Now, how much of this I manage is another question..
It looks very much like I have had a flare up of Iliotibial Band Syndrome, which I got before the marathon last year; side-of-Knee pain when running. It even hurt walking for the last two days. I've been icing it and taking ibuprofen, and I have not done any activity since Sunday when it struck.
I had an hours sports massage (read: Torture) on it yesterday. Thanks to Mike for that. Something that hurts that much just has to be doing me some good. My entire IT band on the right side is chronically tight (the left is pretty tight as well). I can only assume the change in orthotics set it off, or maybe it was just coincidence, as the orthotics change is to combat these problems. Either way, I can't really run for a week or two, or a month if you follow advice to the letter. However, it's not as bad as last time, because I cut the route short on Sunday for fear of serious problems.
I took a week off training. I'll did gym session on Friday but that's it, apart from a 2.5 mile walk on Sunday just to see how it felt. It didn't feel too bad, but I could still feel an ache, so I knew it was better to keep it short. I'll do a short run on Tuesdsy, perhaps just a couple of miles (if I feel comfortable enough). I'm doing plenty of stretching and I've got another torture session on Tuesday this week too.
For more info on this common runners problem see here
As mentioned previously, the IT band issue has been preceded as always by weeks of hip discomfort. I went to see my doctor today, who frankly knew less than me about ITB, but did suggest that a cortisone injection into the hip could provide relief if not a permanent cure. He's finding out more information as "It's not an area I've injected before", he told me. I'll let him read up on it and let you know how I get on.
Other news this week: Three items have arrived form the States. I ordered them from eBay, but it's actually an American camping retailer behind it. All these items are considerably cheaper in the States than here, even after postage. Here is a free plug for his shop, as it's the cheapest place to load up on lightweight camping gear. Mickies place
I ordered a Thermarest Prolite 3 bed roll. It amazed me by self inflating when I unrolled it. It covers your torso only and weight 370 grams.
Next up is an MSR Titan titanium kettle. Incredibly lightweight at just 118 grams
Finally a Brunton Mu-Ti folding titanium Spork
The whole lot cost me about £75 including delivery from America. That's around a £50 saving versus the UK.
Finally, I’ve ordered, but not yet received my sleeping bag. I was always going to buy one from PHDesigns, who manufacture the lightest bag in the world incidentally. However, that's not the one I'm buying as I want a fighting chance of staying warm in the cold desert nights. They have a winter sale on right now, and I've ordered a Mimim 300 with drishell (water resistant, not waterproof) for £125. It's rates down to 0 degrees, better than the Minimus I was going to buy. This one is cheaper, warmer, but about 100 grams heavier at 570 grams; still incredibly light for a sleeping bag.
Well, that's it for now. Banished to the gym for a week...
No comments:
Post a Comment