If it's not one thing, it's another...

In many many ways, my running has gone well this week.  This is the first time in a couple of weeks where I've physically felt able to do all three of the lower mileage runs.  It's also the first week in ages where I've consciously tried to up my speed a bit.  This isn't speed work as proper runners would understand it; it's just an attempt to go a bit faster, if only to give myself a cardio workout.

My various aches, pains, and twinges have meant that I'm limited to a certain speed if I want to stay pain-free.  However, this also  means that my breathing stays firmly in a 4:3 rhythm (breathing in for four steps and out for three), even when going uphill.  It's just not a challenge and, frankly, is a bit boring.  So this week, I've deliberately gone a bit faster and have pushed my breathing into a 3:3 pattern.  I was even breathing 3:2 up the last hill today.  Very satisfying.

My hip, although stiff, hasn't hurt with the extra effort.  Woo hoo!  Unfortunately, I am seeing the reappearance of Mr Achilles and his niggling ways.  Is it too much to ask for everything to be healthy at the same time???

I'm hoping that this is because of Claudio's adjustment of my ankles.  They feel stiff in the sense of using muscles that haven't been used before, and I'm aware that my feet are hitting the road differently.  I prefer to think that Mr Achilles is in the process of adjusting to being used in a different (more biomechanically healthy) way, rather than thinking that this is an aging tendon not being up to the task I've set it.

All will be well; I just need to give it enough time.