Slowly does it

I'm off the painkillers, although still on anti-inflamatories and did my first 6.5km run again on Sat morning. it felt quite good and the only niggle was my shoulder.
Saw Physio today and got great advice. Might have to drop out of Cranleigh and instead focus on running on a flat, non-tarmac surface for a bit until the neck is 95% as otherwise I might run the risk of not being able to run the marathon at all. So gentle off-road running, hopefully 20m run in Cranleigh, tackle the neck with ice and stretches and then hopefully be fighting fit for London in 5 weeks

Still injured

It's hit me bad I'm afraid. The sport masseur is doing wonders but I'm still suffering from constant pain in my arm. Will try gentle running in Germany this weekend - at least there won't be any hills - cross fingers as I'm planning to do the Cranleigh 15 the week after....

Injury strikes again

Having managed to get our for a 5 mile run on Fri morning (a very slow and painful experience), my neck and shoulder now decided to pack up. Despite a cocktail of drugs, the pain is excruciating and that puts a stop to any training at the moment :-( I'm sooo disappointed as I know that I need to get more miles on the road but as the germans say "da ist der Wurm drin"....
So, Monday I shall book myself to see the GP, followed by an Osteopath as well as a Sportsmasseur - I shall attack this on ALL fronts and with a bit of luck I shall be back up and running (literally) in no time at all.

Milestone 2 - The Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

"The race is a testing, single-lap course through some of Kent's finest countryside"

Fully agree with the finest country side - especially on a warmish and sunny spring day. Testing it was indeed - I climbed 210m during the race!! Having been ill (tummy bug & then a cold)  for 3 weeks prior to the race and never having raced more than 11 miles - I approached the race with some trepidation.

As I got into it (at about 3 miles) I really started to enjoy myself. At the half way mark I was definitely beaming and at mile 7 I started overtaking people slowly but steadily. However, the very tough bit came between mile 11 and 12 - it must have been a mini wall - muscles seized up, feeling sick and wanting to give up. I managed to keep at it and when I reached the final half mile I was sprinting to the finish line! Felt really great for having done it although there are a few niggly bits I need to try and address - the wall, the sickness feeling and get my muscles a little bit more resilient. But no worries - I have 6 weeks to get myself ready....