Excuse me, fat sloth coming through!

Which is basically how I feel at the moment. Its amazing how much you appreciate something once you can't do it anymore! While at one time I would have enjoyed the break from running, its become apparent just how much I'd started to enjoy it in the past six months or so. Running used to be a chore, something I did to keep my weight under control and my fitness up, but now its a staple part of my life. A staple part that has been forcibly removed, leaving me feeling like someone has chopped my legs out from under me (no pun intended). The physio did mention the possibility of running next week, so I shall wait for that moment with bated breath.

Speaking of the physio, he's been great. Aside from the whole "elbow in the glute" thing anyway. In fact, I'm really not a fan of any of the rather painful releases he does on various protesting muscles in my legs, but it feels better afterwards and that's what's important. He cracks me up actually, because he's not like my last physio that would apologise gently yet profusely with a worried expression on his face whenever he did something painful. Oh no, this physio laughs. Digging his thumb into my ITB and seeing me wince, he's most likely to laugh out loud and say "Ooh, that one hurts doesn't it?". Yes, damnit! But strangely enough, the laughter isn't offensive but is actually quite comforting.

My ITB is still inflamed but at least I have movement in my knee again, even though I'm still walking like a complete gumby. Ice, Voltaren tablets, and more ice is about all I can do until the inflammation settles down, and then we can get to work on figuring out exactly what causes the problem. An out-and-back course on cambered roads was one of the biggest issues apparently, which I can definitely understand as 95% of my training is on flat pathways rather than roads. I think its going to come down to poor lateral stability and bad running mechanics as well. Oh well, that bridge will be crossed when we get to it. In the meantime I need to find some exercise I can do that doesn't involve my legs. Either that, or I'm going to have to stop eating! I've gained a kg or two already, yeesh.

A massive thankyou to everyone for their well-wishes and positive comments after the race. I have to admit to being rather depressed about the whole situation, and you all really helped to brighten my outlook and put everything in perspective. Thanks again :)