Category Archives: Training

Injuries, Training

Iliotibial band syndrome, apparently

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I saw Sudir at the Westminister Physiotherapy centre today in a bid to heal myself faster and get myself back into my full training regimen. Good news; Sudir’s amazing blend of Eastern and Western science has a treatment programme ready for me; bad news; no running till Thursday at least and a reduced schedule whilst I heal from what he thinks is the dreaded (apparently) Iliotibial Band Syndrome (I think). Read more here.

In brief; I have an imbalance in my leg muscles, very tight in the Iliotibial band, very weak in the inner quad and glute. I have a range of dispiriting and painful stretching exercises to do and will shortly be ordering a ‘foam roller‘ and some tennis balls (!)  to help with my recovery. Other treatment will include strapping myself up with special sports tape and some acupuncture – which is a new one for me… but I trust Sudir, he’s a great guy and exudes knowledge and, for me, this translates into confidence. It could be complete BS, but it doesn’t sound like it, and his assessments all carry a logic to them that he explains as part of the consultation.

It’s massively frustrating, but good to know there isn’t a structural issue with the joint. It makes the GP’s assessment completely wrong and means that I’ll have to stretch these muscles out for the rest of my (long distance running) life, but at least there’s a plan for recovery now. Not sure I’ll be in great shape for the New Forest Half, but I’ll give it everything I got.

Anyone else had to contend with this?

Running, Technology, Training

Running at the Equator

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In Malaysia helping prepare for my sister’s wedding. (Half)-Marathon training is easier, but not nearly as fulfilling, exciting or entertaining.

I have managed to get in a couple of runs, which, because of the 30 degree+ heat, take place shirtless, indoors on a treadmill, usually under a fan with accompanying air-conditioning. It’s very, very sweaty. But oddly satisfying.

On the plus side – am actually enjoying treadmill running for the first time in ever. Doing some moderately quick sessions with some intervals – run 1 saw me alternate between 10.5 and 12 km/h, completing the 5k circuit in 26.13, and run 2 saw me jogging at between 10.7 and 11km/h, finishing in 27ish minutes (run briefly interrupted). I’m discounting these as ‘personal bests’ as treadmill running is just so much easier than real life running…

My Dad’s treadmill setup includes a box set of ER, which you can’t really hear over the running (my Dad tends to just use it for walking so less of an issue), but is totally watchable with subtitles – good motivation to keep going for 4o minutes tomorrow as the knee recovers and strength starts to build again…

Juneathon, LSR, Running, Training

Long Slow Run: Juneathon day 12

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Well, it wasn’t that long (10 miles), but long for someone training for a half-marathon I guess, and it wasn’t that slow by my standards – must have crossed the 10 mile mark around 1h44, which for me is pretty good – although still a way to go before I make my sub-2-hour-marathon-goal (would need to be hitting 1h30ish for the 10 milers – yikes!). Still, the first long run since my return from India (for me long = more than 10k) and it feels good to have it under the belt. Was patient with the stretching so hopefully won’t be too stiff and be able to manage a mid-length run tomorow too.

It does mean that my second week of Juneathon has seen me do another weekathon – and then some – topping out at 32.9 miles run this week (plus 20.2 miles cycled). Will be hard to sustain this pace, but am well on track to top out my 85 miles run in May…

Run log here, for the curious. Didn’t quite manage negative splits, but my best miles were 8 and 9, so am on the right sort of track, maybe, in terms of pacing myself. Just need to go faster the whole way through…

Juneathon, Running, Training

Running standard routes and motivation

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I’m not one of those runners who finds it easy to motivate themselves on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t find running a trudge or bore – I’ve gotten into it, enjoy the music, the passing scenery, the quiet time and contemplation, and the obssessive compulsive determination to get fit and improve on my earlier times… but getting out the door at 6am when I’d frankly rather be in bed with my lovely wife… well, it takes some willpower.

Once I’m out the door, though, my lack of an overdeveloped sense of adventure and relatively restricted set of choices for running routes sees me (usually) run the exact same round-trip (depending on distance). A few of the #juneathon posts I’ve been reading have people stopping for photos etc., which is really fun to see and read, but doesn’t suit my style of running.

I don’t find it monotonous, though, despite the repetition, and it helps my willpower, for a few reasons:

  1. You can more easily chart improvement on a set route
  2. You don’t have the distraction of routefinding, dealing with unexpected traffic, etc.
  3. I don’t lose willpower and turn for home when I think I’m “around” halfway for my target distance (although GPS and Runkeeper has diminished this as an issue somewhat)

Social running would achieve much the same ends, but I’m yet to join a club or find a running buddy. That may change in the future.

Today: my standard 5k route was completed in 29.06, a new personal best* – and a second in two days! The knees are holding up too, although a little sore. I should probably check in with someone about those… maybe James’ Recover Fast dude… (oh, and to round off day 9 of Juneathon there’ll be a cycle in and out of work too).

*(I should clarify for those who have been following my running updates from the pre-GPS era – don’t trust those times. They were estimates based on MapMyRun and analogue watch readings. These are based on Runkeeper GPS, so hopefully a bit more accurate…)

Running, Training

Mood running vs forced running

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Running Matters posts:

I remember some advice from Joe Henderson about being flexible in your training and adapting it to how you feel on the day. He suggested you run for a mile (to make sure you had shaken all the inertia from your body) and then made a judgement. If you felt tired , then cut it short but if you felt good then why not go further or harder. In other words, within the overall framework of your programme, there should be latitude and you should try to work with rather against your body.

That makes good sense – I am constantly puzzled by how much my mood and vitality can vary from day to day.

I face this dilemma (who doesn’t?) – but at the moment, am forcing myself to run through running funks – and invariably come out feeling better.

The place where I fall down is differentiating a funk from some bio-mechanical issue – stiff muscles, sore knees, an upset stomach, a hayfever attack. In the latter case, I think you should listen to your body – but if I cut the run short because I wasn’t in the mood for it I think I’d end up stuck with an hour-max run limit (about 10k). Of course, I only do the LSRs at the weekends at the moment… so perhaps motivation comes easier.

What do you think, devoted LSR reader?

Juneathon, Running, Training

Running is like golf

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So Heather tells me. And I see it – after a mediocre weekend of running, this morning’s 5k on day 2 of Juneathon was a relative joy – I’m afraid Runkeeper is struggling, so don’t trust the data – but the 10 minute mile pace I maintained was invigorating. I’m still not sure if its possible that I’ll be able to work it up to 9 minute miles for the 13.1 miles of the New Forest half, but I’ll work on it.

It is odd to me that despite mostly the same warm-ups, prep, conditions, etc. something in me reacts differently on different days and the difference to my run is tremendous. How do I make sure that I’m on top race form when I come to do the New Forest half? Current thoughts:

  • Careful diet in the weeks preceding
  • Gentle tapering off of training, low impact only in the weeks immediately prior
  • Lots of gentle pre-stretching in the days before

Any other tips? I still need a training schedule (and probably a running coach…). Recommendations appreciated.

Also today: 2x 5.5km cycles, in and out of work – another 40 minutes of exercise on top of the 30 minute run. And probably more stretching tonight. Bring it.

Juneathon, Training

Warming up for Juneathon

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After this weekend’s disappointing running, I needed a gentle day to deal with the consequences of running whilst feeling ill, most of which manifested in stiff muscles – the extended run yesterday resulted in an aborting stretching session. So this morning’s wake-up call saw me 15 minutes of gentle stretching. I’ve blogged before about how tough I find it to embrace a stretching routine of any kind, so hoping people don’t see this as a cop-out… I know, it’s not the most impressive start to a month of daily exercise but – it was necessary, and I wanted to give myself another day to recover from the weekends stresses. More running / cycling excitement will kick off over the next few days, I promise.

I have a personal target to beat (as tracked by Runkeeper) – which is to exceed the 98 miles I ran and cycled in May – a substantial challenge given that last month saw me run the half-marathon distance twice (for the first time in my life), as well as a 10-miler and *many* 10k training runs.

16 or so weeks to the New Forest Half-Marathon. And a lot of work to do…

Update: As the day wore on the morning session of stretching as my first day of Juneathon action seemed inadequate, so I’ve reinstated the push-ups and sit-ups (at least today), with 30 and 60 of each respectively. Nowhere near the giddy heights I was achieving last year when I attempted (and failed) the 100 push-up challenge, but hey, it’s exercise. We’ll see how it goes as the month progresses.

LSR, Running, Training

Weekendathon-not-quite-attempt

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Inspired by the thought of doing “Juneathon,” I thought I’d end May  by doing a “Weekendathon” – running 26 miles across the bank holiday weekend. However, this didn’t happen for a number of reasons:

1) I’m fresh back into running after a week of irritating and moderately debilitating hayfever, and whilst the antihistamine levels have now come level with my O2 sats, I’m still a bit enfeebled.
2) I’m not completely recovered from the India bug I had, and my stomach is still going a bit mental

So instead of doing 26 miles in 3 days I managed a measly 15.7 miles (a 5k and two 10ks) – and not in any particularly good time either (30 mins, 68 mins, 75 mins respectively – although was feeling properly ill for the last one).

Still, any running is better than none, and I take some satisfacation from the fact that I now consider a 10k a “short” run – that’s a reference frame I couldn’t have imagined having a few months ago. The Runkeeper stats for these runs, I’m afraid, are a bit unreliable – I thought the iPhone was playing up but as I had to have it replaced due to a faulty microphone (27 days from the expiry of my warranty, phew!) – it now seems that the satellites are to blame. Goddamn satellites, the cause of all the problems.

In other news / dramas, Rach has an injury and may not run the New Forest half-marathon with me in September! Oh noes! Sensei Paul’ll still run it “with me”, but given that he’s likely to complete it in about 1h20mins (and I’m not likely to finish in less than 2h20, despite the lofty goal of a sub-2-hour half)… well, anyone else care to join?

Training

Training vs. hay fever

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I don’t know what’s going on with the pollen but I am anti-histamined up and haven’t been in any state to run since Tuesday. Hoping I can pick it up again going into the weekend and we get some rain to flush this crap out of the air. Horrible, back-of-throat-scratchiness. Yech.

It is better to run through the discomfort and sleeplessness? Damn pollen.

Running, Training

First attempt at Interval training

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It didn’t go so well. It turns out the longish gap since my last run (4 days), combined with 16 hours of flights, a mild stomach bug, moderate dehydration caused by the general hotness of the world and aforementioned stomach bug and the fact my last run was a half marathon distance meant I was a little stiff and slow getting started this morning.

Things didn’t start well when Runkeeper couldn’t get a GPS lock this morning – rather than having the dulcet tones of the Runkeeper automated trainer kicking off my running this morning I kicked in with some tunes and tried to do song-length intervals. This lasted all of 3 minutes, at which point Runkeeper kicked in and I realised that my hope of doing 3minutes ‘fast’ (5.30ish splits per km) and 2 minutes ‘steady’ (6m30ish splits per km) on rotation was a bit, well, optimistic. I forged on through the first half of the 5k run, my knees thankfully not causing me any issues whatsoever despite yesterday’s concerns, at a reasonable (if not quick) split of about 6m16 per km on average, and then it dialled back to about 6m30 by the time I finished the run.

Whilst my knees caused no problems, my left shin (which has never really given me problems in the past) stayed stiff most of the way through the first 4.5km, only beginning to loosen up towards the end. Am giving it a good stretch today and will try another gentle run tomorrow (and hopefully intervals again on Thurs) before a couple of LSRs this weekend in an attempt to restore normality.

Run record (edited to make up for Runkeeper GPS issues) is here.