Not a vintage summer

Here we are at the end of one of the peak running months of the year and what have I done? Developed a dodgy calf that is slowly responding to therapy. Developed a touch of patellar tendinitis in the other leg which I hope will respond to therapy. Done a few lowly runs, done a few bike rides, done quite a bit of time in the gym.  All in all, not a vintage summer.
That's the downside. The upside is that, from 1st September, I shall be retired! After a 22-year career as an advertising copywriter I won't have to get up in the morning wondering about earning my living. It's very exciting and very weird. But it'll give me more time to spend with Mrs HF and more time to do lots of other things, including, I hope more running.
Hopefully, a vintage autumn awaits!

No runner is an island...

Running's a funny thing. It's essentially solitary, yet you can't do it alone. You need a support team.  Recently a new member was co-opted onto the Hayfella squad. Her name's Roxy. Petite, dark, pretty and skilled in inflicting nasty levels of pain. Yep, she's my Sports Physio and she's fantastic. Let loose on the dodgy HF calf, she realised straight away it was all due to a wayward sacro-iliac joint, tilted pelvis and, quite frankly, pathetic hamstring strength and flexibility. And there was I thinking it was a bit of cramp!
She gave me stretches to do, strengthening exercises to do and then ground her thumbs along my tender gastrocnemus in a way felt like it was doing way more damage than the original injury. I've never had a sports massage before. Doesn't it HURT!
Still, I'm sure that, once the 'treatment tenderness' as she delightfully put it, has worn off, and I stretch and warm up more assiduously, I'll be back enjoying the hills.