Injury Woes

Well I had some very good news last week that seems to have been completly quashed by my run early this morning.

I may have mentioned that I completed the Munich marathon the other week, however this run left we with something less exciting then a medal. Around the 22 mile mark I felt some pain in the right side of my knee and had to walk to try and give it a rest. I managed to finish the run be it very slowly and with a slight limp. After the race I didn't think anything of it and was only really feeling the usual sore thigh aftereffects. Unfortunately when I got Back to the UK and went for my first post marathon run I felt the soreness in my knee again. After extensive and thorough research a Google search it seemed I was suffering from a bit of inflammation and a bit of ice and rest should do the trick. Well a week on with no running I went out yesterday and successfully completed my 4.5 mile short run with no problems. However this morning I got ten minutes down the road and the pain came back. Que much swearing and kicking leaves as the realisation dawned this might be something a little more serious.

Luckily I have 6 months to prepare for the London marathon and my current fitness it good so a few weeks out shouldn't affect me but the worry is there that when I visit the doctor this week that he may inform me it's more serious then just 'rest up for a few weeks'. The problem with injuries as a runner is that our whole lives are dedicated to the process of going out and running a few miles and then beginning our day. Its a form of drug and stress reliever and without that release I don't know what I can do. Maybe I should have rested up more but I felt fine walking around so why couldn't I put the shoes on and hit the streets, surely it would be fine. But no. Now I will have to mope around at home waiting for the knee to heal whilst my fitness slowly goes backwards after all that hard work over the last few months.

A little history

Okay before I delve into the details of future runs or the best kind of lube to use to stop those ever annoying sweat rashes I thought it right to talk a little bit about myself.

As mentioned in the last post I am a runner. Most sane people cannot understand why I run and the distances I sometimes do and to be honest nor do I. In terms of running ability I am the Fred Bloggs (or John Doe for our friends across the pond). Completely middle of the road. I am neither fast nor slow. In races I usually creep into the top half of the overall field without ever threatening the pace setters at the top. My weekly distances are average and I run for the enjoyment (and weight loss) rather then the fame and glory.

I have ran since my mid teens where upon looking at my ever increasing waist line decided I needed to do something about it. I did play other sports, especially football (soccer to others), and started off using running as an extracurricular activity I did after school. I didn't actually run my first 10k until I was 19 and even then I only did 2 of these and a half marathon over the next few years. I stopped running (and playing all sports) until I was 25 and unfortunately gained 4 stone. So I started running again and slowly but surely lost the weight and completed my first 10k for 5 years 8 months later. After that I made it my plan to keep running races to keep my motivation high and it was then I found my 'love' for running and haven't looked back since.

This story is probably synonymous with most people who use running for an initial fitness boost rather then going out to be the next Paula Radcliffe. Some find they hate it and give up and some find they love it and carry on. Luckily I was in the latter.

As mentioned I am the Fred Bloggs of running and my PB's probably represent this. My 10k currently stands at 47mins, my half marathon at 1 hour 42ish and my marathon at 4.30. I don't actually remember my precise times of my 10k and half marathon PB as I set them about 3 years ago and haven't been able to come close since.

To bring you up to complete speed I completed the Munich Marathon 2 weeks ago (14th October) and am currently bringing myself back into running after sustaining a niggling injury to my knee. Finger crossed this will be cleared up as I have recently received confirmation for the London marathon next April.

So that's my brief history of running. I am sure over the next few blogs I will mention other details that will fill the gaps, but that's it for now!

Beginning

I am Tom and for my sins I am a runner. Come rain, wind, 30 degree shine or even snow (when I can keep my footing) I plod my way around the streets of Surrey (and sometimes Kent) for the sole aim of getting from point A to B via C and sometimes with a little detour to G. I have started this (my first ever blog) in the aim to provide some sort of structure to my plodding/shuffling as I am getting to that age (29) where my knees are hurting and recovery time from a half marathon is weeks rather then days.

Hopefully over the next few months I will regail you lucky readers with my trails (see what I did there) tribulations and tears to find out the real reason of why I bother doing this. I assume I will get bored after two or three but I will attempt to perserve and provide some insightful information (such as the best way to avoid nipple chafage (for men) as well as race reports highlighting my attempts at breaking a PB around the South East of Great Britain). I may even provide some pictures of me collapsed in a heep  my heroic sprint finishes.

For now I will leave it there. This may be my last blog post but who knows.