It’s nearly a month since I last put pen to paper; well fingers to iPad.

There has been a fair amount of improvement in the hip/thigh department. There is also a way to go. This tendinopathy thing is definitely a long term thing. I am not yet searching for Ultras to sign up for. Not even “short ones”.

The main upside of running less is that I’m spending a lot of time in the gym. Generally around 30 minutes, 6 days a week. I’ve noticed myself getting a lot stronger (as you would expect) and my husband has commented on my changing form (in a complimentary way I should add lol). Strength work is definitely good for toning up if you really put in the time and effort.

My workouts are deliberate, planned and specific (what else would you expect from a planaholic). I do leg and glute strength one day, chest and back another day, arms on a third day. I add in various ab work (tum) to these days. This then gets repeated to make a 6 day cycle. On top of this I do my rehab exercises. I’m noticing small improvements from doing these. It’s not fast but it’s there. Patience is definitely important.

In terms of running I’m only doing 10-12km over the whole week. This is very low mileage indeed. I won’t increase this until I next speak to the physio. I’m walking a lot though. I walk everywhere and also go for a potter most afternoons. I generally cover 30km a week. All in all I’m still doing as much sport as I did before, just a lot less running.

There are a number of differences I notice from doing more gym time and less cardio. Apart from a better body shape, the main one would be my appetite. I’ve gone from a quite hungry person to, I want to eat the contents of the fridge in a wrap now please. I crave protein like mad. Being a pescatarian this means I’m eating more fish than ever (not sure thats good but there you go). I’m also shovelling in lots of other high protein foods. This is not me following the latest trends. This is my body telling me to eat protein. It’s like when you are pregnant and you just know you need to eat crumpets and down it with a Guinness. When you know, you know.

Today I had a protein shake after my workout, alongside my breakfast. For lunch a salmon omelette with bagels. Mid afternoon a yoghurt with pumpkin seeds and granola. I finally feel satiated. Kind of.

I’m looking forward to seeing the physio on Monday. She said that once I reach the stage where nothing is hurting then I can start counting two weeks until my next step; namely the long awaited progression step.

I need to see her to ask what constitutes pain in this context. I no longer feel anything that would classify as a 1/10 pain. However, I have felt twinges, a dull sensation at the top of my thigh (where the pain used to be). I’ve also felt something more aligned to pain but it’s gone away after 10 seconds of standing still. Does this count? I need to check. It would be so nice to finally move to the next stage. I am missing the longer runs and I really really miss the hills.

In other news autumn is here. The fallen leaves in shades of sienna, ochre, green and gold are beautiful. On my outings, I enjoy the pleasure of kicking these whilst on a jog or walk. It’s the same joy as jumping into a puddle in your wellies.