Getting Back To The Hills

 

Directing people at the Derwentwater Dawdle Registration

Blow me down, but this recovery from injury isn't a lot of fun. It's about ten weeks since I managed to get an avulsive fracture of my ankle and things are getting back to normal-ish.

The thing is, what with lockdown, races being cancelled and then an injury, I've lost a good deal of what passes for my fitness. Not only that, but over the last few months, I've turned into the former self of my shadow. However, my physio tells me I need to get back to running and to work on some strength exercises and I've got a twenty-mile race next month and an ultra in 17 weeks. I need to do some work to get this slow, heavy body back into what I laughingly call condition. 

Once my ankle started healing and Iain gave me the go-ahead to start running, I began to do some short, runs locally, though without any regularity or discipline. I did keep up my regular pattern of exercises to strengthen my glutes (does my bum look big in this?) and I did a little bit of aerobic work. However, as I started to feel better and running deadlines got ever closer, I decided that it was time to develop a training strategy. 

My approach has been influenced by the book Fast After Fifty, which I strongly recommend to any other aged runners. I've no particular desire to be fast, but if I can keep going, I'll be a happy bunny, I came across the book on Claire Maxted's excellent podcast, Wild Ginger Running.

Listening to podcasts can be expensive!

 Basically, the approach that I'm taking is to do almost all of my running at a relatively slow pace, trying not to get out of breath (though that is difficult going uphill). This involves four runs a week, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. A few weeks' ago, I was struggling to run four miles, so I started doing four milers as my base. Basically, I do four miles on the midweek nights and then increase the mileage at the weekend. So, last weekend I did eight miles on Saturday and six on Sunday. Next Saturday, I'm due a ten-mile run that will get me back onto the hills on the Pennine Way. I'm looking forward to that - it seems a good way to celebrate my 62nd birthday (though there will be scallops, lamb, chocolate mousse and cheese in the evening. When I get to clocking up twenty miles or so at the weekend, I'll start to build up the midweek mileage, too. 

In addition to the slow running, I have scheduled two hard sessions. Monday is a strength session with weighted squats, lunges, planks and all sorts of good stuff. Ideally, I'd head to the gym and do high weight, low repetition exercises, but I'm a Covid phobic, so a routine at home will have to do. The other hard session consists of hill reps on our lane. I run a mile warm-up then spring (sort of) for 100 metres up the lane and jog back down a number of times before doing a gentle mile cool-down. I'll increase the reps as my strength returns. 

There are a few other things that I do on a regular basis. I've always had problems with my ankle and breaking one of them didn't help. I have a foam pad and I do daily sessions standing on one leg on the pad for a minute or so. It's generally easy to do it on the right, less so on the left. I'm also working on losing weight by getting back to intermittent fasting, which I find tends to work for me and is a good discipline anyway. 

I'm still seeing Iain, my physio, more or less weekly (weakly?). He is working on the mobility of my left ankle and has given me some exercises to deal with some muscle weakness higher up my legs. It was a bit of a surprise when he taped my ankle in a way that perfectly matched my new Inov-8 shoes. I'm trying to work out what shoes will work best for the Spine Flare next summer - so far the Terra-ultra Gs seem to be pretty good - even if they did cost the children's inheritance.

In September, I had a pleasant morning marshalling at the Derwentwater Dawdle race. I have to say that marshalling is much easier than running the blooming thing - though, perhaps, less fun. 

Sadly, when we returned home to Yorkshire we found that we had been plunged back into local lockdown. I don't know what effect this will have on races over the next few months or on my ability to train. We'll see how things turn out. Meanwhile, the hills are still there and I'll be back amongst them soon enough.

“The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.” Alfred Wainwright: The Western Fells