I think you should lay off the running for a while.....
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 9:18PM I should be running 100 mile weeks now.
This was my first ever trip to the physio and apparently it was long overdue. I was fooling myself into thinking that he may just be able to click something into place and I could just run out of there, I didn't really know what to expect as I was sitting in the reception ticking boxes to say that I don't take steroids or have hepatitis C.
I went to see an Aussie guy called Greg who was immediately concerned about the distances I run. I insisted that it was good for me and I mocked him for believing the story about the ancient guy running the marathon then dying at the end. Surely everyone knows this is untrue?
There were a few questions about when I feel the pain and what I generally do and then it was straight into mocking me for my abysmal flexibility. I was asked to do a series of stretches that I was woeful at and he was trying to contain laughter. It was an important wake up call to something that I knew all along, I am not looking after my body enough to run the distances I want to run.
I went in there with a complaint about my knee and was pretty much told it's not your knee its your whole body. When trying to move my legs around as per his instructions I was told that my arse does not work and my hamstrings don't really help out much either. I do most of my running powering my legs with my lower back and this is causing lots of tightness in my quads and ITBs and that has finally manifested itself in a sore knee.
I was relieved that there was nothing wrong with the knee as such and that he seemed to think I could get up to 100 mile weeks within a month but did suggest I took 2 weeks off running and did a silly amount of stretching. I even got a nice picture of all the exercises to do.
Leaving the place a little dejected and worrying about how fast that Badwater is approaching (8 weeks) I discussed with a few more people what I should do. I was told that stopping running might actually be counter-productive and so long as I did all that stretching I should still be able to run. I liked this though I did think it was just selecting the evidence I liked the sound of, does it make me any different from those loons who spot patterns and think that it proves that Jesus exists?
Well anyway, I have decided to carry on the running and work on the stretches that I hope will make my body last longer. It is going to be risky as I step up the mileage but I have no time left to waste. At least I have 2 things going for me according to the Physio, the race is mostly uphill and it is very hot, which means I won't suffer the impact as much and that my muscles will be warm. Phew. Just don't mention the UTMB.
Reader Comments (6)
Is it time to start rolling entries over to 2011 or is that not an option? Those 2 races are not the sort of tings you want to turn up to underprepared and injure yourself badly at. Not to be too negtive, but are you able to get insured for Badwater given how ridiculous it is? You could rack up some serious medical bills, even if insured for that specific type of event.
But good luck with them both, mate. Hope you can make the start and finsh lines of both.
James, Im sorry to hear you're injured. If its any consolation with 8 weeks to go to Badwater Ive got chronic shin splints and am being told the same thing about not running but am also not listening. You have to look at the base mileage/ races you've put in this year. You could lay off of running for 2 weeks completely and still have enough time to build back up to 100 mile weeks for a few weeks before laying off it a bit for 10 days or so before the race.
In my humble opinion this race is going to be more about being prepared mentally and being heat conditioned. I haven't stepped in the sauna yet but im starting this weekend. If you can spend two weeks getting back up to running more slowly and use the extra time to do some of that bikram yoga shit and some sauna work outs you should be good to go. I may give bikram a go there is one in soho apparently which id be up for going to. Im not going on my own as my hamstrings are as bendy as wood.
I keep thinking its going to be alright in terms of the distance (irrational probably) and then i think about how goddamn hot its going to be and shitting my pants about it.
Have you booked flights/ hotels/ sorted a crew? Give me a shout on e mail it would be good to talk about this stuff.
All the best
James
So when are you coming to see me so I can sort your dysfunctional body out?
Hi James
I think its amazing that anyone even comtemplates doing the Badwater Race. I first heard about it in Dean Karnazes book Ultra Marathon Man and I was amazed at how anyone could run in such extreme conditions for all those miles. Good Luck, hope the training is going well and you have sorted out the knee problem!!
Ps I did the Highland Fling too and the Conic (COMIC) Hill has a lot to answer for!!
Victoria O'Reilly
(Scotland)
James
I sort of know just how much work you've put in over the past 4-5 years, the amazing achievements, the inspirational writing. Ian Sharman has nailed it; you've found out just-in-time the problems that have been building. Do you have enough money to
a) pay the medical bills if you continue
b) buy all those rounds of drinks while you're off injured for a year or so
Gowan
Hi James
Love your blog! Hope the docs aren't getting you down, you sound like a true sportsman to me. I wondered whether you'd be interested in something we're running on our website wideworldmag.com? We've got a Blog Awards scheme running this summer, trying to draw some attention to the best outdoors and travel blogs on the web. It's free and should draw some attention to your very compelling writing! If you're interested drop me a line at ed@wideworldmag.com (I only wish I could run like you, mate - I'm strictly vertical when it comes to exercise, climbing that is)...
Ed