Oh, the guilt! I have to confess that I didn't get to go for a run on Monday, after all. Friends and clients will be shocked. Guess I'm only human after all. I'd planned to get up at 6.45am to be out of the house by 7.15, do a 10 mile run at a steady 7'30" pace per mile to be home by 8.30am. Then I'd have just enough time to stretch, shower and have breakfast before leaving home at 9.20 to meet my first client at 9.40.
However, the alarm went off and I still felt really, really sleepy. So I hit snooze, thinking to myself that I'd just get an extra 15 minutes kip and go for an 8 mile run instead. But I lay in bed talking myself out of an early morning run. I did feel as if I was still exhausted from the weekend. Although we'd had a really relaxing time with our friends up North, I didn't get as much sleep as I would normally - due to the late, alcohol laced evenings. So I reasoned that I'd have enough time in the middle of the day to run.
I think at the time I honestly thought that I would get the run done at lunchtime. But once I'd seen my first two clients I felt too hungry to run. My stomach's needs won out over my legs. After lunch I then realised I needed to plan for my three evening classes. In the end I was a victim of time - an excuse many of my clients use, for which I tell them it is always possible to make time. So, by the end of the day, I was feeling very guilty for not doing my 10 mile run.
Not wanting to have another day of guilt, I got up promptly on Tuesday and did the run I'd planned for the previous day. It went well and my legs felt great after having five whole days of non-running. Despite telling myself over and over that I needed the rest, I still felt guilty for not running the previous day. Is this normal? Maybe I was only wrestling with my conscience because I often scold clients for missing exercise sessions. As of now I intend to put my guilt to one side and get over it. I am only human and I'm sure I'll miss plenty more training sessions in the course of the year. It has occurred to me that maybe it is the process of making my training public that could be affecting my conscience. I'm also sure that even if I do miss the odd training session, I still exercise more than most. And to prove that point I had a double exercise session on Wednesday.
After seeing a couple of clients early Wednesday morning I returned home for a quick kettlebell blast. I did a 45 minute session during which I mostly focused on lifting exercises. Boy do I know about it today. In the evening I went for my customary 3.5 mile run to get to Sweaty Betty in Town. I then took the ladies for a guided 5 mile run ready for the Sweaty Betty Great British Run that will take place next Wednesday. Essentially I will be leading a group of female runners on three 2.5 mile loops around Cambridge. Last night we just ran the first two loops. The aim is to get as many women along to the club as possible to run as many miles as possible in one evening. Those who turn up have the option of running 2.5, 5 or 7.5 miles. After guiding the ladies over a 5 mile run I then ran 2 miles back to home. So over the evening I'd run 10.5 miles. Not bad for a days work.
As a result of the run yesterday I woke up in pain this morning. The pain isn't the result of a running injury as such. I don't have aching calves, or painfully knees or a clicking hip. No, I am in pain as a result of running into a cycle rack on the back of an inconsiderately parked car. My route to Sweaty Betty last night took me along Riverside. Those who run in Cambridge will know the stretch from Stourbridge Common to Elizabeth Way Bridge well. It's a common running route as it follows the river and is quiet of traffic. Most runners do as I do and run in the road alongside the river, where there is the occasional parked car. I had to run past a car that was parked front on to the river railings, rather than alongside the railings. As I ran round the back of the car I hadn't spotted that it was fitted with a cycle rack with the two prongs for holding bikes sticking out at hip height. As I smacked into the end of the prong, first with my right wrist, quickly followed by my right hip, I shouted something along the lines of "Oh, bother!".
My head swam with a mix of emotional responses ranging from feeling stupid for not seeing the cycle rack to wanting to wring the neck of the idiot who had parked their car in such a manner on a street that is used by many runners and cyclists. But mostly my head was filled with the fact that I was limping from pain and hoping no lasting damage had been done. Fortunately, after another mile of running my gait had returned to normal, and although my hip was still painful, it felt as if it was just bruised. By the end of the evening I'd completely forgotten the incident.
This morning I woke just before my alarm. I rolled over onto my right side and felt a sharp pain in my hip. Ouch! The pain instantly re-awakened my anger towards the owner of the car with the attached cycle rack. Getting out of bed and going to the bathroom, I expected to see a massive bruise on my hip. Bizarrely, there is absolutely nothing to see. My hip has been hurting on and off all day. Fortunately, it didn't affect my running during an interval training session with a client. I feel a bit of a wimp for being in pain from something that has left no visible scar or bruise. I'm assuming that there is bruising to the bone and that the bruise will come to the surface in a day or two.
I was going to go for another run this evening with some friends. But decided I'd done enough over the last few days. The only important run to get done this week now is an 18 or 20 miler at the weekend. Anything else will be a bonus.
No comments:
Post a Comment