tired legs

theres a saying in sport that pain is temporary and glory is forever. most of the time i think that is the wrong way round though. the satisfaction i feel at a good race or achieving one of my targets is often short lived before i start thinking about the next of my targets, whilst (like today for example) if i have had a hard race my legs can feel utterly drained for days afterwards. on sunday i finished 69th, and my legs were hurting from sart to finish. the course was on a field and whilst it wasn't classic mud and trenches cross country course, you were always either going up or down a hill. one end of the field was at sea level whilst the other end was 131 feet above, which just about says everything. it was one short lap and 3 long laps. i was boxed in at the start but as the field started to thin out that was when i started to make my move, 100th at the end of the 1st lap gradually picking as many people as possible off before finishing 69th and collapsed at the end. gb international ben tickner won the mens race, whilst fresh from 10 pinst of cider the night before, complete with a hangover, claire willer won the womens race.

i went for a run when i got home in the evening just to try and get rid of some of the lactic acid and 30 mins was ok. i did another run this time for 55 mins last night plus a game of badminton and i really think its a long time since my legs have been so heavy. i am not expecting anything special from tonights session as i don't think i will have recovered properly.

i had my 1st deep sports massage on friday and i was surprised to be told that whilst i have exceptionally strong calf muscles, i had virtually no muscle on either my hamstring or my quads or my adductors. if i can run such good times on legs that are allegedly so weak, then it will make the results of my vo2 max test in 3 weeks time very interesting. i vehemently deny that they are that weak though and any way i know that i more than make up for it with huge amounts of grit and mental strength. thats one of my training partners words not mine!