Well it’s been a difficult week this one.

I’ve not run for a start. Two reasons really, firstly it’s been stupidly busy although at least one of the extra meetings was cancelled so at least I got home at a sensible time. The bigger reason was that having gone out and done what ought to be my last pre-marathon endurance run on Saturday, I was carrying a few aches and pains.

It was a heavy course by my standards with some more serious inclines than I’ve done in a while, especially on a long run. I’d been full of a head cold all the previous week and this had mushed my training schedule as I’d lost the previous week’s long run and done nothing other than a bit of Tai Chi since. This was designed as a 20 miler and the last 5 miles were a mixture of agony and pain. Aerobically I felt great, not tired at all. But my legs were screaming at me. And having been injured for a quarter of the year already, I’m learning to listen to this….!

I got checked over by my osteopath who confirmed that all was moving fine in the piriformis muscle regions which is where it all went spectacularly wrong in March, despite the fact there was a lot of aching there. My left ankle was also whinging about being dragged up and over Macclesfield tops again and felt quite swollen. I got myself over to a yoga class which hurt like hell at the time but afterwards I had to admit to feeling a little better, despite failing to get into half of the positions everyone else was managing to do.

So all in all, it seems better to let things recover before doing any more running. I’ve been on the bike and that’s been ok. The ankle is stiff but doesn’t feel quite as swollen as it was. With two weeks until race date, I’m keen not to jinx things but ultimately I think it’ll be a tough race as my taper period is more ‘hero to zero’ in terms of miles run.

The frustration is that going for the run is a great way to clear my head, and with the heavy nature of this week, that would have really helped. Having had a headache for about 48 hours that just won’t go (a dull thudding one rather than anything dramatic) I’m just itching to get out there and stir up some endorphins, but  I just need to be sensible. For once!

But I am beginning to wonder whether marathon running is just a tiny bit bad for you. I have enjoyed getting back to the 2 hour running mark and all in all that wasn’t too bad. It’s the second 2 hours which is causing me the concerns now!!!