An answer?

started off the day with the Meteors "running/abs" session however today it was a circuit session instead after a warm up jog...jodie, in her role as assistant coach, attended this morning's session as she wasn't going to be able to attend Customs due to a work colleague's farewell lunch...

after quickly dropping into work for a shower, next up was my appointment with James Barker at Clinic88...aside from being a remedial massage dude, he's a very good runner, currently recovering from a stress fracture to the shaft of the left femur (a very unusual place to have a stressie)...

after a discussion about the lead up to my problem and an assessment from my hips down, he concluded i have weak glutes which due to the one-sided nature of bowling (landing pretty hard on my left leg) had caused my tibialis posterior to be quite tight...the pain in my heel was high likely to be referred pain from this...

my calf/ankle flexibility (knee to wall test) was also quite poor in both legs but particularly so in my left leg (~4cm left/~8cm right), ideally i should be closer to 12cm!

so, he got stuck into my glutes and then my left calf...and i mean stuck in as it was quite hard to stay focussed on being relaxed and whilst i didn't squeal with pain (much as i wanted to!), i did exhale very deeply on a couple of occasions!

i asked him about running at Customs and he said not to as i'd be sore but at least he didn't say i would make it worse...

he gave me some exercises to do - "Clam Shells"* & "Side Leg Raises"**...and i will be seeing him next Friday in the afternoon for some more pain and probably more advanced exercises...

i figured i was used to running when sore so i ran at Customs (on the Floriade course which i think is slightly harder than the normal course) where there was another large turnout...unfortunately i was late so started off 16:00 instead of 13:30 and was soon overtaken by all the quick guys (all before 2ks)...that also means no points to be earned this week...

in the end i was quicker than the past 2 weeks with no pain problems at all...

the stats:
start temp/humidity: 13.7/47%
start time: 12:32pm
total distance: 5.03
total time: 23:18
avg pace: 4:38
total calories: 376
avg HR: 171
finish temp/humidity: 14.5/48%

1k splits: 4:22, 4:50, 4:39, 4:41, 4:39

going back over my records, this actually equals my third best time for this version of Customs (my best time being only 23:06)...i think we have about 5 weeks on this version so i will aim to break 23:00 (all things being equal)...

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the weekend ahead:

Saturday
easy 40mins + golf + massage

Sunday
easy 90mins + cricket training: either 11am-1pm @ Flinders Oval OR 1-3pm @ mpowerdome...

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* "Clam Shells"
Lie on side with hips at 45 degrees and knees at 90 degrees.
Feet level with back.
Keep heels together and lift upper knee by turning out at the hip.
It is essential to keep the pelvis perpendicular to the bed rather than rolling backwards.
Repeat other side.
2 x 10 daily on each side

** "Side Leg Raises"
Lie on your side, bend leg on that side to 45 degress and set pelvis so your top hip is stacked above lower hip.
Roll shoulders forward a little and brace the abs to control pelvic position.
Rotate the foot of the top leg slightly externally & lift the top leg slowly up and down, without hitching at the hip.
Repeat for other side each side.
2 x 10 daily on each side