Ah ball bags! I class myself as extremely lucky. For the past 5 years I’ve pretty much kept injuries at bay. A recurring hip/glute pain has prevented me from completing a few marathons but it’s never stopped me running for a prolonged period of time.

Is luck the right word though? Or have I just been smart with my training and planning. I like to think the latter has played a massive role in my fortune.

Making sure I have enough rest and recovery, warm up before key sessions, stretch at the end and almost never do back to back tough runs. What did I do last weekend? Back to back tough runs. Knobhead.

Why did I make this mistake? Well it wasn’t in my plan. Saturday should have been an easy parkrun followed by a long run Sunday. But I got carried away.

I was feeling strong and inspired by several of the team going for their own parkrun PBs so I went against my own advice and ran at a high effort level.

I was pleased with my time of 20:11, some way off my own PB but conditions were slippery with the ice, another reason to have stuck to my original schedule. I felt good though and set off Sunday in my new shoes (relatively new) that I picked up for a bargain online. That was mistake number 2.

I’ve been doing my easy runs in a pair of Asic Glideride for the past 12 months without any injury problems. They are not particularly lightweight, but offer plenty of support. So I’m not sure why when I found a discounted pair for £70 I opted for the Saucony Ride instead.

It became clear when I first laced these up, that the support wasn’t as good as the Asics. But having invested £60 I wasn’t about to ditch them yet.

It was only at the very end of my Sunday long run, 120 mins in, that I first felt a pain in my foot. A pain I had never experienced before. A little concerned I just ignored it to begin with.

2 days later, I completed Tuesday’s effort session with a little bit of discomfort, masked somewhat by the soft surface at track. But 60 minutes into my 90 minute run on Wednesday I knew the problem was not going away, in fact it was getting worse.

So I decided to abort my run and trudge the 3 miles home slowly in pretty bitter conditions. Safe to say I was a bit glum. But as I tell all my runners, try to remain positive.

I’m not the only member of the team currently struggling with injuries. My main goal as a coach is ensuring the team stay injury free and enjoy your running. But with 29 members, there are always going to be a few complaining about niggles. That’s just the nature of this hobby.

In this instance. I was to blame. I didn’t follow my own plan. I also took the risk of purchasing new shoes. 2 mistakes for the price of 1. Bargain.

The main cause of injury will be pushing too hard. Doing too much too soon. Whether that be too many miles, or too many reps in your strength sessions. It’s why I always try and ensure the plans start easy and slowly progress towards those goal races.

Other causes of injury are not warming up and cooling down properly. Poor footwear choices, as I came to realise can also lead to unwanted pain.

There are things just totally out of our control, falling off our bikes or slipping down the stairs, incidents which have both happened to members of the team in recent weeks.

So what next for me? Well I need to rest. Whether that be 3 days, 7 days or 30 days. I’m pretty sure it’s the early stages of plantar fasciitis, a nightmare for runners, so making sure it doesn’t develop is my primary concern.

Then once the inflammation and pain subside I’ll look to alter my training plan to make sue I’m not over training and get myself a fresh pair of Asic Gliderrides which have served me so well over the past 12 months.