Sarah runs!

Not blogged for ages! 

Since the last time I’ve been to the World Orienteering Champs in France and achieved a 13th place – not bad after a season of injuries and difficulty training.  On the day, the injuries behaved themselves, I just needed some more speed.

So in search of that speed I have finally managed to get in to see the right man to inject my poor achilles.  It’s not the most pleasurable experience!  But fingers crossed.  I have 3 more days til I can go running and test them out but so far I have hardly suffered at all when I was warned I might be in bits.  So feeling really positive.  I don’t think I really believe that I will be pain free so whatever happens I don’t think I will be disappointed….but I can’t help hoping.  And I’m looking forward if possible to some lovely long autumn runs….

Despite a crappy spring due to injury I still managed to race at most of the important races and am glad to have been selected to run at the World O Champs in France in August this year!

This will be my 9th World Champs appearance, making me a truely aged team member (a very spritely 34!) and that’s skipping a year for a baby.  I hope this will be my best year yet.  You may have noticed my wingeing blogs about not being able to run, but the cross training has kept me fit and I’m now ready to get stuck into some great running training – as set by Nick. 

Although it’s been rubbish being injured, my problem most years has been that I have been worn out by a hard spring season before actually getting to August for the World Champs so I’m hoping now that my lack of racing will actually pay off by allowing me to peak at the right time for a change!

So – cross training has been great and I am going to keep up the aquajogging and some biking but……now to get stuck into what I love best – RUNNING! (with a map of course..)

It may just be possible that I might be ready to try a run….bit scared in case the injury flares….but still excited.  Having said that, have seen some pretty amazing scenery on the bike.  If you ever want to go somewhere special for a bike ride – try the back of Leith Hill.  Peaslake up round bottom of Leith Hill via Coldharbour – views are amazing and forests are beautiful….makes you want to run in them

Some of you may or may not have read my whinges about my recent problems with injury.  I will now shut up just briefly to say that cross training doesn’t seem to have done me any harm at all as I took the JK (Jan Kjellstrom – famous scandinavian who introduced orienteering to the UK in the 60′s) Orienteering Festival Sprint race Title, although I (very happily) had to share it with a very good friend of mine called Pippa Archer who ran exactly the same time as I did!  I also won the Middle distance race and then anchored my relay team to the JK Women’s Trophy win.

My cross training is essentially cycling and pool running – I save the pool running for the ‘sessions’ as otherwise I get too bored whereas I am happy (now) to cycle for some time – up to 3 hours so far – you do get to see alot of scenery when you cycle!

So today for example, I cycled with the main part of my session being 3 hill reps of 9 mins 20 secs – I have a great hill just near where I live to do this – actually I have several but this one was in the right place today!

My pool sessions are as advised by Nick/Lucy – I’ve done 1,2,3,4,5,5,4,3,2,1 mins off half time recovery or 1×8 mins, 2x4mins, 4×2 mins, 8×1 min – this was a really satisfying one and got my heart rate really high in the pool for the first time – the trick seems to be to not just work the legs really hard, but the arms too, to get the HR up.  I was sweating in the pool!

Anyway, some more cross training coming up before hopefully easing my way back into running, but definitely going to keep up the cross training.  I’m actually starting to like it

I'm the one with the cap on!

So it turns out that I have more than one thing wrong with my foot/ankle. 
Peroneal tenosynovitis and an inflamed joint in my foot (4th metatarsal and lateral cuneiform) – having a steroid injection on wednesday.

Been cross training for almost two weeks now.  Starting to enjoy the cycling – you get to see a hell of a lot more for an hour’s training!  And in the sun, I suppose it isn’t SO bad. 

Aquajogging is still fairly tedious but it feels good to be putting in some top quality sessions with proper heart rates now.  Strength in my legs is much better too.

Still – can’t wait to run again though!

2nd at Mediterranean Orienteering Champs in Sicily!

Despite coming off the back of an injury I was chuffed to bits with my results.  The areas were brilliantly difficult navigation-wise as well as being fast.

Check out the map of Sciacca to see what Orienteer’s get up to!

This is the men's course, ours was just fractionally shorter.

I think a couple of weeks ago I mentioned the ‘i’ word in the same sentence as how good I felt and how I was running well. This clearly was an error!
I am now enjoying (hmmm) lots of pool running/cycling/spinning and swimming and the half marathon looks dodgy in 2 weeks time.
Peroneal tendonitis if you must know. And just as the sun comes out and makes running glorious!

My hubbie is organising a race on 26 Feb 2011 called ‘the Brutal’ 10km (it will be).  It is sponsored by ForGoodnessShakes and we now have 500 bottles of the stuff in the garage – not quite on the wall…

By race day there might be 493…

Had one of those runs today where everthing was effortless.

Bit nervous – 4 weeks to go to the Fleet Half marathon and running is going well….no colds/injuries allowed!