Well its been a while since I put a number on the front of my vest and stood on the start line of a race and it was good to finally race again last night after more than 5 months since my last outing at the Portsmouth Victory 5.
The lay off was down to some big trouble in my left thigh. In particular the vastas lateralis (the outside of the thigh muslces) had been rubbing up against the ITB (which passes over it). Over time the muscle because inflamed and frayed, the ITB was sticking to it and every time I ran again those adhesions flared up. Its taken a combination of accupuncture and some skilled massage using a technique called myofascial release from Simon Morris at Bath University to get everything moving again. The return to training has been a slow process with a couple of flare ups but last week I managed about 80 miles and felt healthy enough to tow the line last night.
The Egdon Easy is mixture of footpaths, gravel trail and road just behind the sea front at Weymouth. Before the start I was as nervous as i've been for some time. Some of my club mates were a bit surprised, after all a 29.47 guy shouldnt have too many problems in a local race. But as we know it doesn't work like that. A race is a race and after so long away from racing you need to know if its still there ! The first half of the race was pretty comfortable and I was in position to be able to put my foot down for the last 15 mins and push hard to the finish. The leg felt fine though the legs felt rubbish and I was blowing pretty hard by the finish. Still, 1st place, body intact and mission accomplished. Next stop the Crewkerne 9 Miles in a weeks time and one of the toughest road races in this part of the world.
Full Results
Sunday 24 May 2009
Return to racing at Egdon Easy
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6 comments:
Good to hear you've returned to racing Adrian, always feels tough after a break. I raced my first for 4 months last week, an awful 6 miler. Hopefully you'll work up to a decent level again, and then maybe an autumn marathon?
Also, check out my own blog - it's at personal-bests.blogspot.com. Welcome your comments.
Incidentally I was in Weymouth over the weekend on a family break - would have been good to catch up as I was staying really close to the race route.
Keep in going.
adrian,
did i beat you then? i didnt see you at the run?! you know that i did a pb by only 2 seconds in 44.49 and my next race is sun in the poole 10k! trying to do a few more miles but its not easy when your a postman! think i need a sit dowm job like u and jon!! im only joking! when is your come back now then?! winner won the egdon easy tim says! see you out street on 22nd june for some speed work! left hamstring a bit tight 2day. only 14 secs off my 5k pb last time even when hobbling over the line for the last 400m! any general tips for me apart from doing more miles?! cheers. tony watts
Hi Tony,
Well done on another PB, clearly lots of potential for improvement !
Did you know that the Royal Mail team won the Chase Corporate Challenge a few times and went to US for the international race so clearly walking didnt do any harm. I think one of the team was local postie Mike Grist and one of the fast guys was a 13.xx runner for 5k !
If the hamstring is tight you probably need to spend some time stretching it slowly. Another top tip would be less biscuits and more bananas from the ladies on your walk :-)
Good luck at Poole, sub 44 I reckon. See you in a couple of weeks.
Adrian
Adrian, thanks for your advice on the biscuits! Will try to stick to rich tea! When is your next race? John is running well. Your comments make me laugh! Cheers. Tony
Adrian, thanks for your advice on the biscuits! Will try to stick to rich tea! When is your next race? John is running well. Your comments make me laugh! Cheers. Tony
Adrian, did 10k tempo run today in 45.45. What do u reckon? Wat other training should i be doing? Cheers. Tony
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