I managed to get some appointments lined up - One with the Podiatrist at MSk in Accrington who had been trying to fix my problem but with all the scans being clear there wasn't really a lot he could suggest. I was also advised to ask for a referral to a Sports Consultant Doctor at Wythenshaw who may be able to help. Suspected diagnosis was plantar plate damage as nothing else was showing on the scans. Appointment at End of October.
In the meantime I managed to get a few races in with some really pleasing results. I decided to do shorter races whilst I got the foot problem sorted as I could usually cope with the pain for a couple of hours but started to get fed up of it on the longer runs. I also had to do flatter races as it was the descents that were causing the main problem.
So first up was Rivington Trail Half Marathon - One of my favourite courses and one that I train on a lot.
I forgot my watch - probably the best thing I could have done. Had a great run - yes I had foot pain and cramps in my foot but not till about 10 miles and at that point I can grit my teeth till the finish.
I was 4th Lady and time was 1hr39 beating my previous time by about 4 minutes. Jo also joined me for this race and had a great run finishing first I think in her age category.
After Rivington I was fortunate enough to start getting some coaching advice to try and help me improve with my running. This is going really well and I am incredibly grateful to Andy for his help and the fantastic sessions that he has got me doing.
Being back at work and with a crazy 15 month old and a dog, it can be a bit of a juggling act to fit everything in. But it is going well - I am able to train at lunchtimes and Pendle hill is always a good stop off point on my way home. It is clearly working well as in the first few weeks of being "taken under Andy's wings"I managed to win both of my races. Big Thumbs up Andy Walling.
The first one was the 9 bar 9X9K event at Losely Park in Guildford. This was a fantastic day with the wonderful team that I am fortunate enough to be a part of. There was a huge bunch of us all taking on different distances and even Mr 9Bar and Mrs 9Bar were taking part. Huge well done Kate and Mark and I look forward to a "Shumble" on a Wednesday eve (Mark's words not mine) again soon.
This was the inaugural event and I can't wait for this to be back next year. The course was superb - Much better than I had expected and had a superb mixture of terrain and a lot of hills!
I managed to win the Marathon distance - well actually it was 29 miles - Possibly because I did get lost (on a marked course ….. oh dear. - Helen James even did better than I did with the directions!)
I knew that I was first female but was chuffed to realise as I crossed the line that I had actually won the race outright - I only realised as the First male came in shortly after me complaining (Jokingly) that he had been "Chicked".
A fantastic day and a superb event - One for the diary for 2016. A big thank you as always to the wonderful people at 9Bar for their continued sponsorship and friendship over the lest few years.
The following weekend - yes I know - I don't really do recovery weeks - But thanks Andy for managing to keep me on track with my training, recovery and maintenance all at once.
I drove up the night before to catch up with Ian, Emily, Paul, Simon and in the early hours the bright smiley faces of Stuart and Joe appeared too. Armed with fantastic homemade date flapjack.
The weather was great, the course is fantastic and in terms of my usual races it is pretty much a flat one with mostly easy trails underfoot except for the "Rocks of doom". I set off at the front, felt strong and really enjoyed my running. SAS Banks was there to cheer us on at Blacksail Hostel….I also had to negotiate a herd of cows just before the checkpoint - Ian Mulvey - How do you always manage to find them!? I was safe in the knowledge though that SAS Banks would come to my rescue if I required assistance.
At the 9 mile mark unfortunately my foot went into a tremendous cramping pain and hurt a ridiculous amount. I knew I was first lady though and with only 5 miles left to go I just had to get on with it. After a mile the intensity of the pain diminished and I could carry on at my normal pace.
This was a great event, superb support and a great atmosphere too.
So all in all not a bad month considering I'm a bit "injured".
