In the last two weeks I’ve pulled both my right hamstring and my right calf, but I’m not too annoyed about it. My right hamstring has been tight for quite a few weeks and I stupidly decided that a running race against Nicky was a good idea. My hamstring had other ideas! But hopefully it will heal stronger and not bother me in future. I’ve been stretching and rolling it, and I also bought a thigh support. You’d think with the number of times I’ve pulled a hamstring I’d already own one but for some reason I never got around to it.
I pulled my calf this week whilst skipping. The calf has been threatening to go for months, since before Glastonbury even, so I’m hoping that it too will heal stronger and stop bothering me. Again, I’ve been stretching and rolling it and wearing a support. In a way, I’m glad that it has gone now whilst my hamstring is also injured so I can get it over and done with.
I’ve started doing circuit training a couple of times a week. My aim is to improve my general fitness in the hope that this will lead to improved fitness on the bike. The main reasons for not cycling so much in the last couple of years have been injuries and illness, and I hope that by losing some weight and strengthening my core it will improve my riding. I’ve been doing it for four weeks now and I am starting to feel some benefit – it still hurts but I can last for longer before it starts hurting! It also gives me a regular outlet for exercise, even with my leg injuries I can still take part and reap the endorphin benefits. I have been cycling down to the academy whenever possible, but this lead to trouble on Tuesday. I couldn’t pedal with my right leg after pulling my calf muscle so I had to cycle home only pedalling on one side. It’s only a couple of kilometres but it wasn’t too bad, albeit a bit slower than usual!