Just over eight weeks to go until I line up at the start of the Manchester Marathon. The big miles are starting now – long run was 15 last week and planning to hit 16 this week. But its not going as smoothly as I’d hoped – enter the ‘niggles’.
Last Sunday after an easy run on the treadmill I felt a pain on my calf. I’d felt it a bit during those 15 miles but nothing too painful and it went away after I stopped running. Then no pain at all until I stepped off the treadmill.
No pain when walking to do the school run via the shops a couple of hours after the 15. And no pain on the bouncy castle on Sunday afternoon. (Youngest’s fifth birthday party in case you were wondering! Castle arrived early and it would have been rude not to try it out before the kids arrived).
So out came the ice pack and Tiger Balm (I love the smell of that stuff). No running club on Tuesday (replaced with an okay spin class at the local leisure centre), more ice and, now the pain has gone, stretching and foam rolling. It feels alright at the moment and I’m planning on testing it out on the treadmill tonight.
I know it’s a response to the increase in mileage and possibly training in very low temperatures last week. Could also be due to changing my style to run on a track that got increasingly icy throughout the training session. Who knows?
But I’m sure it is just a ‘niggle’ and nothing serious. And I’m also sure there will be more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I’ll keep plodding on with the ice pack and Tiger Balm handy.