Week in Review: 12 - 18 Dec '16

Not much of a running week this week thanks to the pain and suffering I somehow inflicted upon myself during last week Saturday's run.

I kept off the road all week to give my back a chance to heal but couldn't hold myself back much longer come Friday, especially as I was racing on Sunday and wanted to be sure I could. I went out for a very short "test" run on Friday and I could feel my back niggling. I wasn't sure if the running was adding to the problem or just reminding me it was there so I kept things short.

Sunday morning came and my back was feeling better. Saturday evening I'd discovered that if I press firmly on my traps, it relieves the tension and pain in my upper back. So Sunday morning, I got up nice and early, massaged by traps, put on my gear and headed down to Wellington College for the Muddy Welly 10k. I got there with plenty of time to get my number and go for a good easy warm up. Thankfully the trap massage discovery was doing the job perfectly. Everytime I felt my back tensing up, I massages my traps and I was good to go again.

I gave my traps one final massage before the start of the race and my back played well for the whole race. I didn't even notice it, though I was too busy racing to be honest.

I started the race off a little quick but eased off and kept up a good pace for the first lap. Finished the first lap in third place and took the moment to push things a little bit to see if I could reel in the first place chap. I did for a bit but I think he saw me as he definitely picked up the pace and I didn't see him again. Eased off a bit more in the middle of the second lap to put a bit in the bank just in case I needed to sprint at the end. Towards the end of the race I determined I wouldn't need to keep anything in the tank so let loose and finished strong in a season best in second place.

Second at the Muddly Welly 10k 2016 - Gun time: 36:00 / Chip time: 35:58

So whilst I didn't get to run as much as I'd have hoped, I did manage to pull off a great run, get my second podium finish of the year and new 10k season best, and it was off road too. I think I need to take a whole week off before races all the time 😉.