Interesting research from London’s Portland Hospital reported yesterday by the BBC, indicates that some women are more vulnerable to ligament injury as part of their menstrual cycle:-

“Midway through the cycle, the level of the female sex hormone oestrogen, which gives strength to muscles and ligaments, drops dramatically, resulting in sudden weakness.”

There must be myriad under-researched possibilities such as these that mitigate against a work-based training programme. The question would be: to what extent can a recovery-based approach to training counteract this hormonal effect? Heart-rate monitor makers have shown that a lot of body function is correlated with heart rate. Would a sophisticated enough monitor point up whether you are more prone to such weakness?

Today I did not use the bike to warm up, nor did I stretch. I didn’t have time and used my run to recover the car from the garage in town. I could not stretch afterwards either (which I don’t normally do anyway.) My left thigh feels weaker than for a long while, and I feel much stiffer. Who says stretching doesn’t matter?

Resting heart rate 48

Weight 72 kg

Mood

Exercise energy consumed 399 kcal (34 mins run)

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