Got up extremely late this morning. Woken up by the bloke delivering the weeks groceries some time way past 9:30am, which is embarrassingly late. However, the whole family has an excuse for being stay-a-beds. We're all just getting over a whole week of some dread lurgy, pitched somewhere between a nasty cold and all out flu. I actually had a flu jab just after my last run on 21st Dec, so I suspect I picked something up and had that and a de-activated flu virus to handle.
I was third of the five of us to get something, hitting me on Boxing Day, but having two kids with fevers and stuff gushing from just about everywhere for the previous two days had meant running had been suspended anyway. Then D got it a couple of days ago and I was Mr Mom while she got the fever and achy bones. My son spent nearly every waking hour since Christmas wrapped up in a blanket and watching a constant loop of Doctor Who in the living room. I don't think he remembers he was ill now - sci-fi-self-hypnosis.
However, not wanting to fish for sympathy (sickness is what holidays are for isn't it?), I've not posted on the subject till now, as I've not had a run to talk about.
Which I do now.
After the groceries had been packed away, I headed out to try and do some catching up and general lung-clearance. I know I'll have a continuing cough for a week or so, and I think one benefit of the exercise is to get fresh air into bronchioles which otherwise just hold the gunky stuff. Lets say I cleared some of that out and leave it there.
Although still short, all seemed to go well and I don't have much feeling of tendinitis at the moment. Still keeping to my previous plan, the run was:
1.88 miles, 18 minutes running @ 6:1 averaging 9:34 pace (best pace 9:18 on first 6 minutes)
It's unseasonably warm here. 10C this morning and I managed to find a time between rainstorms, so although the streets were wet, I stayed dry.
Had a nice post card from my Physiotherapist this morning, with a "Hope all is well" message. I'll have to write back.
Just checked on my target 10K date: Stourbridge Stumble 2007: Saturday 16th June 2007 at 6pm. It's in the diary!
Best wishes for a Happy New Year to you. All being well, I run NYD morning.
Mr Stumble
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Shortest day, longer run
Thursday was my first day of the Christmas break, so I allowed myself an extra half hour in bed before heading out. This meant that thigs were just getting light, although the fog made things a light grey. It was also pretty cold, -1.5C. Not having running tights, I'd dug some old paint splashed track suit trousers from the back of a wardrobe - what the hell, no-one was going to see me.
This run, as promised, was three lots of 6 minutes, starting to move the time up. I've changed the route so the whole thing is under streetlighting. Pace kept fairly easy, averaging just under 10 minute pace.
[update: 1.82 miles, 18 minutes runnig @6:1, ave 9:54 pace.]
I finished the run fine with no real problems, but have had all the signs of tendonitis again in my right ankle. The tendon may have healed, but I can feel a lump of calcified tissue in there, and that is causing some inflamation when I run.
It being the wrong part of the year to make a doctors appointment, I'll have to wait till after boxing day. I need further ultasound to break down the deposits. In the meantime, I'm going to carry on as planned, but with a load of icing, massage and stretching. I really feel that if I can chase this last problem away, keep the program easy I should be able to finally make the progress I need to. I'd love to be able to make a 5K in the spring, and the Stourbridge Stumble next April.
So another 18 minutes on Christmas Eve.
Mr Stumble
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Running in the dark.
Well, after that bit of planning, it all went to the wall as the weekend turned into a long haul of many different things - mainly concerned with finding a school for my son who has special needs. We had some bad news on Friday concerning his secondary school placement - our local education authority appears to have rejected the school everyone says he should go to and we are waiting for a formal letter, telling us we have to choose a mainstream school.
Never one to wait for the bad news, a lot of letter writing ensued and our campaign to appeal the decision has already started.
Yesterday (Monday) I realised that even if there were a plan, there would always be something to prevent me running in daylight and that I had to take the plunge and run in early morning darkness. And this meant overcoming the daemon of complacency, whispering about the cold, the safety aspect (cars and psychopaths), how mad this would appear to sane people who are still tucked up in bed at 6:30.
D commented that I would never get up, and that really solved the problem for me as I'm stubborn and won't stand for this prejudgement. She knows this of course, so it was a double bluff.
As it turned out, it was dryish and a bit misty - the fog descending an hour later as I was driving North for work. Temperature was around 4.5C. The side roads were empty except for a couple of people heading for the bus and aside from an excursion through the "Woodlands Walk" - part of my normal daytime route, all was lit by street lamps. The Woodlands Walk was pretty dark - a 3 minute section with no lights except that coming from the main roads at either end and the perfect place for Rutger Hauer to be hanging out, so I might re-plan the route for next time.
The only problem - as I couldn't see Mr Garmin, I managed to fudge up the display by pressing the wrong button when trying to get it to light up, so there was a fair amount of guessing for the segments. Also, the Garmin speaker grill was muffled by my fleece jacket and I couldn't hear it. So, I'll be repositioning that next time.
No bio-mech problems so I expect to be out Thursday with an increased time and distance.
Tuesday - 1.4 miles @ 5:1 - 10:10ish pace
Mr Stumble.
Never one to wait for the bad news, a lot of letter writing ensued and our campaign to appeal the decision has already started.
Yesterday (Monday) I realised that even if there were a plan, there would always be something to prevent me running in daylight and that I had to take the plunge and run in early morning darkness. And this meant overcoming the daemon of complacency, whispering about the cold, the safety aspect (cars and psychopaths), how mad this would appear to sane people who are still tucked up in bed at 6:30.
D commented that I would never get up, and that really solved the problem for me as I'm stubborn and won't stand for this prejudgement. She knows this of course, so it was a double bluff.
As it turned out, it was dryish and a bit misty - the fog descending an hour later as I was driving North for work. Temperature was around 4.5C. The side roads were empty except for a couple of people heading for the bus and aside from an excursion through the "Woodlands Walk" - part of my normal daytime route, all was lit by street lamps. The Woodlands Walk was pretty dark - a 3 minute section with no lights except that coming from the main roads at either end and the perfect place for Rutger Hauer to be hanging out, so I might re-plan the route for next time.
The only problem - as I couldn't see Mr Garmin, I managed to fudge up the display by pressing the wrong button when trying to get it to light up, so there was a fair amount of guessing for the segments. Also, the Garmin speaker grill was muffled by my fleece jacket and I couldn't hear it. So, I'll be repositioning that next time.
No bio-mech problems so I expect to be out Thursday with an increased time and distance.
Tuesday - 1.4 miles @ 5:1 - 10:10ish pace
Mr Stumble.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Focus.
Thanks Phil for your comment. In today's 15 minute run-let, I realised the problem was - just as you were telling me - not having a plan. Therefore no focus on a goal and before long it will all come off the rails. So, given these few moment, here's the plan outline.
1) whatever happens, if a run causes pain for more than 24 hours, back off.
2) keep things in 3 "intervals" of running separated by a minute walking.
3) increase each week by around 1 minute per interval (so 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30 minutes total) unless I have good reason to think I can increase by more (say the 24 to 30)
4) run 3 times a week. At least.
5) plan the next goal when I have 3 lots of 10 minutes under my belt.
So next run will be my last at the "15" level, and that should be this weekend.
Mr Stumble.
1) whatever happens, if a run causes pain for more than 24 hours, back off.
2) keep things in 3 "intervals" of running separated by a minute walking.
3) increase each week by around 1 minute per interval (so 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30 minutes total) unless I have good reason to think I can increase by more (say the 24 to 30)
4) run 3 times a week. At least.
5) plan the next goal when I have 3 lots of 10 minutes under my belt.
So next run will be my last at the "15" level, and that should be this weekend.
Mr Stumble.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Winter blues.
A poor week for running. I am doing a lot of travelling at the moment and the idea of getting up extra, extra early to run in the dark, when it's only 3C outside - and it's raining and blowing - I 'm not in that place at the moment.
Being usually home based, I had been planning to run at lunchtimes - Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but since early last week, have not been home at the requisite time to do so. Except on Thursday last week. I did actually manage to get out of the door on Thursday, but managed to get about 400 yards down the road before the double glazing van I had been waiting in for shot past me in the other direction. At least I now know that I can run short distances at a higher pace!
Once I'd had the faulty pane measured up for replacement it was too late to go out again - people to speak to, tasks to complete. The weekend then turned into a dead loss, and I'm sat here blogging on my second train trip to London this week.
I guess this is the perennial runners problem of winter motivation. Too dark. Too cold. My motivation has been exceeded by sheer volume of excuses. The answer, of course is to increase my motivation somehow. Perhaps listening to Steve's Boston 110 again will help. Or just be bloody minded about it and force myself out onto dark and rainy streets. I might actually fond that I like it once I try it!
Anyway, I'm working from home tomorrow, so am planning to get out sometime between 12 and 2, come rain or shine.
Mr Stumble.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Head full of goop
I managed to pick up a cold in the middle of last week - I think my immune system has caged up a few nasties over the last 6 weeks and has started to release them. This happens to me when my job has me running on adrenaline on a sales opportunity and I can't get sick. I get the backlash when things calm down again. Anybody else get something similar?
Last week I had some physio booked for Thursday and having had the green light, wanted to get a couple of runs in beforehand. On Monday I ran the basic 15 minutes at a 10.02 average pace and repeated this again on Wednesday with a 9.45. Both went fine, a little tightness in the right calf and ankle - only slight discomfort the following day.
The physio session was for a sports massage on my right calf, which has become increasingly knotty over the past few weeks. Rather than my regular physio, Nicky I was with Joe, who specialises in sports massage for runners.
This was the most painful half hour I've had in a long time! A lot of time was spent trying to separate my calf muscle from the bone. Where it had become very tight and was putting up a fight. This being my last scheduled session, I got some tips on how to continue teasing the muscle out to loosen it, and even more variations on stretches.
On Friday, I lost my voice (there was some cheering from my work colleagues - thank God for instant messaging) and then spent the weekend with a head full of gunk and garden fences to repair after some strong winds on Friday night. Yesterday, I was breathing a little easier, so got in another 15 minutes at lunchtime. I can feel an improvement in how I feel after the run already, but there is some way to go before I get back to where I was in July.
With a busy week ahead, I'll probably run next on Thursday and then at the weekend. Perhaps then I'll start to increase the running time to 18 minutes.
Hope all is well with you.
Mr Stumble
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Keeping things nice and easy
Today's post comes courtesy of my new toy, a Treo smartphone. Nothing that helps running, but might get me back on track posting a bit more regularly, as I can compose away from my PC.
As for running, there is finally some good news. Whilst off in Hemel Hempstead last week (I get to go to the most glamorous places) I booked into a hotel with a pretty good gym and managed to get 15 minutes at a 10 minute pace, as agreed with my physio. I don't find treadmills that entertaining, so I was glad I didn't have to run any further. That went very well, and was followed with a nice meal in the restaurant - not bad for an evening away.
I've had a fair amount of calf-grumbling on the right side over the past couple of weeks, possibly as a result of stretching or new pairs of shoes, so I really hope that doesn't turn into something bad as I start up again.
In the meantime, I've reached the end of my main course of physio, with one sports massage remaining to try to sort the calf out and on Tuesday lunchtime just gone, I headed out for my first outdoor run of my new Autumn program. The plan is to keep to 15 minutes running until it is comfortable, with no recurring heel or calf pain before increasing the time and distance. Nice and easy while my tendons and bones get used to the pounding again.
As with the treadmill, this run was in 5:1 run:walk intervals. Mr Garmin had forgotten where he was after being switched off for so long, so no pace or distance recorded, but probably a nice easy 10 minute mile pace over a total 1.7 miles.
It's a start.
All being well, I'll run again tomorrow, although it's my daughter's 4th birthday party in the early afternoon, which might throw the whole day's plans out. We'll see.
Mr Stumble.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Permission to run.
As instructed, I arrived at this weeks physio session 15 minutes early so I could get 15 minutes warming up on an exercise bike before hitting the treadmill. The exercise bike is more of a recumbent device, than a sit-up-and-cycle, and I had a good 20 minutes of peddling and stretching before we were ready to go.
The treadmill is a monstrous thing, and I think it gets used by some of our local soccer team who, from the "wall of fame" in the gym, frequent this place to get back into playing form. Can't be a bad place then. Once established at 6mph I asked if the machine went up to "11" - recalling Spinal Tap's amplifiers. It does in fact go up to 15 and there have been people on the machine for whom even that has not been fast enough.
6 is fine for me though.
The running session was simply to gauge any running pain in my foot, and thankfully there is non there. However, my right calf felt very tense from the start, in the same sort of way that my left calf used to do when it was warning me. After 6 or 7 minutes of mixed walk/running, we headed off to take a look at the calf and continue the ankle tendon treatment.
There is a load of bunched up muscle tension in my right calf, so she had a good dig in there to try to loosen things up, and a couple of days on, I do think it has helped.
But the best bit is that I'm OK to begin running again, with certain boundaries - a very slow start - a good warm up and no more than 15 minutes for the moment.
With a busy travelling week ahead of me, I'm hoping the hotel I'm booked into for the next couple of nights has a gym and treadmill, otherwise running might be difficult.
We'll see.
Mr Stumble.
The treadmill is a monstrous thing, and I think it gets used by some of our local soccer team who, from the "wall of fame" in the gym, frequent this place to get back into playing form. Can't be a bad place then. Once established at 6mph I asked if the machine went up to "11" - recalling Spinal Tap's amplifiers. It does in fact go up to 15 and there have been people on the machine for whom even that has not been fast enough.
6 is fine for me though.
The running session was simply to gauge any running pain in my foot, and thankfully there is non there. However, my right calf felt very tense from the start, in the same sort of way that my left calf used to do when it was warning me. After 6 or 7 minutes of mixed walk/running, we headed off to take a look at the calf and continue the ankle tendon treatment.
There is a load of bunched up muscle tension in my right calf, so she had a good dig in there to try to loosen things up, and a couple of days on, I do think it has helped.
But the best bit is that I'm OK to begin running again, with certain boundaries - a very slow start - a good warm up and no more than 15 minutes for the moment.
With a busy travelling week ahead of me, I'm hoping the hotel I'm booked into for the next couple of nights has a gym and treadmill, otherwise running might be difficult.
We'll see.
Mr Stumble.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
A light, I see a light!
It's been a very long 2 weeks working, which has made it difficult to keep up with normal family life, let alone this little journal. However, there has been a change of pace from about 9am Monday morning (yesterday) and I'm back to normal ... well … normal running isn't quite the proper phrase, but you know what I mean.
I missed one physio session last week as I was suddenly at the wrong end of the country, but have otherwise tried my best to keep up with stretching, icing and keeping kind-of active.
Yesterday, I had another appointment with my original physio, now back off her holiday, and her assessment is that it's about time we had a look at how the mechanics are all coming together, with a treadmill session on Friday - there being a mini gym within the centre I'm going to.
So I'm looking forward to a 15 minute warm up on a cycling machine followed by ... some running on a machine!
This isn't to say I haven't run at all for the best part of 10 weeks. In fact, this morning our local railway station had a bit of a problem with its automated ticket issuing machine - locally referred to as Daleks (see Wikipedia for that one, if you're outside UK!) – which delayed my obtaining a ticket and gave me 90 seconds to get down the length of a platform, onto a bridge, over 4 platforms and down again - before the train left. I made it and even that little jog felt good!
Hopefully, the result will be I'll start up again, perhaps this coming weekend at a suitable rate to-be-determined. I'm thinking 5:1 run:walk as a starting point and perhaps even time limiting to 20 minutes for the first week. I don't want to go out too fast again and I so hope I can put all the silly injury behind me.
Hope all going well for you out there.
Mr Stumble
I missed one physio session last week as I was suddenly at the wrong end of the country, but have otherwise tried my best to keep up with stretching, icing and keeping kind-of active.
Yesterday, I had another appointment with my original physio, now back off her holiday, and her assessment is that it's about time we had a look at how the mechanics are all coming together, with a treadmill session on Friday - there being a mini gym within the centre I'm going to.
So I'm looking forward to a 15 minute warm up on a cycling machine followed by ... some running on a machine!
This isn't to say I haven't run at all for the best part of 10 weeks. In fact, this morning our local railway station had a bit of a problem with its automated ticket issuing machine - locally referred to as Daleks (see Wikipedia for that one, if you're outside UK!) – which delayed my obtaining a ticket and gave me 90 seconds to get down the length of a platform, onto a bridge, over 4 platforms and down again - before the train left. I made it and even that little jog felt good!
Hopefully, the result will be I'll start up again, perhaps this coming weekend at a suitable rate to-be-determined. I'm thinking 5:1 run:walk as a starting point and perhaps even time limiting to 20 minutes for the first week. I don't want to go out too fast again and I so hope I can put all the silly injury behind me.
Hope all going well for you out there.
Mr Stumble
Monday, October 30, 2006
Electro-shock therapy. For feet.
This was a new one on me too! My regular physio is off this week on her holiday, so I'm booked in with an alternative. There are always difficulties in catching up with the history when you see someone new, but thankfully having typed a load of what has happened in here, I remembered a fair bit (unusual for me!).
I think we are all now moving away from Plantar to Posterior Tibial Tendinitis and the treatment again began with my confessions of poor ankle stretching during a busy week, followed by ultrasound on the tendon and then something new. I wondered why she was strapping electrodes at each end of my foot, and being the trusting sort, I didn't question. Until the "let me know if this hurts" comment.
It is weird seeing your toes twitch involuntarily as waves of power wash through your foot - I was suddenly reminded of Young Frankenstein, as Gene Wilder wakens the monster for the first time. Classic. Ever one for new experiences and assured that electricity is a good thing for me, I sat through a good 5 electrifying minutes before the machine went beep and it was all over.
If nothing else, I will definitely be doing my stretching and icing EVERY DAY now. I'm pretty sure that machine has a lot more punch in it - if I go back on Friday and admit to slackness, I might get my voltage upped! It looked pretty old too, so maybe I'll look for it's last electrical safety test ...
I'm being hassled / advised over my footwear. Having the good fortune to work from home 60% of the time, I've been wearing my old running shoes as "trainers" as they have a better shape than my normal, comfortable, old shoes. I'm not running in them though. Ever again. For the other 40% of the time, I'm in offices wearing those comfortable old shoes and they are just no good for me. So, the hunt is on for a good cushioning regular shoe, into which I might stick an off the shelf orthotic if I ever get to Boots in town. And these were recommended as a good basic orthotic before taking a plunge into custom orthotic territory. Somewhere I don't want to go.
Mr Stumble.
I think we are all now moving away from Plantar to Posterior Tibial Tendinitis and the treatment again began with my confessions of poor ankle stretching during a busy week, followed by ultrasound on the tendon and then something new. I wondered why she was strapping electrodes at each end of my foot, and being the trusting sort, I didn't question. Until the "let me know if this hurts" comment.
It is weird seeing your toes twitch involuntarily as waves of power wash through your foot - I was suddenly reminded of Young Frankenstein, as Gene Wilder wakens the monster for the first time. Classic. Ever one for new experiences and assured that electricity is a good thing for me, I sat through a good 5 electrifying minutes before the machine went beep and it was all over.
If nothing else, I will definitely be doing my stretching and icing EVERY DAY now. I'm pretty sure that machine has a lot more punch in it - if I go back on Friday and admit to slackness, I might get my voltage upped! It looked pretty old too, so maybe I'll look for it's last electrical safety test ...
I'm being hassled / advised over my footwear. Having the good fortune to work from home 60% of the time, I've been wearing my old running shoes as "trainers" as they have a better shape than my normal, comfortable, old shoes. I'm not running in them though. Ever again. For the other 40% of the time, I'm in offices wearing those comfortable old shoes and they are just no good for me. So, the hunt is on for a good cushioning regular shoe, into which I might stick an off the shelf orthotic if I ever get to Boots in town. And these were recommended as a good basic orthotic before taking a plunge into custom orthotic territory. Somewhere I don't want to go.
Mr Stumble.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
If I was blogging about films, there would be so much more to say.
I'm sure I'm not the first to get blogger's block, and I'm sure I won't be the last. However, having finally dragged my fingers back to this particular keyboard, I have little to report on the running front. That is, I am still waiting for my foot to fix itself.
What has been happening is another physio session earlier this week and a further one booked for Monday coming. I noted the first session in my last post and was waiting for the post-massage pain to hit the following morning. Nothing. Not even a twinge. A strangely happy disappointment.
My last visit centred on a particular tendon - I think the posterior tibial tendon - which runs down the rear of the inside-knobbly-ankle-bone and supports the arch of the foot. This particular tendon got demonstrated by plucking it like a guitar string. I never knew it was there. There's some tendinitis in there so it's having some ultrasound therapy. I know ultrasound therapy is good, as it sorted out an Achilles tendon problem for me last year.
My 3 year old daughter continues to remind me every night to do my stretching, and I have a lot to do now, not just the calf and hams, but ankle ones too. Hopefully, only a couple of weeks until I'm able to start again - I'll be dressing for colder weather though!
Mr Stumble.
What has been happening is another physio session earlier this week and a further one booked for Monday coming. I noted the first session in my last post and was waiting for the post-massage pain to hit the following morning. Nothing. Not even a twinge. A strangely happy disappointment.
My last visit centred on a particular tendon - I think the posterior tibial tendon - which runs down the rear of the inside-knobbly-ankle-bone and supports the arch of the foot. This particular tendon got demonstrated by plucking it like a guitar string. I never knew it was there. There's some tendinitis in there so it's having some ultrasound therapy. I know ultrasound therapy is good, as it sorted out an Achilles tendon problem for me last year.
My 3 year old daughter continues to remind me every night to do my stretching, and I have a lot to do now, not just the calf and hams, but ankle ones too. Hopefully, only a couple of weeks until I'm able to start again - I'll be dressing for colder weather though!
Mr Stumble.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The trouble with Stumble.
Apologies for yet another delay in posting. Partly busy, partly not having anything interestingly run related to post.
Following my ankle injury, I've laid off any running and taken things easy, aside from a 40 minute session at Laserquest - man that was fun - although I twisted the ankle on the outside this time, but with no permanent injury, just a bit sore for a day. What was worse was having fallen over (thinking the worst had happened and I would never walk again) someone leaned over a balcony and shot me. Unsporting, I thought.
I'm not a Laserquest regular, but this is turning into an annual event. We get an invite to a birthday outing at Laserquest every year from one of my son's school friends and, well, you just have to go along to "help". I did notice that this year, I was far less out of breath by the end than previous years, so running has done something for me, I'm sure.
Last Sunday, I thought I'd give my ankle a little more strenuous activity, so I went for a brisk 30 minute walk to see how my foot-mechanics were getting on. As it turns out, not very well. My ankle and underfoot ached after the walk and for the next couple of days. So given that it had been about a month since the initial injury, I went to see my GP on Tuesday. After a short discussion, and a prod of my foot, he recommended I go back to the podiatrist.
On calling the Podiatrist, I had a discussion with them on the phone and they recommended that I actually see their physiotherapist for assessment and treatment initially. They could fit me in Thursday (today).
So, after some more prodding and standing, we reach a diagnosis. Plantar Fasciitis, the root cause being over pronation and probably the frame in my old shoes bashing into my plantar fascia. Bah.
The treatment - firstly a foot massage along the band of affected muscle (this was not bad, mmmmmm!), and then a deep tissue massage on my right calf muscle because of the connectedness of the calf and foot muscles. This was pretty painful, and damn good! My physio warned me that it might feel great for the rest of the day, but tomorrow morning it might feel like it's been run over.
Next, I had my foot taped up to support the arch, and that's going to stay on for several days. Unless I get sick of it. I'm not looking forward to removing the tape - very sticky stuff.
Next, an analysis of my regular shoes which were embarrassingly covered in grass clippings from chasing down our pet rabbit in the back garden, across freshly mowed lawn the evening before. Simply put, I need to consider shoes with more cushioning and better support. I'll consider whether to consider this, as with my feet and the high street choice, it'll be difficult to comply.
Finally, some more stretches and advice on compression and ice. I'm going to have a word with my medical insurance company to see if they'll stand some more physio sessions, probably weekly until I start running again, which looks like it will be another 4 weeks.
But I *will* run again ...
One last thing, whilst looking up Plantar Fasciitis I came across these interesting articles on therapeutic massage you might enjoy:
Plantar ...
and then
Tension Headaches
Low back pain
Shin splints
Neck pain
Tennis Elbow
Back and hip
Jaw clenching a personal favourite
Quads
Pecs
Upper back Pain
Lower Back pain
Use with caution!
Mr Stumble
Following my ankle injury, I've laid off any running and taken things easy, aside from a 40 minute session at Laserquest - man that was fun - although I twisted the ankle on the outside this time, but with no permanent injury, just a bit sore for a day. What was worse was having fallen over (thinking the worst had happened and I would never walk again) someone leaned over a balcony and shot me. Unsporting, I thought.
I'm not a Laserquest regular, but this is turning into an annual event. We get an invite to a birthday outing at Laserquest every year from one of my son's school friends and, well, you just have to go along to "help". I did notice that this year, I was far less out of breath by the end than previous years, so running has done something for me, I'm sure.
Last Sunday, I thought I'd give my ankle a little more strenuous activity, so I went for a brisk 30 minute walk to see how my foot-mechanics were getting on. As it turns out, not very well. My ankle and underfoot ached after the walk and for the next couple of days. So given that it had been about a month since the initial injury, I went to see my GP on Tuesday. After a short discussion, and a prod of my foot, he recommended I go back to the podiatrist.
On calling the Podiatrist, I had a discussion with them on the phone and they recommended that I actually see their physiotherapist for assessment and treatment initially. They could fit me in Thursday (today).
So, after some more prodding and standing, we reach a diagnosis. Plantar Fasciitis, the root cause being over pronation and probably the frame in my old shoes bashing into my plantar fascia. Bah.
The treatment - firstly a foot massage along the band of affected muscle (this was not bad, mmmmmm!), and then a deep tissue massage on my right calf muscle because of the connectedness of the calf and foot muscles. This was pretty painful, and damn good! My physio warned me that it might feel great for the rest of the day, but tomorrow morning it might feel like it's been run over.
Next, I had my foot taped up to support the arch, and that's going to stay on for several days. Unless I get sick of it. I'm not looking forward to removing the tape - very sticky stuff.
Next, an analysis of my regular shoes which were embarrassingly covered in grass clippings from chasing down our pet rabbit in the back garden, across freshly mowed lawn the evening before. Simply put, I need to consider shoes with more cushioning and better support. I'll consider whether to consider this, as with my feet and the high street choice, it'll be difficult to comply.
Finally, some more stretches and advice on compression and ice. I'm going to have a word with my medical insurance company to see if they'll stand some more physio sessions, probably weekly until I start running again, which looks like it will be another 4 weeks.
But I *will* run again ...
One last thing, whilst looking up Plantar Fasciitis I came across these interesting articles on therapeutic massage you might enjoy:
Plantar ...
and then
Tension Headaches
Low back pain
Shin splints
Neck pain
Tennis Elbow
Back and hip
Jaw clenching a personal favourite
Quads
Pecs
Upper back Pain
Lower Back pain
Use with caution!
Mr Stumble
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Still here, Still static
Hi folks. Sorry for not posting for a while. I'm in the midst of so much stuff! Anyway, very quickly: no running yet; ankle not fully mended; stretching still going well; still determined.
Mr Stumble.
Mr Stumble.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Ice and a slice.
After 9 days of ice, compression and rest, I managed to get back out running again this morning. My ankle finally started feeling reasonably stable again yesterday, although when the alarm woke me up Monday morning, I waggled my foot around to see how it felt, was unsure and so went back to sleep for half an hour.
This morning, a different story. I had pizza and sticky toffee pudding (mmmmm) from my son's birthday meal-out last night to run off, so guilt got me up.
Sunrise here is now around 6:58, so this is my first pre-dawn run. Thankfully, it's a good clear day today with the temperature around 12C/54F - later this week it's going to get very wet, we're told. However, as the weeks go on, I know I'm going to be getting up and running in the dark and the cold, not a good combination for getting me out of bed in the morning. I think the part which I'm most worried about is getting the warm up walk in before I start running, I expect that to be the most challenging part.
Back to today though. I know I started out too fast (I think it's the new shoes!) and Mr Garmin was telling me at one point I was running an 8:40 pace, so I slowed right back to get that segment averaging 9:19. I had decided on 7:1 run:walk splits for this morning, so I was at least moving forward from the last run without overdoing it.
Overall I managed an average 9:35 pace covering 2.82 miles, 27 minutes total running time. My HR monitor shows an average 149 and peak at 165. I took a peak at the HR every so often on the flatter sections and it showed my normal running rate increasing from the mid 140s to mid 150s from around 5 minutes in to 25 minutes in.
Once back in, I could feel a little tension in my ankle, so I immediately strapped on some ice and will keep a compression bandage on for a few hours this morning.
So hopefully, my ankle will be fine and I'll be out again on Thursday.
Mr Stumble
This morning, a different story. I had pizza and sticky toffee pudding (mmmmm) from my son's birthday meal-out last night to run off, so guilt got me up.
Sunrise here is now around 6:58, so this is my first pre-dawn run. Thankfully, it's a good clear day today with the temperature around 12C/54F - later this week it's going to get very wet, we're told. However, as the weeks go on, I know I'm going to be getting up and running in the dark and the cold, not a good combination for getting me out of bed in the morning. I think the part which I'm most worried about is getting the warm up walk in before I start running, I expect that to be the most challenging part.
Back to today though. I know I started out too fast (I think it's the new shoes!) and Mr Garmin was telling me at one point I was running an 8:40 pace, so I slowed right back to get that segment averaging 9:19. I had decided on 7:1 run:walk splits for this morning, so I was at least moving forward from the last run without overdoing it.
Overall I managed an average 9:35 pace covering 2.82 miles, 27 minutes total running time. My HR monitor shows an average 149 and peak at 165. I took a peak at the HR every so often on the flatter sections and it showed my normal running rate increasing from the mid 140s to mid 150s from around 5 minutes in to 25 minutes in.
Once back in, I could feel a little tension in my ankle, so I immediately strapped on some ice and will keep a compression bandage on for a few hours this morning.
So hopefully, my ankle will be fine and I'll be out again on Thursday.
Mr Stumble
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Lame with a Sprain !
I've got another possible name for these ramblings: "Bad News Blog". Just when you think you've turned that corner, and it's all plain sailing, something else breaks.
I suspect my previous pair of shoes, in a last ditch effort to nobble me, are to blame. The "bruised" feeling I reported a week ago was probably the initial weakening of my ankle ligaments, and my Sunday run finished them off. I have a sprained ankle.
Unusually (according to bits I've read - and the Internet is never wrong for long :) ) this is on the inside of my ankle rather than the outside, so feels different to sprains I've had in the past. Probably only 2 or 3 I can remember - I'm not prone to them.
So, once again, the worst-startup-runner-in-the-world is waiting for another injury to heal. I hope this one is going to be quicker than my calf. It's being frequently iced and compressed at the moment and is definitely improving, but I'm not about to hit the streets whilst it feels damaged, especially as I have a fair amount of walking to do in London on Thursday.
Thomas asked if I have had my gait and feet assessed at a running shop. The answer is "yes" it was the first thing I did after deciding to run - right at the start of this blog. However, I think it is clear that there is Running Shop gait analysis and Podiatry's gait analysis. Running shops are going to be good for the 80% of runners, but I am clearly outside that group. I'm going to use those results as guidance and see what happens in my new stability Asics. If that all goes wrong (and there is no reason to be optimistic!) I may well follow Thomas' route onto a neutral cushioning shoe and perhaps (worst case) go back to my podiatrist for orthotics.
But that's all speculation. I'm still determined to keep at it - I'm too dumb and stubborn to know when to stop. And I *so* want to try a race.
Mr Stumble.
I suspect my previous pair of shoes, in a last ditch effort to nobble me, are to blame. The "bruised" feeling I reported a week ago was probably the initial weakening of my ankle ligaments, and my Sunday run finished them off. I have a sprained ankle.
Unusually (according to bits I've read - and the Internet is never wrong for long :) ) this is on the inside of my ankle rather than the outside, so feels different to sprains I've had in the past. Probably only 2 or 3 I can remember - I'm not prone to them.
So, once again, the worst-startup-runner-in-the-world is waiting for another injury to heal. I hope this one is going to be quicker than my calf. It's being frequently iced and compressed at the moment and is definitely improving, but I'm not about to hit the streets whilst it feels damaged, especially as I have a fair amount of walking to do in London on Thursday.
Thomas asked if I have had my gait and feet assessed at a running shop. The answer is "yes" it was the first thing I did after deciding to run - right at the start of this blog. However, I think it is clear that there is Running Shop gait analysis and Podiatry's gait analysis. Running shops are going to be good for the 80% of runners, but I am clearly outside that group. I'm going to use those results as guidance and see what happens in my new stability Asics. If that all goes wrong (and there is no reason to be optimistic!) I may well follow Thomas' route onto a neutral cushioning shoe and perhaps (worst case) go back to my podiatrist for orthotics.
But that's all speculation. I'm still determined to keep at it - I'm too dumb and stubborn to know when to stop. And I *so* want to try a race.
Mr Stumble.
Blogger problems
A few weeks ago, I accepted Blogger's invitation to move across from regular Blogger to BetaBlogger, as I already have a gmail account. "Great," I thought, "integrated identity - fewer passwords."
What could be better?
It turns out that there is a fundamental incompatibility between "old" Blogger and Beta Blogger, which means that I can't automagically be logged in when commenting on "old" Blogger blogs, and if you have an "old" blog account, may not be able log in and comment on mine.
Then again, you just might not be interested enough.
At best, this makes commenting a pesky faff and at worst, just impossible.
Anyway, the problem is discussed here and here. Blogger seems to have torn it's blogging community in two with this bug. What's worse is once you've made the jump to Beta, there's no way back! However, as Google has bought Blogger, Beta is the future and I'm sure they will fix it somehow.
Meanwhile, I'll see if I can open up the comments a bit to allow unauthenticated comments (with word verification). Then perhaps I'll hear from Ann again - who still has that broke Atom feed.
Stumble Admin.
What could be better?
It turns out that there is a fundamental incompatibility between "old" Blogger and Beta Blogger, which means that I can't automagically be logged in when commenting on "old" Blogger blogs, and if you have an "old" blog account, may not be able log in and comment on mine.
Then again, you just might not be interested enough.
At best, this makes commenting a pesky faff and at worst, just impossible.
Anyway, the problem is discussed here and here. Blogger seems to have torn it's blogging community in two with this bug. What's worse is once you've made the jump to Beta, there's no way back! However, as Google has bought Blogger, Beta is the future and I'm sure they will fix it somehow.
Meanwhile, I'll see if I can open up the comments a bit to allow unauthenticated comments (with word verification). Then perhaps I'll hear from Ann again - who still has that broke Atom feed.
Stumble Admin.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Planning ahead
Took the Asics out for their first run this morning and they feel pretty good. The ache in my right-foot arch is still there, but not enough to stop me running. Tried the HRM for the first time as well and had a couple of glances at it at various stages of my circuit.
Top of the hill - 158
Downhill parts and flat - around 145
After 1 minute walking interval - 122
I have to remember to reset the thing before I start running otherwise it gets a bit confused during the "strapping on" stage and shows a max HR of over 180. It's another fun stat to measure anyway.
No problems at all to report on my calf, which is great! The rest and stretching regime do appear to have worked well, although these are early days!
Mr Garmin tells me that the average pace this morning was 9:17/mile with a total distance of 2.81 miles. I'm trying to figure out how I add a bit more distance to my route as, with a warm up walk and then slightly higher pace, I'm arriving back at my driveway 2 minutes early. The streets where I run (incidentally, in Wolverhampton) are higgledy piggledy, so if you look hard enough, there is always some way to add a little detour to include an extra few hundred yards.
This morning I took a look at the RunnerWorld web site for local races in October and found something I might use as a target - a 5K in Cannock Chase Forest on 14th October - which is a fundraiser for planting 20000 trees in "some of the world's bleakest urban areas". Well, that's a reasonable enough reason to run and if nothing else, something to focus on.
Mr Stumble.
Top of the hill - 158
Downhill parts and flat - around 145
After 1 minute walking interval - 122
I have to remember to reset the thing before I start running otherwise it gets a bit confused during the "strapping on" stage and shows a max HR of over 180. It's another fun stat to measure anyway.
No problems at all to report on my calf, which is great! The rest and stretching regime do appear to have worked well, although these are early days!
Mr Garmin tells me that the average pace this morning was 9:17/mile with a total distance of 2.81 miles. I'm trying to figure out how I add a bit more distance to my route as, with a warm up walk and then slightly higher pace, I'm arriving back at my driveway 2 minutes early. The streets where I run (incidentally, in Wolverhampton) are higgledy piggledy, so if you look hard enough, there is always some way to add a little detour to include an extra few hundred yards.
This morning I took a look at the RunnerWorld web site for local races in October and found something I might use as a target - a 5K in Cannock Chase Forest on 14th October - which is a fundraiser for planting 20000 trees in "some of the world's bleakest urban areas". Well, that's a reasonable enough reason to run and if nothing else, something to focus on.
Mr Stumble.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
My right foot.
Following Tuesdays outing, the small amount of foot pain grew significantly, and for the remainder of the week, I've been hobbling around. I just can't seem to get this right can I?
After a few experiments with my shoe on Thursday evening, I've worked out what it is. My shoes have this frame around the outside of the sole, designed to stop the shoe flexing too much. However, for some reason, the position of my foot in the shoe has changed so that a slightly knobbly part of the frame has been sticking into the back of my almost-arch and I've been left with a pretty deep bruise with all of the pounding.
As to why this might have happened, perhaps having been wearing the shoes for a little more than running over the past few weeks have stretched or altered their shape in some way. So, it's time to ditch the daft shoes that no-one has heard of before, and go for something a bit more mainstream.
I've been eyeing up a pair of New Balance 680s for a while, and ducked out from work at lunchtime yesterday to go get me a pair. However, on trying them on, they just didn't fit comfortably. So, next up was a pair of Asics GT2110 shoes. These have been very well reviewed and do fit comfortably - especially on my silly uber-narrow feet. They have no daft frames or cut-outs, so hopefully less to go wrong with them. Sold!
This is the second purchase this week. On Wednesday, our local pharmacy had their basic heart-rate monitor on sale for £5. It's a simple chest band and watch receiver unit showing current and average heart rates for a given exercise period. Nothing fancy and just right to get an idea if an HRM can provide me with any value before I spend silly money, and before I actually hit any form of running target.
I'm planning to run tomorrow now - my foot is nearly right and I don't want to leave it any longer. So lets see if I can get to 30 minutes in the next 4 or 5 weeks.
Mr Stumble.
After a few experiments with my shoe on Thursday evening, I've worked out what it is. My shoes have this frame around the outside of the sole, designed to stop the shoe flexing too much. However, for some reason, the position of my foot in the shoe has changed so that a slightly knobbly part of the frame has been sticking into the back of my almost-arch and I've been left with a pretty deep bruise with all of the pounding.
As to why this might have happened, perhaps having been wearing the shoes for a little more than running over the past few weeks have stretched or altered their shape in some way. So, it's time to ditch the daft shoes that no-one has heard of before, and go for something a bit more mainstream.
I've been eyeing up a pair of New Balance 680s for a while, and ducked out from work at lunchtime yesterday to go get me a pair. However, on trying them on, they just didn't fit comfortably. So, next up was a pair of Asics GT2110 shoes. These have been very well reviewed and do fit comfortably - especially on my silly uber-narrow feet. They have no daft frames or cut-outs, so hopefully less to go wrong with them. Sold!
This is the second purchase this week. On Wednesday, our local pharmacy had their basic heart-rate monitor on sale for £5. It's a simple chest band and watch receiver unit showing current and average heart rates for a given exercise period. Nothing fancy and just right to get an idea if an HRM can provide me with any value before I spend silly money, and before I actually hit any form of running target.
I'm planning to run tomorrow now - my foot is nearly right and I don't want to leave it any longer. So lets see if I can get to 30 minutes in the next 4 or 5 weeks.
Mr Stumble.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Hitting the streets
Apologies for the delay in posting. There are reasons but really, no excuses.
Last week saw two bike excursions around our local streets, the third being cancelled due to a late night and never properly rescheduled. Temperatures on the second early excursion were down to 8C / 47F and I quickly wished I'd worn more than a T shirt and shorts. However, with a clear blue sky and a low mist across the parkland I rode by, I managed to keep my mind off my cold arms whilst wishing I'd brought a camera to catch the light.
This morning, however, I bit the bullet and headed out for a run. And it felt soooo good. Temperature was about the same at 8C, but cloudy and pretty humid for the temperature, but given my pace is a lot slower running than cycling, there was no issue with getting cold.
I'd decided to easy back in, starting with 6:1 run:walk intervals and see how things go. First stretching using one of the physio techniques described previously and then with a warm up fast-ish walk to the end of the road before starting the first interval. I think that this proved a reasonable starting point, I don't think I broke anything during the run although my right foot is complaining a little around my fallen arches - but this is nothing new.
The route was my original and more hilly route - not what I'd intended to take when I started out, but I had one of those moments where I had 10 yards of indecision about "do I go straight on or left?" between the two courses, and choose left - my original route. I think this was due to several factors - not least that last time I pulled my calf when trying the new route - but also that my original route is just "comfortable" and has fewer concrete pavements.
It was good to catch up with the squirrels and cats again, running giving more time to observe early morning feline and, well, rodent behaviour than is afforded by the bike.
At the top of the circuit, I came across 3 people, seeming like parents and their daughter consoling each other quietly at the end of their driveway. It was a strange moment, as I approached the parents hugged and began to return to their house, whilst the young woman sat on the stone wall for a moment and looked up at me. I couldn't hold her gaze and had to glance away, suddenly feeling I was intruding, just running by. I've no idea what had happened, but there was a lot of sadness there.
This gave me plenty to mull over for the remaining section and I finished the run with an average 9:58/mile pace (I lost some time waiting for a gap in traffic to cross a main road, twice) covering 2.55 miles.
I'm seeing if I can pause Mr Garmin whilst using the interval trainer function and it still keeping the interval times, which will allow me to cross busy roads and not "lose" the running time.
My plan from here is to do another run at 6:1 on Thursday and then move back up to 8:1 this weekend, from there to 10:1 by the end of next week and hopefully onwards to the goal!
Mr Stumble
Last week saw two bike excursions around our local streets, the third being cancelled due to a late night and never properly rescheduled. Temperatures on the second early excursion were down to 8C / 47F and I quickly wished I'd worn more than a T shirt and shorts. However, with a clear blue sky and a low mist across the parkland I rode by, I managed to keep my mind off my cold arms whilst wishing I'd brought a camera to catch the light.
This morning, however, I bit the bullet and headed out for a run. And it felt soooo good. Temperature was about the same at 8C, but cloudy and pretty humid for the temperature, but given my pace is a lot slower running than cycling, there was no issue with getting cold.
I'd decided to easy back in, starting with 6:1 run:walk intervals and see how things go. First stretching using one of the physio techniques described previously and then with a warm up fast-ish walk to the end of the road before starting the first interval. I think that this proved a reasonable starting point, I don't think I broke anything during the run although my right foot is complaining a little around my fallen arches - but this is nothing new.
The route was my original and more hilly route - not what I'd intended to take when I started out, but I had one of those moments where I had 10 yards of indecision about "do I go straight on or left?" between the two courses, and choose left - my original route. I think this was due to several factors - not least that last time I pulled my calf when trying the new route - but also that my original route is just "comfortable" and has fewer concrete pavements.
It was good to catch up with the squirrels and cats again, running giving more time to observe early morning feline and, well, rodent behaviour than is afforded by the bike.
At the top of the circuit, I came across 3 people, seeming like parents and their daughter consoling each other quietly at the end of their driveway. It was a strange moment, as I approached the parents hugged and began to return to their house, whilst the young woman sat on the stone wall for a moment and looked up at me. I couldn't hold her gaze and had to glance away, suddenly feeling I was intruding, just running by. I've no idea what had happened, but there was a lot of sadness there.
This gave me plenty to mull over for the remaining section and I finished the run with an average 9:58/mile pace (I lost some time waiting for a gap in traffic to cross a main road, twice) covering 2.55 miles.
I'm seeing if I can pause Mr Garmin whilst using the interval trainer function and it still keeping the interval times, which will allow me to cross busy roads and not "lose" the running time.
My plan from here is to do another run at 6:1 on Thursday and then move back up to 8:1 this weekend, from there to 10:1 by the end of next week and hopefully onwards to the goal!
Mr Stumble
Monday, September 04, 2006
What's in a name?
My dire performance over the past few months have caused me more than once to ponder renaming my blog to ... something else. Stumbleguy will stay - there's always the Stourbridge Stumble next year - but "Run like the Wind, Bullseye!" just isn't right.
I might have explained it's origin before, and if not, you may know it already; however if you don't, it's a quote from Toy Story 2 which came to me during the 15 seconds or so I gave myself to think as I filled in the box when creating this blog.
Casting around for ideas, I keep coming back to Thomas' "Diary of a Rubbish Marathon Runner" and thinking "blimey, well how rubbish am I then". Really rubbish.
On the plus side, however, good name or bad, I know it was you lot that got me out of bed this morning, kicked me out of the house and dragged me onto my bike again. I wouldn't have been back doing my prescribed stretches and 6 more tyre miles this morning if you hadn't done that, so thanks.
And it was frickin' hard! My few rides in the Somme over the last 2 weeks have been relatively flat, so my uppey-downey course back home was hard work - but I've got some added weight now and loads of Brie and croissant to burn.
So, suggestions of a name of theme are welcome. I was thinking of something pretty self explanatory like "It'd be nice to be able to run for 30 minutes" or "how not to start running".
Looking at my Google running diary, I note that it's (only) nearly 4 weeks since my last run. I'm meant to give 5 to 6 weeks healing time, so I'm probably going to continue to hold off running again for a week or two more. I might be asking for advice on what to wear in wet and/or cold conditions soon!
Mr Stumble
I might have explained it's origin before, and if not, you may know it already; however if you don't, it's a quote from Toy Story 2 which came to me during the 15 seconds or so I gave myself to think as I filled in the box when creating this blog.
Casting around for ideas, I keep coming back to Thomas' "Diary of a Rubbish Marathon Runner" and thinking "blimey, well how rubbish am I then". Really rubbish.
On the plus side, however, good name or bad, I know it was you lot that got me out of bed this morning, kicked me out of the house and dragged me onto my bike again. I wouldn't have been back doing my prescribed stretches and 6 more tyre miles this morning if you hadn't done that, so thanks.
And it was frickin' hard! My few rides in the Somme over the last 2 weeks have been relatively flat, so my uppey-downey course back home was hard work - but I've got some added weight now and loads of Brie and croissant to burn.
So, suggestions of a name of theme are welcome. I was thinking of something pretty self explanatory like "It'd be nice to be able to run for 30 minutes" or "how not to start running".
Looking at my Google running diary, I note that it's (only) nearly 4 weeks since my last run. I'm meant to give 5 to 6 weeks healing time, so I'm probably going to continue to hold off running again for a week or two more. I might be asking for advice on what to wear in wet and/or cold conditions soon!
Mr Stumble
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Stuffed and returned.
It's always good to get away and recharge your batteries. We got back from France on Friday and I've had a bit of time to take stock of the health impact of this year's trip. 3 Lbs added in eating too much croisant, Brie, fatty sausage, frites, pate, steak and chinese food (yup, we found a great Chinese restaurant near the station in Aberville), all washed down with beer, wine and Orangina.
My efforts to offset holiday eating were early morning bike rides through the lovely Somme scenery, with occasional additional rides out with the kids, my 3 year old in a little seat attached behind my saddle.
I managed to work out a 6 mile loop and got in 2 rides (Monday and Wednesday), before waking up with debilitating back pain on Thursday. There was no identifiable cause - although I suspect a poor sleeping position on an old matress. This stopped me cycling until the following Tuesday, where I took an easy 5 miles and then Thursday, back to 6.
I did manage to take some photos along the circuit, so here's a selection of French countryside, around St. Vallery in the Somme.
My efforts to offset holiday eating were early morning bike rides through the lovely Somme scenery, with occasional additional rides out with the kids, my 3 year old in a little seat attached behind my saddle.
I managed to work out a 6 mile loop and got in 2 rides (Monday and Wednesday), before waking up with debilitating back pain on Thursday. There was no identifiable cause - although I suspect a poor sleeping position on an old matress. This stopped me cycling until the following Tuesday, where I took an easy 5 miles and then Thursday, back to 6.
I did manage to take some photos along the circuit, so here's a selection of French countryside, around St. Vallery in the Somme.
This is a lovely tree-lined country road, near Nueville, close to Pinchefalise and Drancourt. My favourite bit of the route.
This is looking Northwards over farmland towards Pinchefalise. From here I head (left) into woodland where I came across a wild deer near the road. However, it was much to quick to have photographed it!
I'm planning to be back on the bike and continue my stretching tasks over the next week, and then, hopefully, back running again.
Mr Stumble
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Au revoir!
A short post to say I'm off on my holidays! We're travelling down to Picardy tomorrow and will be there for the best part of 2 weeks.
By necessity (and design) I'll be unplugged from the net for the duration, but hope to provide at least a little entertainment on my return with a few photos and confessions about lazing around.
I am, however, taking the bike and Mr Garmin and fully expect to be cycling to the local boulangerie each morning. I hope I can find one a handy 3-4 miles away to keep me burning off all that croisant and foie gras.
This week's cycling was just Monday and Wednesday, Thursday night we had some friends round and it ended up a pretty late evening, so I guiltily ditched Friday morning.
Monday - Bike 6 miles / 30 minutes
Wednesday - Bike 6 miles / 30 minutes
All the best.
Mr Stumble
By necessity (and design) I'll be unplugged from the net for the duration, but hope to provide at least a little entertainment on my return with a few photos and confessions about lazing around.
I am, however, taking the bike and Mr Garmin and fully expect to be cycling to the local boulangerie each morning. I hope I can find one a handy 3-4 miles away to keep me burning off all that croisant and foie gras.
This week's cycling was just Monday and Wednesday, Thursday night we had some friends round and it ended up a pretty late evening, so I guiltily ditched Friday morning.
Monday - Bike 6 miles / 30 minutes
Wednesday - Bike 6 miles / 30 minutes
All the best.
Mr Stumble
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
(In) Flexible
As per last post, I took the "blue pill" and went to see a Podiatrist today. After taking some history and a brief look at my diary of disaster, dumped out from Google Calender, she got down to the business of bio-mechanical assessment.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how flat my feet are, and "C" wanted to investigate if there were any related problems in my legs which would exacerbate my over-pronation and thus lead to injury.
The good news is that my legs are the same length and I can walk.
The bad news is that I have substantially less flexibility in my calf and hams than would be normally expected. The main test for this was lying on my back and having one leg raised up, whilst kept straight at the knee, until it starts to strain. I managed about 50 to 60 degrees lift, when a normal person would expect to be much closer to 90 degrees. In addition, I have limited flexibility when stretching the calf muscle by raising my toes towards my shin.
This flexibility in the ankles is pretty important when running (hey! I'm an expert now!), as a lack of flexibility will increase the amount of pronation as the foot rolls forward.
And one leg was just as bad as the other.
So, how do I deal with this? The main two things I need to do are:
- stay off running whilst the calf heals up properly. Bah.
- undertake twice daily stretching of the calf and hams in order to gradually increase the flexibility and range of movement and thus reduce the chance of injury.
Shoe inserts to help with over-pronation are a possibility in the future, but I need to sort out the stretching and flexibility before we decide if inserts are necessary.
She also took a look at the shoes I'm using. The brand - Pearl Izumi - wasn't familiar, but I think she was happy with my general process of selection - which involved taking advice at a proper running store, trying the shoes and not being bothered with brand names.
However, there are some shoe features which she was at least a little concerned about - the shoes have some edge cut-outs which remove about 5mm of support from the sole in 3 small sections (back and both sides) around the outside of the shoe. These might adversely affect foot strike and roll, but I do find them comfortable to wear.
You can see the cut-outs in the picture here:
I'm considering trying different shoes, perhaps a little Pepsi challenge once I'm back on the roads again.
My stretching exercises are:
Twice a day
- 10 leg lifts per leg, holding 20 seconds when the muscle becomes taught under strain (this is best assisted by someone to do the lifting, but can be managed using a towel around the foot and hauled into the air)
- 10 calf stretches, using a stair, standing with the ball of my foot on the step and dropping my heel over the edge to stretch the calf muscle, hold for 20 seconds.
I'll also be back with my local physio soon to see if there is anything she can do to assist or measure progress.
Meanwhile, back on the bike, which was what I was doing Monday morning and plan to be out for a further 6 miles again tomorrow.
Mr Stumble.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how flat my feet are, and "C" wanted to investigate if there were any related problems in my legs which would exacerbate my over-pronation and thus lead to injury.
The good news is that my legs are the same length and I can walk.
The bad news is that I have substantially less flexibility in my calf and hams than would be normally expected. The main test for this was lying on my back and having one leg raised up, whilst kept straight at the knee, until it starts to strain. I managed about 50 to 60 degrees lift, when a normal person would expect to be much closer to 90 degrees. In addition, I have limited flexibility when stretching the calf muscle by raising my toes towards my shin.
This flexibility in the ankles is pretty important when running (hey! I'm an expert now!), as a lack of flexibility will increase the amount of pronation as the foot rolls forward.
And one leg was just as bad as the other.
So, how do I deal with this? The main two things I need to do are:
- stay off running whilst the calf heals up properly. Bah.
- undertake twice daily stretching of the calf and hams in order to gradually increase the flexibility and range of movement and thus reduce the chance of injury.
Shoe inserts to help with over-pronation are a possibility in the future, but I need to sort out the stretching and flexibility before we decide if inserts are necessary.
She also took a look at the shoes I'm using. The brand - Pearl Izumi - wasn't familiar, but I think she was happy with my general process of selection - which involved taking advice at a proper running store, trying the shoes and not being bothered with brand names.
However, there are some shoe features which she was at least a little concerned about - the shoes have some edge cut-outs which remove about 5mm of support from the sole in 3 small sections (back and both sides) around the outside of the shoe. These might adversely affect foot strike and roll, but I do find them comfortable to wear.
You can see the cut-outs in the picture here:
I'm considering trying different shoes, perhaps a little Pepsi challenge once I'm back on the roads again.
My stretching exercises are:
Twice a day
- 10 leg lifts per leg, holding 20 seconds when the muscle becomes taught under strain (this is best assisted by someone to do the lifting, but can be managed using a towel around the foot and hauled into the air)
- 10 calf stretches, using a stair, standing with the ball of my foot on the step and dropping my heel over the edge to stretch the calf muscle, hold for 20 seconds.
I'll also be back with my local physio soon to see if there is anything she can do to assist or measure progress.
Meanwhile, back on the bike, which was what I was doing Monday morning and plan to be out for a further 6 miles again tomorrow.
Mr Stumble.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
A bitter pill.
Ran again this morning, the usual 8:1 reps for 30 minutes. 2.65 miles. 9:56 pace. Compression again, 5 minute walking warm up. My normal unimpressive efforts.
Calf sore after the run as usual, but nothing worse. At 11am, I'm in with the physio. She treated me for an achilles tendon problem towards the end of last year and that cleared up with several sessions of ultrasound.
This time she's looking at muscle elasticity, the area of pain, pronation, posture, stretching and warm up regime, even unevenness in leg length and probably a load more she didn't mention, or I've forgotten.
We discuss the various opinions out there on whether stretching before running is good or bad, and the value of the warm up. Also, how valuable stretching is as part of recovery from muscle damage, to promote a smoother healed muscle with less or no cell "bunching" or other such bodily disorderliness.
Given the history and my foot-flatness, she recommends a podiatrist for a specialist assessment of my lower leg bio-mechanics and how my shoes are really working out for me.
A phone call later, we have the number of a recommended local Podiatrist who does private work. The NHS waiting list for this stuff is very long and full of people with much worse problems than I have. No insurance cover on this though, bah! PPP don't recognise podiatry as an insurable branch of health care provision. Podiatric surgery, yes, gait analysis, no.
So, I need an assessment from someone more specialised, but there are general rules my physio gives me: if I must run, don't go beyond where I am now without advice. If I can, switch to something non impact for a couple of months. And get qualified podiatric advice ASAP.
To get the lay of the land, when I get home I give the Active Body Centre place recommended a call. I end up, not with a receptionist, but with the head physio who, apparently with some time on her hands, takes some of the history and gives me some general advice.
With calf injuries, the normal healing time is 6 to 8 weeks. Recurring strain or damage to the calf just extends the time it takes to heal. I should stop running, as:
- I've reached a limitation which prevents me from improving and is not helping me build general cardiovascular fitness.
- I have post run pain after every run, albeit in varying degrees.
In all likelihood, if I continue, I won't improve and will just maintain a damaged calf which will never heal properly and will not achieve the potential general fitness benefits available through other activities.
However, this general guidance needs to be tempered by the fact that this isn't a full assessment, just a verbal review of the history. My recommended choices are:
- (red pill) wait 6-8 weeks (it would be 6 wouldn't it, not 8!) and then start out running again. In the meantime, move to an alternative fitness regime: cycling; swimming; elliptical trainers at a gym, to build general fitness whilst things are left to sort themselves out without impact, assisted by regular stretching and ice. If it blows again, get professional help.
- (blue pill) get the podiatrist's assessment now, and probably end up doing the same regime, but with more knowledge about my bio-mechanics to help avoid things going wrong again.
Not one to want to wait in the dark when there is a light available, I'm going for the blue pill (I know, Neo took the red one). And I'm sure it will be bitter. I'm likely to get assessed next Tuesday - a whole hour of tests and analysis for £60.
So this might have been my last run for a while. I can tell that tales of the bike are even less interesting than my sorry tales of running, but I'll keep posting anyway and reading your blogs with envy.
Mr Stumble (soon to be Mr Wobbly).
Calf sore after the run as usual, but nothing worse. At 11am, I'm in with the physio. She treated me for an achilles tendon problem towards the end of last year and that cleared up with several sessions of ultrasound.
This time she's looking at muscle elasticity, the area of pain, pronation, posture, stretching and warm up regime, even unevenness in leg length and probably a load more she didn't mention, or I've forgotten.
We discuss the various opinions out there on whether stretching before running is good or bad, and the value of the warm up. Also, how valuable stretching is as part of recovery from muscle damage, to promote a smoother healed muscle with less or no cell "bunching" or other such bodily disorderliness.
Given the history and my foot-flatness, she recommends a podiatrist for a specialist assessment of my lower leg bio-mechanics and how my shoes are really working out for me.
A phone call later, we have the number of a recommended local Podiatrist who does private work. The NHS waiting list for this stuff is very long and full of people with much worse problems than I have. No insurance cover on this though, bah! PPP don't recognise podiatry as an insurable branch of health care provision. Podiatric surgery, yes, gait analysis, no.
So, I need an assessment from someone more specialised, but there are general rules my physio gives me: if I must run, don't go beyond where I am now without advice. If I can, switch to something non impact for a couple of months. And get qualified podiatric advice ASAP.
To get the lay of the land, when I get home I give the Active Body Centre place recommended a call. I end up, not with a receptionist, but with the head physio who, apparently with some time on her hands, takes some of the history and gives me some general advice.
With calf injuries, the normal healing time is 6 to 8 weeks. Recurring strain or damage to the calf just extends the time it takes to heal. I should stop running, as:
- I've reached a limitation which prevents me from improving and is not helping me build general cardiovascular fitness.
- I have post run pain after every run, albeit in varying degrees.
In all likelihood, if I continue, I won't improve and will just maintain a damaged calf which will never heal properly and will not achieve the potential general fitness benefits available through other activities.
However, this general guidance needs to be tempered by the fact that this isn't a full assessment, just a verbal review of the history. My recommended choices are:
- (red pill) wait 6-8 weeks (it would be 6 wouldn't it, not 8!) and then start out running again. In the meantime, move to an alternative fitness regime: cycling; swimming; elliptical trainers at a gym, to build general fitness whilst things are left to sort themselves out without impact, assisted by regular stretching and ice. If it blows again, get professional help.
- (blue pill) get the podiatrist's assessment now, and probably end up doing the same regime, but with more knowledge about my bio-mechanics to help avoid things going wrong again.
Not one to want to wait in the dark when there is a light available, I'm going for the blue pill (I know, Neo took the red one). And I'm sure it will be bitter. I'm likely to get assessed next Tuesday - a whole hour of tests and analysis for £60.
So this might have been my last run for a while. I can tell that tales of the bike are even less interesting than my sorry tales of running, but I'll keep posting anyway and reading your blogs with envy.
Mr Stumble (soon to be Mr Wobbly).
Monday, August 07, 2006
Catan.
Well, I didn't get the bike out on Sunday evening. Instead, D and I decided we needed to entice my daughter out of her room for a few hours and socialise with the family, rather than with her MSN friends.
We enjoy board games from time to time and a current favourite is "Settlers of Catan" for which most other things can stop, so we gave the game an airing, with the Seafarers expansion for a change. D thrashed us.
Family matters sorted for a while, I set the alarm time for an early morning outing - but forgot to click the switchy thing to make it actually go off at 6:30. At 7am, I'm blearily staring at the numbers trying to figure out what day it is and what I should be doing. Ah. Get up ... run ... shower ... eat ... drive to work ... perform design miracles on computer networks ... drive home. A plan. I might achieve some of it.
I know that my leg is going to complain about it, but as discussed previously, I'm starting to dislike cycling, so I'll take my chances again. A walk to the end of the road and then 8:1s again as this seems like a reasonable balance point at the moment.
For a change, I decide to run with a compression/support bandage on my calf and I think this might have helped by keeping my calf muscle from flapping around, whilst also apparantly slowing me down further, the whole run averaging a 10:09/mile pace, far slower than normal.
The first half mile went with the usual calf tightness and a slight mistep off a cambered pavement onto the road brought a sudden stab of pain, but thankfully only momentarily. It was an "oh my God" moment though - I must be more careful on that corner. At the 15 minute mark, both calf muscles felt warmed up and pretty relaxed about the whole thing - even when climbing uphill - and the remainder of the run went nice and easy.
So, yes, my leg is now sore. Yes, I'll be icing it (in about 5 minutes) and yes, I aim to go again Wednesday morning before my Physio appointment.
Update you then!
Mr Stumble.
We enjoy board games from time to time and a current favourite is "Settlers of Catan" for which most other things can stop, so we gave the game an airing, with the Seafarers expansion for a change. D thrashed us.
Family matters sorted for a while, I set the alarm time for an early morning outing - but forgot to click the switchy thing to make it actually go off at 6:30. At 7am, I'm blearily staring at the numbers trying to figure out what day it is and what I should be doing. Ah. Get up ... run ... shower ... eat ... drive to work ... perform design miracles on computer networks ... drive home. A plan. I might achieve some of it.
I know that my leg is going to complain about it, but as discussed previously, I'm starting to dislike cycling, so I'll take my chances again. A walk to the end of the road and then 8:1s again as this seems like a reasonable balance point at the moment.
For a change, I decide to run with a compression/support bandage on my calf and I think this might have helped by keeping my calf muscle from flapping around, whilst also apparantly slowing me down further, the whole run averaging a 10:09/mile pace, far slower than normal.
The first half mile went with the usual calf tightness and a slight mistep off a cambered pavement onto the road brought a sudden stab of pain, but thankfully only momentarily. It was an "oh my God" moment though - I must be more careful on that corner. At the 15 minute mark, both calf muscles felt warmed up and pretty relaxed about the whole thing - even when climbing uphill - and the remainder of the run went nice and easy.
So, yes, my leg is now sore. Yes, I'll be icing it (in about 5 minutes) and yes, I aim to go again Wednesday morning before my Physio appointment.
Update you then!
Mr Stumble.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
"In irons".
Following my GP visit last week, an appointment duly arrived in the post on Wednesday to see the in-house physio for an assessment. That'll be next Wednesday, so I've a short while to wait until I find out if anything can be done locally, or I move on to some sort of specialist ... somewhere.
In the meantime, I rested through the weekend and took the bike out again on Tuesday for another 6 miles dicing with death in traffic. There are two or three parts of the route where I cross busy main roads whilst trying to keep the wheels rolling.
I used to cycle to school, half a life ago, and balancing on a static bike in the middle of a busy road waiting for a gap was second nature back then. However, I feel a lot more mortal now, so gaps need to be way longer. I also don't try that trick of following a bus so closely, the particular motion of the air behind the bus draws you up hills. You just have to be really quick on the brakes if the bus suddenly slows.
I adjusted the bike route slightly to allow me to join traffic for a couple of hundred yards before crossing into my target side road, which seemed to work OK this time, but might be troublesome in very heavy traffic. We'll see how that goes. The total distance this time was 6.1 miles taking 30 minutes exactly - if we ignore the 1 second it takes to hit the stop button on Mr Garmin. An average pace of 4:55/mile varying between around 2:55 on the swooping downhills and 9:something on some of the inclines.
Definitely sweat inducing though.
On Friday, I had a day off work and managed to fit into a packed schedule of gardening a 30 minute run. I had planned to take the bike out, but:
a) didn't feel like it
b) didn't feel any problems in my calf
c) wanted to be sure there was at least something to talk with the Physio about on Wednesday
So, back to the normal circuit, keeping it at 8:1 run:walk. What I find amazing is that the rest of me really feels it can do a lot more than this and I find that when Mr Garmin chirps up to say "walk" I really don't want to - I want to just keep going. However, I know that if I do, I'm going to do a load more damage.
I set out again with a warm up walk to the end of the road and then kicked off. Within a hundred yards, I could feel the tightness in the calf muscle, but nothing nasty. Last time, I know I began to favour my left leg and in doing so put extra strain on my right, so I was keen not to do that this time and just try to keep an even kilter and a steady easy pace.
Things stayed much the same all around. I was a little fast on my first downhill 8 minutes, 9:13 pace, but more consistent on the middle two at 9:47 and 9:48 through the uphill sections. The final 3 minute section (i.e. 8+1+8+1+8+1+3) averaged a 9:34 pace.
Following the run, I've been icing and compressing a couple of times a day. I might get the bike out this evening as my calf is still pretty tight now, 48 hours on. Hopefully I can maintain some running with cycling over the coming weeks and not be instructed to stop by the physio!
So, not much forward, but not back either, thus "in irons".
Mr Stumble.
In the meantime, I rested through the weekend and took the bike out again on Tuesday for another 6 miles dicing with death in traffic. There are two or three parts of the route where I cross busy main roads whilst trying to keep the wheels rolling.
I used to cycle to school, half a life ago, and balancing on a static bike in the middle of a busy road waiting for a gap was second nature back then. However, I feel a lot more mortal now, so gaps need to be way longer. I also don't try that trick of following a bus so closely, the particular motion of the air behind the bus draws you up hills. You just have to be really quick on the brakes if the bus suddenly slows.
I adjusted the bike route slightly to allow me to join traffic for a couple of hundred yards before crossing into my target side road, which seemed to work OK this time, but might be troublesome in very heavy traffic. We'll see how that goes. The total distance this time was 6.1 miles taking 30 minutes exactly - if we ignore the 1 second it takes to hit the stop button on Mr Garmin. An average pace of 4:55/mile varying between around 2:55 on the swooping downhills and 9:something on some of the inclines.
Definitely sweat inducing though.
On Friday, I had a day off work and managed to fit into a packed schedule of gardening a 30 minute run. I had planned to take the bike out, but:
a) didn't feel like it
b) didn't feel any problems in my calf
c) wanted to be sure there was at least something to talk with the Physio about on Wednesday
So, back to the normal circuit, keeping it at 8:1 run:walk. What I find amazing is that the rest of me really feels it can do a lot more than this and I find that when Mr Garmin chirps up to say "walk" I really don't want to - I want to just keep going. However, I know that if I do, I'm going to do a load more damage.
I set out again with a warm up walk to the end of the road and then kicked off. Within a hundred yards, I could feel the tightness in the calf muscle, but nothing nasty. Last time, I know I began to favour my left leg and in doing so put extra strain on my right, so I was keen not to do that this time and just try to keep an even kilter and a steady easy pace.
Things stayed much the same all around. I was a little fast on my first downhill 8 minutes, 9:13 pace, but more consistent on the middle two at 9:47 and 9:48 through the uphill sections. The final 3 minute section (i.e. 8+1+8+1+8+1+3) averaged a 9:34 pace.
Following the run, I've been icing and compressing a couple of times a day. I might get the bike out this evening as my calf is still pretty tight now, 48 hours on. Hopefully I can maintain some running with cycling over the coming weeks and not be instructed to stop by the physio!
So, not much forward, but not back either, thus "in irons".
Mr Stumble.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Locum Hocum
I had to visit my local GP (i.e. doctor, not sure if this is an international term) today to deal with another disfunctional part of me. So, I took the opportunity, prompted by Phil's sage like advice, to have a word about my calf muscle.
Since running Friday, it's just not been right - just a bit of a strain whilst walking that I thought would have gone away by Saturday, but is still there now. So I provided some history - I found I had a diary with all the problem dates right here (!) and talked about what I was trying to do.
Now, here's the thing. My doctors surgery has 5 or 6 live-in doctors and a few visiting locums. Each time you go, you get assigned to whoever happens to be taking appointments - not any fixed person unless you're really fussy. I don't like to be fussy normally, but this might change.....
Today, I got a live-in doctor. When I went in in early May, discussed in Run 4 The Aftermath I was talking to a Locum - a perfectly reasonable bloke who told me to rest. Today I got someone who I think actually knows about running, he brought up the term "RICE" while we discussed how to promote healing and he seemed interested in getting me back out onto the roads again pretty soon.
So, I'm waiting on a referal to physiotherapy right now, hopefully to find out tomorrow on what's available in surgery before we look into the big world of private practice. And insurance claims :).
So, Phil, you were right again.
I'm going to keep up with the cycling and I'm looking at rowing machines on ebay - I know I've gained a fair amount of fitness benefits since I started and I don't want to loose any of it whilst I get my legs sorted out.
Mr Stumble.
Since running Friday, it's just not been right - just a bit of a strain whilst walking that I thought would have gone away by Saturday, but is still there now. So I provided some history - I found I had a diary with all the problem dates right here (!) and talked about what I was trying to do.
Now, here's the thing. My doctors surgery has 5 or 6 live-in doctors and a few visiting locums. Each time you go, you get assigned to whoever happens to be taking appointments - not any fixed person unless you're really fussy. I don't like to be fussy normally, but this might change.....
Today, I got a live-in doctor. When I went in in early May, discussed in Run 4 The Aftermath I was talking to a Locum - a perfectly reasonable bloke who told me to rest. Today I got someone who I think actually knows about running, he brought up the term "RICE" while we discussed how to promote healing and he seemed interested in getting me back out onto the roads again pretty soon.
So, I'm waiting on a referal to physiotherapy right now, hopefully to find out tomorrow on what's available in surgery before we look into the big world of private practice. And insurance claims :).
So, Phil, you were right again.
I'm going to keep up with the cycling and I'm looking at rowing machines on ebay - I know I've gained a fair amount of fitness benefits since I started and I don't want to loose any of it whilst I get my legs sorted out.
Mr Stumble.
The bike
Quick snap of my cheap bike and my running shoes. The shoes were way more expensive!
Mr Stumble. 
Friday, July 28, 2006
Back in the saddle again.
Ahhh, busy week. Kids off school. Work going bananas.
Today, I ran again for the first time for two weeks. And after 3 minutes, I could feel my calf tightening again. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
As alluded to in previous posts, last Sunday I cleared that space in my study and got the bike out of the shed and put it in the cleared spot. This lets it glower at me to remind me to use it, and makes it less noisy and quicker to leave the house at 6:45.
I had planned to go out on Monday morning, but a late night on Sunday put paid to that - I needed the extra 45 minutes in bed. On Tuesday morning though, I hit the streets on my 8 year old generic mountain bike, bought in a French HyperMarket as it was cheaper than hiring a bike for 2 weeks. So it's not state of the art by any means, nor is it the most efficient of devices. But that doesn't matter. I'm using it for exercise, not racing.
I set myself a mildly hilly 6 mile circuit to cover in 30 minutes, straped Mr Garmin to the handle bars and headed through the first mile and a half of downhill warm up. The last time I'd rode this sort of distance was chasing my kids around CenterParcs in Cumberland, and that was over a longer amount of time.
With the downhill section out of the way, it's a mile and a half of uphill to the mid point, and this wasn't easy. Already the saddle was feeling a lot sharper than it had any right to be and all sorts of different leg muscles were wondering what the hell was going on.
Still having turned through the half way there was a flat mile before another mile of uphill around the ridge overlooking my part of town. I'd lost a fair amount of sensation in most of my lower body by this point and the next 3/4 mile were mercifully downhill, but took me over a main road which had burst into life and took some time to get across. Finally, the last quarter mile back up the road to my house were fine and I arrived with 5.79 miles under my belt in 29:21, a 5:04 pace. I was left reflecting that there are people who run longer distances faster than I can cycle them!
Thursday was a repeat performance, with a minor modification to increase the distance to over 6 miles. This was 6.05 miles in 29:56 with a 4:57 minute mile overall pace.
So, distances achieved OK. No injuries. But I did find cycling much less involving than running - perhaps its the temptation to freewheel the easy bits.
So, this morning, having had two weeks to recover, it was time to strap on the running shoes and hit the pavements again. This time, no stretching. I walked to the end of the road - just under 5 minutes - and then started on my regular circuit. Not the one I was trying out when things went wrong last time. And yes, after 3 minutes I felt the calf straining and was close to giving up rather than risk another 2 weeks.
But, I decided to just keep it slow, keep to 8 minute:1 minute run walk intervals and see how far I get. And this worked. I got round with a 10:03 pace, running for over 25 minutes of the 28 I was out there.
Although not ripped, I've felt the strain in the calf all day, So I expect I will not run again until Monday or Tuesday next week, and possibly get the bike out once in the meantime.
Hopefully, I'll manage to keep the balance between improvement and injury by doing this.
All the best.
Mr Stumble
Today, I ran again for the first time for two weeks. And after 3 minutes, I could feel my calf tightening again. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
As alluded to in previous posts, last Sunday I cleared that space in my study and got the bike out of the shed and put it in the cleared spot. This lets it glower at me to remind me to use it, and makes it less noisy and quicker to leave the house at 6:45.
I had planned to go out on Monday morning, but a late night on Sunday put paid to that - I needed the extra 45 minutes in bed. On Tuesday morning though, I hit the streets on my 8 year old generic mountain bike, bought in a French HyperMarket as it was cheaper than hiring a bike for 2 weeks. So it's not state of the art by any means, nor is it the most efficient of devices. But that doesn't matter. I'm using it for exercise, not racing.
I set myself a mildly hilly 6 mile circuit to cover in 30 minutes, straped Mr Garmin to the handle bars and headed through the first mile and a half of downhill warm up. The last time I'd rode this sort of distance was chasing my kids around CenterParcs in Cumberland, and that was over a longer amount of time.
With the downhill section out of the way, it's a mile and a half of uphill to the mid point, and this wasn't easy. Already the saddle was feeling a lot sharper than it had any right to be and all sorts of different leg muscles were wondering what the hell was going on.
Still having turned through the half way there was a flat mile before another mile of uphill around the ridge overlooking my part of town. I'd lost a fair amount of sensation in most of my lower body by this point and the next 3/4 mile were mercifully downhill, but took me over a main road which had burst into life and took some time to get across. Finally, the last quarter mile back up the road to my house were fine and I arrived with 5.79 miles under my belt in 29:21, a 5:04 pace. I was left reflecting that there are people who run longer distances faster than I can cycle them!
Thursday was a repeat performance, with a minor modification to increase the distance to over 6 miles. This was 6.05 miles in 29:56 with a 4:57 minute mile overall pace.
So, distances achieved OK. No injuries. But I did find cycling much less involving than running - perhaps its the temptation to freewheel the easy bits.
So, this morning, having had two weeks to recover, it was time to strap on the running shoes and hit the pavements again. This time, no stretching. I walked to the end of the road - just under 5 minutes - and then started on my regular circuit. Not the one I was trying out when things went wrong last time. And yes, after 3 minutes I felt the calf straining and was close to giving up rather than risk another 2 weeks.
But, I decided to just keep it slow, keep to 8 minute:1 minute run walk intervals and see how far I get. And this worked. I got round with a 10:03 pace, running for over 25 minutes of the 28 I was out there.
Although not ripped, I've felt the strain in the calf all day, So I expect I will not run again until Monday or Tuesday next week, and possibly get the bike out once in the meantime.
Hopefully, I'll manage to keep the balance between improvement and injury by doing this.
All the best.
Mr Stumble
Saturday, July 22, 2006
That false sense of security.
Blimey, is it 8 days since we spoke? How the time whips past.
This week has been a rest week following last week's disappointments. And in a funny way, that's worked out OK - if there were any week to have to wait out an injury, this is the one. Not that I wanted to of course.
My daughter is in a dance school, has been for 9 years, and this week is the dance school's bi-annual show, with all of the dance grades involved in a series of 30 three minute segments of song and/or dance, from ages 3 to 15, as solos, groups or whole classes. The show, as always, was just great with so much effort put in by the kids and teachers.
However, this week happens to have been another UK mini heatwave, with temperatures close to those Phil and others in Arizona are used to, albeit at 5am!
We Brits wilt in these temperatures. And when couped up in a small theatre with no air conditioning, it's not going to get any easier. So the audience sat and sweated it out whilst the kids battled on through, backstage being tropical temperatures too.
So what with these shows and all the rehearsals, plus the normal last-week-of-school-term there's been plenty to keep me busy.
As far as the leg is concerned, it was letting me know something was not right up until Thursday. At the moment, it feels normal, but I know that's the old false sense of security. I've just about made that space for my bike in my study, so I expect to be getting in some low impact miles early next week. Can't wait to get back on the pavements, especially having read Phil's race report.
Have a better one.
Mr Stumble.
This week has been a rest week following last week's disappointments. And in a funny way, that's worked out OK - if there were any week to have to wait out an injury, this is the one. Not that I wanted to of course.
My daughter is in a dance school, has been for 9 years, and this week is the dance school's bi-annual show, with all of the dance grades involved in a series of 30 three minute segments of song and/or dance, from ages 3 to 15, as solos, groups or whole classes. The show, as always, was just great with so much effort put in by the kids and teachers.
However, this week happens to have been another UK mini heatwave, with temperatures close to those Phil and others in Arizona are used to, albeit at 5am!
We Brits wilt in these temperatures. And when couped up in a small theatre with no air conditioning, it's not going to get any easier. So the audience sat and sweated it out whilst the kids battled on through, backstage being tropical temperatures too.
So what with these shows and all the rehearsals, plus the normal last-week-of-school-term there's been plenty to keep me busy.
As far as the leg is concerned, it was letting me know something was not right up until Thursday. At the moment, it feels normal, but I know that's the old false sense of security. I've just about made that space for my bike in my study, so I expect to be getting in some low impact miles early next week. Can't wait to get back on the pavements, especially having read Phil's race report.
Have a better one.
Mr Stumble.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Damage Limitation.
As you might have guessed, I didn't run the Sport Relief Mile. I would only have made things worse and taken longer to recover. I hobbled around a bit on Saturday morning, but by lunchtime I was walking fine with only minor discomfort.
Today (Sunday) I can't feel any discomfort when walking, but during a mild jog with my 3 year old in a local store car park, I can feel the calf muscle complaining.
I think stopping as soon as I felt it go on Friday rather than trying to "run through the pain" will have limited the damage, and so I expect to have to wait 10 - 14 days before running again.
In the meantime, I might get back to the pool, or get the bike out so I'll be doing some sort of aerobic exercise in the meantime. Plus RICE!
It's a setback, but I'm determined to continue.
Mr Stumble.
Today (Sunday) I can't feel any discomfort when walking, but during a mild jog with my 3 year old in a local store car park, I can feel the calf muscle complaining.
I think stopping as soon as I felt it go on Friday rather than trying to "run through the pain" will have limited the damage, and so I expect to have to wait 10 - 14 days before running again.
In the meantime, I might get back to the pool, or get the bike out so I'll be doing some sort of aerobic exercise in the meantime. Plus RICE!
It's a setback, but I'm determined to continue.
Mr Stumble.
Friday, July 14, 2006
New circuit, old problems.
This evening, I decided to repeat the 10:1 run:walk of Wednesday rather than push things further - not quite yet. However, as I've been thinking about how I make the run flatter, I spent a bit of time on MapMyRun (thanks Ann) to build a different 3 mile circuit.
It wasn't too difficult, and I think I reduced the difference between the lowest point to the highest point to about 20 meters. However, the first half of the run is on the footpaths of main roads, so the ground is not so even and occasionally on flagstones.
The plan is to run this Sport Relief mile race tomorrow, so I tried to take things nice and easy, just running at a comfortable pace. First segment was 9:23 pace. No problem but faster than I had wanted. Second section I slowed back, a 10:27 pace taking me onto quiet residential roads, a little twisty with some ups and downs, but nothing too horrible.
Then, 1 minute 30 into the final section - my last bit of uphill and at a 10:07 pace, my left calf blows again. Suddenly - bang - I know exactly what's happened. A muscle tear - sudden and no warning. Given everything back in April and May, I knew trying to run on would only make recovery that much longer, so I took 5 minutes gently stretching at a park bench and walked back home.
As soon as I'm in, I ice the calf for 15 minutes and I'm back in the compression bandage. I suspect I'll be unable to attempt the run tomorrow, I might even be hobbling around.
This is so disappointing. Even though I'd reduced the pace and flattened the circuit to make this less likely, the calf muscle blows again.
This might mean another 2 weeks of rest before I can start up again! I hope not. I'll let you know which way things go tomorrow.
Mr Stumble.
It wasn't too difficult, and I think I reduced the difference between the lowest point to the highest point to about 20 meters. However, the first half of the run is on the footpaths of main roads, so the ground is not so even and occasionally on flagstones.
The plan is to run this Sport Relief mile race tomorrow, so I tried to take things nice and easy, just running at a comfortable pace. First segment was 9:23 pace. No problem but faster than I had wanted. Second section I slowed back, a 10:27 pace taking me onto quiet residential roads, a little twisty with some ups and downs, but nothing too horrible.
Then, 1 minute 30 into the final section - my last bit of uphill and at a 10:07 pace, my left calf blows again. Suddenly - bang - I know exactly what's happened. A muscle tear - sudden and no warning. Given everything back in April and May, I knew trying to run on would only make recovery that much longer, so I took 5 minutes gently stretching at a park bench and walked back home.
As soon as I'm in, I ice the calf for 15 minutes and I'm back in the compression bandage. I suspect I'll be unable to attempt the run tomorrow, I might even be hobbling around.
This is so disappointing. Even though I'd reduced the pace and flattened the circuit to make this less likely, the calf muscle blows again.
This might mean another 2 weeks of rest before I can start up again! I hope not. I'll let you know which way things go tomorrow.
Mr Stumble.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
The One Mile Milestone
This morning, I moved up to 10 minute run segments. Three lots of 10 whole minutes - something that would have felt impossible to attempt only 2 short weeks ago. And, knowing my trudging pace, this meant I should run a mile on at least one of these segments.
So, I set Mr Garmin up for 3 reps of 10 minutes with a 1 minute walk interval, a couple of minutes over the normal excursion time, but it's a big day for me - so why not.
I left the house at 6:51am. Temperature a nice 12.6C, 54.7F. Beautiful clear blue sky. Birds singing, well, squawking. We have a "gulp" of magpies (honest - it's a collective noun) who have taken up residence next to the local murder of crows and they have been having rowdy conversations with each other at 5am for the past few mornings. Buggers.
After 400 yards, I encounter roadkill. This is unusual, as most wildlife keeps off the tarmac round here, except the squirrels who are simply bonkers. Today, a small bird and a hedgehog had met their ends not 10 yards apart. I considered moving them for at least a millisecond, but the impetus of the need to keep going, mixed with the yuck factor kept me sailing on by.
The rest of the run was pretty uneventful. I did feel the 1 minute breaks were necessary again, but there were only two of them (I don't count the one at the end) . I extended the circuit slightly, going the long way around one of the roads and still managed to get back home with 3 minutes still to go. So I ran on past for a minute and a half, turned round and ran back, ending just outside my driveway.
Then I checked Mr Garmin.
All 3 segments were under a 10 minute pace, so I'd run 3 whole (individual) miles.
So I feel much better about that large Indian Balti Curry I ate last night.
On other matters.
Something which made me smile. Mob Football, especially the description of Shrovetide football, if you follow the link.
Something which made me pretty mad: YelloWiki under attack from Yell.com. Big companies being nasty to little people. Grrrrrrr.
Mr Stumble.
So, I set Mr Garmin up for 3 reps of 10 minutes with a 1 minute walk interval, a couple of minutes over the normal excursion time, but it's a big day for me - so why not.
I left the house at 6:51am. Temperature a nice 12.6C, 54.7F. Beautiful clear blue sky. Birds singing, well, squawking. We have a "gulp" of magpies (honest - it's a collective noun) who have taken up residence next to the local murder of crows and they have been having rowdy conversations with each other at 5am for the past few mornings. Buggers.
After 400 yards, I encounter roadkill. This is unusual, as most wildlife keeps off the tarmac round here, except the squirrels who are simply bonkers. Today, a small bird and a hedgehog had met their ends not 10 yards apart. I considered moving them for at least a millisecond, but the impetus of the need to keep going, mixed with the yuck factor kept me sailing on by.
The rest of the run was pretty uneventful. I did feel the 1 minute breaks were necessary again, but there were only two of them (I don't count the one at the end) . I extended the circuit slightly, going the long way around one of the roads and still managed to get back home with 3 minutes still to go. So I ran on past for a minute and a half, turned round and ran back, ending just outside my driveway.
Then I checked Mr Garmin.
All 3 segments were under a 10 minute pace, so I'd run 3 whole (individual) miles.
So I feel much better about that large Indian Balti Curry I ate last night.
On other matters.Something which made me smile. Mob Football, especially the description of Shrovetide football, if you follow the link.
Something which made me pretty mad: YelloWiki under attack from Yell.com. Big companies being nasty to little people. Grrrrrrr.
Mr Stumble.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Ramble and Browse
Apologies for the delay in posting. This post comes courtesy of my Palm and it's portable keyboard, during the 2 hour Virgin train ride from London to the Midlands.
I've managed to keep up my 3 running sessions this week, although I had planned for 4 - events overtook me. So I ran on Monday and Thursday morning, then again Sunday morning. As promised, I increased my run time on Thursday to 8 minutes and Sunday morning again to 9 minutes, both with 1 minute walk intervals.
Sunday morning especially, I was finding that Mr Garmin chirping up to tell me to have a short break is actually starting to break the flow of running. I find that I am settling into a comfortable pattern of breathing after around 3 minutes and have to re-establish it when I start running again.
The answer is, of course, "don't stop" but, having blown out my leg all those weeks ago, I'm still cautious. I plan now to increase by a further 1 or 2 minutes with each run to get me past 15, and then 3 or 4 minutes each run to get up to 30.
Add to this the fact that I have finally caught up with every Fdip episode, I'm no longer running with my iPod. Unplugged! I think I might use it off and on over the coming weeks and see how things go, but running is a different experience when you're not wired for sound. Perhaps more
therapeutic even, as your mind is able to ramble and browse on it's own.
Mr Stumble.
Monday, July 03, 2006
"You look like you just boiled your head." ......
...... A fine example of the support and encouragement I receive from my wife on returning from my 21st 30 minute running excursion. Never one to mince her words! :)
Today was the second of my runs at a 6.5:1 ratio. This takes me to the edge of the escalator which will take me past 10 minutes very soon.
The first of these runs was on Saturday evening and it was pretty damn warm for those of us used to a comfortable 16 to 18 centagrade evening (thats about 60 -64 F in old money). Saturday was around 24C and today 25C with around 65% humidity in the evening, with daytime temperatures "rocketing" to close to 32C (just under 90F) in early afternoon.
The media are making hay on the back of our local heatwave and we have all sorts of warnings given in weather bullitins about fluids and shade as, last time this happened, we had around 2000 deaths in the UK attributed to our inability to cope with the heat, mainly amongst the elderly.
And, as we are having similar weather to Germany, you can guess one of the contributing factors being trotted out for our World Cup exit. If you can see past all the knives in the back of the England ex-manager.
The Saturday run was just at what I felt to be a comfortable rate, not really taking any notice of pace. This pace turned out to be 20 seconds faster than normal and my legs have been complaining a little since, to the point I was considering not running this evening. However, I thought I'd give it a go as my circuit has several points which allow me to shorten the distance if something goes wrong - I'd just slow the pace back and see. This evenings average pace was around 5 seconds per mile slower than normal and aside from stitch (again) achieved without pain.
I'm still trying to figure out how to program up the next run into Mr Garmin, as the numbers are probably going to get very uneven, which Mr G doesn't like. It will probably be an 8:1 split next, giving me 3 x recorded 8 minute segments plus 1 x 3 minutes, unless I just program in 4 x 8 + 1 and stop the clock when I get home. That might do it.
Mr Stumble
Today was the second of my runs at a 6.5:1 ratio. This takes me to the edge of the escalator which will take me past 10 minutes very soon.
The first of these runs was on Saturday evening and it was pretty damn warm for those of us used to a comfortable 16 to 18 centagrade evening (thats about 60 -64 F in old money). Saturday was around 24C and today 25C with around 65% humidity in the evening, with daytime temperatures "rocketing" to close to 32C (just under 90F) in early afternoon.
The media are making hay on the back of our local heatwave and we have all sorts of warnings given in weather bullitins about fluids and shade as, last time this happened, we had around 2000 deaths in the UK attributed to our inability to cope with the heat, mainly amongst the elderly.
And, as we are having similar weather to Germany, you can guess one of the contributing factors being trotted out for our World Cup exit. If you can see past all the knives in the back of the England ex-manager.
The Saturday run was just at what I felt to be a comfortable rate, not really taking any notice of pace. This pace turned out to be 20 seconds faster than normal and my legs have been complaining a little since, to the point I was considering not running this evening. However, I thought I'd give it a go as my circuit has several points which allow me to shorten the distance if something goes wrong - I'd just slow the pace back and see. This evenings average pace was around 5 seconds per mile slower than normal and aside from stitch (again) achieved without pain.
I'm still trying to figure out how to program up the next run into Mr Garmin, as the numbers are probably going to get very uneven, which Mr G doesn't like. It will probably be an 8:1 split next, giving me 3 x recorded 8 minute segments plus 1 x 3 minutes, unless I just program in 4 x 8 + 1 and stop the clock when I get home. That might do it.
Mr Stumble
Monday, June 26, 2006
Burning Japanese (food)
This evening, I was stumbling up the last of the upwards hilly bit in the middle of my circuit with a stitch developing, feeling bloated and The Vapours classic “Turning Japanese” tune in my head, threatening to drown out Phedippidations, and Steve's praise of Burning 20, the title of this entry just came to me. Which is good as for various reasons, I've had a bit of bloggers block since my last entry.
Sunday just gone was our wedding anniversary. So I'd spent a few hours with the kids back in the Wyre Forrest, having a picnic and an hour's biking through the trees, giving D a few hours peace and quiet, before returning for the England vs Ecuador match at 4pm local time. (Sorry, no countryside photos this time!). A lot of things were riding on this match, but most important was whether D would be happy or miserable in the restaurant later on.
Thankfully, the result was a happy one. So we headed off joyously to a virtually empty Japanese restaurant, Wagamama, in Birmingham. We ate lots. It's hard not too as the food is just delicious and the service lightning fast. But all day today, I've just felt bloated. And even though I didn't feel like it, I dragged myself out the door into the evening drizzle to burn off miso ramen, yaki soba and plenty of gyoza, while sane people watched Switzerland Vs Ukraine.
Now, between my last post and this have been 3 runs. Thursday and Friday, both at 4:1 run:walk and this evening up to 5:1. Friday was strange, as I had a sudden urge to run, even though I normally keep (at least) one rest day between runs. So I just went with it and there were no problems. I was a bit concerned this evening that the biking yesterday might have strained something, but again – aside from a bit of stitch, no problems.
So it's all still going well. I've even started looking at the Phedippidations half marathon training programme, but that's too optimistic. Surely?
Mr Stumble
Sunday just gone was our wedding anniversary. So I'd spent a few hours with the kids back in the Wyre Forrest, having a picnic and an hour's biking through the trees, giving D a few hours peace and quiet, before returning for the England vs Ecuador match at 4pm local time. (Sorry, no countryside photos this time!). A lot of things were riding on this match, but most important was whether D would be happy or miserable in the restaurant later on.
Thankfully, the result was a happy one. So we headed off joyously to a virtually empty Japanese restaurant, Wagamama, in Birmingham. We ate lots. It's hard not too as the food is just delicious and the service lightning fast. But all day today, I've just felt bloated. And even though I didn't feel like it, I dragged myself out the door into the evening drizzle to burn off miso ramen, yaki soba and plenty of gyoza, while sane people watched Switzerland Vs Ukraine.
Now, between my last post and this have been 3 runs. Thursday and Friday, both at 4:1 run:walk and this evening up to 5:1. Friday was strange, as I had a sudden urge to run, even though I normally keep (at least) one rest day between runs. So I just went with it and there were no problems. I was a bit concerned this evening that the biking yesterday might have strained something, but again – aside from a bit of stitch, no problems.
So it's all still going well. I've even started looking at the Phedippidations half marathon training programme, but that's too optimistic. Surely?
Mr Stumble
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Stats, Shirts, Rabbits and Batteries.
I thought it might be interesting to get an idea of just how few people are reading, seeing as blogger doesn't have any good in-built stats and I'm just a bit curious. So, after a short Google and some not-too-difficult work, I got Site Meter attached to the end of my blog pages (you'll see it right at the bottom of the page) and left it to sniff out who's reading and how often.
So, I'm sorry if you feel this is an intrusion, I hope you understand!
Turns out that there are 4 people, not including me, looking at my paltry efforts at the moment. And given a single mention on FDip and a couple of links from at least 2 other blogs, I think that's not bad. But I am easy to please!
You can see the stats for yourself by clicking on the sitemeter logo down there..... and if you'd prefer I turn it off, I'll take a straw poll from any comments and do what pleases the audience!
As for running, well, I did my second 3:1 minute run:walk on Tuesday morning, nice and early (but not if I compare to Phil and his 5:30am starts) which was fine. The main change was my new Brooks running shirt which I picked up from a local running store at a vastly discounted rate through a RunnersWorld advert. Funny thing was, it was a "trade in your old cotton Tshirt and buy a Brooks shirt for £10 (normally £15). However, Brooks had totally failed to put all of the Tshirt recycling services in place, and the shop owner didn't want to just take a Tshirt and stick it in the bin. So, I got the discount and kept the Tshirt. It's these minor little bonuses in life which make shopping bearable.
I'm all set for a 4:1 run this evening, which I'll post an update for assuming my haggard old DSL router doesn't pack up again. It's had some power supply problems, brought on by the family rabbit stripping the power cable (12 volt - after the transformer) of insulation during a particularily destructive unattended tour round the back of my PC.
On the plus side, those batteries for Mr Garmin arrived and are busily charging at this very moment.
Mr Stumble
So, I'm sorry if you feel this is an intrusion, I hope you understand!
Turns out that there are 4 people, not including me, looking at my paltry efforts at the moment. And given a single mention on FDip and a couple of links from at least 2 other blogs, I think that's not bad. But I am easy to please!
You can see the stats for yourself by clicking on the sitemeter logo down there..... and if you'd prefer I turn it off, I'll take a straw poll from any comments and do what pleases the audience!
As for running, well, I did my second 3:1 minute run:walk on Tuesday morning, nice and early (but not if I compare to Phil and his 5:30am starts) which was fine. The main change was my new Brooks running shirt which I picked up from a local running store at a vastly discounted rate through a RunnersWorld advert. Funny thing was, it was a "trade in your old cotton Tshirt and buy a Brooks shirt for £10 (normally £15). However, Brooks had totally failed to put all of the Tshirt recycling services in place, and the shop owner didn't want to just take a Tshirt and stick it in the bin. So, I got the discount and kept the Tshirt. It's these minor little bonuses in life which make shopping bearable.
I'm all set for a 4:1 run this evening, which I'll post an update for assuming my haggard old DSL router doesn't pack up again. It's had some power supply problems, brought on by the family rabbit stripping the power cable (12 volt - after the transformer) of insulation during a particularily destructive unattended tour round the back of my PC.
On the plus side, those batteries for Mr Garmin arrived and are busily charging at this very moment.
Mr Stumble
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Failure to Stumble
This weekend was the date set for my original target, the Stourbridge Stumble. (BTW, the "Stour" part rhymes with "flower"). Needless to say, I wasn't in any shape ready - I might have made it to the fun run if I'd started off with a good plan, but there you go.
Always pragmatic, and not to be disheartened through aiming too high, my first goal now is to simple run for 30 minutes - without stopping - and to do so comfortably. Pretty reasonable.
The early part of the week saw me increasing to 2 whole minutes of running and 1 minute walking repeated 11 times, and this went pretty well. That elongated "week" is shown below. Mr Garmin is becoming a bit more accurate and consistent in the pace he's recording as the running sections become longer, and keeping him charged up has also helped. Mind you, it shouldn't be long before my new 900mAh rechargeables hit the doormat.
Always pragmatic, and not to be disheartened through aiming too high, my first goal now is to simple run for 30 minutes - without stopping - and to do so comfortably. Pretty reasonable.
The early part of the week saw me increasing to 2 whole minutes of running and 1 minute walking repeated 11 times, and this went pretty well. That elongated "week" is shown below. Mr Garmin is becoming a bit more accurate and consistent in the pace he's recording as the running sections become longer, and keeping him charged up has also helped. Mind you, it shouldn't be long before my new 900mAh rechargeables hit the doormat.
Todays walk in the woods was at Cannock Chase, about a 40 minute car ride from where I live. My daughter has been at a Guide camp this weekend up there, so we went up a couple of hours early with the other two kids and had a walk around Castle Ring and some of the local pathways. Always thinking of you, I took a couple of shots of the green stuff, careful not to include the big coal fired power station totally failing to blend into the local surroundings.
Then, this evening came the time to increase to 3 minutes running and 1 minute walking, 8 repetitions on the normal route. And it went fine. It felt much more like real exercise as this is starting to push at (my pretty low) stamina rather than train muscles to work properly. Total run distance is now about 2.4 miles.
You might note that from my "YATP" post, that I'm not following very much of anything at the moment, other than what feels right. I think that I have the balance OK at the moment between pushing on and avoiding injury. Where I am now, I see one more at 3:1 before I go up to 4:1. We'll see how things go.
In the meantime, I watching out for local 5K races to try out in a month or two, so I have a goal to follow this one.
Mr Stumble
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Stalling for time
The real reason I've been dazzling you with photos instead of recording running time is - well - because I managed to sunburn my feet on Sunday. They weren't the only parts sunburnt, but the critical part when it comes to hitting the pavements.
Just wearing socks was uncomfortable and the thought of strapping on those Pearl Izumis was a bit too much. So I delayed till today and after yet another day in The Smoke, but before Lost came on at 10pm (we're somewhat behind the US, still at the Anna Lucia shoots Shannon bit - no spoilers please!!!) I headed out for another 11 reps of 2 running and 1 walking.
Seeing as Brazil and Croatia were kicking a ball round in Germany, the roads were pretty quiet and thankfully, much cooler - we've had a bit of a mini heatwave here, hence the sunburn, which has ended in the traditional manner of a pretty big thunder storm followed by rain, rain rain.
Temperatures over the weekend exceeded 30 Centigrade. This evening a much more pleasant 15 Centigrade. Of course Mr Garmin packed up again after a minute running. It does squawk as it dies to let you know, which is good, otherwise I might not have noticed at the time and run the whole thing (yeah, right). However, I don't think it Mr Garmins fault. It's probably my fault for putting nasty old cheap 600mAh Ni-MH in it and not charging them every other day. I'm about to buy some higher rated premium batteries to sort this out.
With Mr G out of action, fall-back is my Runners-World freebie-with-3-month-subscription-multi-function-rubber-watch. So there's no split times and I ran roughly the same pace overall as on Saturday, just using good old digital stopwatch technology. I was listening to Steve Runner get mad at Muriel Gray for disrespecting Podcasts which I found very funny. I think Steve's dead right, and Gray has spent so much time in old format media that she just doesn't get it.
Go Steve!
Still running through Lactic Acid ache and a lot of tension in my calves – but no ripping thankfully, so the plan is coming together. Unfortunately, I've not managed any cross training on my non-running days, need to do better here. At the moment it looks like one more run at the current splits and then move up another minute of running between walking.
I'm at that stage now I was last Wednesday. Run for 3 minutes – madness! But as I've broken through that psychological barrier once, I know I can just keep doing it by staying focussed and sticking with the plan.
Thanks again for all your support. Of course you know what I'm doing when I distract you with pretty pictures now. Maybe one more for the moment. This one is titled “Hagrid waits for Dinner”
Mr Stumble
Just wearing socks was uncomfortable and the thought of strapping on those Pearl Izumis was a bit too much. So I delayed till today and after yet another day in The Smoke, but before Lost came on at 10pm (we're somewhat behind the US, still at the Anna Lucia shoots Shannon bit - no spoilers please!!!) I headed out for another 11 reps of 2 running and 1 walking.
Seeing as Brazil and Croatia were kicking a ball round in Germany, the roads were pretty quiet and thankfully, much cooler - we've had a bit of a mini heatwave here, hence the sunburn, which has ended in the traditional manner of a pretty big thunder storm followed by rain, rain rain.
Temperatures over the weekend exceeded 30 Centigrade. This evening a much more pleasant 15 Centigrade. Of course Mr Garmin packed up again after a minute running. It does squawk as it dies to let you know, which is good, otherwise I might not have noticed at the time and run the whole thing (yeah, right). However, I don't think it Mr Garmins fault. It's probably my fault for putting nasty old cheap 600mAh Ni-MH in it and not charging them every other day. I'm about to buy some higher rated premium batteries to sort this out.
With Mr G out of action, fall-back is my Runners-World freebie-with-3-month-subscription-multi-function-rubber-watch. So there's no split times and I ran roughly the same pace overall as on Saturday, just using good old digital stopwatch technology. I was listening to Steve Runner get mad at Muriel Gray for disrespecting Podcasts which I found very funny. I think Steve's dead right, and Gray has spent so much time in old format media that she just doesn't get it.
Go Steve!
Still running through Lactic Acid ache and a lot of tension in my calves – but no ripping thankfully, so the plan is coming together. Unfortunately, I've not managed any cross training on my non-running days, need to do better here. At the moment it looks like one more run at the current splits and then move up another minute of running between walking.
I'm at that stage now I was last Wednesday. Run for 3 minutes – madness! But as I've broken through that psychological barrier once, I know I can just keep doing it by staying focussed and sticking with the plan.
Thanks again for all your support. Of course you know what I'm doing when I distract you with pretty pictures now. Maybe one more for the moment. This one is titled “Hagrid waits for Dinner”
Mr Stumble
Monday, June 12, 2006
Another for arid lands
As Phil liked the last set of pictures, I thought I'd post this one, taken in April 2001 at a beach called Sandy Mouth, near Bude in Cornwall. It was the middle of the Foot and Mouth crisis, and no-one was going anywhere in the UK. Except us, enjoying lovely scenery and brooding weather with no-one else around.
If you visit a UK beach in April, you need a wetsuit to enjoy it, even if it's sunny! Brrrrrrr...
Mr Stumble.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
for friends in arid climes
As a supplementary non-running entry, and seeing as “green-ness” of the landscape has been commented on in previous posts, I thought you might like these few photos. Today the family visited a lovely little beach in Wales, belonging to the village of Tresaith.
It was a bit of a trek – 3 hours in the car each way, but well worth it.
Glorious sunshine, sandcastles, sandy sandwiches, frisby, ice-creams and very few people there. Most day visitors to Wales hit the more accessible and commercial areas around New Quay to the North East.
Anyway, Enjoy.Mr Stumble
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Stepping up a gear
This week, in addition to the Monday run, I ran again on Wednesday and Saturday, as Friday became difficult for various reasons. Wednesday was another 11 repetitions of 1 minute running and 90 seconds walking, and I modified the route so that I ran it “backwards”. This was because I thought maybe facing the uphill bit first , then having a downhill middle section followed by a moderate uphill end might be better, as the uphill bits would be in 2 segments.
This turned out not to work too well, and I found the revised route much more difficult. However, I made it round OK with just lactic-acid ache and no strains. Mr Garmin had problems again getting signal lock, so when I post the times, they'll look odd.
When I got to the end, I couldn't imagine being able to step up to running two whole minutes with a minutes rest then repeated for 30 minutes. Madness.
Today's run however, was that step up in running time. I returned to the original basic route, tried to keep the pace down and repeated 11 times: two minutes running, one minute walking. And what I thought was madness on Wednesday turned out to be pretty much achievable. I'm doing 11 repeats because Mr Garmin doesn't count walking as part of the thing it times. You start with a running section and finish with a running section, so it's kind of 10 x (2 +1) +2 = 32 minutes training.
Quadratic equations next week :)
As I've posted before, I actually find the walking sections difficult because it seems to stress the already complaining muscles in a different way, but I'm not going to push the running time up quickly as I know my leg will go again if I do so.
So stepping up a gear has worked OK. I'll stick with 2 more sessions like this one before I increase the running segments to 3 minutes.
Mr Stumble.
This turned out not to work too well, and I found the revised route much more difficult. However, I made it round OK with just lactic-acid ache and no strains. Mr Garmin had problems again getting signal lock, so when I post the times, they'll look odd.
When I got to the end, I couldn't imagine being able to step up to running two whole minutes with a minutes rest then repeated for 30 minutes. Madness.
Today's run however, was that step up in running time. I returned to the original basic route, tried to keep the pace down and repeated 11 times: two minutes running, one minute walking. And what I thought was madness on Wednesday turned out to be pretty much achievable. I'm doing 11 repeats because Mr Garmin doesn't count walking as part of the thing it times. You start with a running section and finish with a running section, so it's kind of 10 x (2 +1) +2 = 32 minutes training.
Quadratic equations next week :)
As I've posted before, I actually find the walking sections difficult because it seems to stress the already complaining muscles in a different way, but I'm not going to push the running time up quickly as I know my leg will go again if I do so.
So stepping up a gear has worked OK. I'll stick with 2 more sessions like this one before I increase the running segments to 3 minutes.
Mr Stumble.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Week 1 - extended a bit.
Since my last run on Wednesday, that-old-injury (you must be so tired of me going on about it) has been letting me know it's still there, without actually baring it's teeth. I've been doing a fair bit of walking anyway to try and mildly exercise it which has consisted of tromping round London to get to places where the tube doesn't get very near to, and a pleasant leisurely stroll around a UK beauty spot on Sunday. Dovedale.
Dovedale is about 90 minutes by car from where I live and is somewhere my parents took me and my sibs when we were young-uns, so there's no good reason why I can't inflict it on my 3 kids now.
It's especially nice when there's no too many people there and it being the end of a mid-term break for the UK kids, it was fairly crowded, but once you get past the point where most day trippers stop to splash about and fall off the stepping stones, it becomes a little less like a shopping mall and more like a country walk.
Dovedale is a scenic limestone valley about 3 miles end-to end through which the River Dove flows on it's way to joining the River Manifold. Terrain is mixed, but mainly good paths with a few more difficult rocky sections to carry the youngsters over. You can see some pictures at http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dovepic.htm - I took some of the kids but couldn't find a decent scenic view to snap for you this time.
We walked at mainly 3 year old pace for close to 2 miles along, before turning back, retracing out steps, with the promise of ice-creams keeping the returning pace fairly brisk. Carrying my 3 year old also helped the speed, and she had done really well walking that far anyway. The whole thing with a pleasant picnic in the middle was about 3 hours of early Summer sun.
Not a Grand Canyon hike though, eh Phil! :)
This morning (Monday) I was off tromping round London again and on the rail trip back, I decided that things were probably OK for another run this evening. Just after 9pm, I headed out and really held back on the pace to between 9 and 11 minute mile rates. Unfortunately, Mr Garmin kept loosing signal lock, for no good reason - good view of sky - no clouds, only haze - no trees - so the split time are all over the place, but as I modified the route to make it shorter, I know I was running slower.
And as a result - no pain! And not very out of breath even. My circuit does contain a long slow incline which I find really difficult to walk in running shoes - I feel knotts forming in my legs and running is actually a relief - so I might modify the circuit to something flatter while I work up to 30 minutes.
I think one more of these before I move up to 2 minute running, 1 minute walking.
Mr Stumble.
Dovedale is about 90 minutes by car from where I live and is somewhere my parents took me and my sibs when we were young-uns, so there's no good reason why I can't inflict it on my 3 kids now.
It's especially nice when there's no too many people there and it being the end of a mid-term break for the UK kids, it was fairly crowded, but once you get past the point where most day trippers stop to splash about and fall off the stepping stones, it becomes a little less like a shopping mall and more like a country walk.
Dovedale is a scenic limestone valley about 3 miles end-to end through which the River Dove flows on it's way to joining the River Manifold. Terrain is mixed, but mainly good paths with a few more difficult rocky sections to carry the youngsters over. You can see some pictures at http://www.cressbrook.co.uk/features/dovepic.htm - I took some of the kids but couldn't find a decent scenic view to snap for you this time.
We walked at mainly 3 year old pace for close to 2 miles along, before turning back, retracing out steps, with the promise of ice-creams keeping the returning pace fairly brisk. Carrying my 3 year old also helped the speed, and she had done really well walking that far anyway. The whole thing with a pleasant picnic in the middle was about 3 hours of early Summer sun.
Not a Grand Canyon hike though, eh Phil! :)
This morning (Monday) I was off tromping round London again and on the rail trip back, I decided that things were probably OK for another run this evening. Just after 9pm, I headed out and really held back on the pace to between 9 and 11 minute mile rates. Unfortunately, Mr Garmin kept loosing signal lock, for no good reason - good view of sky - no clouds, only haze - no trees - so the split time are all over the place, but as I modified the route to make it shorter, I know I was running slower.
And as a result - no pain! And not very out of breath even. My circuit does contain a long slow incline which I find really difficult to walk in running shoes - I feel knotts forming in my legs and running is actually a relief - so I might modify the circuit to something flatter while I work up to 30 minutes.
I think one more of these before I move up to 2 minute running, 1 minute walking.
Mr Stumble.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Week 1 - the never-ending week
Following the jaunt's earlier this week, I've ended up with a mild strain to that calf muscle again. The term "dogged by injury" springs to mind, although cosmically speaking, it's pretty insignificant.
I'm just running too fast. Still. And with it, I've long burnt my chances of hitting my race target. Chances are, I won't even be able to make it round the 4k fun run, my secondary target. The rest of me is itching to move on up to week 2 but I just can't leave my left leg behind!
I couldn't run on Friday as I knew to do so would make things worse and this is very frustrating. I feel that I can't move on through my training plan until I can make it to the end of week 1 without pain. Week 1 will just have to continue until I manage 2 or 3 consecutive runs at a 1 minute run 90 second walk without the wheels coming off, and I manage to keep my pace down to around a 10 minute mile.
In the meantime, it's back to mixing it up with swimming, walking, cycling (if I ever blow those tyres up) and that whole RICE thing Steve Runner talked about in his early shows: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
Mr Stumble
I'm just running too fast. Still. And with it, I've long burnt my chances of hitting my race target. Chances are, I won't even be able to make it round the 4k fun run, my secondary target. The rest of me is itching to move on up to week 2 but I just can't leave my left leg behind!
I couldn't run on Friday as I knew to do so would make things worse and this is very frustrating. I feel that I can't move on through my training plan until I can make it to the end of week 1 without pain. Week 1 will just have to continue until I manage 2 or 3 consecutive runs at a 1 minute run 90 second walk without the wheels coming off, and I manage to keep my pace down to around a 10 minute mile.
In the meantime, it's back to mixing it up with swimming, walking, cycling (if I ever blow those tyres up) and that whole RICE thing Steve Runner talked about in his early shows: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.
Mr Stumble
Week 1 - beginning the plan, proper.
Don't you just hate it when you spend 30 minutes typing in a new blog entry, and then you hit a button to insert a graphic resulting in Blogger vapourising your prose. Gone. And as Tom Hanks put it in You've Got Mail, "I was eloquent, dammit".
New plan for blogging. Write it somewhere else safer. Somewhere that auto-saves the text. Somewhere like OpenOffice. Somewhere not like an IE7beta2 window. I should have known better, especially as it's sort of my job.
I had been banging on about Bank Holidays in the UK. Last weekend was a national holiday, for which the term “Bank Holiday” has become very much part of the language wallpaper. But why the hell are banks anything to do with national holidays in the UK? Wikipedia thinks that it knows, with Bank Holidays being enshrined into UK legislation over 100 years ago, but in the Banking and Financial Dealings act 1871. This kind of thing is just bloody typical in the UK, and to my mind, plain wrong. It's not like I'm unhappy about having a few days off each year, no! It's that we can't be honest about things, and have a separate act for “Banking” and “National Holidays”.
On the other hand, it's this sort of mad quirkiness which makes the UK such an endearing and eccentric place to say you live in. Apparently.
Just don't get me started on the un-written constitution.
Ah, but how does some bizarre decision in 1871 relate to running? Well, Bank Holidays weekends usually mean a day off on Monday. And a lie-in on a Bank Holiday Monday morning is itself a national institution, observed by anyone who doesn't have young kids and who has remained in the country rather than fly out to Malaga or Tenerife. As an exception to the “young kids” rule, my wife usually observes the tradition whilst I feed and entertain my 3 year old daughter until the appointed hour.
This results in no early running. However, lengthening days do allow for running after 9pm without returning in the dark, so this is what I've been doing this week, Monday because of the reasons above, and Wednesday because I had an early train to catch for the Smoke.
Monday went well. I'm still getting used to Mr Garmin abandoning me suddenly when the intervals come to an end – it always seems to start and finish with a “run” interval, when I expected it to finish with a Walk. I've also adjusted the intervals to be 1 minute running, 90 seconds walking as I was finding the 2 minutes between each run a bit boring. This is the run I'm counting as the "start" of the plan, as it's a Monday and matches the training calendar I'm using.
Wednesday was going well until Mr G packed up. As you'll see from the intervals below, it looked like it was having some problems getting a position lock in the 2 intervals before it ran out of juice. I have been toying with lengthening my stride which has resulted in two things.
1) my estimated pace increases to something way too fast and
2) I might have slightly over cooked my calf muscle again. Which went straight back on ice.
We'll see what Friday brings – I might push that run back a day if I've still got some calf pain. And I'll keep an eye on Pace to make sure I don't over do it. I think an 8:40 mile is a comfortable target at the moment, but will probably slow this back as the running intervals become longer.
Mr Stumble.
New plan for blogging. Write it somewhere else safer. Somewhere that auto-saves the text. Somewhere like OpenOffice. Somewhere not like an IE7beta2 window. I should have known better, especially as it's sort of my job.
I had been banging on about Bank Holidays in the UK. Last weekend was a national holiday, for which the term “Bank Holiday” has become very much part of the language wallpaper. But why the hell are banks anything to do with national holidays in the UK? Wikipedia thinks that it knows, with Bank Holidays being enshrined into UK legislation over 100 years ago, but in the Banking and Financial Dealings act 1871. This kind of thing is just bloody typical in the UK, and to my mind, plain wrong. It's not like I'm unhappy about having a few days off each year, no! It's that we can't be honest about things, and have a separate act for “Banking” and “National Holidays”.
On the other hand, it's this sort of mad quirkiness which makes the UK such an endearing and eccentric place to say you live in. Apparently.
Just don't get me started on the un-written constitution.
Ah, but how does some bizarre decision in 1871 relate to running? Well, Bank Holidays weekends usually mean a day off on Monday. And a lie-in on a Bank Holiday Monday morning is itself a national institution, observed by anyone who doesn't have young kids and who has remained in the country rather than fly out to Malaga or Tenerife. As an exception to the “young kids” rule, my wife usually observes the tradition whilst I feed and entertain my 3 year old daughter until the appointed hour.
This results in no early running. However, lengthening days do allow for running after 9pm without returning in the dark, so this is what I've been doing this week, Monday because of the reasons above, and Wednesday because I had an early train to catch for the Smoke.
Monday went well. I'm still getting used to Mr Garmin abandoning me suddenly when the intervals come to an end – it always seems to start and finish with a “run” interval, when I expected it to finish with a Walk. I've also adjusted the intervals to be 1 minute running, 90 seconds walking as I was finding the 2 minutes between each run a bit boring. This is the run I'm counting as the "start" of the plan, as it's a Monday and matches the training calendar I'm using.
Wednesday was going well until Mr G packed up. As you'll see from the intervals below, it looked like it was having some problems getting a position lock in the 2 intervals before it ran out of juice. I have been toying with lengthening my stride which has resulted in two things.
1) my estimated pace increases to something way too fast and
2) I might have slightly over cooked my calf muscle again. Which went straight back on ice.
We'll see what Friday brings – I might push that run back a day if I've still got some calf pain. And I'll keep an eye on Pace to make sure I don't over do it. I think an 8:40 mile is a comfortable target at the moment, but will probably slow this back as the running intervals become longer.
Mr Stumble.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Run #6 - plan in action
This morning it rained. A lot. It's one of those funny weather weeks here in the UK. Everyone's been waiting for Spring to arrive - Winter has been pretty long this year, not really very cold, just, well long. Now Nature is packing all of April's rain into a couple of weeks in the back-end of May so Summer can get started.
I was ready to hit the pavements this morning if the weatherman had got it all wrong, but also knew that things were slated to improve through the morning and, as I'm working from home today, I could head out at lunchtime.
So this is what I did. At 12:30pm I strapped on Mr. Garmin, hung Mr Brand-New-Delivered-This-Morning-iPod-shuffle round my neck and headed out, kicking off Garmin's Interval Training Assistant. 1 minute running, 2 minutes walking.
It all went pretty well. I heard most of the beeps telling me to start and stop. I was out for just over 30 minutes, I had to tack a bit on the end of the run to get me home. I covered 2.86 miles in total and arrived back feeling pretty good. No pain whilst running, although I did find the walking part strangely difficult as both calf muscles ached - which went away when I ran.
This does seem a bit back-to-front but I suppose it's just my legs complaining that they haven't done this much work in a long time.
Between then and now (12 hours), there've been a couple of twinges, but nothing to make me hobble at all. It's early days but this plan might just work!
Mr Stumble.
I was ready to hit the pavements this morning if the weatherman had got it all wrong, but also knew that things were slated to improve through the morning and, as I'm working from home today, I could head out at lunchtime.
So this is what I did. At 12:30pm I strapped on Mr. Garmin, hung Mr Brand-New-Delivered-This-Morning-iPod-shuffle round my neck and headed out, kicking off Garmin's Interval Training Assistant. 1 minute running, 2 minutes walking.
It all went pretty well. I heard most of the beeps telling me to start and stop. I was out for just over 30 minutes, I had to tack a bit on the end of the run to get me home. I covered 2.86 miles in total and arrived back feeling pretty good. No pain whilst running, although I did find the walking part strangely difficult as both calf muscles ached - which went away when I ran.
This does seem a bit back-to-front but I suppose it's just my legs complaining that they haven't done this much work in a long time.
Between then and now (12 hours), there've been a couple of twinges, but nothing to make me hobble at all. It's early days but this plan might just work!
Mr Stumble.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Birthday bonanza!
It's been a busy week. Two family birthdays, and one of them - mine! Last year, my birthday was all about sailing, as I'd set a target of learning to sail before year end. So, that birthday was full of wetsuits and sailing books.
By the end of July last year I had completed my 2 sailing courses and passed the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) courses for dinghy sailing 1 & 2 and spent a pleasant Summer crewing and helming Larks and GP14s at our local sailing club.
Sailing year 2 starts to get expensive as you really need to buy a boat. I'm putting this off until next year, due to "exceptional circumstances" and this was one of the contribution factors in looking for, or perhaps being available for alternatives. Like running.
This year, you can guess the gift theme. And I know that non of these things really make that much of a difference, but I just love my gadgets.
First up, the Garmin Forerunner 101. We had a really good deal on this from an Amazon seller and I think this is going to really help me understand how long and far I'll be running, as I'd rather not be measuring miles in my car as time goes on. Mind you, "Map My Run" is pretty good for outline planning.
It's also got some really good interval training function which is just what I need for the old walk/run plan.
Following on from my previous post, I've got an iPod Shuffle on the way too, which will please my daughter as I won't be stealing here MuVo any more.
As to actual training, well I'm really close to restarting the running. I am being pretty cautious - it's now 10 days since I last ran and still had some calf pain then, but in the intervening time I've stayed with the swimming, aiming to keep a steady pace over 30 minutes and build a bit of stamina without the road-impact.
It is 3 weeks ago today that I did the main injury. I suspect, all being well, I'll be back on the pavements tomorrow.
With only 3 weeks to go to my initial target, a 10K is going to be beyond me. However, there is a 4k fun run too ......
Mr Stumble.
By the end of July last year I had completed my 2 sailing courses and passed the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) courses for dinghy sailing 1 & 2 and spent a pleasant Summer crewing and helming Larks and GP14s at our local sailing club.
Sailing year 2 starts to get expensive as you really need to buy a boat. I'm putting this off until next year, due to "exceptional circumstances" and this was one of the contribution factors in looking for, or perhaps being available for alternatives. Like running.
This year, you can guess the gift theme. And I know that non of these things really make that much of a difference, but I just love my gadgets.
First up, the Garmin Forerunner 101. We had a really good deal on this from an Amazon seller and I think this is going to really help me understand how long and far I'll be running, as I'd rather not be measuring miles in my car as time goes on. Mind you, "Map My Run" is pretty good for outline planning.
It's also got some really good interval training function which is just what I need for the old walk/run plan.
Following on from my previous post, I've got an iPod Shuffle on the way too, which will please my daughter as I won't be stealing here MuVo any more.
As to actual training, well I'm really close to restarting the running. I am being pretty cautious - it's now 10 days since I last ran and still had some calf pain then, but in the intervening time I've stayed with the swimming, aiming to keep a steady pace over 30 minutes and build a bit of stamina without the road-impact.
It is 3 weeks ago today that I did the main injury. I suspect, all being well, I'll be back on the pavements tomorrow.
With only 3 weeks to go to my initial target, a 10K is going to be beyond me. However, there is a 4k fun run too ......
Mr Stumble.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Cause and effect.
I was considering the other day the string of events that led to me getting off my backside and trying to get fitter. What can I trace this all back to? Was there a singular event that knocked me onto this new pathway?
As it turns out, it's all the fault of my job. It's probably not a big surprise that I work in the IT sector. It's what makes me blubbersome and slothful. Following what we managed to define as a successful "end" to a particular project (which I'm still working on), a bunch of us were nominated for a little local recognition in a "reward your staff with small consumer gifts rather than manage them properly" sort of initiative. Of course, non of us refused our points based bounty, and I duly headed off for the company reward-partner website and converted points to cold, hard, difficult to spend vouchers; the other stuff on offer was generally pointless or lame.
These vouchers then sat in a desk drawer for weeks until I suddenly had an urge to replace the MP3 capability of my Palm Zire handheld, with a proper music player. One that could store everything I had so I could choose my musical poison on lengthy train rides across the country.
So, an iPod was purchased with said vouchers. A 4th gen 20GB model, easily enough for my very modest collection of music. And just beautiful.
That was all fine until Apple released the iTunes update which included Podcast subscriptions. This really interested me, as up to that point, I'd been pulling BBC content down by FTP every week, stuff like Mark Kermode's film reviews and various other nonsense; occasionally I might have recorded stuff with Audio Recorder Pro from the BBC "listen again" features which meant I actually got to listen to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" last 2 series and "I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue" at a time that was good for me rather than the broadcast time.
Lots of BBC content was just there for the taking in iTunes. And lots of other stuff too....
So you can probably guess the way this went. Adam Curry's podcast led to Dawn & Drew. Dawn & Drew and Curry led to Phedippidations through Steve's promos and then I heard Steve do Boston 110. From there, I just couldn't help myself. Running is something I've thought about doing for years, including a (not so) secret (now) goal of running a marathon. As the years have gone by, this little life ambition has got a little buried. I've never spoken about it with anyone, except perhaps to D. in an unguarded moment.
So that's how I got here and I hope this story has a happy ending. I'm sure your story is better and I'd like to know how you started, if it's not prying!
Problem I have now is that I need a new MP3 player coz I don't want to mash the iPod disk on a pavement out there. Anyone want to nominate me for an award .........? :)
Mr Stumble.
As it turns out, it's all the fault of my job. It's probably not a big surprise that I work in the IT sector. It's what makes me blubbersome and slothful. Following what we managed to define as a successful "end" to a particular project (which I'm still working on), a bunch of us were nominated for a little local recognition in a "reward your staff with small consumer gifts rather than manage them properly" sort of initiative. Of course, non of us refused our points based bounty, and I duly headed off for the company reward-partner website and converted points to cold, hard, difficult to spend vouchers; the other stuff on offer was generally pointless or lame.
These vouchers then sat in a desk drawer for weeks until I suddenly had an urge to replace the MP3 capability of my Palm Zire handheld, with a proper music player. One that could store everything I had so I could choose my musical poison on lengthy train rides across the country.
So, an iPod was purchased with said vouchers. A 4th gen 20GB model, easily enough for my very modest collection of music. And just beautiful.
That was all fine until Apple released the iTunes update which included Podcast subscriptions. This really interested me, as up to that point, I'd been pulling BBC content down by FTP every week, stuff like Mark Kermode's film reviews and various other nonsense; occasionally I might have recorded stuff with Audio Recorder Pro from the BBC "listen again" features which meant I actually got to listen to "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" last 2 series and "I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue" at a time that was good for me rather than the broadcast time.
Lots of BBC content was just there for the taking in iTunes. And lots of other stuff too....
So you can probably guess the way this went. Adam Curry's podcast led to Dawn & Drew. Dawn & Drew and Curry led to Phedippidations through Steve's promos and then I heard Steve do Boston 110. From there, I just couldn't help myself. Running is something I've thought about doing for years, including a (not so) secret (now) goal of running a marathon. As the years have gone by, this little life ambition has got a little buried. I've never spoken about it with anyone, except perhaps to D. in an unguarded moment.
So that's how I got here and I hope this story has a happy ending. I'm sure your story is better and I'd like to know how you started, if it's not prying!
Problem I have now is that I need a new MP3 player coz I don't want to mash the iPod disk on a pavement out there. Anyone want to nominate me for an award .........? :)
Mr Stumble.
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