A False Start

As I sit here writing this next instalment of the series, I still can’t help but think – what the hell am I doing?

What was supposed to be 10 months of calm, steady preparation has somehow turned more into 2–3 months of sheer panic… the joys of injury and trying to force yourself through to the other side.

Looking ahead, I’m coming up to the halfway stage of a 6-week intensive push in a last-ditch attempt to build some sort of fitness and stamina base before it’s too late.

Here’s hoping it’s not all too little, too late…

A False Start

In just under 6 weeks’ time, I’m supposed to be standing on a start line in Dalemain ready to take on 50 miles through the Lake District. Right now, though, I’m less “ultra marathon runner” and more “man desperately trying to convince his hip not to fall apart halfway up a hill”.

The original plan sounded simple enough. Build fitness slowly, stay consistent, increase mileage over time and arrive in July feeling prepared and confident. Instead, injury decided to make an appearance almost immediately and completely derail the whole thing before we’d even managed to leave the station.

So… how exactly did we get here?

Throughout the end of summer and into September/October last year, I started noticing a strange feeling deep within my right hip. Nothing major to begin with – more of an uncomfortable weakness than outright pain. It just felt as though I couldn’t properly support myself through that side.

But, being the classic bloke that I am, I decided the best action was to ignore it (not my best move, especially as an osteopath!).

In my head it would simply disappear on its own, just as quick as it came on. I would maybe stretch it a bit and just run it off. Pretend it isn’t there and surely it would magically sort itself out eventually. A flawless strategy, obviously.

Spoiler alert: it didn’t.

By the time I’d finally sat down and put together what I thought was an absolutely elite-level training programme, things were already beginning to get worse. Still, full of misplaced confidence and optimism, I decided now was the perfect time to start running properly.

Two runs later, disaster struck.

I remember collapsing onto the living room sofa trying to catch my breath back after a run (not a pretty site) and being hit with absolute agony. Not the normal ache after exercise. Not stiffness, but proper, deep, sharp pain through the hip that completely stopped me in my tracks. So bad that I had to get Amy to drive me to A&E.

Now, you’d think an osteopath would be brilliant at following their own advice and taking care of themselves…. Turns out, we’re actually the worst at following anything of the sort.

What followed was probably one of the most frustrating periods I’ve had physically in years. The pain lingered for months. Training completely stopped before it had even properly started and every week that passed felt like another week wasted.

Meanwhile, the Lakeland 50 countdown timer I’d started after getting accepted into the race kept ticking away nicely in the background like some sort of psychological torture device. At that point, panic definitely started creeping in.

The worst part wasn’t even necessarily the pain itself – it was not knowing what was actually wrong. Anyone who’s dealt with injuries before will probably understand exactly what I mean. Your brain immediately jumps to worst-case scenarios. Every day you convince yourself it’s something different. Torn cartilage. Stress fracture. Arthritis at 24? Who knows!

Eventually, after what felt like forever waiting for a referral, I finally got booked in for an MRI scan towards the end of January – just after my 25^th birthday… so Happy Birthday Hip I guess.

And you’ll never guess what they found...

Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

No major damage. No serious pathology. No obvious reason why I felt like someone was jamming a screwdriver into the back of my hip every time I tried to run.

Honestly, I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or even more frustrated.

To this day, I still don’t fully know what caused it or how long it would’ve continued had I not decided to finally do something about it. But looking back now, I think it was probably the perfect storm of stopping exercise altogether, spending long days treating in clinic, putting on a bit of weight and generally not looking after myself as well as I should have been.

Funny really – helping people improve their health all day while quietly neglecting your own.

A Turning Point

After months of waiting, overthinking and feeling sorry for myself, we decided to throw absolutely everything at it.

Between patients in clinic, I got Amy to start working on it constantly (poor girl) – osteopathy, massage, deep tissue work, stretching, strengthening, acupuncture, cupping… if Rebalance had it, we tried it.

And honestly? The deep work, the needling and all the work I didn’t give Amy the chance to say no to helped more than I would have guessed (even if I was trying to crawl away from her acupuncture cupboard all the time – when it comes to needles, I’m a right old wuss). But, I think the biggest thing was simply moving again.

At first, it wasn’t pretty. Everything felt stiff, weak and angry. But gradually, little by little, things started to improve. Loosening things off after a long day, calming things down when they kicked off and sticking to some form of routine kept me going.

Because movement was the key.

The more I moved, the more confidence started coming back into the area. Strength slowly returned. I started rebuilding muscles I probably hadn’t properly used since the end of my rugby days over two years ago. It made me realise just how quickly your body can humble you when you stop taking care of it properly.

And eventually, things started turning a corner.

A few weeks ago, we went out to walk the final section of the ‘50’ route, just to get an idea of what we’ll be facing after already covering 35-odd miles. Honestly, I expected my hip to completely fall apart halfway round.

But it didn’t.

Not a peep.

Now don’t get me wrong – things still aren’t perfect. I still notice the hip after particularly long days in clinic and the hamstrings remain unbelievably tight no matter what I do with them. But compared to where things were a few months ago, it’s night and day.

So here we are.

Just under six weeks to go. Still slightly underprepared. Still questioning whether signing up for this was one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had. But finally moving in the right direction again.

I think if there’s one thing this whole process has taught me already, it’s how easy it is to let your own health slide when life gets busy. Work takes over, routines disappear and before you know it, your body starts reminding you that it probably deserves a bit more attention.

Maybe some of you reading this are in that exact same position now.

Whether it’s running, hiking, getting back in the gym or simply wanting to move without feeling broken afterwards – sometimes you just need a place to start.

So, if you’re struggling with injuries, feeling stuck physically or thinking about setting yourself a challenge this summer, feel free to drop us a message or come have a chat at the clinic.

And in the meantime… follow along and see whether we actually make it to that Lakeland 50 start line in one piece.