Week 1 / 9

As you will know if you read my last post, the first week of specific training for the Marathon did not get off to a good start. My left calf muscle tightened up running series of high intensity (without a warmup beforehand...) on Thursday and has been on my "watch list" since then. The good news is that I was able to do my 2 hour run yesterday without any problems and, although the calf muscle is still quite tender (perhaps from the massages and manipulations), it didn't hurt during the run and was not any worse for it. In fact today, it seems slightly better than it was when I woke up yesterday. I think I have averted injury but only just (touch wood!). Of course, I took my mobile and some money for a taxi on the run, just in case - it was tempting to grab a taxi but even more gratifying to know that I didn't need one.

On Friday I swapped my 40 minute run for a commute by bike to and from work. Time on the bike is considered to be worth half as much as running so this works out about the same. It was only after about 5 kilometers that I realized that I had forgotten to put on my helmet! I felt as much of a plonker cycling without one than I used to when I first started to wear one in the 90s. Just goes to prove how sensitive we are to social norms, I suppose. Either that, or it's because I feel my mortality more than I did when I was in my twenties, now that I have children. I still think that other cyclists who ride without a helmet look like plonkers, as if they are making a statement similar to those who smoke very ostentatiously. When it came to home time, as we are still banned from cycling on campus until they inaugurate the new bike racks, I had to ask a colleague to give me a lift to the gym where my bike was waiting. As soon as I got there and waved him off with a "Have a good weekend!", I realized I had left all my cycling kit hanging out to dry back at the office... I had to call another colleague to collect it (she didn't have any gloves...) and bring it to me. Otherwise the gym would have closed by the time I had made the round trip by bus or walking.

I have to keep a very close eye on my calf muscle and any other stresses or strains that might arise as a result because, on Friday, I am going to Morocco on a running training camp! It would be a bit of a shame if I couldn't actually run.