Falling to Pieces

After almost a year of getting away with being injury-free I've managed to go through a series of issues in the last couple of weeks...

First off, I came down with a cold for 3 days, the first time I've taken time off work for illness since 2005! I spent the time playing Fable 2, and generally being frustrated at not being able to train. I felt ready to get back into training on the Friday, and went out for a run (I'm missed my Monday long run, as well as Wednesday's track-training session). I sorted out a 12 mile route, and polished it off with what felt like ease...however the next morning there was a sharp pain on the side of my right foot, stabbing every time I put my heel down. I did a little bit of research into this (I have a huge pile of running magazines which have health and injury advice), and quickly determined it was an issue called Plantar Fasciitis, where the muscle that links the heel to the forefoot becomes strained, ripped or swollen. The end result is that for the next 2 weeks at least I'm not running...indeed, just walking normally has been painful, and I've been limping and favouring my left leg, despite having plentiful strapping around the arch of my right foot...

...and of course the strain on the left leg has led to a knee issue. I'm a little more used to these, as I had similar issues a couple of years ago. That knee now has a support, and fingers crossed that's keeping the issue at bay.

So while my various aches and pains sort themselves out I'm limited to cycling and swimming (and I still suck at swimming...). While it's frustrating not to be able to do road training, I have Grim Challenge in 4 weeks time, and I have to be injury-free by then. I suspect I'll be heartily sick of spinning bikes by then...I've already spent over 3 hours on one this week, and while I have a couple of rest days ahead, with just a swimming lanes session before Sunday I'd far rather be outside doing my proper training...

Fortunately I don't have many races planned at the moment. There is the Grim Challenge at the beginning of December, and then a gap until Tough Guy at the end of January. I may do one of the Hampshire Cross-Countries at the beginning of January to give me a bit of off-road practice, and to keep some short-term targets around. After Tough-Guy it's distance-training all the way to the Reading Half, where I plan to break my PB (fingers crossed)...of course, I need to make sure I'm injury-free to do something like that...