Annoying

I've been planning to up the number of runs I do, gradually increasing the distance as I get fitter. A modest ambition by any standards. And as of the previous run, it seemed to be going well. (Not that one run can really be a sign of progress, but it's a start) 

And so with high hopes I left home this morning thinking I'd do the same route, perhaps adding on a little loop around the prison.

It was going so well, knees mainly  OK, feet acceptable, lungs protesting but holding up.

But my pigging calf. Again, it feels like it's taken a kicking, it was getting worse so I cut it short and came home. I've stretched the thing, strengthened the thing (this is as well as doing stretches before I left), and yet here I am again, aching and knowing I"m going to have to wait for it to calm down before I can even think about heading out on my mission again.

I could accept the cost of a physio, like the lovely one at Moti, and see what I can do to get over it as I do believe I can do the running but not at the cost of my calf. I can't even tell if it's the muscle or the Achilles - feels a bit too high for the Achilles but I guess it is quite a long thing. 

So - how much do I want to keep running and how much am I willing to pay for it? Or do I google the rest of today and work out a plan which may make it worse. 

grr. 

3.15km

6min 50 per km 

Can't do hills

I was doing so well I thought I'd do a slightly longer loop which involved a 100m or so of a gentle incline. I made it past a recycling truck and onto one of the cut-throughs near the allotments. But by the time I was away from public view, I just had to walk for a bit. 50 paces. I counted them and set off again. After that, I was home and dry. Well, dripping with sweat. It's the start of a few days of a heatwave so I was out and back by 720. Don't really like the heat, not when it's almost 30 degrees.

But well done me, right?

Niggles: surprisingly (and reassuringly) my left calf/Achilles were ok. My right knee was painful for a bit but got better.  My left hip - which I think was has always been a slight issue, even going back as far as the half  marathon (2006, still feel proud of having done it!) 

But generally, I survived. I'm away for 2 weeks after the end of next week so if I can actually do 3 runs before then I will consider taking my kit and going for runs when I"m there. Except people will want to run with me and that feels too stressful. 

4.96km

6m 53 per km 

Slow, but so what.