On Your Marks: Cruise hasn't held me back, my body has

I was lucky enough to be taken on a cruise recently. For anyone who has been on a cruise, you will know how hard it is not to eat 24/7. For those who haven't been on a cruise - it's VERY hard not to eat 24/7.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Apr 2018, 13:47 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:27 BST
The runner at K2 CrawleyThe runner at K2 Crawley
The runner at K2 Crawley

The cruise came at a crucial time during my preparation for the Run Gatwick Half Marathon (May 13).

Apart from the injuries, I felt happy with my progress, so being in a floating all-inclusive hotel filled me with dread!

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But I somehow managed to restrain myself from midnight snacks and afternoon teas and ate, on the whole, in moderation (apart from the extra lamb chops on my birthday).

The bonus was the ship had a lovely gym and I managed to fit in three good sessions, but I did not manage a long run.

So on my return I went straight into a parkrun and I was delighted to finish the Tilgate one in 30mins 04secs, a personal best by six minutes. It felt good and more importantly the body felt good.

I contacted Owen Callaghan, Fitness Manager at K2 Crawley, and told him I was up for a run on Tuesday morning of last week. We set off and apart from a stiff back, it was going well.

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But the further we went the more the aches and pains set in. I could not understand it.

After getting back to K2 Crawley we did a couple of laps of the athletics track but some reason the pain had returned in my calf. So we stopped. It was so frustrating for me and Owen.

But I booked in another appointment with Jonathan Gaffney, associate osteopath at David Osteopathy, based at K2 Crawley. Luckily he thinks they are just niggles but he gave some extra stretches to do.

If I am going to complete the Half Marathon in roughly three weeks’ time, I have got to get over these niggles and get some miles in. In the words of Elder Cunningham, it’s time to man up!

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Just before my cruise, we held another Free Run Night at K2. This was our second time and we had ten athletes turn up.

Owen led the session again which included the 12-minute Cooper Test, a two lap sprint, and we had time for a relay race as well which was great fun. Owen even had time to pass on tips about training techniques, nutrition and much more. Thanks to all those who turned up, who were: David Buckley, Karen Spencer, Jo Lynch, Mark Fluck, Anne Fluck, Lois Sharland, Sue Bradford, Niamh Bradford, Jack Bradford and Matt Tyson.

As the night proved so popular, we are hosting another FREE Run Night on Thursday May 3, 7pm, at the K2 Crawley athletics track.

If you are interested in joining us, please email me at [email protected]

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