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
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
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
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