Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Okay it wasn’t as bad as a thought - but my god Crowborough is hilly. A ‘quick’ 4km dash up vertical slopes got me to my destination in just under 40 minutes.
My breathing was loud.
My achilles felt pingy.
My body felt tense.
The first 20 minutes these thoughts cycled through my mind. I fought them off - telling them it was temporary and that I am fit and that it really wasn’t very far. Once I had my breathing under control and found flat-ish terrain - I was golden. The sense of achievement was immense.
Note: I have a longgg way to go.
10km
I found a flat route!
I scouted it on the Friday between the hours of torrential rain. On Saturday I walked it - It was a perfect ground for training. Virtually flat, sheltered by trees; a straight route and a great find. It took 2 hours to walk the route (there and back).
On Sunday, I decided to run it. In my head I wanted to half the time. 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. The distance was just over 10km. I did it! Pretty much to the minute.
Breathing was good. I felt pretty fit...
Turning around, things started to tighten up. Tight calves, tense shoulders, sore knees - I started to create a list in my mind of exercises to start in the gym to strengthen these weaknesses.
Wobble board - good for ankle stability
One legged squats and RDLs - brilliant for knee stability and isolating the movements on just one leg.
Calf raises / farmers walks - build muscle, strength and endurance in the muscles that are dominant in running.
Well that probably wasn’t my best idea thinking back on it. Hadn’t conditioned my body at all for any kind of impact. I thought the calf/achilles would tighten up. Instead I was left with a swollen knee. Agony to weight bear and move into flexion or extension.
Oops. Two weeks on, a doctors visit and a consultation with Jimmy, might have given me the boost I needed at such an early stage.
