acupuncture

Going into the British Masters championship I'd tweaked my hamstring. This developed into a full-blown left buttock muscular arrest. After the race I was walking with a limp for two days. Given I was doomed to sitting in an aircraft seat for 8 hours, I consulted my Inner Coach and was given the week off.

Not running for eight days was, surprisingly, not at all difficult. But it didn't seem to do much good. My first day back on the legs was Tuesday at the track, where a series of gentle 100s and 50s just to see what was working revealed that the left leg still doesn't want to play.

Seeing as how I'm running faster now than I was in my 30s, there's not much about the allegedly "inevitable" decline in physical performance that I'm inclined to accept.

One thing I do acknowledge is that my maximum heart rate has declined, as I've got older. It's now around 170 on a good day, compared to 195 or more when I was younger. But all may not be what it seems.

I figured being born and bred in wet and cold England (and in the year of London's last "pea souper" -- fog), I was able to put up with a bit of bad weather. But maybe not :)
I've gone down with flu in a big way.

I saw acupuncturist extraordinaire Dr Ma today and had a great treatment. His take on it was the long run I did (in the cold) put me over the edge -- suppressed my immune system just that little bit extra needed for some virus to take advantage. The sore, stiff back is being caused by my coughing and spluttering. He could be right -- it really hurts my back when I cough. He says what happens is the spaces between the verterbrae close up, so he stuck some extra needles in to "gap" them.

It's working. All this easy runnning is having its effect.

I got up at 7am (you know how much I like that, not) to run with Patty. My legs were tired from the day before (did a hill run and ran across -- literally -- the skeleton of a racoon with its head attached, but that's another story)... so I gave my legs a rub before I went out, paying particular attention to "treating" the sore points a couple of inches below my knees -- Stomach 36 acupuncture points.

I did the strongest bit of sustained speed I have done for a LONG time: It was only about a mile, but around 7, maybe just sub-7 pace in part, on ice and various other bits of gunge.

My legs aren't working. Or something.

Just been out an "easy" hour following the Lydiard principle: out for half an hour, turn round and get home in the same time.

Only my legs wouldn't co-operate. They started to seize up with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Of course, this is only my third "proper" run after a five-week lay-off. But even so, I'd expected to be moving like the "old" me by now.

The lay-off started as a scheduled two-week rest and ended up being a month-long round of serial therapy as my body decided to present me with several "matters requiring attention." Like the four-month-old niggling adductor strain. In the middle of my new routine of excrutiating soft-tissue work (thanks, Mark Plaatjes), "magic" accupuncture (thank you Dr. Ma) and Spanish Inquisition-style remedial Pilates (thank you, Richard "Nobody expects..." Rossiter), I sprained my ankle.