Week 11 - Bloody nightmare! - Day 76 of 112

1992 all over again

Woke up this morning at 7am. to a most wonderful blue sky. Now that is how it should be. How could you not want to strap on those running shoes and see who's out there! So that's what I did. A quick bimble down to the canal and then off to watch Amy's last game of the season. Passed the Ice Maiden on the way out, got to the half way then my bloody hamstring gave up the ghost. It is wrong to say that it suddenly just snapped. I had begun to feel it after a couple of miles but thought that it was not in the same place as I could feel it in Tuesday. Well after I got to the pub Canal 27 there was a stabbing pain every time that my left leg landed on the toepath right at the same spot that had been tender on Tuesday. Well that is Alloa goosed. No way that I will be able to get round 13.1 miles if I cannot get past 3. It was such a shame as it was such a beautiful morning. I walked back with a limp, head bowed as I was passed by the Ice Maiden. One old timer also gave me a wave but I was really in no mood to acknowledge his effort. On a scale of 1-10 I am about 3.

As I come to terms with the fact that I will not be running Alloa it is of great concern now as to how I will get round London if I cannot get round 5 miles with 5 weeks to go. It is clear that the hamstring will need more than a couple of days rest. The problem is not that I will be exerting a great deal of force on the muscle after all I am not sprinting round the course but it is the fact that the muscle will be weak and whether it will stand up to between 3 and 3.5 hours of running. I think that I will have to stay off the running for at least two weeks. Whilst I can overdose on swimming and cycling during this time the lack of miles in the legs will surely have a detrimental effect as far as performance is concerned. maybe I need just to concentrate on getting round rather than going for a time. Goals A,B and C up the swanny? Not a good day.

I have sat most of the day icing the hamstring and putting on and taking off the tubi grip. Time to have a trawl through the net to see if it is ok for me to be cycling during my recovery or whether as I suspect it will be down to the pool for me for the next two weeks. At least my stroke will improve leading up to the triathlons later in the year. Need to move on and plan the rehab.

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