Over and done with

A whole month has gone by now without a single run! I decided against trying to run as I was simply terrified of ending up back at square one. Ove had reluctantly said to try a mile or two when I pressed him as to whether I could run but when it came down to it I knew that I shouldn't. I get the feeling that is a natural process. You know when all is well and when it's not. Just as we learn when and how to gradually increase training when we first start running, I figure it's the same when we're injured - we know when we have over done it and it's no surprise when we end up with unusually achy muscles or even worse, a pulled muscle. Sometimes we get away with it, sometimes we don't.
I got away with it for longer than I probably should have done! In the end though I came to my senses and I'm not about to take any risks and run before I'm fully recovered. I can't explain why all of a sudden my attitude has changed and I have finally accepted that I really do need to make sure that I don't run before I am ready.

This showed at this weekend's Great North Run when far from dreading standing on the finish line I was really looking forward to it in the end. We had a fantastic weekend and apart from feeling emotional when Martin got off the transfer bus at the start of the race and five of us stayed on to go to the finish and again when I watched him cross the line, I found it a great experience seeing all the elite athletes, Haile Gebraselassie, Berhane Adere and of course Mara Yamauchi and one or two celebrities, Nell McAndrew and Tony Audenshaw. It was, of course, even more uplifting when I spotted Gary from club who finished amongst the fast club runners in a fantastic 1:29 and Jo who also clocked up a brilliant 1:56 despite them sporting charity vests when I was looking out for club vests! I don't however, want to repeat this year's event and am now looking forward to next year when with a great deal of patience I hope to run it. I've happily transferred my Horsforth 10k number for this coming Sunday to Martin and I hope that good sense will prevail for the next of my planned races. So with my final mention of a great weekend going to my son Marc who completed the Junior Great North Run (3 miles) in great time of 20:10 beating his Parkrun PB I'm going to log on and see if the official photos are uploaded yet.

So the (30th Anniversary) Great North Run is over and done with for another year...........

A week on Sunday

Here I am on week two of solitary confinement (yes that's exactly what it feels like). I'm feeling more miserable by the day and really thought that by now my attitude to whether I will or will not be able to run the Great North Run a week on Sunday might have changed but unfortunately for me - it hasn't. Just how do you train yourself to accept that you more than likely will not be able to do something you have looked forward to for months upon months? I wish I had the answer. It's not been made any easier by the fact that everyone around me are receiving their race packs containing race day info, timing chips and race numbers.

I have lightened my load a little by continuing to attend club training nights - this way I can keep in touch with everyone, meet new members and generally keep abreast of what's going on at club. This way I'm still in the same routine of getting out of the house three nights a week too. I'm also trying to volunteer where possible, my latest job being to marshal at the Epilepsy Action Alice's Run in Mytholmroyd last Sunday. Helen did the race report and wrote 'Lyndsey was flying the flag for ERR at Alice's run this weekend. She had cunningly positioned 8 ERR marshals along the route to keep her going on throughout the full 10k. Interesting route in this picturesque valley with good weather to boot. Thanks to our volunteer marshals and a special guest appearance by Dave Steele, who was adored by those who met him.............' I met a charming gentleman with whom I was manning the water station at the half way point and also directing the runners and traffic, all in all I was kept very busy and really enjoyed it. Marshaling can sometimes be as rewarding as running and certainly was in this instance.

Having not run for over two weeks I am now entering new territory for me. I went back to see Ove the physio this afternoon and whilst his treatment was not nearly as painful as last week, it was still very unpleasant. I've also been given a green exercise band and been shown how to do some exercises to strengthen my ankles as well as carrying on with the 'clam' exercises I was shown last week.

Questioned as to whether I can run this week Ove suggested I try a mile or two but if I feel any pain I must stop, ice the area and not run again but if it does go ok to increase the mileage very slightly a couple of days later. I must say I am not looking forward to trying to run as deep down I know all is not well. I also pressed Ove on the possibility of my taking part in the Great North Run - he put my chances at 50/50 and added that there were other races............

The moral of this story is.....

Just so that it's not assumed I've disappeared off the face of the Earth I thought I would keep up to date with my blog even though I'm not running at the moment. Yes, you guessed it, things with my Achilles have come to a head.

I went off for a few days to stay at my sister's house in the Washburn Valley region to look after her 2 dogs, Ben the Labrador and Jess the Dalmatian along with Jim the very large horse and Molly the not so large horse (required as I have two nieces, one very tall and one not so tall!) whilst they went on holiday. Of course I took Dave along with me. I had fully intended having a week of total rest from running whilst away (packed my kit just in case though) and this was going very well until Martin announced he was getting up early on Wednesday morning to go for a run around Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs. It is well documented that this area is one of my favourite places to run. Could I resist? Erm.... no......

I'm going to say no more on that subject other than I was in pain all the way round and had a terrible run as a result.

A few days later and I was back home to the Ponderosa and I mulled over my options, I began to entertain the possibility that I may not get round the Great North Run this year. That thought is not a very appealing one.

Saturday morning I remembered I had volunteered for the Bradford Parkrun so off Marc and I went, him to run and me to marshal. After the run we were chatting away to fellow runners in the Lister Park cafe (as usual!) and Gill suggested I should go and see a physio she had seen earlier in the year with much the same injury. No bones about it I shy away from such activities, scared of the cost. Gill's husband Ian emailed me the details of said physio and I completed an online enquiry form on their website, knowing it was Bank Holiday Monday coming up so it may be a few days before I got a reply. They telephoned me at work on Tuesday, lo and behold I was able to make an appointment for late Wednesday afternoon. After a rather long drive to Garforth I sat gingerly in the waiting room mulling over the story I was going to tell him. I knew I would be unable to admit I had had the problem as long as I have. However Ove (the physio) was understanding as you might expect, deep down I knew he had heard the same stories hundreds of times before and I must admit I was sceptical when after explaining my problem and telling him that I wanted to do the Great North Run, he worked out that we had 19 days to get me fixed!

He completed his assessment of my injury and began manipulating various areas of my lower right leg, I use the word manipulating very loosely, I can honestly say I have never felt such pain before (no not even during my massage with Penny Brook). Afterwards, I tried to compose myself and await his verdict.

My heart lifted when he said, 'you have a bit of tendinitis, don't run until I see you again, but I think we will be able to have you back running again next week'. Hooray, I felt as though he had just handed me a million pounds, believe me I really, really wish I had gone to see him sooner.

The moral of the story?
Never put all............
I really don't think I need to answer that.........

A Lesson Learned.......

I quite like the feeling I get when I know I've touched upon an inaugural occurrence. However, the usual interpretation of that is that I have had some participation be it running or organisational in the first staging of an event. Last nights inaugural event was not so pleasant, missing a race I set off to run.

The Vets race at Stainland was at 7.15 pm on Wednesday 18th August, I had read the race details on the Yorkshire Veterans Athletics Association site numerous times in the weeks before the race. Why then did I have it in my mind that it was taking place from the same club house as the Helen Windsor 10k back in July? I really don't know the answer to that question.

I had discussed with my husband Martin what time we should set off, we had downloaded a route finder and entered the postcode of the venue, established it was a 30 minute drive, what we didn't do was print off the YVAA details or the route finder - still thinking we knew exactly where we were going as we had been there on 7th July, my birthday, how could we forget. "Six O'Clock" he declared will be plenty of time to get there in time for the 7.15 pm start, pay your £3 and run! Now, on Wednesday afternoon I had been shopping for a new dress for my Niece's (very short notice) wedding this coming Saturday, off I popped upstairs to try on my new purchases, lovely, all set for the wedding I decided that I would not get dressed again but instead get into my club vest and running gear, pinning the veteran category onto the back of the vest, I did just that, 5 pm and I was ready to go!

An hour later we were literally getting set to walk out of the door when my sister and niece turned up, 'I won't keep you' she said and outlined her reasons for calling in to see us. Off we set, making our way confidently, if a little late, to Greetland. As we came upon the club house I could see the place was deserted, with that I noticed the sign outside 'Greetland All Rounders Club' - we're in the wrong place, we need to be at Heath Rugby Club? How had I made such a mistake? I'll never know, frantically I began ringing fellow club members mobile phones, nobody answered, those who were at the race would have obviously left their phones in their cars. It became clear we weren't going to make it to the start line. My heart sank as Martin declared we would have to go back home, in a last ditch attempt he drove down the road hoping to find a sign pointing us in the right direction, moments later a sign appeared 'Huddersfield'.

Dejected, we followed the road signs back to Bradford. The sinking feeling was one I have so very nearly felt before when we have been momentarily lost on the way to a race but found it at the last minute. This time though it wasn't going to go away, we were going to have to return home still clad in our race numbers and remove them not having taken part.......

I hope we have learned our lesson and take better care next time we are planning our journey to a race and that is the first and last time I miss the start.

Prizes galore!

It worked - the lure of a wager if he came in under 24 minutes and Marc had the trainers on ready to take part in the Wrose Challenge 5k with it's 1 in 6 gradient hill and all! All in all a brilliant race, being a 'sweeper' was even more enjoyable than I had anticipated, I think because the course was such a tough one. The thought that I had to stay at the back instead of trying not to be at the back was very uplifting. Marc didn't manage to finish in under 24 minutes but just outside at 25:31 so I paid him the bet anyway as his fantastic effort saw him first in for Eccleshill. He has put the money towards new running shoes - all good. The highlight of the race came at the end. We had gone into the clubhouse for a drink, they were also serving free chip butties and selling raffle tickets. I bought a couple of strips and so we were standing around hoping it wouldn't be too long before they made the draw and presented the prizes to the winners of the race.
Without further adieu the prize giving began. Various prizes were presented and then they shouted 'Men's Vets 35, first Mark Scott, Eccleshill Road Runners', unfortunately Mark had gone home, so up I stepped to collect it on his behalf, it felt like I had won - and even though I hadn't I felt very proud that it was someone from our club. Moments later 'Ladies Vet 35 - First Debbie Trolley Eccleshill Road Runners' - those of us standing around gave a roar for the second time. This is another benefit of being part of a club, we all share in the excitement of prize giving even if we as an individual don't win anything! I did, though, win a raffle prize of a Nike cap and a new kit bag in the raffle!

The week was topped off with a lovely club run on Friday evening around Esholt, photo taking and cheering at Bradford Parkrun where Marc was awarded his 10 T-Shirt and our now monthly 'away day' Sunday run in the Washburn Valley, Fewston and Swinsty reservoirs. Made all the more pleasant by the fact that we all either took cake or tea and coffee for after the run. It was idyllic running round the reservoirs at a steady pace after the recent relay races saw us charging around them like lunatics, that memory is now long gone as we are left with pleasant memories of a summer Sunday morning....Wonder where next month's 'away day' will take us?........

Sweeping up that hill..........

6 of the 8 Eccleshill runners + Marc at Askern



Here we are well into August and already thoughts are turning to our return to our Winter training base. Other than the dark nights I don't have any reservations whatsoever about that. In fact, I nearly prefer the Winter training. It's not too hot and I really do think it gives a greater sense of achievement when you've managed to get yourself out of the door in all that the diverse British weather has to throw at you! On the flip side there is nothing like the draw of a Summer's evening run with a group of friends to tempt you to don the Lycra and pull on the trainers so I'll enjoy it whilst it lasts!

Another busy week has passed me by culminating in my participation in the Askern 10 mile race near Doncaster on Sunday. I discussed at length with Dawn, a fellow club member who has been struggling with various injuries and trying to heed advice from her physio to take it easy, whether we should run it together, although there isn't much between us pace wise, I also wanted to exercise some restraint as the realisation that we are now only six weeks away from the Great North Run (the highlight of my year!) dawned on me and I so want to arrive on the start line in reasonable shape to be able to complete it. So thoughts of beating my Askern time from last year, which is also my 10 mile PB, had to to put on the back burner. Needless to say we managed to agree that we needed each other on this one and stayed together. The result was a brilliant race where I wasn't focusing on finishing times or racing, never once uttered the words 'why am I doing this' and really enjoyed it.

We held our monthly club committee meeting on Sunday evening and I it gave me great pleasure to be able to report a significant rise in members attending training nights and Gill, our Membership Secretary, reported an increase in new member applications. It really does seem that all our efforts are reaping the rewards and our small but friendly club is going from strength to strength and long may it continue.

A first for me this week is being 'sweeper' at a race. The Wrose Challenge 5k is being run on Wednesday and Edward East, one of the organisers, asked if I'd like to step into the role, I'm just hoping he doesn't give me a brush! I've managed to rope Martin, my husband in to do it with me and I'm really looking forward to our duties of running at the very back of the race to ensure the all important back of the field return safely after their run. I've just read that under 15's must be accompanied by an adult and realised Marc can take part, now to convince him that it's a good idea to run up the infamous Carr Lane - the hill with a 1 in 6 gradient - as part of a race!

Stats, Ale, Runner's Rub & Dave....

I'm doing my level best not to get hung up about race times but can't help noticing I'm getting slower... as many runners know mileage and race times keep a lot of us going. Without my stats on Fetcheveryone I think my last three years worth of running would have been 'less of an achievement' I think is the most suitable turn of phrase. Yes, I would still have had the satisfaction of knowing that I'd 'stuck at it' and yes, I would still have made all those wonderful friendships, but I would have had nothing to look back on with regards to my training and racing.

So it seems that my race times have plummeted since the VLM back in April, and as I struggle to work out why, several reasons come to mind, first and foremost, my ongoing Achilles injury which readers may ask themselves 'if it's so bad why is she still running?'. Well the short answer to that is 'because I can'. I can deal with the soreness afterwards, I can deal with the stiffness next morning but most of all 'I can still run'. I must admit I was a little concerned what effect three days consecutive running would have but I'm pleased to report no ill effects - could it possible be that the reduction in training is the cause of my downward spiral? I don't know.... So still heeding Penny's advice of the stretching exercises, I am now also using Peter May's runner's rub, twice a day, self massage into the lower limbs including the Achilles and ankle areas. I am also constantly on a quest to seek advice from past sufferers, everybody who posts anything on a forum or physio site have the same symptoms so I know I'm not alone. What I am alone in is my ability to make a decision to rest and when I say 'rest' I mean for a significant number of weeks. Left alone in that decision I have a feeling I know the outcome....

Anyway enough of the doldrums, I'm going to try and be more positive in what I'm doing to rectify my current situation after a fantastic last few days beginning with a club run up to the Leeds Bradford Airport last Wednesday evening, Friday run in the pouring rain after our coached session on the field was scuppered, Bradford Parkrun on Saturday and the delightful Idle Trail Race on Sunday - which incidentally was Yorkshire Day and we were fittingly rewarded with a bottle of Idle Trail Yorkshire Day Ale coupled with a spot prize of Peter May's Runner's Rub! Dave made his race debut at Idle - spectating that is, and he behaved impeccably until the last half hour when he had had so much attention thrust upon him that he got really giddy and was nipping anyone who dared to come and fuss over him! Let's hope it's the first of many for him (races that is, not nips!).