Training Update

My last post a couple of weeks ago was all about my fresh knee injury. I also indicated that early in November, I would have to make a final decision as to whether or not I assess the Spain event to be a viable proposition.

The update is mixed I suppose but very much erring on the side of the positive. I hesitate to say optimistic as I always think that word just smacks of wishful thinking rather than realism.

The best news is that my knee seems pretty much OK. I eased it back into exercise and gradually introduced running in incremental doses, as per the plan I outlined in my last post. That all seemed to work and I built up to solid blocks of running over the space of about two weeks. The knee is not 100% quite yet but it is good enough. It still has some mild pain but only if I twist the knee unnaturally or if I squat really deeply. Otherwise, I can now go about my business and run without pain or discomfort, both during and after running.

I am confident that the knee will withstand the trials of a long ultra, with the caveat that I avoid twisting it unduly. My self-imposed deadline for decision-making was 5 November as that was the day I had to either pay for my accommodation in Spain or cancel it. I have paid my accommodation, I am going, and I will be on the start line a week from today.

That position is a good one to be in, all circumstances considered. Whether or not I will still be saying that when I am deep into a 102KM race with nearly 6,000 metres of elevation will remain to be seen. However, that is a week away so in the meantime, bring it on.

I did however say that the news was mixed.

I ran 10 trail miles on Wednesday of this week and although that is the furthest I have run since injury, that has been a deliberate decision on my part. I just didn’t want to jeopardise my knee by overworking it pre-race. The downside of course is that my fitness, and more importantly my leg conditioning, are not where I would want them to be.

To complicate matters, my left calf has been playing up. It is not a repeat of the injury from earlier this year but that whole area has never settled down fully after that particular injury recovered. I have been experiencing tweaks and some stiffness in the soleus/achilles area since the summer but have just worked with it. As poor luck would have it, it has been bothering me more than usual since my longer run a couple of days ago.

It is not enough to re-think my participation in Spain. However, my last full training session tomorrow will look somewhat different as a consequence. I am going to pack in several hours, starting late at night but I’ll use the gym and focus mainly on stair climbing, uphill power walking and some light, slow running in between, provided my calf is compliant. I just don’t want to potentially push my calf over the edge with any long, repetitive running stress.

I have a sports massage appointment this coming Wednesday morning and we’ll just blitz that calf into submission.

I’ll pull all my race kit and nutrition together in the next few days although I already have shoes and pack selected. They are always the big ticket decisions, in my view.

All being well then, I fly to Alicante on Thursday. I’ll register and do all the pre-race crap on Friday morning then rest and eat for the remainder of the day, including a few hours sleep late afternoon or early evening hopefully. My accommodation is about a half mile from the start which is great.  Race start is 2300 hours (hence I am doing night training this weekend to try and replicate), with a 24-hour cut-off.

I am looking forward to it. I sincerely hope that nothing untoward occurs to derail the best effort I can put in on the day. My goal will be simple as always. Finish in the top 50%.