a right pain in the knee 
(Or a pain in the right knee to be precise.) Until now my training for the Eden half marathon has been going reasonably well. But there has to be a spanner in the works somewhere along the way and I guess it might as well happen now, whilst there’s still time to recover. I’m not a happy bunny though; I can’t really afford to lose any training days. But I’m trying to be good and rest it, so for a few days I’ve been gnashing my teeth desperate to get out on some trails and have some tortuous fun. The more I do it, the more I like this running lark and the more I run off road, the more and more I like it! I think I’ve found my running niche. It makes sense really. I’ve always loved hiking long distances in beautiful and sometimes daunting and challenging surroundings, so I guess I was going to like running in those surroundings too.
First aid kit
What’s brought on this annoying injury though, I hear you ask. Well, I don’t put it down to overuse, unlike my last pair of running shoes, which got a whole lot more overuse than they deserved. They were so comfortable I didn’t want to give them up. But, seriously, needs must, as you can see.
As tired as my legs!
Enter the new, sleek trail running shoes, a very generous and much appreciated birthday present. They have a Goretex lining and keep my feet oh so dry; they have gel in the soles, so I feel like I’m running on air; they fit the narrow width of my foot perfectly; and, well, they look quite pretty too. When I put them on in the shop they felt like they’d been made especially for me. And for the first few short runs you couldn’t have convinced me otherwise. But after an 8 mile run in Norfolk I began to feel the pain. The right side of the right shoe, under the ankle, seemed to be pressing hard on a tendon. I rested it and it was ok, until I did my next long run of 10 miles last Sunday. I’d loosened the laces around the ankle but was aware that the shoe was still pressing against it as I ran. When I finished I couldn’t touch my ankle for the pain and I noticed that my knee was hurting too. I suspect now that the knee pain is because I was compensating for the pain in my ankle by running at a silly angle or something, you know what I mean I’m sure!
Only a few miles on these ones
So, what to do? Well, rest up for a few days with the sweetcorn obviously, but what to do about the shoes? I was itching to go out for a run and I decided that two whole days sat on my backside was more than I could bare and just a short 15 minute or so run on soft ground wouldn’t hurt. Then I got to thinking that if I could somehow raise my ankle in the shoe perhaps the ankle pressure would go away. So I bought some of these heel pads. I won’t claim a miracle cure, because I did go for an albeit very short run when my knee and ankle were still hurting (though not as much), but it does seem to have made a significant difference. My heel is definitely higher in the shoe and that combined with very much looser lacing around the right ankle was much more comfortable. Maybe now I should rest it completely so that I can test it properly, but I’m not sure I can sit still for too long! Still, a short WALK in the shoes shouldn’t be off the agenda, should it?
In my ‘no more running for you mate’ mode a couple of interesting things have happened. I’ve entered another half marathon – next weekend, eek, in my home town of Truro. I was persuaded it would be a good warm up for the real thing, the Eden half marathon on the 10th of October. Erm, well maybe, we shall see. (You can still sponsor me to do it you know, just click on the red button thingy at the top of the page!) But, how could I resist, I mean it’s running on a lot of the routes I’ve been doing on my training runs – surely you don’t get that sort of opportunity very often? In for a penny, in for a pound and all that… And the other thing? Ah, well sat here on my bum I came across a wonderful blog Dirty Running, it’s really inspiring and funny and a great way to keep myself motivated whilst I’m sat here ‘recovering’. I URGE you to check it out. Yes, it’s that good 
Now then, where did I put those running shoes?
Catch you later!
Stephie x
