This weekend was full of snow,  it also saw the first runs that I have been able to do in about 8 weeks. Since my injury I have been itching to go out and run, its hard to describe how frustrating it is to not be able to just go out if you feel like it, but I knew that resting would allow me to heal quicker.

I mentioned in previous posts the methods I was using to treat the Achilles and I am pleased to say that they seem to have worked. Hindsight now says that I simply wasn’t stretching enough and I believe that the injury was caused by tight calf muscles as well as overuse. A regime of stretching, eccentric exercises, RICE, and rolling appears to have made a vast improvement so come this weekend I was in a position to take a tentative run out in the snow.

I love running in the snow, the trails just look so amazing and it is just so much fun to be out there. Had it not have snowed then I may have held off on the running for another week, but it was an opportunity that I just didn’t want to miss.

Saturday was an easy 4 mile run,  walking on any steep inclines  and moderating the overall pace to not push my body too far. Despite the cycling I can tell that I have lost some running fitness, my breathing was heavy at times on sections that previous to my injury wouldn’t have been an issue, but this is something I can build back up. As Saturday seemed to go so well I decided to do a short evening run in the fresh snowfall to test out my new Silva Trailrunner Plus headtorch that I got for Christmas. A 3 mile run at a slightly quicker pace on Saturday with snow falling all around me was just what I needed, and the headtorch worked exactly as expected.

It’s still a long way to go to get back up to the distances I was running before, but I am confident I can get back there. The NDW50 in May is still possible with some focused training and extensive stretching.

Below are some photos I captured on my runs this weekend: