Tentative steps

I have been off the map for a week, with a visit to London and then to my sister's to see the family. Clocked up a lot of miles walking in London just being the country bumpkin but the heel seemed to cope OK, though it was a bit stiff on a couple of evenings. Mastermind specialist subject - History of London docklands! Test me!

Prior to going away, I was getting more regular with the turbo training sessions, but nothing beyond 30 minutes. Most importantly, there did not seem to be any adverse reaction to being back at work for the full day, so tomorrow I go to a full teaching timetable and cannot wait to do some rugby with the Year 7 boys in the morning. I'm not going to wear my boots to teach in as they are a lot stiffer than trainers and don't want to take the risk, so I'll wear an old pair of Salomon Speedcross II for the time being.

For the last couple of weeks I've felt that I could do a few seconds of running but have held off until today. I see the physio again on Tuesday and just wanted to be able to report on where I was having tried something with a little more impact. So, I wore a pair of trainers that are well worn-in, and Tracey and I went for a walk in Great Wood, below Walla Crag. Every five minutes or so, I had a little jog for between 10 and 30 seconds, trying to take small steps, but also to use as normal a gait as possible. Along the way we took some video clips so I could get a look at how I am running to see if there is any imbalance, but it looks like everything is OK.

As I write this in the evening, it doesn't feel too bad, though it is a little stiff after I've been sat down for a while. Once I start moving, it loosens up quickly. It will be interesting to see how it reacts in the morning and after a full day of teaching, but I have actually ran some steps now and put on running kit. I almost felt like a runner again!

Over the weekend, I was following the OMM race in Scotland and it seemed very strange not to be part of the event this year. Looking forward to reading the reports and especially analysing the Route Gadget maps. Here is hoping that this time next year I am writing a report about running the OMM Elite class race rather than a report about running for 30 seconds!