Catching up

Despite not being able to run since Saturday it has been a busy few days hence the slight delay in recent postings.

First to Saturday - I was out on a nice hour long run around the Conrhennie Plantation plotting my plans for the next few months and all of a sudden flet a sharp pain in my right achilles/calf. I stopped immediately but as luck would have it I was at the furthest point from my car! I jogged/walked back by a slightly shorter route and by the evening it was very sore. I think it is similar to an injury I had about nine months ago.

I have been following the advice of RICE - rest, ice, comperession, elavation - and had physiotherapy today. I have exercises to do and Paul the physio thinks I may be able to start running next week. Having missed quite a lot of December it makes the National on 21st February look at tall order.

We are now only ten days away from the highlight of the local cross country calendar - the Isle of Man Championships. David Griffiths prepared some great information to promote the event on Manxathletics.com - let's hope for a good turnout. I will not be there - not because of the injury - but will be away for a few days grabbing some winter sun! This was planned before the fixture list!

After the excitment of the Lancs Championships, I enjoyed looking at the many country champs results in Athletics Weekly - most went to first 50 men and first 25 women plus junior age groups. I noticed the names of some Easter Festival runners and also noted some decent results from Guernsey runners in the Hampshire Champs including the winner of the womens event. I also did a little exercise to see the time between first and 25th - my position in Lancs - to try and assess the depth of competition. It is not very scientific but it should be a bit of a guide. The likes of Middlesex and Hampshire had shorter gaps but we were on a par with quite a few including Greater Manchester who are a strong county.

Looking to the Inter Counties - hopefully some local runners have now been selected in addition to those who gained selection by right. Travel plans need to be made so early notification is vital to keep costs down as low as possible.

That is it for now - will try and put down a few more thoughts over the weekend.