The long and the short of it

This week saw a return to running although without having completely sorted the hip/groin issue. It's stopped being a pain around the joint and has moved more into the groin which therefore, whilst still a niggly pain, becomes more manageable through stretching and gritting teeth.

Tuesday's 8 miles was uncomfortable which left me somewhat dreading Thursday's 18 miles - the longest run on the programme to date. In actual fact I only needed to dread the first 10 miles of it. After that it all seemed to get a lot better. It may be because there was a lot more downhill from there on, or just that the remaining distance seemed 'doable' in my head at that point but whatever the reason I was pleased that it ended better than it began. Actually I was just pleased that it ended. By the afternoon at work I was in need of strong coffee to support my body's energy levels but no real ill effects.

At the weekend, in keeping with the plans to reduce the number of longer runs to prevent overtraining and to inject some speed into the proceedings I decided not to run the Long Tour of Bradwell (31 miles) and instead did the Endcliffe Park 5km TimeTrial. It's a low key, free to enter event with 67 runners this week over a measured, and flat 5km course. Only 48 hours after doing the 18 miler I was quite pleased with a performance of 22 mins 50 secs - 7 mins 22 seconds/mile and exactly mid way through the field. I also managed a 1,500m swim on Friday evening in 27 mins 54 secs, a 45 second improvement on the previous week.

I'm still most pleased with my Injinji socks and Mizuno Wave Ascend trainers which have brought me no foot issues whatsoever so far. Currently less impressed with the quality of my Raidlight pack which after only 4 months' use has had to be returned due to a broken shoulder strap. See what the repair/replacement comes back like but I'm starting to lean towards the OMM pack which has a top reputation for withstanding all manner of abuse.

Rest week next week so hopefully more time for the groin to repair and the rest of my body to recover.