Midweek update and the weekend plans

A definite improvement with my injury over the last few days. I've continued doing a lot of stretching. My hip is fairly uncomfortable, but that doesn't bother me when I run. It's the other end of my IT band, the knee that I'm being protective of.

On Tuesday I did a 5 mile interval session. I'm deliberately doing intervals at the moment so I fully stretch out the muscles. That went well with no knee pain at all. I was due to go to the gym today, but being short of time I did another run. I did a slightly shorter route, at 4 miles, but fairly 'hilly' all off road and rough terrain. It was probably a little too ambitious as my knee did ache a little. You should really avoid routes with hills when recovering from IT Band syndrome.

During both routes I stopped a few times to stretch out my IT Band. My time was unimportant; I didn't even take a watch. I just concerned about getting back on schedule now. Doing little runs like this, 4 and 5 miles, almost feels like starting from scratch. I guess it is, but I'm going to make bigger jumps to distances than I would starting from scratch. Over the next few weeks I should be back on track. I need to keep the 40 mile event near Oxford in my sights for early May, then a month of easier training before the week long 'La Trans Aq' in the south of France.

This weekend is an event I had planned for months; spring in Lakeland, a 22 mile 5500ft of Ascent, Long Distance Walkers Association event. Now, I'm not stupid, running it is out of the question. I'm still wondering if I should walk it. However, right now I think I will. I can always retire if I'm having difficulty, and I will without hesitation if necessary.

I've mapped out the route on Memory Map (mapping software) and produced a few pictures of the terrain using the 3D-World feature. Now it's not a fantastic resolution, but you get the feel of the area I will be walking in on Sunday.






Lots of hills and lots of lakes. I guess that's why they call it the Lake District! I'll post up the actual route on Sunday, along with my report. I'll try and cut down my pack weight to under 4 Kilo's to ensure I don't overdo it. I will be using my trekking poles from the start, so hopefully that will take some of the strain off my joints. It's going to be a long day. It's at least a 2 hour drive for me to reach Ambleside, then at least 7 hours walking at a guess (considering the climbing) then 2 hours drive back home. I'll do my best to update this blog on Sunday night, but it may be Monday morning if I'm too tired.