Manchester Countdown!!

I haven't managed to post on here for almost 2 weeks unfortunately. After my man flu spout in the last post, I became injured following a steady 18 miler with Dave and unfortunately, Amy has been unwell in Preston hospital for over a week, so there has been higher priorities on the agenda! Amy has come home today though considerably lighter but after an operation and haemo dialysis, she is feeling 10 times better than she did this time last week! Now she just needs feeding up a bit! Luckily for her, I stayed clear of her Easter eggs while she was in hospital! Haha 

I got a little scare with what I thought could be either shin splints or a fibular stress fracture at the start of last week. I rested for a couple of days but the pain just didn't feel like it was getting any better. DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS..but I decided to go for a very slow jog the following night so see if that helped ease off the pain a little. It would either make or break me...literally!! I managed a little 3 miler. Rather uncomfortable at times but I could run on it, which was a positive sign after the previous couple of days worrying about Manchester Marathon on Sunday! It didn't feel any better or worse afterwards though. The next day came round and the leg was still very sore and stiff in the morning, but throughout the day, it did seem to loosen up somewhat. After getting back from Preston that night I decided to go on the same 3 mile run I did the day before at 10pm!...This time it felt much better straight away and it turned into a 6 miler! The next day was Sunday, meaning the last day of the week to meet the Strava milage goal (that functions bad news for an injured runner!!), and despite my leg still being somewhat sore and not right, I stupidly bashed out a 14 miler to make my mileage up to a 60 mile week. I felt guilty doing any less, as I should really be doing much more! I certainly do not recommend this to anyone with possible stress fractures though before seeing an expert! After a couple of steady miles, my leg seemed to loosen up a little, allowing me to get the distance in with little pain. I could still however feel it with every step. Since though, it has gotten better and better. Yesterday I managed to do a steady, almost comfortable, 18 miles with Dave and another couple of runs to my Parents and back for tea and today it is feeling much better so, touch wood, by Sunday I will be flying again! For now though it's rest and a strapped up leg until Sunday! 

The plan still remains the same for Sunday. My main Goal is to make that sub 2 hour 45 UK athletic championship qualifying time for London next year, which I think is well within reach if the leg holds up. I'm going to try and hold 6.10 per mile pace which will get me in around 2.43 and go off feeling after that. It would be great to be able to finish on a high, picking up the pace some more! It's  easy to speculate though, let's just wait and see what happens on the day! 

A quick note to finish. To cheer myself up at the weekend, I decided to treat myself. Please welcome the first pair of training shoes for the next couple of months - Nike free flyknit 3.0! :) Expensive business this running when your clocking up the miles!! I'm still yet to decide on what to get for pair no.2! I've only got around 100 mile left in the adios 2's! Any suggestions?? 😊