The past few months have been mental. In September I found out that I was going to be made redundant at work, some time before the end of the new year. That finally happened this week so I’m now a free agent with plenty of time for keeping fit until I start something new. That fresh start is most likely to be in the new year.
I’ve had a bad second H2 of 2012 fitness wise. My fitness took a bit of a back seat after the national 10K, although I was still running every day I wasn’t going anywhere, no plan, feeling slow or injured on every run. My hamstrings tightened towards the end of the 10k training cycle and haven’t recovered since. Added to that I spent some time in the US again in September and picked up foot and mouth which knocked me for six for months.
That pattern went on until October at which stage, recovered from the foot and mouth I got the show back on the road and started to really spend some time focusing on building my base and strength back up. At first I was hating it, resenting running for giving nothing back but come the start of November I had the appetite back. 90 miles a week followed for mos of November but the hamstring issues persisted.
The annual trip to Lanzarote takes place at the end of November each year. As I write this my flight leaves in little more than 24 hours. I ‘ve set the Lanzarote race series as my main goal for getting back on track. Although I continue to struggle with my weight I’m starting to feel that my running is turning a corner. I’m still so far off where I was 6-10 months ago but things are looking up. I’m hoping that my new unemployed status will allow me to plan my meals better, waste less on groceries and just improve my overall diet.
Added to all of the above I was recently diagnosed with high levels of iron in my blood. The knock on effect is severe fatigue. Although I cant say I feel any different I’m still uneasy around the prospect of giving blood on a regular basis. This could put an end to my running aspirations for quite some time to come. I’ll know more in December so I’m going to give it hell next week.
The best I can hope for in Lanza is to beat last years time and place. Lanzarote. 02:57:19 and 14th place. Lets go.