2007 – the year that wasn’t

I didn’t end up running this morning; I wasn’t free to leave the office until about 9am so I missed the VRR Tan run. So I have finished up my year of running and will start 2008 with what will no doubt be a slog of a 10Km first thing tomorrow, our overnight “low” is going to be 25 degrees

As I entered 2007 I was recovering from my first runners’ injury, a painful bout of Plantar Fasciitis that kept me off for about 3 weeks in December. I recall being pretty damn frustrated at the time, I mean 3 whole weeks, how on earth was I supposed to cope with that? Considering what was in store for me in May this year 3 weeks was a mere long weekend.

It was looking positive at the start of the year; I was looking forward to training well and competing in my first winter season for Sandringham Athletics. I had even made the tentative decision to run the Melbourne Marathon in October; this I suspect was my undoing. I did share this with my coach and we decided just to stay the course until July and make the decision then, depending on how my training was going. As a result I started stepping up my training; I was aiming to run 90Km a week consistently so that if I made the decision to run the Marathon all I would have to do is start increasing the length of my long run.

By around the second week of April it started to become apparent to me that something was wrong, shin niggles were becoming more common and I needed to ice both shins after every run. Eventually I started to feel pain just starting a run, kind of like someone was stabbing me in the calves with a knitting needle, with every step! This started just after I ran my first AV event, the XC relay at Jells Park. In hindsight I should have stopped running in early April when it was likely that all I had was a nasty case of shin splints, but I didn’t know any better. By the time I was booked in to see a doctor at the start of May I couldn’t even walk down a flight of stairs properly

Of course the rest is history and regular readers will know that from that point this become the pool running/rehab blog. There were some pretty shit and depressing days but at no time did I ever consider giving up on it. It was bloody hard to go along to AV races week in week out and watch my team mates competing while I sat on the side line; on the other hand it was still preferable to sulking at home. In just over 7 weeks I was given the all clear to start the rehab run/walk program and this was when I discovered that all the pool running was worth the slog. Fitness had definitely taken a slide but I was constantly surprised at how much fitness I had maintained and I only put on 2Kgs as well.

Now I have just managed my biggest running month since I was injured, a big fat 209 Kms, one 6 day week, 2 5Km races, a Tan TT and I made a return to speed work in November. I even managed an age group placing for one of those 5km races (which reminds me, I have to hassle the organisers about my trophy, they have been a bit slack on that front).

While I am obviously hoping not to go down the injury path again I don’t look back on this year with any regret. Being injured taught me a lot about myself and I have no doubt it has made me a stronger and smarter runner. I also found out that I have a tendency to become iron deficient, something which has really been hampering my performance. Had I not been injured I probably would never have bothered to go to the doctor myself and be tested.

I am looking forward to 2008, I have set myself some challenging goals and I can’t wait to get stuck in.

I am planning on spending NYE lolling about on the grass at Jells Park with some champers and good friends for company, far more enticing that braving the maddening crowds in the city on what is promising to be a stinking hot 42 degree day.

What ever you are doing tonight have a fantastic time and stay safe.