Plantar (II)

Just a quick update on the plantar problem.

I’ve been doing the stretches, and I’ve started properly warming up before runs (which I should have been doing from day one) and I think it’s very manageable. My heels are sore and it’s less than ideal, but it’s nothing like the day that made me consult Doctor Google. That day I got up, no warm up, and blasted out 14 miles at 7.29 m/m (mara pace +10%). The rest of the day I could barely walk. Every time I sat down it took me minutes of shuffling to get my feet to stop hurting enough to be able to walk properly. I was scared that was how it was going to be after every run, which probably wouldn’t have been sustainable. It definitely wouldn’t have been sustainable if the pain got worse as the condition of my plantar deteriorated. Those were my thoughts and fears.

I did a long (18 miles), quite nippy, run the other day and my feet were sore, but not terrible. Then I tried to go fast. The plan said 5 miles running, (which I did at 7.37) then 5 miles at half marathon pace. My half pace is only my target mara pace (6.50) at the mo, so I pushed a bit harder. I wanted 6.30, averaged 6.40. Meh. The point is, I was going hard. My feet were OK the next day, once I’d got over the ‘getting out of bed and stretching’ bit.

I bought gel insoles for my work boots, I’m wearing trainers around the house (to keep my feet from striking hard surfaces) and I’m stretching and massaging, (and warming up). I think it’s going to be enough. This level of soreness is nothing to fuss over.

I’ve still not managed to do back to back runs to test that out.

I was supposed to be getting up early yesterday morning to do a 15 mile run (which would have made today 3 days on the bounce, a proper test) but on Thursday some fool went half through the lights, they changed to amber, and he slammed on. He was already through, I thought I was going, suddenly he stopped dead. Me, in a dirty great truck, not so much. Work have been good about it, I’ve just got to go out with the driver trainers and practice leaving bigger gaps, but I’ve already driven one shift since, and I’m booked for 2 more next week, so it’s not like they are taking it too seriously.

The long and short of that was I had to stand by my ‘phone from early o’clock yesterday in case they called me in for the training before my shift, or sacked me off. So no run. I felt a lot better about it after I’d done another shift. It always gives your confidence a knock, and makes you want to quit driving and get a job as lollypop lady, or hitman, or something.

It does give you pause for thought though. I was obsessing over my fitness, possible foot injury and race readiness, I hadn’t a single concern about work, and then BANG! Life blindsided me.

Anyway, that’s done. It cost me a day’s training and bunch of stress, but now I’m back to thinking about my racing.

One other thing about work. I was worried because I’m agency but I’m also in the union. If the lads went out on strike I would look conspicuously militant if I refused to work. And there’s no way I’m crossing the picket line. The agency sent an email saying work don’t expect agency cover for strikes so I’m off the hook. UP THE WORKERS!

Which is why I’ve only got 2 days, so far, next week. I’ve booked one day off for the dentist, one day’s strike, and one day they’ve not given me a shift yet. I think they are trying to arrange for me to go out with the driver trainers on that day.

I’ve been getting 5 days again lately.

Right, that’s about my catch-up. Some twitter stuff.

The drought has been causing unexpected anxiety.

I revisited a book I read as a little kid. Tom’s Midnight Garden. It is beautiful. I thought I was going to ruin a fond, but vague, memory. It’s really held up.

The language and grammar must have been really challenging for (I’m guessing) a junior school kid.

Salad!

The tories, who voted against legislation to stop privitised water companies dumping raw sewage, were shocked and horrified when privitised water companies were filmed pumping thousand of gallons of raw sewage into the sea, polluting every beach across the bottom of England.