13th July, 9.5km, 47min, Span

A pretty nasty week for me.
Started with poor motivation on the weekend, so the longish run on Sunday night meant running early Monday was out, then Tuesday came and went, Wednesday no running early then the trouble started.

At work that day we had to re-do a lot of the merchandising through the store, so this meant a lot of lifting and bending and awkward work in amongst shelves and racking etc. Nothing too tough, but it did go on most of the day. I believe this laid the platform for my trouble.

After work I arranged to meet some guys for a game of squash, in theory a great idea!! In practice it was a disaster.

It took about 3mins after a warm-up for me to get an almighty pain in the back. Nothing that I haven't had before, but I knew it would mean a few days of getting about like an old man. So the rest of the game was a bit stiff and sore. Throw it in with the fact I haven't played in 10 years or so, and it made for an almost comical event.....

Thursday morning confirmed the inevitable. Sore back and jabs of pain whenever changing position. To explain - the reason for my flippant sentiments is that I have had back trouble since my teens due to a genetic fault in my vertebra spacing. Simply means it cops a bit of extra pressure under stressful conditions.

By Friday my back was OK, but the muscles used on Wednesday night were objecting, mainly the quads and glutes.

So here we are on Saturday and I had to at least see if I could move. We took the boys down to Lillydale Lake where a walk around showed no major pain or trouble. I had my running gear with me just in case, so I got clearance to run home.

A direct route would have taken about 25min, so I planned an extended version. Without a watch I had to guess on a course to take about 40min. Of course, getting from the Lake to home is uphill whichever way you go. It was decided that I would take on a couple of hills that I had not run up before. Hull Rd from the wetlands to the top of Lakeside Dr- a steep sucker early on. Then Bimbadeen Dr, followed by the slow rise to the highest point in Mooroolbark.

Close to home I felt too fresh to have been going 40min with those hills, so I did a bit of loopy work to extend it out. When home in 47min I was pleasantly surprised. The legs and back and glutes all felt really good.

But - my trouble is not yet over. Showering after the run, I tipped my head back to wash my hair and felt a spasm in my neck just below the shoulder line.....grrr ......why me.....humph.
So here I am gingerly moving my head and neck etc, hoping it settles quickly so I can get out for a long slow trot tomorrow morning. To try an salvage some running for this week.