Tag Archives: injury

Running, Technology, Training

Routine begins again

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Two treadmill runs in on the new Startrac and it feels like progress is slowly happening again. I feel MILES away from where I was when I did the half in September but its really hard to tell – the heat seems to put a lower ceiling on exercise. Either that, or I’m going to have to start taking a bottle of water on the treadmill with me. Anyway, good 5ks happening but no longer runs as yet.

Incidentally, whilst I was warned that it would be more painful to do my ITB stretching on a tennis ball, it’s more the coordination required that presented a challenge – it’s hard to balance and roll from your upper thigh down to your knee on a tennis ball – especially when slicked with sweat after a run in 30 degree heat!

I’ll get there…

A side note: the treadmill was delivered within 24 hours by no less than SIX delivery men and the general manager of the fitness equipment importer. I know it’s a high margin, high value item but this is taking service to ludicrous extremes! In any event, it took all of them to shift it – that is one HEAVY, big-ass machine.

Update

Pillow-sperimentation

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The sore neck has led to some experimentation with new pillows, and some gloom about my increasingly evident aging. The one I’ve settled on, which seems to be helping, has a softer side and a harder side. Fun!

Who knew there were so many varieties of orthopaedic pillows? Well, given that I’ve mocked Damo mercilessly for much the same thing in the past I was clearly aware it existed as an issue… am clearly going to need to sort myself out when I head to Malaysia in a few weeks time. Garr*

* which is apparently my word of the moment

Injuries

Pain in the neck

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We’re in London this Friday/Saturday so I’ve brought my running kit down in the hope I can get a good run out on the canal on Saturday morning…

BUT – I woke up yesterday (well, woke up would imply sleep – I got up…) unable to turn my head without sharp, shooting pain. I’d heard of pinched nerves and the like, from sleeping funny but never experienced it so I took to the Doc. Her advice? Move it as much as possible, take painkillers and apply heat. Frustrating as a set of remedies though that may be for a speedy recovery…

It’s significantly better today (I can turn my head) but who knows what state I’ll be in tomorrow. Fingers crossed I don’t have to make up distance in my 10km/weekly minimum running distance (which really needs upping) another day/weekend.

I still need to find a race as a stake in the ground for my training. Any thoughts on an early April half marathon in the UK?

Racing, Running, Training

Post race plans

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I had vaguely expected to be debilitated by the race- too broken to contemplate a run for some time- but four days later I’m itching to get on the road again.

The worst of the aches passed after day two with two exceptions (turn away now if you’re squeamish):

1. My nipples took a pounding, despite Vaseline. I probably should have reapplied midway through the race but didn’t want to lose the time. It’s the same reason that I needed a wee for 3 hours on a stretch. Healing, though, and with more Vaseline I’ll be fine to resume my casual runs.

2. A weird skin fold on my right foot that hurts like a bad bruise. This is the thing that’s got me slightly concerned as it’s causing a limp. Hoping more moisturiser will sort me out here – ah, Vaseline- truly you are the WD40 of the human body. Doctors should prescribe this miracle stuff.

I’m going to try to establish a new routine, post first half marathon, going into winter and with a baby and a country commuter lifestyle to take into account:

1. Two, longer weekend runs a week, peaking out at about 25k over two days

2. Building up my speed towards a sub 2 hour half – I need as Sensei P says to get to 9 minute miles over a long distance – so have a way to go.

However, might take this weekend off as I celebrate my 30th birthday and will probably need to acquire some fresh / winter running gear (not to mention get the washing machine installed!

Still buzzing from the half. Keen to enter a 10k just for the fun of it. Thinking good thoughts in Sheila’s direction as she does her first race (a 10k) on Sunday and Arvind and Heather’s as they prep for the London Parks marathon (or whatever it’s called!). This running bug is infectious!!!

In any case, the Long Slow Run is here to stay. I’ve got a huge amount of satisfaction from interacting with y’all on here and hope you’re enjoying it too. Not quite sure where my coauthor has got to but here’s hoping @jimbocoyle’s GNR went well too!

Injuries, Training

Should I stretch before I run? No.

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I’ve talked about this before – the wisdom of Sensei Paul and others is validated by a new US study, which shows that pre-running ‘hold and release’ stretching not only has no positive impact on injury prevention but can actually cause injury. The study did say that if you did currently stretch before running, you should ease your way out of it rather than stop ‘cold turkey’ to minimise injury risk.

via LifeHacker – check their site out for the précis here.

Injuries

Physio week 4: getting impatient

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So, I’ve been studiously doing the physio exercises, and, miracle of miracles – the ITB rolling doesn’t even hurt any more! But – I need more strength in the relevant weak muscles (quads, etc) so on Thursday I learn how to jump.

ARGH.

I know how to jump. I know how to bend my knee. I know how to run. But evidently everything I know is very slightly wrong.

Unlearning my bad habits is unbelievably tedious and nearly as frustrating as the perpetual hunger that surrounds dieting (now back in medium swing). I’m very, very tempted just to pop out for a quick 5k tomorrow morning to see if the physio sessions and exercises to date have had an impact – but is that a terrible idea? I suspect so… the last thing I want to do is delay my complete recovery. But the half marathon is weeks away (6 weeks!) and its been a long while since I’ve run more than 10k.

Any encouragement, advice, wisdom appreciated. In the meantime, I will fume quietly in the corner, trying not to run….

Injuries

Ongoing ITBS treatment saga

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My physio Sudhir is on holiday this week, on a meditation retreat (!), so he’s having his colleague torture me for the week.

Anna was disappointed to hear of the forgotten orthotic as it limits the exercises I can do, but instead I received a pummelling to my ilio-tibial band, more acupuncture and instruction in stepping up and stepping down (I’m sure regular readers will not be surprised that even the act of climbing up one step I can screw up…).

I was also subjected to “active stretching” for my hamstrings – code for my resisting a reasonably painful stretch – but did feel distinctly more limber after it, if slightly sore.

It’s odd, having gotten so used to the orthotics  correcting my flat-footedness, even a day and a half without them has me feeling slightly weird of leg. Hopefully it’ll arrive in the post tomorrow and the regular routine can resume – now supplemented with elaborate “clam” exercises for my glutes (which I need to be working to exhaustion a couple of times a day, apparently). Ah well.

In related news, the diet continues. I’ve managed to keep to it for 5/6 days now, 1,500 calories or thereabouts a day, only breaking the day of a pair of friends’ engagement drinks (although I broke it in style thanks to the BBQ – doubling my calorie limit for the day). Hopefully the weight loss will resume shortly and I can at least prepare to have less weight to carry around the half-marathon circuit! I’ll blog more about the diet over on Division6, seeing as it involves soup once again and that’s more a topic for that blog…

Juneathon

Crunchtastic. Stir Crazy. Arrgh.

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Topped off day 17 of Juneathon with another 80 sit-ups/crunches, and kicked off day 18 with 90. I’m not sure the Juneathon judges will be that impressed.

Knee still tentative so no running or cycling. Stir-crazy-ness is killing me – I want to run! – but Sensei Paul says it is sensible to rest and recover, so I will remain calm. Hoping that runs can resume next week. May need to limit myself to a max of 20 miles per week rather than the 30 I did before this injury kicked in – doc seemed to think it was a bit much to go from running 0 miles per week to 30 miles per week in 3 months, but hey – I was really enjoying it! Damnit.

Speaking of which, visit Sensei Paul’s  mini-guest post in this comment, in which he reports on his 5k attempt (did he make it in sub-17 minutes?) and talks about his latest garden produce  – garlic scape!