No I haven't fallen off the end of the World!  Just had nothing to report or talk about due to this injury in my heel.  I have abstained from any running to really try and give it some proper rest, but due to my line of work it is a long slow process.  So having subscribed myself to compression sock during the day, rolling a massage ball across my foot in the morning and using a stretching dome and then a ridiculous boot for during the night which maintains the stretch.  I am now off work and really able to rest it probably if that is possible.  I had intended running the York marathon in October and still hoping to drag myself round this if possible and back to the good stuff, Hardmoors, Roseberry Topping booked in for December in preparation for the New Years Day 30 which I really want to do, then the 55 in March leading up to the big challenge of the Hardmoors 110 in May.  Can't wait, the more I don't run the more I want to and get excited about the prospect of future runs and challenges!

As a bit of good training whilst not running I signed myself up for the York100 Sportive bike ride.  I ventured out with Dave 'The Ginger Ninja' Goulstone thinking we could have a good tootle round trying to keep a good pace up.  We had previously been out a few times, not nearly enough in retrospect, thinking we'd be fine ha ha! Oh no that was our first mistake!!!  So we met up on the morning of the ride after my level of preparation was minimal, after writing a short list to go to the bike shop and buy some essential kit like a spare inner tube, gloves, drink bottle holder etc etc er I didn't manage to go in the end....mistake number two!  I met up with Dave who was already claiming he had done an extra two miles just getting to me snore snore snore!  We cycled round to the registration point signed a few disclaimers grabbed my chip and number and off we set to the start line wahoooo!

So off we went with the elite ha ha just so we had the most time possible to finish!  Then spent the next few hours being constantly over taking by the masses and feeling distinctly under trained.  By this point we were approaching the first of the tough hills and the panic started settling in, up we went and wow did we know about it.  After pushing myself to just past half way my legs were building up rapidly with lactic acid and my chest was pounding to the point where I thought it was going to explode.  Dave had already pulled over and gasping for air and contemplating getting back on, I then too had too pull over to the verge before I had a coronary!  This was generally the theme through out the rest of our journey, slogging it out on the uphills and then pushing ourselves on the flats which after a while felt just as hard.  We made to the check points and made full use of them as was either gasping for a drink or starving, nothing new there I here you say! So we battled on thinking we were doing ok yet felt we were constantly being over taking until we got to certain point when I said to Dave ' thats it there can't be any one left to over take us'  ha ha which looking back I don't think there was since we manage to come in exactly last at 9 hours 13 mins.  We were just pleased to actually get round it and finish, It was a great day and served its purpose to me which was to maintain some training.

So now its a waiting game, I have a few things lined up i.e. foot specialists and Sports Massage Therapy but time is the game!

Its now all about preparation for the 110 and start the process for Marathon de Sables 2017.  I haven't let it slip but very difficult mentally when your not able to even train doing at what you need to be doing.  Keeping the vision and dream and remembering what the goal was and still is!