This wouldn’t be a running blog without a catalogue of injuries – or it sometimes feels that way. Late last evening, I started to get a bit of intermittent pain in my right calf – sometimes when I was walking, sometimes at rest, and that persisted this morning. It was kind of weird as it just kept cropping up without warning.
So I opted for a 5k easy run, and ran at slower than 6mins/k all the way, finding that the running didn’t really make the calf twinge, except maybe when I tried to speed up and forefoot strike… Could well be something to do with running faster with the interval training session yesterday, so I will take it easy for now, with a few rest days and some jogs, rather than do any out and out speedwork – think I will leave that until next week, but hope to fit in a long slow run on Saturday – possibly keep it to 6 or 7 miles if the calf is still playing up.
Started off at decent pace, was going to do 5 or 6k. At 1.5k I felt my left lower leg started twingeing, so I slowed down and aborted the run at 2k – better to be safe than sorry, will see how it goes maybe need a couple of rest days or some swimming. I think my heroics lately may have caught up with me slightly
Well, am slowly getting back to actually being a road runner of sorts! After much time spent swimming or snowed in, and all that palaver, the sun was out today and I managed a 4k trot around the block.
I have been building up with a few very short runs – starting out with a couple of one milers, and slowly increasing the distance until I am running positively long distances at 4k. But it is still an important milestone, as my shins seem to be appreciating the gradual buildup, even though my lungs and heart are hungry for more.
Soon I will be able to think about running more than 5k, and will start to think about upping the pace and meeting challenges, but first things first – get myself back into the running habit, and make sure I don’t do too much too soon and end up laid up again because of it.
Cold but sunny today, felt good to be out running, and just enough to not have to supplement it with a swim. Maintained a fairly steady pace at 5:44/k and that is faster than the 6:17 I was running about 10 days ago, so the pace is naturally coming back.
Thought it was about time I dusted off my running blog again
What with sore shins, swine flu, Christmas and then the snow, my running plans have been somewhat scuppered. I did try a 3 mile comeback run when it was freezing, but the cold, coupled with the lack of running, annihilated my poor shins which went very sore.
So on the advice of a running pal, I am now trying to get going again with a few gentle one mile trots. So far so good today – did a 10 minute mile, was barely breathing hard, legs seem ok so far – despite following the run with a 1750 metre swim. I am a duathlete
Will see how legs are tomorrow, and slowly up things if ok – the trouble is, I have been keeping my CV fitness going with the swimming, while my legs have got used to not running – so I have probably ran a bit too far for my legs, together with the cold, in previous attempts.
Onwards and upwards, although my beloved Trafford 10k has been moved to February, and I fear I will not be ready, but need to look at the race calendar soon.
It’s been a while since I posted to my blog, though I did start running again about a month ago after problems with shin splints (or something like that)
Needed to rest the leg so took up swimming and have become quite adept at front crawl, which as certainly helped maintain fitness. Also doing proper breastroke. Started running again, some very light 5k’s and intend to slowly build back up to pre-injury levels.
Today’s run was my longest run back, I have been quickening up over 5 and 7k, and just added an extra 1k to today’s run, hopefully with a view to getting back up to 10k, then longer runs, but not too much too soon.
Am also keeping up with the swimming as cross training, and enjoying the balance. I didn’t want to post all my little runs, as they are just comeback runs really, but now I have some running fitness back in my legs, I will begin winter training in earnest and once again keep up with this running blog
It’s been a busy week since the race on Sunday, my uni course has now started, and I have been socialising a bit as well, together with work and what have you! Managed to swim 40 lengths on Tuesday, and aim to build in some swimming as cross training while my leg gets fully back to normal.
Wanted to do a bit of a long slow recovery run today, so warmed up indoors, then set off at a very gentle pace on the Bredbury and Hyde circuit route. Rain helped keep me cool, and at the gentle pace I was running at, I didn’t start to hurt until near the end of the run, and even managed the hilly parts quite well.
There is still something up with the leg, but it seems to be reacting well – will just have to avoid anything too intense in the way of speed work or harder paced long runs for the time being, until I am sure the leg is up to it.
But felt great to be back out running in the rain
EDIT November 22nd – This run turned out to be too much for the leg, which reacted quite badly over the next few days. That’ll teach me to go out doing 8 mile runs with shin splints
Have not updated my running blog for a few weeks due to picking up a bit of a niggle somewhere along the way – was worst after my last 8 miler in the preceding post, the next day, but had been lurking for a while but the 8 miler really seemed to be the last straw in a slow build up of overuse. Probably shin splints, but not sure. In any case, rested for three days then tried a gentle 2 miles, and no go – was really bad to walk on, so had to quit for a couple of weeks and miss both the Trafford 10k (my favourite race) and the Boggart Chase 10k
Earlier this week, I felt there was considerable improvement, so swam 50 lengths on Wednesday and then tried a very tentative 3 miler on Thursday. I was going to stop at the first twinge, but it didn’t come, and the leg felt the same after the run as before – so I elected to run the City of Salford 10k, being my last race of the season; I didn’t want to end on a miserable note, and felt fit enough to be able to jog round a 10k, so decided to monitor the leg, and if all well, go for it.
Even as late as Saturday night I wasn’t 100% sure I would run, but I got my number pinned up, my chip fastened to my Adidas Supernovas, and went to bed. Woke early on Sunday, and thought yes, let’s do it! So I walked the dog, then got the bus into town and a taxi out to the Lowry. Already some athletes around, I did some warmup stretches indoors, but no running warmup. I wasn’t going for a time here, so I would use the first part of the race as the warm up, having had no running in my legs for a bit, I felt 10k was my limit, without a few k’s warmup on top!!
The inflatable arch went up, and I positioned myself right at the back. The horn went, and off went the front runners. It felt quite surreal to start off plodding along at a very slow trot, without the slightest inclination to bomb out in front of people, but I felt a certain camaraderie with these runners at the back, even as I slowly started to find my form and overtake them. I heard someone beside me tell their mate the first K had gone by in 5:30 and figured I wasn’t running THAT slowly, then, and at 2k I felt Ok and started to go a bit faster, steadily overtaking people, which gave me a lift.
Somewhere along a big main road, I spotted two girls running in frilly pink skirts, and decided I would just have to catch them and enjoy a bit of flirting and banter about the skirts, so I kept them in my sights and slowly reeled them in. They said they thought the skirts might cheer people up on the way round – which they certainly did But it seemed to affect also their running aerodynamics I passed them, and waved to them again later when they were on the other side of the road.
The girls in frilly pink skirts who cheered me up en route
I passed a drinks station, which was two people trying to fill one cup at a time from a barrel of water, so passed on joining the queue I was feeling OK as I passed 5k, but was into unknown territory by then, as had not run any further than that since back at the beginning of the month. At about 6k I saw Ron Hill going down the other side of the road, and shouted “Go Ron!” and got a thumbs up from him, which motivated me, and then it was the long slog back to the Lowry Plaza over the bridge, by which point I was grimacing, but still going as hard as I could, and still overtaking people (in fact I was only overtaken once in the whole race). Got over the bridge and it was torture to see the blue finish arch straight ahead, but know their was still another k to go around in a big circle. I overtook more people, swearing blue murder at myself and pushing even though I was really hurting, and made a sprint over the line, to find I had tied my chip so tightly to my laces, that half the lace had to be sacrificed to get the chip off I hung around and cheered in the very last runner. You can see me in the official video at the end, grinning away and there’s also a glimpse of the girls in the skirts
My time was 53:26, a very similar time to my first race of the season, and very similar in tone. I really enjoyed this race, the atmosphere, the banter, took it easy at first and ran harder near the end. Not a bad time at all considering my preparation hit such a hitch, and nice to finish the season on a bit of a high after the low of picking up an injury.
Ron Hill finishes a minute before me!
Now if I can keep injury free this winter, and build up a solid base, I might just get that sub 50 next year.
But my main goal is – to enjoy the journey
Pictures and video courtesy of Sports Tours International, who ran both the City of Salford 10k and the Salford Cycle events, and who organise lots of different sporting events and holidays
Well it’s been a long time. Happy New Year to everyone – I hope 2009 is my year for running, although it hasn’t started off too well on a personal level, as my mother is very ill at the moment and has moved to a hospice. She doesn’t know I’m there a lot of the time.
Fortunately, it seems I have at least managed to start with the running again, I did start it to work off stress after all – but have since got more into the running and and doing races and going for PB’s!
Today was no PB, but just getting out there was almost a miracle – after 3 months off with a stress fracture followed by flu and recurring chest infections – just to be putting on my neat little Asics running shoes felt wonderful! And I felt good out there, probably just due to the fact I was running again. I managed 3 slots of 5 minute walk, five minute jog, even put in some bursts of speed, and had another 5 minute walk and jogged until I’d made up the 5k in a time of 37:36. At least that gives me something to aim for, but need to just build up slowly as cardiovascular wise I felt fine and could have done more, but need to let the bones and muscles develop a little strength and solidity again!
I have already entered two races which will give me something to aim for, the March edition of the Trafford 10k, and the Great Manchester Run 2009, have done both before, so have some course PB’s to demolish, I hope
Apologies to anyone who thinks this blog is dead (or that I am dead, it might well look that way, but I only feel half dead at the moment!) – I did manage a couple of comeback run/walks, managed to run for 15 minutes out of 30 at a time, and the hip injury didn’t make so much as a whisper.
So after 8 weeks – or a couple of months, I was just getting back into it when I got hit with flu and a chest infection – so will be off the road again probably until early 2009.
It is so frustrating, but I am determined to get back to fitness and enter some races again soon!
Well it will be 3 weeks tomorrw that I bust my hip, and it’s only been this week that I’ve started being able to walk more or less normally. The pain subsided a lot earlier in the week, but I’m not counting any chickens yet, as I went walking around town yesterday and the more ground I covered, the more I started to become aware of a little discomfort around the area – so had to slow my walking pace.
So it looks like a while yet until I can run again. In fact running is becoming a bit of a distant memory and I almost don’t think of myself as a runner any more
I’ve been doing some work on the exercise bike but need to work hard to get my lungs going at anywhere near capacity as the leg muscles need working up. I did manage to do 5 miles a couple of times, and much faster the 2nd time, but ended up with huge sore welts on my bottom from the saddle So having to give that a rest for a little while now as well.
I guess all I can say is that sporting challenges very finely focus human motivation and the ability to triumph, but these are traits that nonetheless can be repeated in every aspect of our lives. Sometime the challenge is getting a PB on a race day, or running further than ever before. But at times the challenge is just getting through the day, or staying mentally strong to get over an injury, or coming through any of the other 100’s of trials and perils we face on a daily basis.
