Week 8 of 12 – rest

This week I didn’t run For the first time in 8 weeks I didn’t go anywhere near my trainers. It’s a shame but I overdid it last week with my 10k in an hour and I’m paying for it now. I’m somewhere between really happy with how far I’ve come and slightly worried that this problem will get worse. Although I definately have no doubt that I will get through and do my best on the big day.

I saw a trainer this week who treated my left leg and told me a funny story. He said:

“Lots of people ask me what I think of marathon running. And I always remind them of what happened in the original Marathon. The Greek soldier ran to announce the victory over the Persian and died as soon as he arrived!”

Well I can’t say I disagree with him, and clearly my left knee and leg would be much happier if I wasn’t doing lots of running. But I’m not about to give up.

Phidippides - the mythical Greek runner

I’ve decided what I need to do is run slower and be extra careful of my left knee. I’ve done some swimming this week and it has really helped relieve the tension imbalance that builds up in my hips and tightens my left leg. Apparently this is a very common problem and all to do with my iliotibial band – a common runner’s problem area.  So I’m going to push ahead carefully and I’ll let you know how I get on.