On the Bench.

Working for the government now, and need to keep edgy on the old internet use at the moment. Should be Kool and the Gang in a couple of days, but I've been put in full view of the room so I carn't be arsing about too much.

So basicially I don't know where I should be in the training. I am still injured. A friend said that I may have hyper extended my calf muscle, but I just think that it is buggered. My left leg bends a little too far the wrong way (how far is too far? Any?) and it's feeling pretty weak.

As a result I haven't run for over a week, possibly two. I'm bored again, and find it incredibly boring in the gym on the exercise bikes, that is if I can get a key in the first place. It wass also school holidays last time I was in the gym, so there were kids running and jumping all over the place. Feral little organisims.

I'm finding it hard to go back in the gym, all I want to do is run. If I don't heal soon, I know that it'll be hard to catch up in the training and it'll all be lost. I DO want to do this, but not if it'll cripple me. I may start looking at marathons in Jan/Feb, if there's one on Groundhog Day that'd be pretty cool.

Anyways, No Snickering.

Injury

So after being such a lazy frog for the last week or so, I made it out for a 6km walk on Sunday - hungover with a spate of lying down in the park on the way, then last night headed out for the regular bridge and back run.

I knew that I had a bit of a niggle in my left calf, but much against the advice of the running books I proceeded to ignore it and run at my normal pace.

Again the second leg (I wish I intended the pun) was a lot easier than the first. I felt like I could go for ages aerobically, but when I stopped I knew something was wrong with my leg.

This morning I KNOW there is something wrong.

Ironically now that I want to run as much as I can this week it looks like I’ll not be able to. I’ll get on a exercise bike later in the week to see if that helps. I’d be very disappointed if this was a career ending injury. Unlikely, but I may need to look into alternative East Coast Marathons for this year. I don’t want to, Seattle feels right.

It shall be. I hope.

No Snickering.

Still not back running

You fat bastard.

I blame Rachel and Yvonne.

No Snickering

Bad Man

This weekend I’ve been drinking a fair bit, so Saturday’s run was pushed back to Sunday because of this, then Sunday’s run was pushed back due to a repeat of Friday.

Monday’s run was lost as Ritz Rachel is in town, and tonight won’t be a catch up night either as I’m saying goodbye to Sarah.

I’m tired. I’m not looking forward to the next run. I’ll need to quit the booze if this is going to happen properly.

No Snickering.

That Was the Mill

Last night for a bit of a change I decided to take on the treadmill in the gym instead of getting out there in the real world. I knew it would be different, but I wasn't sure (and still don't know) how it went.

All the flashy buttons etc I assumed were in km, but after busting my gut I had apparently only ran 5km in 32 minutes. It felt like a lot further, but who am I to argue?

A Runner - apparently. One of the girls at work overheaerd me talking about running and dubbed me a runner. Hilarious. I'd go for 'Exercise Tourist' at the moment.

Finding my feet on the treadmill took a while, and without the wind I was sweating like an MP filling in his expense form, but on a 8.0 incline and running at 8.0, a two minute break at 5.0 then a hard finish at 9.5 up to 11.0 felt good.

I looked like a wally right enough, but that's the game.

The map for the run? >---<


No Snickering.

Lies

The last post was lies, it wasn't an average run. I thought my bowels were going to explode through my arse, I was nearly doubled in cramping pain - plus I got a weird stitch from my right shoulder blade down to my heart. 


Managed to not crap myself and do the run, but it hurt.

Can't have been that bad if I forgot until now, but at the time there were a few Russian Roulette farts.

No Snickering.

This is the Mill

Morning lovely!

Nothing special to report, scheduled run yesterday mirrored Saturday's run - managed a few hundred metres more before the 15mins alarm went off. Rained on the way back and managed to get the new Nikes good and wet.

Apparently these are the testing times, the no progress in distance or time, a plateau for a couple of weeks. Head down, do the milage, get the foundation in. Consistancy is the key.

Legs are still a bit achy in new places, I'm still getting used to the new shoes I guess. Recovery is 'shallower' than before, less knackered and less time required to get going again. On Sat I might go 30mins non-stop, just at a slower pace.

That's the hard bit, pace.

No Snickering.

Hey, I got some new shoes on and suddenly everything's right...

Tried out the pair of Nikes that Graeme gave me last night, felt good though inserts in the shoe made my running pattern slightly different.  I was hitting my own legs and using my calf muscles in a different way, I can feel the difference this morning. 

Average run, untimed but the usual bridge and back route, again the second run was easier than first.

The swimming is becoming more enjoyable too, ten or so lengths on the 15^th floor is quite relaxing, though the Jacuzzi and sauna were both cold last night. Boo and indeed hiss.

No Snickering.

There IS Another Way, In Your Face Blur. Just Turn Left

Back out on Saturday to end week five, and back to the old 15 minutes at a time routine.

Still not feeling as good on the legs as I have in previous weeks, but aerobically I'm pretty sound. Might be interesting to get on the cross trainer on of these nights to see how long I can go for.

I've been studying these so called 'books' about running, and they all say the same thing. Steady progress, AMAZING SHOES, and a diary all required. So longs as I can rein in the ambition I should be right. One of the books is by Liz MacColgen and Duffy from Casualty who I always thought was fit in a mumsy way. The books all start getting quite techy about the training, all I want is a section called 'Run This Far, Eat This'. Unsurprisingly there isn't, apparently your first race isn't supposed to be a marathon.

No Snickering!

FAIL

After five weeks, it's happen.

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it came around last night.

I couldn't finish my run.


After having sore shins for a couple of weeks and not having the energy I had in the first couple of weeks of running I went to the library and took out a couple of books on running. The obligatory "Running for Dummies" and a few proper books too. The Charlie Brown coloured crib notes told me not to be too ambitious, and every website I've had a look at says not to be impatient. So running 10km on a Monday night five weeks after starting for the first time is impatient now is it?

Apparently.

Last night I started out on my regular Darling to Bridge run and didn't feel right from the start. My left leg was 'a bit funny' and I felt like I had a head cold. The first few minutes were really hard, noticeably as I past the aquarium, though once I reached the bridge I wasn't out of breath. I think I was keeping the same pace as I normally do, possibly 100m off pace, but aerobically I felt pretty darn good.

I turned on my heels, but something was definitely wrong. I didn't see a man carrying a DOOR down the street - nearly hitting him, and by the time I got to Hickson St I was in trouble. My legs were aching and I was panting like a dog in an oven at an icecream shop.

I probably could have finished the run, say if it was in Seattle I'd have forced myself, but after reading about injury and the soft American attitudes of 'hey man take a break' I succumbed to walking after just five minutes of the second session.

I was gutted. I can do better. I have done better every night for the last month. I was heartbroken, really disappointed and down. Angry almost.

Hitting the books again I read more about over training in the early stages of running. Apparently it is very common; "You can suddenly run two miles without feeling rough? Why not do twenty?" It's exactly how I've felt, so maybe it's time to stick rigidly to the schedule and not get ahead of myself.

Needless to say the books inform me not to take on a marathon until I've been running a year already, and can comfortably cover 60 miles a week, also that I should enter many shorter races as part of my training, plus something called 'fartlek'. Balls to all that. All the other schedules are wildly different to mine (and each other) but I'm sticking with the first one I randomly found online - so wild that I can't even find the original source.

So say I did 4 km last night, that's 2.5 miles, which technically takes me to 50.15 miles overall.

Doesn't feel like a victory right now. The lows after such great highs on Monday are pretty deep.

Here's to Saturday, I'll try for two 15min bursts, and I'll sort out my diet so I've some energy to do it. It was possibly Henry's Spag Bol, my beers and Cara's company that helped on Monday.

Maybe not.

No Snickering!

20/20 Visions

Dear me,

Last night you went for a run from Darling Harbour to Circular Quay.  It took 20 minutes each way, plus you added a little bit at the end to get back to the original start point, 'If You Want Blood' - you've got it.

The return leg was 200 metres slower over 20 minutes which is... a mere 0.6kph faster.  Embarrassingly you had to do two calculations to work that out, rather than do it in your head.  How the mighty have fallen.

8.58km, 5.33 miles, and giving our Blue Peteresque totalizer a quick check, we're reached 36+5.33+6.32= 47.65 miles, two sore shins, one iPod and a sense of ambition.  Should crack 50 miles tonight.


No Snickering.