It started off so well too. The first 3.1miles were at Cross Flatts Parkrun. I had previously avoided Parkruns as Saturday was one of my rest days. If I did want to run on Saturday I could be up, out of the house, and back home before Parkrun started. But I've now been six times and I do like the community aspect and the comradery that I assume you get at running clubs. Being a solo runner this is as close to a club as I have experienced.
On Sunday I faced my own personal demon, Churwell Hill. I started running up Elland Road as part of my half marathon training and I have never looked back. It is about as steep an incline as we have in South Leeds and it's almost as tricky to run down as it is to run up. With close to 10 miles already in the bag I took my first scheduled rest day in my stride on Monday as I got ready for three runs in three days. The plan was 8k, 10k, 8k, which would take me over 25 miles for the week.
The initial problem with that plan is that I really don't like running 8k. It could just be that the routes that I have found for that distance are uninspiring but even on race days I find the kilometre from 7 to 8 to be the hardest of the race. In order to get over my self imposed hurdle I planned a new route that would take me running through Middleton Woods for the first time. Needless to say I got lost. I don't run with a GPS device so I have no idea what my actual mileage was on Tuesday. It was more than the 5 miles that it should have been but lord knows by how much.
Other than getting lost I really enjoyed the run, especially the long steady down hill section from the Middleton water tower to the Tommy Wass. It's a great stretch for concentrating on form and can give you an added core workout on top of the miles. Three runs in the bag and I was feeling good, but that was due to come to an end a few 100 metres from home at the end of a 6.4 mile run on Wednesday.
Odd niggles are fine. I've run on stiff joints and learnt new stretching techniques to target problem areas. I have been known to slow to a walking pace if my legs feel too heavy or my lungs are fit to burst. But on Wednesday a pain in my left leg shifted from top to bottom with every stride. If I had been further from home I would have stopped but I foolishly hobbled on even though I was wincing with every step. I stretched as normal and expected to wake up on Thursday immobile. But come Thursday morning I had full mobility. This was great, being injured is not something I desire, especially not in the first week of a 100 mile challenge, but I needed to know what had caused such discomfort.
I spent the day at work self-analysing my leg and googleing leg injuries. At one point I though it was a lower quad problem. I adjusted my chair to be more comfortable and then my upper hamstring started to ache. I was getting nowhere. Apart from anything else I'm not a physiotherapist and know very little about my own anatomy, never mind how to make it stop hurting.
Throughout the day I was sure of one thing, I was still going to go out for a run after work. What's the worst that could happen? In the end my head, heart and legs came to a compromise. I did go for a run, but not the 8k that was scheduled. I went out for a slow 5k recovery run just to see if I could work out what the problem was.
In order to really listen to my legs I even went out without my ever-present ipod*. Within the first couple of kilometres my quad was stiff and aching but nothing disastrous. My route has a climb at 3ks and that is when I started to realise that my problem wasn't muscular. As soon as I started up the hill my knee started playing up. Stiff, sore, stabbing with every step. My gait altered to relieve the pressure on my aching joint, that's when I realised that was exactly what I must have done subconsciously on Wednesday.
Towards the end of the run, completed in 26 minutes, I also realised that my left foot was rotating inwards with every step. This, I think is the root cause of my problem. I have had my current trainers since February and they have carried me for 432 miles. Wisdom dictates that you should change your trainers yearly or after 500 miles, whichever comes first. I have been on the verge of getting my gait analysed and buying a new pair since finishing the Leeds 10k, but this week has made me determined to make the time to go and spend some money.
Today is a rest day, I have even booked an appointment to see the physio that happens to be one of my tenants at work. I plan to be back at Parkrun tomorrow to keep the challenge going. I'm going to dig out my last pair of trainers to see if they will make any difference as they have a bit more support built in than my current pair. Sunday I'll be doing that thing that runners love, buying new trainers so that I can complete the next 76.1 miles.
***UP DATE***
Having now seen the Physio I have been told not to run for seven days. The problem is trainer related but it is my Vastus Medialis Oblique (VMO) that is no longer taking the strain. I have a series of exercises to complete a couple of times a day in the mean time and I have been instructed to definitely get new trainers. 100 mile August is already looking like it's over as I'll miss another 25 miles this week to add to the mile and a bit that I missed yesterday.
100 miles a month is achievable and I think my general fitness and stamina is there to do it. The question is should I write August off and look at 100 mile September or just carry the missed 7 days over? What would you do?
*I really don't like running without music. I'll come back to this later.
