Sunday 8 September 2013

Bumpy Start to Lakeland 100 Training

Last Saturday, the day before entering LL100, I set out to run up to 25 miles in the hills, but cut the run short, heading back home from Diggle after running Stage 1 of the Oldham Way instead of carrying on to Stage 2. The top of my foot had felt sore coming down the hill from ‘Pots and Pans’ and I didn’t want to risk aggravating a minor injury with High Peak 40 only 3 weeks away.


On top of this I noticed a bit of soreness in my right quad muscle walking across Manchester on my way to work on Monday morning – assume this was sustained during my run in the hills too, but could have been a bike ride I did on Sunday. I noticed it again at the gym the next day and when warming up for my run on Tuesday evening – although not too sore when running on the relatively flat canal. I did feel the soreness in my foot thought after a few miles. 

Garmin Details - Tuesday 3rd September

Very disappointed I decided to take the rest of the week off from running to give both injuries chance to settle down.

When I set off for my planned 20-mile run this morning I knew my quad was still sore, but thought I’d see how I went. I could feel it the whole time I was running though – it seems to hurt when go up and down stairs or doing any kind of lunge movement and so no surprise that it hurt as I ran up into the hills. Just over 3 miles into my run I started to feel my foot too. I turned around at the 4-mile point and on the way back down my foot got worse and worse.

Garmin Details - Sunday 8th September

Things to consider

Should I worry about the root cause of these issues, both being on my right? Is it an imbalance that I need to work on noting that my right glute or hip feels weaker than my left when doing glute activation warm up exercises?

I’ve had a problem with the top of my foot before and when I asked around it was suggested that the most likely cause is laces too tight. I checked my laces when I got home from my run last weekend and I could fit my finger under the knot, but that’s not to say they started that way.

The foot could just be bruising, but could it also be a fracture of the metatarsal?

How do I treat the muscle injury in my quad – rest, massage, acupuncture, exercises? If exercise, should I do them as part of my pre-run warm up, post-run stretch or in the gym at lunchtimes when I’m focusing on strengthening and conditioning?

Finally, what does this mean for High Peak 40 in 2 weeks? The longest I’ve run I’ve done since running my Oldham 40 on 17th August is 14.5 miles last Saturday. Since then I’ve only managed 5 miles on Tuesday and 8 miles today.

Trip to the physio needed this week. I’ll make the call tomorrow and decide after I’ve seen Nick.

Good news this week

Lakeland 100 planning has gone very well. I’ve set myself a budget for both kit between now and next July and I’ve worked out costs/budget for accommodation for all the recces I’ve got planned. We’ve booked accommodation already for race week, getting there the day before and allowing at least 3 days recovery after the race.

I’ve also entered two more races! That’s it now, all my races for this year and next and booked and paid for!

I’m a big believer in the idea of having an A, B & C race for each year when planning ultras. I think 3 main goals for the year is more than enough to focus on.

Last year, my A race was supposed to be Lakeland 50, but I messed up and didn’t get a place, so I entered Evesham Ultra instead. At 45 miles though I felt like I hadn’t hit my target for the year of running a fifty. As such, I’ve entered Round Rotherham 50 in October as my replacement A-race for this year. I just want that badge of having run 50 miles before the end of the year!

For my C race, I’ve also entered Hardmoors 26.2 Osmotherley Trail Marathon in February to celebrate my 40th. As you do :-)

My B race could end up being High Peak 40 next September if I can’t make it in 2 weeks and I’m able to defer my place.

The main focus of course though is my A race for next year, Lakeland 100, and I’ve got lots of recce weekends planned so I can run the course as much as possible. I’ve signed up for 3 of the 4 official recces and then plan to do at least a couple of my own between April and June next year.

Run up to LL100 - Key Dates

Events already booked and paid for:

21st Sep High Peak 40 

19th Oct Round Rotherham 50

10th Nov LL100 recce 26.3 miles – Section 1 - Coniston (CP1) to Buttermere (CP5)
(Finishing in the dark)

25th Jan LL100 recce 15.6 miles – Section 4 - Ambleside (CP13) to Coniston (CP1)
(Night run)

16th Feb Osmotherley marathon

30th March LL100 recce 52.8 miles – Section 2 - Buttermere (CP5 to Dalemain (CP8)

My own planned recce runs:

Easter weekend – 18th – 21st April – Run the full 100 mile course over 4 days with overnight stops and support crew

Date TBC – Run the full 100 miles course again over 3 days with overnight stops and support crew




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