Every Flippin Step . . . again!

Not going exactly to plan.

Tuesday was a beautiful day but I missed my early morning call, in fact I don't even remember turning off the alarm but I must have done.  Madi and I decided to go out at lunch time for the first time in ages.  We just did one lap of our old route, around 1.7 miles.  I managed the whole way round with no obvious pains anywhere although it was very different running in the heat.  I came home happy and resolute that I will give myself at least a week after the marathon before burning the running shoes.

I was quite enthusiastic on Wednesday morning and bounced out the door at 6.30 determined to get back on track.  I got twice round, just over 4 miles and was feeling ok.  I just needed to go once up and down the main road for my final mile - that's when the pain kicked in, so suddenly and excruciating.  I just made it to the front door but couldn't get to the back as planned.  I spent the rest of the day with a bag of ice strapped to my leg.  Walking seemed to be ok so long as I didn't try to change direction suddenly.

In the evening Jan and I had been invited to an evening in Norwich arranged by virgin just giving.  There was a chat by Paul Evans, an Olympic athlete, and a chat by someone from Lucozade about nutrition.  It was also a chance to chat over a drink (hydrating not alcoholic) and a posh sandwich, to other like minded people about how we were getting along (training schedules not costumes!).  First problem was fuel,  I hadn't heard any news for a while and wondered if war had been declared when I saw all the queue's at every petrol station.  Eventually I managed to fill up and was on my way, I parked and then started heading towards the forum to meet Jan.  Now I hadn't practised walking before I left the house, you get to a certain age and I guess you kind of take it for granted that you will get out of the car and something you have done for many years will just happen and it did until I started going up hill.  If, as I have discovered, Roydon is hilly then Norwich is positively Alpine!  I crept along taking tiny steps trying to act like this was my normal way of getting about, I constructed an 'I'm just fine' look on my face to mask my agony.  I had to traverse slopes, steps, pavements, cobbles and potholes whilst avoiding walkers, cyclists, joggers and skateboarders.  If I thought the trip there was hard the downhill leg was doubly difficult, there were moments I thought I just wouldn't make it at all.  I was, it has to be said, the only person who limped into the get together despite there being a man with a prosthetic leg in attendance.  We arrived fairly jolly, treating it with the same amateur hilarity that has got us through since October last year, it only took a few minutes before we realised that we had stumbled into the 'elite runners' changing rooms.  This was no place for my planned headband story, these people wore headbands in their sleep!.  My ice breaker question 'back or front end?' was not going to be appreciated here.  We had to think very fast, put a more serious face on and try to come up with something mildly intelligent about our training programme and race strategy, timings were mentioned and we did what we needed to do - we lied!!.  We listened to the talks with our intelligent faces on but in my head I was back in the washing machine, I came away with another list of words that I just couldn't get into any sort of order, there was preparation, hydration, nutrition, water, gels, beans, there were calculations to show how much protein and carbohydrates you should eat for your body weight, another calculation where you weigh yourself before and after a run to see how much liquid you have to put back - I wanted to ask if you should weigh before or after you've thrown up but didn't feel they would understand.  Then to top it all there was the wee chart, you need to check the colour on the chart to see if you're hydrated properly!!!... like life isn't complicated enough.

We picked up our 'goody bags' and sloped off, limping past Jarrolds on the way to the car.  There seemed to be some sort of spa evening going on, loads of nicely dressed women having their make up and nails done, couldn't help feeling as I gazed through the window, that I was in the wrong life!  when I got home I unpacked the goody bag, there was a bottle of lucozade, a packet of lucozade jelly beans, a lucozade oat bar and a water bottle with a hole in the middle!.  I wondered if I might have preferred the Jarrolds goody bags?.

Anyway, this morning was another day.  I did get up early and put on the gear, I ran . . . oh, around 5 yards before I decided it wasn't to going happen.  I am going to take a trip to the doctors tomorrow and hope they will be sympathetic when I say that I have to do this, we shall see.