Progression....

Haven't been too successful at fitting in time for running earlier this week so I made a point to run today. My IT band held up reasonably well during Sunday's run and I'd put on the recommended "compeed" so I was ready to go for a progression run. In all I ran 5.64 miles in 38:06 i.e. 6:45 min/mile and 165 bpm. The progression went OK too with splits of 7:06, 6:58, 6:58 (uphill), 6:39, 6:29 and 6:05 for the last 0.64miles helped by one of the worst rain showers I've run in in years!!

My legs were very heavy and my left achilles was very tight (I've decided that I'm not as rubbery as I used to be i.e. middle age is coming on fast!!) and I was a bit tired over the first couple of miles. But all in all not too bad and I felt OK too. My IT band only niggled at about 3.75miles so I think that it's largely in the past (fingers crossed). I'm now thinking that maybe I should have run the Cheetah Run 4 miles race tonight after all. It's not too often you get a chance to run through a wildlife park!!

End of week update

Four days in a row this week and a long run today gave a total of 35.90 miles (4:26:16 -avg 7:25min/mile) this week and 'touch wood' my IT Band issue appears to be settling.

On Thursday I ran 5.6 miles @7:13 pace (40:23 mins) and on Friday it was an easy 5.67 miles with Grellan in 44:56mins (7:56 min/mile) - thanks for Grellan for making sure I stuck to my 'easy' plan!!

I decided not to push my luck and rested on Saturday. But...this morning a 6:30am feed for Joe and by 7am my running shoes were on. The sun was shining and the form reasonably good. I think that I must have been still asleep 'cause I decided to start on the Monkstown loop which although it would be a nice run by the waterfront it meant that I would have to complete at least 12 miles - whether my IT band held up or not!! And despite a niggle at around 4 miles (which lasted for the remainder) the run was largely trouble free from the IT band point of view. But.... by 7 miles I could feel a blister growing on my left heel (obviously I haven't run enough lately and my feet have gone soft!!). By mile 10 it had burst (ouch) and was now sore so I took it very easy for the rest of the run. In all an 'easy' 12.64 miles in 1:37:08. That's an average of 7:41mins/mile (the first 10 miles averaged 7:33min/mile). The blister issue is a worry - last time it took 2 weeks of no running to clear it up!! We'll see how next week goes.

Slowly getting there...

Three steps forward and one step back - That's how things feel right now. But at least it all appears to be going in the right direction!!

I've now been discharged by physio. Not sure how much good it actually did as I never felt that she properly diagnosed the problem. But at least I'm running a bit now and largely without pain too so it must have done some good. I now feel that it is an IT band injury principally because my symptoms are exactly as described on this website. Interestingly the IT band was never mentioned by the physio but I suppose the IT could be symptomatic of a general weakness in the upper thigh area, as diagnosed by the physio.

Anyway, I managed three days in a row last week which contributed to a massive weekly total of 22.70 miles over 4 days. Almost my total mileage for April!! I tried these runs without my orthotics to test a theory posed following one one my previous posts. It seemed to be working until yesterday....

My three-in-row runs were on Wed, Thurs and Friday. I took Sat, Sun and Mon off. So I was fully rested for yesterday's run. Again without orthotics but as if by clockwork the outside of my right knee became sore at the 2 mile mark. Conclusion - my current condition is unaffected by the use or otherwise of my orthotics. So I put them back in today and went for a 'planned' easy run at lunchtime.

This is the summary of my runs over the past week or so...

Despite having nearly a month off I'm finding that anything around 7:30min/mile is a bit pedestrian so I figure that I may have not lost too much fitness.

Looking at the mile by mile splits there is an apparent trend.... I don't know how to run slowly!!

I felt very good today (almost like a runner again!!) so by mile 2 the 'easy' plan was forgotten. All was going well until my knee (ITB) started to get sore at the 2.5 mile mark. I kept the pace going and it appeared to clear up, well at least the pain became more bearable, as the run progressed. Maybe that's why I tend to accelerate - just to get to the end quicker!! :)

Unfortunately I'll miss a few nice races but the plan now is not to do anything too tough, i.e. fast, for the next few weeks just to build mileage and strength. Lots of stretching too. Hopefully, that together with some ice will keep me on the right road to recovery....

April roundup

Injuries can really kill those monthly stats. For the first time in over a month I uploaded my Garmin data today and it's grim reading...

1-30 April - 8 runs - approx 26 miles!!

I suppose that's not too bad all things considered. I recorded zero miles for the first week of the month. The second week saw 1No. run (3+ miles), the third saw 2No. runs (4+ miles total). During week 3 I managed 3No. runs i.e. 9+ miles and in week 4 (27/4 to 3/5) another 3 runs and 13 miles in total. A progression of sorts....

The first week in May has started out a bit better. I managed 6.42 miles today at an average of 7:40min/mile (49:20min, 160bpm). The first 3 miles were at about 7:20 pace and felt good but my leg gave out at the 3 mile mark and the pace dropped accordingly into the 8+ min/mile category. Running around 'left' corners was a particular issue for my leg (consistent with the pain being on the outside of my right leg) but interestingly running on my toes seemed to relieve the pain?? On the plus side, the sun was shining so I got to try out my new shades and it was warm so I got to use my 'bottle belt' for the first time. Hopefully it won't be the last!!! Physio tomorrow so I'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Rick posted an interesting link on his blog relating to weight. I know that I'm carrying a few too many pounds and even more following the sedentary last month!! but using this calculator together with McMillan it appears that if I was to loose approx 8 pounds it may get me into the sub 1:20 half marathon territory based on my 10 mile PB. Interesting.... but I think I like food too much - maybe I could train harder instead!! Also 8 pounds would put me back to the weight I was when I was 18!! Achievable.... hmmm.... some 'food' for thought.. (apologies for the bad pun!!)

Some more recovery needed

A brief update...

Physio on Tuesday ... more of the same only one session left (I think).

No time for running but tried to donate blood on Wednesday and found out that acupuncture is an issue. After queuing up for an hour I was told that I had to get a form signed by my physio saying that she only used sterile needles etc. Would have been nice to know this beforehand but I will for next time!!!

On Thursday I was feeling good and optimistic heading out for my lunchtime run. The sun was even shining!! At the 2 mile mark there was no sign of the ache that was apparent on previous runs. In fact, it only started to appear at 4.5 miles. So I managed to complete a pain free 5.25miles over a flat course at an average of 7:10 min/mile (avg 156 bpm). It was great to have completed my first decent run in almost a month but my lack of quality runs has certainly caused my fitness to drop. Hopefully I'll be able to address this over the coming weeks!!

Since Thursday's run was so successful I thought that I was fully cured (??) until my run on Friday. After 2 miles at 7:10 pace the pain was back. A brief stretching break and off I went again at 7:45+ pace in all only completing 4.25 miles and in some pain. Obviously I'm not fully cured yet but (hopefully) nearly....

Now, I'm looking forward to the big rugby game this evening Munster v Leinster in the Heineken Cup Semi Final. Come on Munster!!