloody toenails :p
This!
And walking is just so enjoyable...
er... it was pretty unpleasant, and I hope you avoid it too! (knock on wood)
Yep yep! Its good for the mind, and good for the soul!
Oops that seems to be a severe accident on your leg. Hope it gets treated and wishing you speedy recovery
Thank you :-)
My knees are much better, and the pain in my ribs is still annoying, but I think I'm beginning to see improvements there as well