Another blog about not running (any more)

"I've been pleased enough with things to want to blog about it for quite some time except for the fact that I'm superstitious and don't want to jinx myself." - Saturday, 6 March.

"I think I've sprained my ankle." - Sunday, 7 March.

Well, that lasted long. In various forums on Saturday and before, I mentioned not wanting to jinx myself. Apparently voicing the idea of avoiding jinxes is a jinx in itself. Best not to talk at all. Saturday's run was a landmark run, Sunday's run was going to be an easy run where I could try more trail run-like terrain. I was aiming to go for a 12 km run so to get past that 100km mark for the week. Weather conditions were excellent although rain over the weekend had made it just a little moist. 

I started by going through the trails around the side of Mt Eden and then crossed Khyber Pass to the Domain. The Domain is great for runners in that it has a plateau area with a nice one mile loop, as well as a reasonable few hilly loops through bush and park area even with a small stream waterfall. Despite the 30km's on the previous days, I felt pretty good, perhaps as a reflection of my fitness. As I was mainly aiming to finish 12km, I was always part navigating a route while calculating a distance. Once I left the Domain I felt I just had to return basically the same general distance as I took to get to the Domain, so I decided to go through the Mt Eden tracks again, but via a different route. I went up via "The Stairs of Doom" (a set of stairs up to the summit road from Glenfell Place) and went along the road until the goat track down the mountain. It was basically just downhill to Mt Eden Rd and home. 

But it wasn't to be so easy. I don't believe I was careless or distracted. I had my eyes focussed on the track looking for dangers ahead. But while my eyes were checking a metre ahead, my left ankle was quickly bending inwards on a danger underfoot. Benign ankle rolls do happen from time to time and you can usually "run them out". This one did not feel benign and a few more strides made it clear that it was a sprain of some degree. 

I RICE'd and the following day I went to the physio for treatment and had an ultrasound to find my five partial ligament tears. Three days later I was rather surprised to be mobile enough to get around, and movement is part of the treatment. But now at the one week now mark, there has only been very small incremental improvements. I have kept my entry to The Dual active although I will probably not do much of any training before it.

I'm now quite calm about injuries and set-backs as I've had plenty. I'm sure the near-misses for injuries I've had in the past in the good times are compensated by the occasional direct hit. It could have been worse for example, a sprain or worse just days before or on the run itself (which does happen to the occasional runner). 

So we'll see how the next four weeks treat me and my ankle. Fingers crossed I can get moving to retain some of the fitness I've gained.

Another blog about running

For me, the first stanza of this year has been dominated by two things: one of our school's educational audit and my resumption of running. The two things were a tough act to balance both.  

In the preparation for the audit, there were late finishes, and meetings at any time of the day. Those lead to evenings that I couldn't run, and usually sleeping later, a harder wake-up and sleep deprivation to get runs in. Then the week of the audit, there were requests for information, usually that could not be simply extracted, leading again to late nights.

That all being said, things have been surprisingly smooth on the running front, I'm tracking ahead of my best year, 2019, in terms of mileage at the same point although my pace seems a bit slower. Yet I'm still knocking on wood before every run. In 2020 for every start, every moment of overcoming, came a niggle, recurrence or injury. So far, with reasonably regular supplementary strengthening exercises, I have managed to get by without much worry that the machine will breakdown. I've been pleased enough with things to want to blog about it for quite some time except for the fact that I'm superstitious and don't want to jinx myself.

2019 is turning out to be a useful measuring stick as it was the best build-up and culminated in a good Rotorua Marathon time (early May). This year I'm running The Dual (a trail marathon on Motutapu and Rangitoto) on 10 April so while a little earlier in the year, I can know how I can continue to raise my game from how my fitness has improved in the past. 

The Dual is linked to 2019, too. It was on conclusion of the Auckland Marathon that year, with my fitness truthfully the highest it has ever been in my life, that I wanted my next marathon to be on trail, and the idea (and convenience) of a Hauraki island trail marathon was too good to give up. And after registering there was injury. There was Covid. And there was the entire frustrating 2020.

Now in early March, I am one run away from completing my first 100km week of the year (another echo from 2019). 100km is recognised as something of a sweet spot for marathon training and I intend to stay in the 100s for the next two weeks before tapering. 

This morning I finished my first run over 30km since the 2019 Auckland Marathon and I'm pretty satisfied with how it went. Five weeks to go to The Dual, I hope these good times can keep rolling!