AWOL & Great Scottish Run

Well its been 6 weeks since my last post and a few things have happened that have seen me leave my blog in a state of abondonment.  Firstly, I injured my left hip while out running.  I had reached the 8 mile mark and was feeling good about the approaching GSR half and then I was hit with an overuse injury.  Basically, my left hip muscle gave  up the ghost.  I reached the week 7 mark in training and my long run would have been 9 miles.  I set out knowing that the twinges in my hip had become a bit more pronounced in the previous week.  I set out and barely reach the mile mark when I had to stop and turn back home due to the pain ;-(  I was bitterly disappointed by this and I then had to take 2 weeks out resting as I couldn't manage even a short run. 

This injury was topped off with the knowledge that I was heading out to India for a 2 week business trip.  I had to take the sad decision before I went to pull out of the half. I thought I would have been fit enough and have the time to train in the gym.  Alas this was not to be the case.  I managed one very poor 5k run at the hotel gym and a Sunday swim as training - not good!!!  When I came home, I had one week to the GSR and knew that there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell of ever doing the half and knew I had made the right decision due to 4 weeks without training - all be it that I was peeved about it.  However I did manage a satisfying 5k run when I came back and made the snap decision to run the 10k rather than not try anything at all.  I headed to Glasgow to swap my half marathon chip/bib number for a 10k one.  My hip was a bit niggly but I thought that if I rested and looked after it, I would be fine for the Sunday race.

Pre-race photo

Sunday 5th arrived and it was time for the GSR.  I had dosed up on ibuprofen on the Saturday and when I woke up on Sunday, my hip was feeling a lot better.  Up, showered, dressed and with a bowl of porridge down my neck, hubby and I set off for Glasgow.  After a wee detour to get to the car park (which turned out to be surprisingly empty due to where it was located), we parked and headed off for George Square.  I was feeling okay and it was getting a bit worrying that I wasnt excited or nervous!!!  The 10k started at 9.30am and we spent the next 40 mins milling about waiting for the start.  I was in the blue zone, although I should have been green for my time, it seems the race people obviously thought I could do it in a quicker time or they didnt have any green bib/chips left!!!  So there I was standing in the cattle pen waiting to start and we heard the gun going off for the "white zone" (line for the film Airplane springs to mind here).  There was a 5 min staggered start between each zone and as we were waiting for ours to go off, you could see the white group heading up St Vincents street (a rather big hill).  It was then our turn to set off and head up that big hill - phew that was hard going.

Post race photo

The lack of training in the last 5 weeks leading up to the GSR showed as I struggled a bit during the run.  I wasn't super impressed with the course as I found it a bit lacking in support but that could be because of the time of morning it was.  People who ran the half said the support for their route was fantastic.  I think the other problem is that I didnt take my mp3 player with me for this race.  I had used it on the Ignis 10k but dont use music during my training runs.  I think maybe I need this motivation during a race.  A lesson learned for the next race :-)

Race bib and medal

The best part of the race?  The end lol.  Crossing the finish line is a huge high knowing that you have accomplished something.  Official time showed that I had completed the race in 69m 49s - not a personal best but still respectable considering.  I have to say that I was a bit despondent on the journey home.  I waited until 2 of my friends had finished the half and I kind of felt I had let myself down by not doing it.  However I have been reassured by numerous runners and non-runners alike that doing the 10k with so little training in the lead up was an accomplishment and that the half might have been just too much considering I was still nursing an injury.  Doesnt stop me from feeling like I failed in my initial goal.  Still, there will be other races and I am sure that each and every one of them will bring either a high or a low.  That's running for you :-)

On an aside note - the trip to India was fab.  The team I work with were fantastic and they made me feel very welcome and a huge thank you goes to them :-) The last day there was a very sad affair for me as I felt I was leaving friends behind.  Lets hope that I can maybe manage another trip over before any more changes are made and I dont get to visit again. 


Kimbles
~x~x~