April : Training injury

My training plan has been disrupted by a groin strain I’ve been carrying for a few weeks. I’d been
managing it until then, but during an interval session, I really hurt myself.
So, off to the osteopath to try and sort it out as quickly as possible. I didn’t run for the next four days to
aid recovery. Not being able to train properly is stressing me out a bit. I’ve still got a bit of time left,
but the weeks are flying by and I’ve still got a lot of work to do for the Ultra Trail in September.
I was supposed to do my first race back, the ‘Blue Batrail’ – a 15km race with 980m of elevation gain.

In the end, it turned into a short training session at Mont Dore in the pouring rain. I’m not in great
shape; stepping over a water-filled gully set the pain off again. I’m trying to find the safest way to run
by taking small steps; it works – as long as I don’t take big strides, the elevation gain doesn’t trigger the
pain. That’s good news; it means that if I’m careful, I can still get in a bit of training.
The following week, things are better; the osteopathy session worked, and I’m back to interval
training, though it’s very light. Day by day, things are improving, and I can resume training whilst
being careful.

I’m back on my Mont Dore route; I can feel my thighs and calves working, which means I’m starting to
get some effective runs in again. My spirits are lifting 🙂 – the views from Mont Dore help too.