Niggles and no #parkrun

In the absence of a parkrun blog post this weekend, I thought I'd have a whinge instead.... (yay)

Running is such a frustrating hobby. I just can't seem to get going without another new niggle popping up that prevents me from maintaining a decent stretch of training. Already in January I have had to cut short, move or cancel training sessions every single week, each usually with a completely different niggle to blame. I'm paying special attention to warming up (and down), stretching, hydration etc etc... but still the niggles keep coming..

• Calf (both legs)
• Hamstring (both legs)
• Groin (both legs)
• Pulled lower back (to be fair, not caused by running)
• Pain in the knee (again, not caused by running but by walking into a baby safety gate)
• Strange pin-like feelings in my foot
• Slight feelings of IT band pain

and now...

• an unidentified pain in the top/front of my left foot that hurts as I push off (walking and running)

Because this latest one started on Thursday evening and had me hobbling around all day on Friday, it prevented me from running at parkrun last Saturday. I know it isn't the end of the world but is extremely disappointing as I look forward to this run more than any other.

I know we all have our niggles but I just felt the need to have a little whinge about them. All I'm trying to do is enjoy running - keeping relatively fit and healthy in the process, and run some races to the best of my ability. Apparently it's not as easy as it sounds.