One month on

It has been over a month since Ironman. Since then I raced in a local 5k (stupidly, it really hurt), cycled to work a few times and been for a few light jogs. I also got round to getting the backs of the medals engraved.

 

This week (and one decent beasting week before which made me hurt so much I couldn't keep up with C at soft play and I almost got stuck in an underground tunnel) I have decided to get back to being fit. I want to improve my run a lot and I'm at a stage where I can run and enjoy it. I may have had a stress fracture or done something to the muscles in my right foot and two of my toes on that foot lost their nails and ached. The foot was quite swollen for the week or two after the race. This week none of those things have bothered me though a month off has taken a bit of a dent in my pace.

The runs I have done have included 100 push ups and sit ups to break things up and steady jogs. Being out of practice those hurt considerably.

Yesterday I ran to the copper horse, turned right to pick up a bridle path and as I hit it noticed a chap running alongside me who I remembered having been stretching by the statue. I wrapped up my head phones and said hello so we got chatting. I noticed however that he got steadily faster to a point just beyond my current comfort zone given the strange twings and twangs my legs have been throwing at me. Once I found out he was nearly 70 (and had a cold) I realised there was no way I couldnt keep up with him. HE then kindly showed me a shortcut back though to my dismay I found that it was a shortcut to his car and not to where I needed to be, extending my run further. I did at one point have to knock back the pace but I take solace in the fact that he was 23 years in the military and personal trainer and about to head off to run an ultra marathon in the kalahari desert.

Today I went for another run with Chris which was really nice and despite the twinges was happy at 6mph with conversation. Calves got really tight by the end, reallymust stretch.

I'm still elated by my Ironman experience, I love having the picture of Tenby beach on the wall with us all lined up ready to start and the lack of pressure is fantastic. I didn't realise just how much I had it hanging over me and struggled with any missed training opportunities.