Long bay...

Tonight I ran with the MTG around the bay- we did the long loop including the canal and Marion st and then included 4 reps up Lillyfield Rd. This totalled 12.6km in 1hr 11mins. It was such a nice night around the bay... not hot and the rain held off. It was great to run with the group... chatted most of the way around. I had no pain in the hip or back, but could feel the glute tightening up towards the end. So lots of stretching and tennis ball action tonight. Tonight I felt like I did not have much fuel in the tank. I have been watching the food while not running and will have to remember to eat a bit more now that I am running again!! We averaged about 5:30/km for the overall run... very happy with that as I was definately slower on the hills (about 6:15/km pace). I am very happy I went tonight, I was feeling a bit flat today and not so motivated. But again running with the striders and CR's always cheers me up and I feel motivated and excited about my running. I can not wait for my fitness to return... I was a puffin billy tonight! I realised that Canberra is only 4 and half months away! So now I need to refocus, get fit and aim for the marathon! Tonight I feel really content... I am so happy to be back doing the thing I love, with a great group of people.

Distance: 12.6km
Time:1h 11mins
Mood: Very happy :-)
Average Pace: 5:35/km

Back to reality

Today I was back at work, after 4 lovely weeks off!! Boo Hoo! I really enjoy my job, but I LOVE holidays!!! I always think that holidays just show you how much work gets in the way of life. Any way I survived, every one was happy to see me and it helps to chat about holiday adventures all day :) After my first long run in 5 weeks I woke this morning feeling a bit sore in the legs... not injury sore, just "ouch we have not done that in a while" sore. So I decided that today would be a no running day... not wanting to tempt the running gods :) So I went to the gym and did some bike and cross trainer and weights for my upper body and glutes/legs. I am going to head off to the park for seans group tommorow... I cant wait!! But I am going to take it easy for a few weeks and not push too much.... just enjoy running with the group again (even if I am last).

So back ro reality again.....

splish splash

This morning we headed out to Mona vale for a 15km run with the marathon training group. I was itching to run with the group and was not deterred by the big black rain clouds! On the way there the rain started and got heavier and heavier... are we mad??? We had driven too far not to do the run, although the offer of breakfast and coffee was tempting!! We ran about 15km in about 1hr35min. We were very slow through the bush sections... very slippery and muddy! I maintained an ok pace most of the way about 5:45/km- the rain and bush really slowed us down in parts. I was very proud of myself as I did not need to stop once running up all the hills... even the really nasty long hill up to the lookout/bush section. I felt really comfortable, chatting and gossiping about holidays and babies along the way- and no hip or back pain... woo hoo! I started to feel stiff towards the end, but the rain and cold did not help.

It was one of those runs where you feel crazy for being out running in pouring rain and thunder, but makes you feel really alive at the same time! This is the stuff that kids do and we loose as we get older and "sensible". I think we should all be a little more crazy and jump in puddles more often. I also really appreciayted just running with a bunch of great people- laughing and joking and not worring about times etc. I kept thinking "AHHH this is the stuff" - I have missed the endorphins :)

I certainly appreciated the hot bath and hot chocolate when I got home!!!

Hot and Humid

I set the alarm this morning to get up for the CR challenge- the alarm went off and I lay there for a few moments thinking about getting up and the next thing I know the clock says 9:45am! I must have needed the sleep! So I went to centenial park about 11:30am just after the rain had finished, so it was sunny and very humid. I ran 7km around the park without any pain in my hip or back. I stopped a few times to stretch my glute and hamstring- but all felt ok. It was such a great feeling to be running again!!! I averaged about 5:14/km which I was really happy with. Hopefully it will only take a few weeks to get my fitness back to where it was 5 weeks ago. Tonight there is still no pain or discomfort- apart from the soreness form the new physio exercises :)

Time: 36:20
Distance: 7km
Average pace: 5:14/km
Mood: Very Happy!

On the road again...

I went to the physio today after having an xray on my hip and back to rule out anything sinister. I am happy to report apart from a little bit of damage around one of my discs all was normal. The physio said that one of the discs in the lower part of my spine was a bit compressed.... he said this was not uncommon with distance runners due to the constant pounding and also because my poor posture puts pressure on that part of my spine. So he is confident that it is all related to my weak glutes and pelvis/hip being out of line. So I just have to keep doing my strengthing exercises and work on improving posture. I went for a 30 min run yesterday and it all felt ok. A little bit of discomfort but no pain. The physio has given the thumbs up to start my training again, but to back off if it flares up and stretch!!! He said now that the inflamation has settled, as long as I do my exercises, it should just continue improve and settle down completely. I felt soooo relieved and happy that there was nothing sinister happening in my back/spine area and that I can start to run again. So the plan is to do a few runs over the next week and see how I feel.... play it by ear and listen to my body. The physio wants me to keep up the gym and swimming to complement the running and he will see me in a week. Woo hoo! What a week! I have really missed not running and can't wait to get back into things.

Welcome!!!!

Welcome to the world little Alexandra Catherine Sherriff- born 24/11/2005 at 1:27pm, weighing 8.4 pounds and absolutely wonderful! Before our holiday I gave my sister strict instructions to keep her legs crossed until I was home!!! Talk about timing... we arrived yesterday at 9am and this morning we get a phone call to get to the hospital for the arrival of little Alex. What a truely awesome experience! I have never felt so overwhelmed and full of love and joy! My sister and I are only 10 months apart and have a very special bond... I am so proud of her!!! I was able to sit with her right up until just before the birth and then mum, ray and I sat ever so nervously waiting to meet the newest member of the family. I have cried all day.... it is a feeling I can not explain- my big sister is now a mum! If we do 1/2 as good a job as our mum we will be doing pretty good! It is ao amazing to see this tiny little person, so innocent and dependent for everything without a care in the world... brand new! So the start of this year saw the death of my grandfather a truely amazing man and we have ended the year with the arrival of another truely amazing little person! I am sure that wherever nan and pa are watching they would be looking on proud and full of happines!
So tonight I am one very happy Aunty Kitkat!!!!

Home Sweet Home

Ahhhh! There is no place like home.... although we had to fly 9 hours through the night and not click my shoes three times! The past three weeks have gone so quickly and feel like a whirlwhind. We have seen so much it is hard to keep it all in the brain! One of the great things about going overseas and experiencing something new and different is it always makes me appreciate home and the usual routine that I grumble about.

After Kyoto we travelled up into Mt Koyasa, which is about 900m above see level and was SOOOO cold! It was about -1 degree over night and I was not really dressed for this! Poor ray had to hear about every possible description of cold! Koyasan was probably the most peaceful and magical places we have visited. It is the spot where Gobadashi, the original monk and founder of the shingon sect of Buddhism set up camp so to speak. He started out with one small temple, which grew to about 1500, now about 250. Today it is a place where monks and believers of this style of budhism make a pilgrimiage to visit his grave and pay respect. At one end of the tow is where he is said to be meditating waiting for the return of budha. ther is about a 2 km road the winds its way through a Japanese cedar forrest to his resting place and it is surrounded by about 500,000 graves, which line the path. It is the most amazing place- very peaceful. Even the most non-spiritual person would find it hard not to be moved. Guarding his resting place is a temple hall filled with about 2000 lanterns- most of them are now electric but there are two there that are said to have been burning for about 700yrs. We stayed in a temple- quite large ran by a head monk who is overseen by his 85yr old mum! This woman was amazing- still working hard running the temple! The food was the best vegetarinan food ever tasted!!!!

From this wonderfuly peaceful place in the mountains we headed south to Hiroshima. This is a truely beautifly city- with a very sad and grisly past. The city has a different feel to other Japanese cities- very hard to put into words. It is hard to imagine that this city and people were completely flattened not so long ago. we spent ages going through the peace park and visiting the A-bomb dome- which marks the epicentre. The city has a peaceful calm feel- dotted with very moving monuments to peace. The most moving statue was a mother protecting her two young children - at the bottom of this sculpture lay thousands of paper cranes that people fold and deliver daily. We headed over to a small island which has the famous Tori gates that are floating out in the sea- amazing to see.

On our second last day we went down to Fukuoka and saw the sumos!!! That was so much fun and sucha specticle to watch! there is so much ceremony that goes on that it often is longer than the match! There are nbo weight classes and often there are sumos up against other guys twice their weight- amazingly the little guys often win... far to quick! Ther top guys were huge and you could hear then crashing into each other....even way up the back where we were! It was a sight not to be missed.

Back to reality..... I had a great time but am happy to be home! If I do not see another buckwheat noodle for a while I will be happy! Now to sort out my hip and get back into training. I did manage a few runs- about 4kms and I was happy to see that my fitness was not too bad. So I am feeling positive and ready to attack the new year! Bring it on!!!

Sayonara!

I will add some photos when we go through the millions we took :)

Update from Nippon!

Konichiwa!! We are currently at Kyoto, which is a really big city which is famous for all its temples! We went to the Nijo castle which was an amazing structure, with the original nightingale floor which sings when you walk on it. We have seen a million temples which are all truely beautiful places, especially with all the autum leaves.... not so peacefull are the hoardes of people that flock to the temples on the weekends! We visited a famous Zen temple with a beautiful rock garden... your supposed to stare at it and your imagination flows away and it comes to you what the rock formations mean.... I just saw a relly nice rock garden- no moving moments for me!! We also just made it to see the Golden Pavillion, which was a temple made from gold- it was spectacular!

We have expereinced the onsens quite a few times... becoming an old hand at the public nakedness! The most recent onsen had an electric bath... It took me a while to work out why every time I got in my pulse quickened and my breathing went a bit funny -and it was not all the naked women :) It is meant to be good for sport injuries... so I kept jumping back in haha hope it works!

Today we experienced being a sardine on the trains... people were pilled in and the doors could only just close. We were in the middle of the carriage and had to literally climb over peple to get out....the amount of people amazes me! Where are they all coming from and where are they going??? I just walk around with my mouth open all the time.... there is so much too see, so much noise, so many people I am in constant amazement! The people are friendly and laught at out terrible attempts at the language eg trying to explain to the chemist lady that Ray is constipated and we need something to help... lots of gesturing, a few attempts from the phrase book and lots of giggling form the chemist! Very funny!

Ray and I could have been picked up for stalking... haha! We were entranced by some beautiful young Japanese ladies in their traditional Kimono... so with Rays great zooming lense we followed them around the castle snaping photos of them! They were so lovely... very graceful and stylish- their Kimonos were so detailed and pretty.

Today we went to Himeji and visited the one og the biggest castles in Japan. It is the original building from the about the 1200's! It has a 5 storied keep and the whole structure was white... they say it looks like white herron...really beautiful! There was also a garden attached and as we have come to see the Japanese can certainly garden.. wow! It had a really nice pond FULL of all different coloured carp. We were also entranced by a traditional japanese wedding in the garden and even more surprised when they asked us to be part of the photos! It was really funny, ray and I looked like slobs and they wedressed inspectacular traditional wedding Kimono... with beautiful detailing and embroidary! Any way they grabbed rays camer and took some photos for us and even gave us a polaroid to keep! What a great day!!!

We are heading off to Mt Koyasan soon and will be staying with the monks! Early to get up and meditate and yummy veggo food! Then we head south to Hiroshima and Fukuokka. Hopefully in fukkuokka we can see a Sumo match- that would be excellent!! Well we are heading into the final stretch! Then back to reality!

Still no running.... had a brief attempt yesterday, but doesnt quite feel 100%. I am hoping that once we are home and not walking 12-15km a day it will be back to 100%- then back into training! I dread to imagine how slow I will be!!!

Konichiwa!!!

Well we are finally here... week one of three! Japan is a truely amazing country! We have seen so much already! Tokyo was sooo big and the rail system out of this world! There are hundreds of lines and stations all intersecting and ALL time!!! I have never seen so many people!! We have seen some amazing temples and shrines.. especially in Nikko. They are so peaceful and beautiful. I am proud to say I have experienced the osen (hot spring) in Tokyo and then in Nikko! Wow!!!! After getting over the initial Ohh my God I am naked with a bunch of Japaned ladies... it is very relaxing and energising! Thank god there was a kind old lady who took pity on the silly naked Australian standing in the onsen looking dazed and cinfused... after much pointing and gesturing I got the drift of the ritual and definate things not to do!

The country is such a bizarre mix of tradition and crazy consumerisim evrything flashes or buzzes or sings! Trucks go by singing and talking... the toilet seats are often heated and you can get almost anything from a vending machine! I love it!!!

Today we are sitting in the shadow of Mt Fuji! The gods have smiled and it has been sunny and clear... so Mt Fuji is sparkling and awesome! There is nothing alse really around it so it dominates the sky line!!!

Tommorow we are heading South and will be staying in a Buddhist temple... I cant wait for that expereince! The food had been fantastic... but a little difficult explaining your a vegetarian by gesturing! We have been practising our Japansese but apart from Hello, good bye and thankyou very much I am not too good!!!

No running as yet... hip still a little dodgy, but much better! I think that all the walking we are doing is slowing its recovery! I have not walked so much in my life!

I will update again when I stumble across free internet (such a cheap skate!!) I will put photos on when I get home!

One sleep to go!!!

Well one more sleep to go! I am very excited.... bring it on! We are all packed, bills paid and house cleaned. Tommorow I am off to the physio in the morning and then just some last minute fiddly things. I find this last day a bit painful... we are usually always ready and organised, so we end up just sitting around waiting for the time to tick by- a bit like Christmas eve for a 5 year old :) I will go to the gym and try to wear myslef out so I will sleep on the plane.

The hip is feeling HEAPs better today... so I had today as a rest day. I figure why tempt fate! I am hoping another week of rest will have it feeling 100%. I have packed my shoes and running gear... if all is well I will venture outfor very easy short runs. I swear solemly that I will not do anything if there is any discomfort! I plan on this being better as quickly as possible :)

JAPAN HERE WE COME!!!!

swim/walk

I was up early this morning for a swim at the Drummoyne pool and then a walk with a friend around the bay. It was a perfect morning and the water felt fantastic!!! I felt really good in the water this morning and there were not too many people at the pool, which made for a nice change. I can not believe how sore my Abs are after yesterdays core exercises! So the physio is right... my major ab muscles are very strong and developed, but the deep stability ones are crap! Obviously given how sore they are... each time I move they remind me how hard they worked yesterday! This is exciting though... I have obviously started to use them correctly... now just practise!
It was great to briefly say hi to a few of the guys at the CR challenge this morning! I can't wait to give this a go.... hopefully next month. I wanted to give my 5km pb a bit of a shake this month before I went away... not meant to be! It was nice to put a few more faces to names. I very briefly met WT...but did not get a chance to chat. It was then coffee and obligitory fruit toast at Bowen with the woodstock runners.

Very exciting... we managed to clean the bed room and declutter in prep for the holiday! Yeah, what an achievement! Also a few socks and undies in the backpack... getting closer :)

Swim:
Distance: 1500m
Time: 32:50 the first 20 laps were a bit cruisy! I am going to have to try to concentrate and put more effort in... I tend to daydream a little :)
Mood: happy and excited

3 days til lift off!!!

Fisrtly thanks for the positive and reasuuring words!! It helps to hear that all is ok... even though rationally I already knew this! It is amazing how everything seems so much worse when you are in pain! Today I feel much more composed and things are not so glum. Fistly, how can you be glum when this afternoon I started 4 weeks holiday.... yes that's correct 4 weeks... woo hoo! Secondly as my newly appointed Yoda (2p ) pointed out I am incontroll of my own destiny ( Destiny you say...hmmm). So I toddled off to the physio this morning.... he maintians that the pain is related to the nerves being all tangled up in my glutes and lower back. He reassured me they will settle, but suggested that I should not do the cross trainer as that may have made it cranky. I am alowed to swim to my hearts content, do my gym work and MUST do all my new core strengthening exercises! But all of this will not matter, as once in Japan it will only be my core exercises I can do (on my tatami mat inn my Ryokan). So as has been wisely suggested..... 3 weeks rest here I come! I am not going to panic about how unfit and slow I will be on return! I am planning to have a butt and abs so strong that I will be back to running well in no time! So my trip could not be more perfectly timed.... and Ray will not have to worry about me running off into Tokyo never to be seen again haha.... no faith in my navagational skills!!

So new leaf..... turning it over!! No more being miserable! I am going to focus on the the positive side, get strong and blitz my first marathon :)

3 DAYS TIL LIFT OFF!!!!

WARNING: self pity follows

I apologise in advance for the following display of self pity!!!
Well today is day 8 of no running, I have been stretching and doing my exercises the physio gave me. I have been keeping a positive attitude but this afternoon I feel miserable! My back and hip have been feeling a lot better so I thought I would try a run. I managed about 1 minute before the pain in my left buttock and lower back was back. It intensified and then started down the left side of my leg. I stopped immediately..... I promised myself to be sensible therfore no running with pain. Then I just felt really dissapointed!!! It is very stupid because it is not the end of the world and there are more important things than running. It is just it is something I really enjoy and it makes me feel good. I was really enjoying my running and training and it was all coming together... I was feeling really strong and confident. So no I feel like I will be back to square one again! I keep telling myself it doesn't matter, just let this get better and start again.... what is a few weeks in the grand scheme of things- but this afternoon I just feel like having a sook and a whinge!
So I am off to the physio tommorw... still on the bench! On a much nicer note only 4 days until we fly out for Japan!!! I am getting really excited about the trip and a bit nervous. We have a few nights booked in Tokyo when we arrive and the rest is open for negotiation :) So I am not sure how we will go... but it will be a bit of adventure. I was really looking forward to running in Japan around some of the beautiful castles etc.... but it looks like that will not happen. So I guess it will be three weeks of no running and then start again when I get back! I feel a bit cursed.... I am soooo looking forward to aiming for Canberra, as soon as the marathon training group started and I started to think about Canberra... injured! Thankfully this time there is heaps of time to get things in order!

So hopefully tommorow after physio I will fell a bit happier! And again sorry for the self indulgent whinge!

4 DAYS TO GO TIL JAPAN!!!! WOO HOO!!!

Intervals at the gym....

Today I decided to do some intervals on the cross country ski machine at the gym. It is almost the same movement as running but without lifting your feet, so there is no impact. I found that this really got my heart rate up and gave my hip and back no problems. After warming up I was cranking up the workload and then sprinting for intervals of 1 min with a few minutes in between on a lower intensity. I found this was an excellent work out and matched the movement and intensity of running. I felt fanastic after I finished... struggled a bit on my weights- I knew I had worked hard :) My hip today felt really good. It was quite stiff by the end of the day... lots of sitting, but it is definately no hurting when I walk or stand on one foot! So if it is ok tommorow I might aim for a short easy run on thusday to test it out before I see the physio on Friday. Fingers crossed!

Today:
30 mins- including warm up and intervals
Upper body weights
Glute exercises
Abs

More of the same...

Nothing exciting to report today. I was meant to swim this morning but opted for more sleep and then headed off to the physio before work. He worked me really hard.... Yes I have glutes! He got me doing some isolation exercises designed to get the glutes firing.... well they did and proceeded to shake like a plate of jelly haha. But they are there... so something to work on!! The gym this afternoon- it was so humid I was drenched! I again focused on my butt and abs- I am sure to feel it tommorow. The hip is feeling no where near as sore, but still very stiff in the lower back- but heading in the right direction. So hopefully another few days and then I will be back into the swing of things :)
Plan for tommorow... more of the same! Off to the pool and the gym :)

7 Days til JAPAN!!! WOO HOO!!!

What a relief......

What a relief that I had a sore hip....I had a great excuse not to run this mornings hot and hilly Maroubra run! I decided to cheer the CR's on this morning especially Lulu as I was not up for running with my hip. I met up with Uncle Dave, Papa Luigi, Horrie, Belinda, Lulu, Steve, Don Juan (mark), John Dawlings before the race. I was boiling just waiting for the start! I headed off to find a spot on the course to cheer just as the gun was going off. Typically Uncle Dave and John Dawlings were on fire flying through the first lap.... then Don Juan appeared looking very fast and not too far behind! Lulu looked great on her first lap around... all was going well! On the second lap Uncle Dave was flying down the hill at break neck speed with another coolrunner close on his tail.... race on!! John Dawlings followed again making it look too easy. Don Juan was next looking very composed... great form and flew by set for a great time! Steve ran by next grtting his teeth... too hot!!! Then Lulu came flying down the hill... as always looking composed... but muttered that she was struggling and no pb! Who cares it was too hot to do anything but finish in one peice! Horrie and Belinda did the 4km with there son... pacer ballon and all!! Despite the heat and the hills the CR team came first.... champions!! I had a great morning cheering and as said earlier was ever so thankful to have been standing watching!

Mum had some hospital leave and we went and saw Pride and Predjudice... Sigh!! She seemed brighter and was really making an effort. Things are looking up :)

My hip is still giving me curry... so another few days of rest. I am not going to run until there is no pain... hopefully by mid week I can get out for a run- I am having serious withdrawals! This evening after my gym workout I was walking home and it was PERFECT running weather and I was busting to go for a run. Patience, patience I know... but nothing seems to hit that spot like a run :)

Itchy feet !!

Yesterday was a nothing day!! I had a really busy crapy day at work and consequently didn't swim or gym as planned. I certainly consumed lots of chocolate to console myself.....which has not worked in the past and no did not work this time either!! The pain in my hip was feeling alot better this morning so I decided to go for a run.... itchy feet :) The pain in my hip was back straight away....D'oh!! I headed off to see the physio- he informed me (same as osteo) that the pain is related to my lower back and glutes. My hips and pelvis are out of line... causing the pain. Basically I have to get my pelvis back in line and really strengthen my lazy glutes to prevent it from occuring in the future. This is the same cause of my previous ITB problems- as my foot strikes the ground my hips and pelvis twist all over the place because my glutes are not doing any work- freeloaders! Haha I have always thought I was a lazy ass!!!

Anyway he said I can run.... but I think I will stay firmly on the bench while ever there is pain. So my plan is swimming, gym for my glutes, core and upper body and start running once the pain goes. I will see the physio and the osteo to get the hip/pelvis back in place and cross the fingers this sorts itself out failrly quickly :) I figure this is a good time to have a rest because I will be in Japan for three weeks, so will be limited in my running anyway. It is a timely reminder that I need to get my butt into gear and get it nice and strong for Canberra. I am a bit dissapointed that this has happened just as I was feeling like my speed was getting faster... hopefully it will not take too long to get back into the swing of things. The physio reckons it will only be another week or so at the most. So does anyone know where I can get buns of steel....maby venus williams has some advice??

Today:
Gym- upper body, glute exercises, abs and 20mins cardio

Tommorow:
Cheer girl for Lulu and other CR's at the Maroubra Fun Run
Swim

splish splash

I had a great swim this morning with AK. We met at the pool at 5:45am and it was already like pitt street! We picked a lane and jumped in. I don't know if the salt water makes a difference, but I felt like I could swim forever this morning... except for the gross taste ( I know but I seem to drink the water). At one point I felt like I was swimming in the surf as there were about 20 people in the lane next to me practising BIG kicking :)

Swim:
Time: 32min 50sec
Distance:1500m

My hip is still sore, but feels a lot looser after the osteo. It usually takes a few days for the soreness to go away after it gets inflamed. I still feel I need a really good massage... might look into that over the weekend! Fingers crossed I will feel ok to run on Sunday... I am really excited about running with Lulu :)

Thanks for all the positive comments about mum... I will have to tell her that she is getting a heap of good will sent her way through the CR community- she will love that! She has always been supportive of my running and loves to come along... I have trained both mum and ray to yell out go Cool Runner and Go Striders! They have a ball! So next time your racing and an unkown voice yells out it could be my mum :)

Twister....

Well I am happy to say that my hip and glute was not as sore today... but still discomfort. It definately feels better when I stretch and roll on the tennis ball. I went for a swim this morning... the cold water felt really nice on the legs. I swam 30 x50m laps without stopping in 34mins. I felt really relaxed... must work harder to get the heart rate up. This evening I saw the osteopath who said my lower back was so tight it had started to twist... hence the hip pain. It never ceases to amaze me how they always know exactly where to prod innocently asking " is that the spot ?" ... peeling me off the celing I muttered uh huh! Anyway he gave it a really good crack.... and instantly it feels a lot easier to move. So I will have a few more sessions before it rights itself and he suggested a visit 6 weekly as a prevention. So hopefully tommorow it will feel even better! So swimming is on the agenda for Thursday and Friday morning and Gym in the evening. If all feels alright I will test it out on Saturday.

On another positive note, mum had her first ECT treatment today and sounded quite bright all considered! It is amazing how this treatment works so well for people with severe depression...... the doctor thinks she will only need half the amount she initially thought. Yeah mum!!! She is working hard and doing all the right things, that is all you can ask!

Benched!

I woke up this morning with a really tight feeling in my lower left back and glute. I did some stretches and rolled on my tennis ball which helped. It has progressively gotten tighter all day. I started out for my run this afternoon but stopped after about 5 mins because my left hip and glute felt really sore and tight. I have had this problem before where my lower back gets really tight and pulls my hip out of line which causes pain and tightness. The osteopath gives it a really good crack and twist and hey presto... better! So I have had a team meeting with my body and all the various bits agree that a few days rest is needed and a trip to the osteopath. So I have benched myself for the next three days and I will see how I feel on Saturday! So it will be a perfect opportunity to do some swimming- I was only thinking yesterday about how I could fit a few more swim sessions into my week. Although there are better time managment strategies than aquiring a sore hip :)
Not sure why this has happened?? I make sure I stretch and do all the right things. There has not been any changes to my program in the past 6 months. The physiotherapist and osteopath said that unfortunately I have biomechanical problems or weak spots that make me more likely to certain problems . The only thing is I have slacked off on my core and stability exercised meant to keep my hips etc stable! D'OH!!!

So the plan for the next few days is swimming and my gym/core exercises, visit the osteopath, stretch and then I will see how I feel on Saturday! three days of not running is not going to kill me :) Hopefully this is just a minor niggle that will be easily ironed out!