Oh the internet is a wonderful thing

Well since i can't walk and run at the moment i thought i would have a look around the various physio, sports injuries web sites, from what i can tell 'shin splints' is not an actual injury, it's a general catch all name that covers any pain below the knee and above the ankle.......

The injury that ticks all the boxes in my case is Anterior Compartment Syndrome (ACS), which again depending on what website you read can be treated with ice, rest, and surgery or witch craft.

So seeing that I'm no professional sportsman with 24 hour access to a physio, and all the websites seem to contradict themselves, therefore I'm going to stick with the self diagnostic approach.

My leg hurts, it will stop hurting when it is better.

Good news, more good news and of course some bad news

The good news,

20 miles walked today, 10 miles to work, 30 mins work and then 10 miles home again, no blister or sore feet.
My back seems to cleared up

And of course the obligatory bad news,

My left leg is quite sore, all the diagnostics point to shin splits type injury, so it’s a night infront of the telly tonight with some nurofen a bag of ice and my ultrasound machine….

A shiny new toy...

In the last couple of months I've had more than my fair share of visits to the physio, and at £40 a go it was becoming quite expensive, so i have bought my own portable ultrasound machine, its a hand held version of the one used at the physio, the physio though it was a great idea even though she would be losing out on my business. I will still see her for the initial diagnosis of any problems but i will be able to treat any strain/muscle/ligament type injuries at home.

Its always the things you can't see

Still not 100% after the stomach bug so decided to do a couple of hours on the bike round Epping Forest, it was so cold, in fact bitterly cold, one of those days when ice had formed on the fingers of your gloves and you have a light coating of frost on the front of your legs and your eyebrows...

I was too busy starring at the quite spectacular frost formations on the tree's in High Beech to notice the very very shinny road surface ahead of me, the next thing i know I'm flat on my back in the middle of the road, the whole road was covered in an invisible coat of black ice.

The outcome is that i don't seem to have hurt any arms or legs, but i have jarred my back, once up and moving its not to bad, but getting in and out of the chair is a little sore.

Looks like a few more days of inactivity and ensure my back is OK, which is probably not a bad thing as it will also ensure I'm fully rid of the stomach virus.

I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy

No training for a week, in fact training has been that last thing on my mind, been suffering with a horrendous stomach bug for over a week now, even passed out on the bathroom floor!!!

The 50 mile walk last week was a real confidence booster, this week that confidence has quite literally gone down the pan.

I here Rotherham is nice this time of year...

Well yesterday i completed the grandly named "Rowbotham's Round Rotherham International" which is 50 mile race along trails and footpaths around the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham.

My aim for the day was to walk the entire course, which i did in 13 hours 37 mins, navigation was quite challenging once it got dark, so at least 30 mins was spent double checking the route, actually going the wrong way, and waiting for other people to discuss the route.

Spent the first 30 miles walking with a guy called Andrew, this was the 19 time he had completed the event, i think he saw me as a bit of a 'Southern Softy' so i think he would be quite shocked that i finished only 20mins or so behind him.

There was a number of other MDS competitors competing (we stand out a mile with our shiny new RaidLight rucksacks), most of them running.

All in all a good day, a couple of blisters on my heals, but apart from that in really good shape and a great confidence booster of a day.