BUPA Great Manchester 10k

Well yesterday was the day of my first BUPA Manchester 10k race, 40000 people took part ranging from Olympic champions to wheelchair bound heroes, I wasn't one of the Olympic champions!!
I drove to Altrincham and took the tram into Manchester town centre and then walked through the streets of runners and supporters to my baggage area where i could leave my belongings, once I'd dropped that off and been stamped with my baggage bus number, I headed towards the start. I was quite early so I could take in the atmosphere which was by now beginning to get louder.

The sun was beating down and it was only 10am, I wasn't due to assemble with my green wave until 1135 so I had an energy gel and decided to watch the other waves starting off, I had friends in different waves so frantically tried to see them and offer up some support but couldn't see them apart from my old friend Kay who in last years race tore muscles, I waved her off and then it was my turn, I was quite near the front of our wave which meant I had to turn round to see the warm up platform which was where I was stood to support the others, it was about 500m from the start so with my eyes i couldn't see that far so just did a few dance moves trying to copy the others. once that wa done it was time to wait for the gun, it didn't take long, a huge roar went up and the gun fired, off i set, over the timing mat and I started my garmin to see what my time might be. I thought i would set off quite steadily, at the start it seems to be a free for all, jostling for position and trying to get a clear run ahead, I managed this quite easily and I was away, the streets were lined with loads of people cheering their charity runners and friends, buses from Christies, McMillan's lined the route supporting their runners too, horns, whistles and those inflated things they bang together created a tremendous atmosphere to run along to. My garmin beeped and I looked down at the watch, it said I had done the first mile in 8:41 which surprised me a little, when the second beep went off I looked down again and saw 8:38, I thought my watch was playing games with me as I didn't feel I was running that fast.  The sun was by now belting down, I began to get quite hot as we got close to Old Trafford my face was burning,

I was longing for a water stop as I was also dehydrating I think, thankfully just around the corner form the football ground there was a sign saying water stop ahead, great, so I headed to that, grabbed a bottle, took a quick drink and squirted some at the girls handing out the bottles, I'm sure they appreciated the cool water on such a hot day.
As I ran slower I couldn't help but think that I had helped to build the course, the bumpy pot holed roads on the outskirts of Trafford Park are where I drive my 44tonne truck so I did my little bit to help.
As we turned the corner and headed back towards the centre of Manchester and the finish line I began to get more weary, my Achilles was now quite sore and I was boiling, we approached a shower tent and I thought shall I or shan't I? would it soak me and make it uncomfortable to run after it or would it cool me down, I made the decision to go through it as I'd paid my money I wanted my value for money lol, it was actually very refreshing and cool but it didn't last very long as the sun was making up for being in hiding for the last  years and directing all it's stored energy straight at my head. I didn't want to but i succumbed and walked for a hundred yards, not a bimble more of a forced march, it was probably as quick as my running at that stage but I soon started running again as I wanted to get a good time, Bridgewater Way turned into Chester Road and the

BUPA BOOST zone came into sight, from my memory of cycling to Paris jelly babies were the thing for a boost, so I took a handful and put them in my mouth, I did not have the will to chew them, I tried but ended up spitting them out errrr, that was a first for me, wasting food but I had to carry on as the finish was almost upon me, I walked another 50-100 yards to try and give me some energy to make a push for the line, the 800m sign came and went but I think it took another 1000m before the 400m sign came along, the crowds were by this point getting bigger and louder, a few children were holding their hands out wanting a high 5 and nobody was obliging them so I strayed from the middle of the road and went across and high fived them. on the race number we wore on the front our names are printed, only 1 man said " well done Geoff, nearly there" I thought he knew me until I realised he'd read my name, I was now in the last 100m and even though it was very hard, I managed a sprint to the end, grimacing in pain and effort I headed to the finish line and over the timing mat, I slumped with my hands on my knees for a second or two, took deep breaths and headed for the goody bag stand to get my goody bag. I didn't want to look at my time, i just wanted a drink and to find some shade, bottles of water were handed out and there was a powerade drink in the goody bag so they soon disappeared. I checked my phone to see where I was meeting up with Kay and Steve and slowly hobbled towards there. I then checked my garmin to see what time I had done, 58 Min's and 12 seconds, I was disappointed with that especially after seeing I'd done the first 2 miles so quickly. Anyway, I met up with Kay and Steve and we had a nice chat and a couple of cold drinks, I headed to the tram stop and I headed back home a bit down after the time I had achieved.
I woke up this morning and I couldn't put my heel down on the floor my Achilles was that stiff. I have now looked at my garmin dashboard on the laptop and it is telling me the time I ran yesterday was the fastest pace I'd ever run for any distance since I started running again last year, so taking into account the persistent injuries and subsequent lack of proper training I need to be happy with my efforts, I'm not up to other people's standards, those who have trained, those who have natural fitness or have been exercising for years, I am me, I am still a very long way from where I want to be fitness wise, I have decided to take a 1 month break from all running in the hope of easing off the Achilles issues, in the meantime it's stretching and cycling for me and probably a lot of walking once the pain and stiffness dies down.
My next run is in July at the Olympic stadium in London.

FIRST POST INJURY RUN AGAIN!!

Have you been wondering where I've been? I'm sure you have, well, for the last 6 weeks I've been having physiotherapy for my Achilles problem. Yes, I've moved on from calf problems and I'm working my way down my body so Achilles it is now. The expensive physiotherapy who is a slip of a girl, 14 yrs old at the most, seems to know what shes on about though. She diagnosed my problem as tendinitis of the Achilles, this she did by making me stand on my tiptoes, bending forward at the ankles and tickling my feet. She gave me 1 exercise to do and put on her Dick Turpin mask and charged me well for it. The exercise was a simple one, finding a stair or a curb for when I'm out working and standing on it on the balls of my feet then dropping my ankle as far as it will go, then raise the ankle to a neutral position, do this 3x15 sets 3 times a day, I succeeded at that for 12 days then 2 days before I was due back to see her it got very painful, i rested it and she said that was good that i did.

on the second visit to her I had more ultrasound, which basically is rubbing cold jelly like goo into my Achilles with a plastic implement, could be a spoon for all I know as I'm flat on my tummy. Once again Adam Ant was playing Stand and deliver in the background as she took my money and ran, lucky her i couldn't run yet!!

Sent away to exercise again, but this time I was told to walk at least 4 times a week, which i have managed to do, Ive had a new friend to walk with, his name is Angus and he's a bearded collie lurcher cross and is a handful to say the least. He is very affectionate and everyone say he's a handsome lad just like me(yeah right). So I've been walking at least 1.6 miles a night, I have also sneakily run a few times, only 30-50 yards once a night with Angus pulling me along, Ive continued with the exercising but I have let slip on the calf stretches, I must get back to doing them and I've also got a new book called  Running Anatomy, I'm hopeless at reading, not that I can't read, my mind wanders, this book has a lot of pictures which explain which muscle is being trained in the exercises so it isn't too bad for me, maybe I should search google and see if Janet and John do a running book.

So now, we are in the present, the 6th May, it's bank holiday Monday and when i woke up the sun was shining and I had a dog's feet in my back, not massaging me just digging his bloody claws in, so I decided to get up, don my running shorts and t shirt, turn the Garmin on and get out there and try this running lark again. I walked the first quarter mile then jogged slowly for about 100 yards, straight away I felt the Achilles giving me some pain so I walked down the hill to the River Weaver, once down there I started to jog again slowly, the pain had eased and I carried on a bit further and then walked again, by the time I had started to run for the 3rd time the pain wasn't there, Yes I could still feel the Achilles wasn't right but there was no pain, I ran on the flat by the side of the river, I did my longest run which was about 400m then I walked again for a short while. I kept the pace slow and ran pain free for the rest of the time, I'm as happy as the bunnies I saw along the route, if you like nature and I do, then this route is for you, Heron's, ducks of various varieties, bunnies, sparrowhawks and jumping fish as well as a million gnats, mosquitoes and Tsetse flies, you can see the route HERE

 

I am always apprehensive and probably negative too, this comes from being injured so long I think, first it was the calf of my right leg, then it was the calf of my left leg and now it is the Achilles of my left leg, hopefully this strengthening of the muscles around it and the stretching will help massively and I will be able to run pain free and increase my distances. I've paid for and missed out on 3 runs lately including next weeks Chester half marathon which is so annoying, I have the BUPA Manchester 10k in 20 days, I aim to just get round that in one piece, no time pressures, just get round and experience a great event. In the meantime, in 10 days time I am in Chester visiting a specialist about my tendinitis injury, hopefully he will sort it out once and for all and I can take part in the 2 great events I have been lucky enough to get in to, in July I am running at the same stadium where the London Olympics were run, how amazing will that be running 5 miles and entering the stadium with a crowd of 20,000 people cheering me on,

and then in September I am not only doing the English half marathon in Warrington but also The Greatest half Marathon in the world, THE GREAT NORTH RUN, magic fingers crossed for an injury free summer so I can train properly for these events.