Less than 24 hours before the start of the Ridgeway Challenge and I’ve pulled out. The niggle that I had with the tightness in my calf became a full on nag that, in the end, I couldn’t ignore. I went out for a club run on Wednesday night, one final loosener before the weekend, and even though we only set off at a gentle jog, in under 10 minutes something went pop. I immediately stopped and walked back to my car.

I say walked – it was quite distinctly a limp.

I had hoped that the ache in the back of my leg would subside over the last couple of days with some rest and gentle massage, compression and liberal application of Diclofenac gel. I even dropped to the 10am start so that I could take it easier and allow myself 28 hours to complete the course; it’s long but walkable. But today the pain seemed sharper and constant when I walk, particularly going up steps and slopes. My (unqualified) diagnosis is that it’s a grade 2 tear/strain – the type of injury that may need 3-4 weeks rest.

If I put my mind to it and really dosed up with painkillers and anti-inflammatories, pushed hard (but not too hard) to go for a 3-3.4 mph pace, I’m confident that I’d complete the race. But at what cost? That’s the question I asked myself today. Walking – or even jogging – 85 miles over rugged trail in a day is not the usual recommended remedial treatment for a strained calf. Is the reward of a little tin medal and the satisfaction of finishing an event worth making that 3-4 weeks of rehabilitation twice or possibly three times as long? No matter how much I want to do the race and no matter how long I’ve been looking forward to it, preparing for it and focussing on it, is it really worth putting myself out of action for that long? In all likelihood, my decision to retire and address my current complaints will mean I’ll be back in training sooner than if I had no injuries at all and did the race anyway.

Injury is part and parcel of sport – we condition ourselves all the time to push through pain and so it can be quite difficult to know when we should just stop and rest. It almost goes against everything in our nature, everything that makes us runners in the first place. But it’s an important skill to learn. It might have been coincidence or perhaps Providence decided to stick her oar in and pass on her opinion whether I wanted it or not, but a relevant quote attributed to Dr George Sheehan appeared in my Twitter feed earlier:

“Listen to your body. Do not be a blind and deaf tenant.”
(via @RunningQuotes)

I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t gutted about the decision and I have a suspcious feeling that I’ll wake up tomorrow and it will all feel fine – but I know, after three days, that it’s not. It doesn’t matter. I’ve pulled out now and I can’t change my mind; it is what it is. This is only one event – there will be many more.

So now it’s time to look to the future, to make sure I get all my niggles sorted. I’ve got a lot of work to do; on my mobility, my conditioning, my strength, my weight! Perhaps it’s a good time to do some research and exploration of minimalist running. I’ve already started putting race dates in the calendar for next year that I’ll need to prepare for and to make myself feel better, I did some retail therapy; I signed on for a diploma course in Personal Training.

Relentless foward motion.

I wish all those taking part tomorrow the best of luck and will be thinking of you. Enjoy it!