Zatopek Classic

Riding & Injury Update
After a big weekend on the bike today was a rest day.

I'll have to take the tape off my foot tomorrow morning. It was to stay on for at least 5 days (it was been 5 days) or 7 if it was still doing the job, unfortunately it has loosened up now so is pretty useless. But I have some good news, this afternoon as I was walking back to where my car was parked something dawned on me, I felt almost no discomfort AND I was not walking with a limp! I was getting used to walking funny because of the taped foot so it was great to feel I was walking with a normal gait again.

Taking the tape off also means I can get in the pool, I dug out an old Runners World with a story on water running so I may even bypass the whole class thing and just head to my local. Assuming that is they have a section in the deep end I can splash around in that is not reserved just for swimming. I guess this means I also have to get a floaty belt as well, it'll be like being a kid again.

I have to be able to walk barefoot without discomfort for a couple of days before I can try running again. The rest of the year is pretty much a write off now, I will not race and no speed work. When I can run I'll leave the watch off and just run for the hell of it. It's more important to me now to get fit for next winter than to race over summer, though I am sure by February I'll be racing again. Right now I am just thrilled to be walking with no limp and minimal discomfort for the first time in 2 weeks.

Running

I went to Box Hill this afternoon to watch some of the Zatopek 10,000 metres races. I caught most of the girls B grade where there was a good battle for first between Glenhuntly and Essendon with Glenhuntly just pulling away on the last few laps.

Then the men's E grade race where I was lap counting for an Ausrunner. Sadly I found the whole thing quite exciting but was nervous I would stuff up the lap counting, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4 LOL. Fortunately I managed to keep tabs and had a ball cheering my runner on and standing trackside to call the last lap. Sam, my runner, was battling for 3rd with another mate, Tony when the poor bugger got a stitch. He bravely pushed on and still finished with a pretty respectable 39:55, not too far off a PB.

Of course every fibre of my being wanted to take a spin around the track myself, oh well, maybe I'll give it a go next year, should be looking at running 10km in 45 minutes by then. In fact it is like my muscles remember, my legs felt a bit funny and twitchy, patience, not long now.