w/c 30 June - A pain in the neck

Sometimes the most obvious advice is what you forget.

One gem of almost laughable simplcity and common sense is the idea of specifity of training - the notion that if you want to get better at something, do that lots and lots. And don't do lots of other things that might compromise that. Like playing cricket. Or fellraces.

I came a cropper this week because of that, and now find that I have the mobilty and range of movement in my head of a walrus. A dead walrus, in fact. I can't turn my head without turning my torso with it. It's as though I have no neck, much like a walrus.

Last week's sucessful training week left me feeling confident and fit, and so I had no worries about racing the Hotfoot up Famau on Wednesday night, nor bowling a couple of overs at a works cricket thingy on Thursday (I've not played cricket for 18 years!). But somehow, I'm left with a crick in my neck that is just sheer agony. It started on Thursday after the race and was made far far worse by the cricket.

Yes I know, I'm an idiot.

A visit to both the holistic therapist for massage (thanks Carol!) and the osteopath (thanks Bruce!) have made me feel quite a bit better (and over 50 quid lighter) . It still hurts though and has really affected my training.

The pain, which this typing seems to be bringing back, is like a sharp twinge in the right base of my neck and shoulder. I can't lift my head up when lying down without having to support it with my hand! Sleeping is fine, waking is an absolute sod. (The urge to make a stiffness-in-the-morning joke has passed, but that was close...)

Anyhoo, I think that if I'm doing more brisk road, trail and track running then i need to allow my body to adapt to it after the months of fellrunning. So no cricket, tennis, discus, shove h'penny etc. It's a lesson relearned, which is frustrating. I really ought to have known better.

Even rats learn Marky...

This weeks training

Monday - rest
Tuesday - 5.5M trail. Some really tough running in here, including a killer effort up Hill Lane. Graham did his ankle and I re-arranged the training session as a result. A bit of a dog's breakfast all told, but good hard running all the same
Weds - Hotfoot up Famau race - 4M, 1600' ascent. Fast and furious fellrace. Felt tired but still ran it about 40 secs faster than I ever did before, and conditions were slower (lots of undergrowth) so a good run.
Thursday - Cricket (knackered neck/shoulder). Took 2 wickets in 2 balls tho, both clean bowled. Also made golden duck (clean bowled also, alas).
Friday - 7M, average 7:15 pace. Felt good, but worryingly tired at the end. Neck VERY sore - a tough gutsy run through pain.
Sat - 4M - 6:50 pace. Felt strong, but neck still sore, even after osteopath.
Sun - 14M - Dreadful run. Started OK at about 7:40 pace but it felt too hard. 7:40 usually feels stupidly easy like it did last Sunday. I ran from Chester City FC to the old railway line out to Connah's Quay ok but died on my arse coming back along the Dee. Maybe it's the headwind, the fact that it is dead-straight (and therefore seemingly never ending) and the fact that my back/neck just hurt like mad. It turned into a battle of attrition - I was NOT going to walk. I did those last 4 miles at a snails pace, with willing legs but a protesting body. Not good.

Totals: 5 runs, just 34.5 miles (including a tough little fell race)

Off to Pembrokeshire for 5 days now. Will carry on training, but not until I have had a day off tomorrow.

This week's lesson: listen to your body, remember what you're training for

The week's tunes in head during runs: Livin' on a Prayer on Friday (God forgive and save me!) and Photograph by Nickleback on Sunday (what is happening to me?)