Well, not quite back to 100% yet, but I'm "back in business". Sorry I haven't been on here much lately, but between not running due to my foot problems and with work being a bit crazy of late it's been a struggle to get here and write an update. Some of you on Facebook will be up to date though!
So I've been seeing a chiropractor since putting myself out of action on the 7th September with Posterior Tibial Tendonitis.. basically making the inside of my ankle swell and up it was painful to walk, let alone run... so RICE and a "do not run" policy was put in place...
Fast forward 3 weeks, 4 sessions with the chiropractor, a physio session and some new insoles and I've just come back from a 10K run, completing it in 1:08 (not ideal for me, but completing it nonetheless). I did a 2K run on Monday evening to test out the insoles and my ankle... then pushed out a 5K on Wednesday with no adverse results and today was the "long run" trial and I was aiming for 10K. Of course, the minute anything hurt I was going to stop immediately and I didn't dose up on ibuprofen before the run and (following advice from the chiropractor) I also didn't run with my knee strap today.
I decided to run to Hampton Court Palace and back along the River Thames for most of the way and it was a beautiful run... I ran a bit later than I normally do so it was a bit warmer out there but this was a great run.. It felt quite a bit harder than where I was at 3 weeks ago but there wasn't a point in the run when I thought I wasn't go to finish it...
Is my fitness affected by time off? Absolutely... my HR was well up on where I'd expect it to be, recovery times from the lovely Garmin are longer and VO2 Max estimates (courtesy of the Garmin again) also dropped slightly...
Do I care? Not really... it'll be back soon enough... interesting though that one week off doesn't really seem to make much difference but by two weeks you might start to notice a drop in fitness. It's not like I can't run 10K anymore, it just felt a bit tougher than I remember 10K being...
As I say though, I'll be back to normal levels soon. The most important thing is that during the 10K I had not a single twinge or problem with my ankle and a few hours later it's still behaving... I iced it when I got back as a preventative but so far it's been good...
Maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of luck I'll be running that 8 mile challenge on the 12th... 
<Well, I'm running it anyway - but you know what I mean>
Happy running ya'll and it's good to be back! I'll update here when I can but I'm out of town this week for work. And, yes, I'm packing the trainers!
Guess who followed the aroma of brasso to graduation
Graduated - guess I'm not such a new runner now...
Back off the couch - slowly
