After a long spell of dry weather, or at least dry weather whenever I’ve been running, this week was a proper washout. This week’s long run (14 miles) was entertaining, mainly as a result of the weather. As I climbed out of the Limb Valley into thick, wet cloud visibility reduced to less than 50 yards which was fine whilst I was on trails that I’m pretty familiar with, however my planned route took me across some moors off the back of Stanage Pole on access land with an indistinct path marked by wooden posts several hundred metres apart – certainly not visible in the fog. I took a couple of wrong turns and backtracked once or twice but managed to find my way across.
Other than that, the week was pretty much as expected. I brought Sunday’s 10 miler forward in order to enjoy a beer or 3 whilst watching England’s opening match at the World Cup on Saturday night so my legs weren’t fully recovered from the long run on Thursday. I also have to confess to missing one of my short runs this week, but hey, no-one’s perfect. And next week brings another “rest” week with only around 20 miles planned, and nothing over 8 miles.
Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Monday, 7 June 2010
Week 6
A good week last week – all the sessions were completed, though not necessarily in the planned order. Thursday’s 12 miler was actually Friday’s 12 miler and was glorious. Blue sky, bright sunshine, hardly anyone else around; lovely. Sunday’s 10 miler was one of those runs which would be really easy to miss, but after which you get a lovely sense of self-righteous satisfaction. I had loads to do at home before taking the kids to Jess’ 4th birthday party, I was tired and it was raining. All the ingredients for 10 more minutes under the duvet and sacrificing the running. But I forced myself out and had a great run. Yes it was wet, but my legs felt good, I met another ultra-runner en-route (I say another ultra-runner, I’m more of a wannabe currently) and running through streams of rainwater run-off around the Burbage rim with the thunder clapping overhead was quite spectacular.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Knee verdict & minor mishap
I had the diagnosis on my knee last week. The good news is there’s no visible damage or deterioration to the inner workings so no need for an operation. That’s actually really good news as there’s a family history of arthritis, especially in knees. The not so good news is that it’s “anterior knee pain” – a non-specific pain which is very common, but for which practical treatments are largely unknown. The knee specialist’s advice? “Live with the pain!” Brilliant. Apparently running on it will not do it any more harm, but may hurt. Currently it’s manageable, but I may be looking at purchasing shares in Nurofen as time goes by……
Following that gem on Monday, last week broadly went to plan. My legs are still feeling heavy on the uphills, but then once it flattens off or goes downhill slightly I feel I could run forever (more or less). If it goes downhill too steeply, my knee starts playing up so I’m even slower doing those sections.
It seems I got a bit carried away doing man jobs in the house last weekend though and missed my Sunday 10 miler. Very slack indeed. Though I’d like to think that 3 days over the bank holiday weekend working hard at building, plumbing, tiling, painting and decorating make up for missing a run. But then, if that was the case, surely all the Olympians would be builders, plumbers, tillers and decorators.
I even managed some cross training with a 1km swim and a bit of a cycle to and from work.
Following that gem on Monday, last week broadly went to plan. My legs are still feeling heavy on the uphills, but then once it flattens off or goes downhill slightly I feel I could run forever (more or less). If it goes downhill too steeply, my knee starts playing up so I’m even slower doing those sections.
It seems I got a bit carried away doing man jobs in the house last weekend though and missed my Sunday 10 miler. Very slack indeed. Though I’d like to think that 3 days over the bank holiday weekend working hard at building, plumbing, tiling, painting and decorating make up for missing a run. But then, if that was the case, surely all the Olympians would be builders, plumbers, tillers and decorators.
I even managed some cross training with a 1km swim and a bit of a cycle to and from work.
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Enjoying the rest
The end of the first meso-cycle brought a welcome reduction in mileage last week. Unfortunately it also coincided with an increase in discomfort from my left knee again so the miles were reduced even more than originally planned as I felt that resting my knee would bring me greater long-term benefits at this stage of the training than an extra 8 mile run.
I’m off to the hospital next week to see about the results of my MRI scan on the knee which hopefully will determine whether there’s a real problem, and more importantly how best to deal with it. For the time being though, I’ve been enjoying the rest and the improvements in the weather.
I’m off to the hospital next week to see about the results of my MRI scan on the knee which hopefully will determine whether there’s a real problem, and more importantly how best to deal with it. For the time being though, I’ve been enjoying the rest and the improvements in the weather.
Tired
Week three of the programme brought greater distances totalling 33 this week, with 12 miles being the longest. That was run with my pack on the way to work on Thursday giving me a feeling for what lies ahead as those runs get inexorably longer.
I had a sports massage on my legs this week too which was good and seemingly needed as it hurt. A lot. There were many knots in my quads and calf muscles, though my hamstrings and Achilles’ were remarkably fine. I think this is as a result of all the hill climbing. Post massage the 12 miler to work and subsequently the 10 mile early morning jolly round Derwent & Howden Reservoirs were far more tolerable so I think I’ll be signing up for more rub downs in the future, however painful they are at the time.
Biggest downside to this week was my knee starting to feel sore again. Not sure if this is down to new shoes, tired legs, increasing mileage or recurrence of the original injury from February.
I had a sports massage on my legs this week too which was good and seemingly needed as it hurt. A lot. There were many knots in my quads and calf muscles, though my hamstrings and Achilles’ were remarkably fine. I think this is as a result of all the hill climbing. Post massage the 12 miler to work and subsequently the 10 mile early morning jolly round Derwent & Howden Reservoirs were far more tolerable so I think I’ll be signing up for more rub downs in the future, however painful they are at the time.
Biggest downside to this week was my knee starting to feel sore again. Not sure if this is down to new shoes, tired legs, increasing mileage or recurrence of the original injury from February.
Monday, 10 May 2010
So far, so good
Well, all appears to be going well. I've increased the mileage to 31 this week, included a hill training session and the long run is up to 10 miles. The knee is not protesting too much either which is good.
My birthday this week resulted in a shiny new pair of trainers, a new backpack (a popular model amongst MdS veterans) and some funky Injinji socks which fit your feet like gloves with little toe pockets. The claim is that they reduce blisters by stopping your toes rubbing together. Two 10 mile runs in them (and the new trainers) have resulted in no blisters, so maybe there's something in it.
Was also up in Edinburgh overnight at the weekend for a friend's 40th so I had to do some shuffling of the training programme to ensure I wasn't trying to run 10 miles with a potentially large hangover. Fortunately, I was able to run on Saturday morning before we left Sheffield, and even better luck; the hangover never materialised. All in all, a good week.
My birthday this week resulted in a shiny new pair of trainers, a new backpack (a popular model amongst MdS veterans) and some funky Injinji socks which fit your feet like gloves with little toe pockets. The claim is that they reduce blisters by stopping your toes rubbing together. Two 10 mile runs in them (and the new trainers) have resulted in no blisters, so maybe there's something in it.
Was also up in Edinburgh overnight at the weekend for a friend's 40th so I had to do some shuffling of the training programme to ensure I wasn't trying to run 10 miles with a potentially large hangover. Fortunately, I was able to run on Saturday morning before we left Sheffield, and even better luck; the hangover never materialised. All in all, a good week.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
It's the final countdown. Well, nearly.
99 weeks to go and the end of the first full week of "proper" training.
The half marathon was, as expected, hard work. I managed the race rather badly and went off too fast trying to keep up with my wife Angie, but conceded defeat at 10 miles and limped home in 1 hour 56 mins. Still it was under 2 hours which was the target so I can't really complain I guess.
This week has been the first week of properly following a programme of sorts. Cobbled together over a curry and a pint with Richard, we've got ourselves a plan - it's fairly flexible and may change as we progress, but we have something to work to. And so far so good. The week culminated in a fantastic 10 miler round the Derwent Reservoir feeling good and enjoying being out in the early morning fresh air.
No knee problems to report, one or two blisters which are a hangover from the half marathon and legs that are a bit shocked by the distances increasing a little, but all good so far. Let's hope it lasts another 99 weeks.
The half marathon was, as expected, hard work. I managed the race rather badly and went off too fast trying to keep up with my wife Angie, but conceded defeat at 10 miles and limped home in 1 hour 56 mins. Still it was under 2 hours which was the target so I can't really complain I guess.
This week has been the first week of properly following a programme of sorts. Cobbled together over a curry and a pint with Richard, we've got ourselves a plan - it's fairly flexible and may change as we progress, but we have something to work to. And so far so good. The week culminated in a fantastic 10 miler round the Derwent Reservoir feeling good and enjoying being out in the early morning fresh air.
No knee problems to report, one or two blisters which are a hangover from the half marathon and legs that are a bit shocked by the distances increasing a little, but all good so far. Let's hope it lasts another 99 weeks.
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