The Bath Half: The Big Splint to the Finish

We enter the 4th day of recovery from The Bath Half Marathon and I have only just mustered the energy and calf strength to make it down the 32 steps - of course I counted - from my bedroom to the living room, where my laptop hummed, ready for the next blog update.

Obviously, this is a slight exaggeration, it's only 30 steps to start, however its not far from the truth. As my housemates can assure you, I have been staggering around like a neanderthal, often on all fours, in order to overcome the most simple of tasks; walking up/down stairs, sitting down, going to lectures.. They will also probably inform you that this sort of behaviour is not uncommon; don't believe them, mum and dad, they're liars.

To answer both yours and the Physio Therapist's first question - where does it hurt? - my shins. Your second - when did it start hurting? - about mile 5! Shin Splints = Ouch. Despite the pain and obvious disappointment that comes with not achieving the time you would reach at full fitness, I am pleased (and proud) to say: "Bath Half Marathon - Check". In a few seconds shy of  2 hours for those of you interested in comparing timepiece statistics.

And what a day it was! If I could personally shake the hand of every event organsiner, volunteer marshal, band member, dancer, spectator and, importantly, all the other runners, I would. The encouragement and support was like nothing I have experienced before; boy did it feel good. I can hand-on-heart say you all got me through it, with exception to you, man running past me in the flip-flops; your inadequate footwear made both me and my overpriced shoes look foolish. Thank you to everyone who made my first challenge such a tremendously memorable day. There is one person I really would like to thank more than anyone though; Theo, himself. Cliché as it may be, when I hit the biggest wall during the quieter 8th and 9th mile, it was thinking of you that got me over it. Thanks little man.

1 down 9 to go. 

Unfortunately, I am currently playing a bit of a waiting game to see if I have any real damage in my legs and feet. However, with my legs taped up and box loads of pain-killers, I am hoping to get back to training soon; it's only a few more weeks until the next challenge, The South Mud Run. Fingers crossed I'll still be able to take part in what is set to be a muddy good day!