The frustrations of a non-distance runner

The frustrations of a non-distance runner

My teeth are gnashing, my legs tapping with inaction, and worst of all, my graph isn’t happy. All because I can’t run at the moment – neither on grass, mud, concrete nor treadmill. And all this when I was on clear course to beat my ‘most kilometres run in a year’ record.

As regular readers of this blog will be entirely unsurprised by (see my How many spreadsheets and graphs do you have? blog), I have a graph of every run I’ve done since I started running for fitness and stress relief about three-and-a-half years ago. 

In the past, it was all about mapping my record time for each distance and run. However, as progress isn’t linear, I realised this actually started to be demotivating. In other words, I’d aim to do a 10k, then realise I wasn’t close to my record, so I’d cut the run short. 

So towards the end of last year I added a new column to focus on annual distance, with the real aim to keep me out running in the midst of what can be a very demanding work (and new baby) schedule.

This year, it was all going really well. Barring a short bout of plantar fasciitis holding me up for a couple of weeks in the summer, I was way ahead. Now though, two words seem to have stymied me as the finishing line is in sight… "shin splints". 

For the last six weeks it’s been running hell. Even a few kilometres is hideous. I’ve got special trainers, tried the googled exercises, even submitted myself to the agony of a foam roller – but nothing seems to work. The prognosis keeps coming back to "rest". Yet there’s only a month to go to beat the year-long record… aaahhhh.