Its a frustrating matter trying to get your body fit enough to cycle 100 miles, whilst being restricted due to injury.
That is what I'm currently facing.
I'm now three and a half months into recovery from a hamstring strain, and the only problem I'm coming to grips with now is strengthening the muscle and getting back to full fitness.
Getting myself in physical shape was one of the reasons I joined JJ100, but on Tuesday I suffered another setback.
My second venture onto the treadmill at my local gym since the injury ended prematurely. My first effort a few weeks ago involved setting the incline to 15%, at fast walking speed, making sure my heel hit the treadmill every time.
This, in theory, was supposed the stretch the hamstring muscle while exercising and was a form of recovery activity recommended to me by Alice, who is resident physio for the RFL match officials. And it worked, although I thought it was better for my calf than hamstring.
However, my second attempt on the treadmill resulted in me stopping after five minutes. Thankfully I only stopped as a precaution.
As I began to build up speed on the treadmill, I began to feel a pull on my injured muscle. I was only running at a leisurely level eight.
I carried on, thinking it was simply a soreness caused by not working the muscle as much previously. When muscles aren't used for long periods, they can become sore when they are eventually used. I know only too better, having gone through two full RFL pre-season training campaigns under Aileen Mills!
However when I felt it pull again on the second occasion, I knew it was something more serious. Without wanting to risk further injury, I stopped running. I stretched off as a cool down, and was even able to perform a hamstring stretch without pain, before applying ice to the area when I got home as a precaution.
My friend Rob, who graduated from Edge Hill University as a sports therapist and has been helping me recover since December, had a look at it and came up with a theory of what happened.
In layman's terms, he said: "Running on the treadmill, a hard surface, is putting more pressure onto the muscle as the foot hits the treadmill. Therefore the weaker muscle is struggling to withstand the pressure.
"This is in contrast to a cross-runner or bicycle machine, where the foot is supported throughout and therefore less pressure is applied to the leg muscles whilst exercising."
After a quick rub down, he also determined there was no damage he could feel on the hamstring as a result of me running on the treadmill. He also worked on the gracilis muscle, which I also managed to damage during the initial injury.
So the good news is I intend to get back into exercise when my personal time allows. The bad news is, I cannot run for a while. But then again, I'm not running on September, 1st.
@nickwoody89
