Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Day 7 - Then we really have to go

Progress of a sort I suppose. I ran 18 minutes today and whilst the glute/back felt itchy I wasnt in pain. It was a weird one as it definitely didnt feel as good as it did on Saturday when it was strong at the start  but it was the same for the whole run and felt much better at the end.

Anyway an 18 minute run, then I put in a hard 75 minutes on the exercise bike (progressive work-out, increasing the tension every 15 minutes, finished level 5 this time which is as far as Ive got so far) followed by 5 minutes running immediately after which was totally pain-free (and really quite pleasant albeit raining). 

As a whole a very good session.

Then headed out to the pub to catch up with the Chasers whod had some very decent runs at the Richmond 10k earlier and managed to win the men and womens county championships very impressed with both teams! Lucie also managed to win the individual Surrey Ladies.

Sadly we were less successful at the pub quiz. A second place finish was scant commiseration though winning the bonus round and a free drink made it a worthwhile evening from my perspective.
Having managed to remain teetotal I headed back and got an easy hour in on the exercise bike whilst watching Day of the Dead

As usual lots of work using The Grid (think Im finally starting to make progress on a horrible set of knots where my outside quad joins my knee) and stretching followed by watching this inspirational video of Tim Don training here. That Kenyan day just looks like plain hard work!

Think thats about it for today keep well everyone.

Best,
B

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Day 6 - Going nowhere slowly

Well - not quite but it does feel that way sometimes when you're doing most of your training on a stationery bike!

With Hayley over and doing two runs it made sense for me to break up my usual long ride into two sections. In the morning I nailed out a pretty decent 80 minutes on the bike with the effort level relatively low.

The afternoon I went for a short run and then followed that up with my second session on the bike - this time watching the European Team Champs.

The run was an odd one - I felt really good for about the first 9 minutes and then the back/glute definitely tightened up a fair bit and last 4-5 minutes were whilst not painful clearly not totally right - definitely need to avoid pushing it too hard right now but still huge strides from where I was a week ago (basically almost able to hobble without pain whilst on a huge amount of pain-killers). I do suffer the usual runners worry as to whether my extra training is slowing down my recovery.

After I was back there seemed to be no problems and a solid 45 minute bike left me with 2:05 biking for the day and 15 running for 2:20 worth of aerobic exercise. Not a great rule but I generally feel if I'm going over 2 hours even if I lose a bit of fitness I'm still in decent nick. Combined obviously with a lot of stretching, various exercises (mostly calf raises to build up my calf strength and protect achilles) and using "The Grid" for massage which is really getting well into my ITBs which have just been too knotted for me to really get into with "The Stick".

Right - shattered now as had a tough day training (more on that tomorrow) but there'll be another update tomorrow.

Looking ahead - to have a reasonable chance at Amsterdam I need to be running at least 60+ miles a week with 14 weeks to go which is in 3 weeks time. I think it could be doable but I'll be starting a relatively short build-up from an unfit state. It's gonna be tough.

Best,
B

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day 5 - Need for Speed

5 minutes at 7 minute miling. Progress.

Yesterday wasn't a huge training day but I managed to get a bit done - 90 minutes on the bike wasn't amazing but a decent session and then straight off the bike for a 5 minute (deliberately short) run which was painfree and I was finally moving at a half decent pace.

Currently hacking an old pair of shoes to pieces using a bread knife to try and make minimalist ones. They were too old to wear normally anymore but figured this might give them an extra lease of life. They look pretty sweet at the moment but unfortunately I'm not sure that wave riders were the best ones to do as the wave goes right up to the base. Can see a bit of the shoe liner through but sure that's fine.... Picture below of the shoes and the hacked remnants.

(Yes that is my bread-knife - sorry Jan!)

Just been watching the European Team championships and raelly impressed with fellow Beagle James Shane's run and also Andy Vernon in the 5k with a very gutsy effort. Espana is probably the number 2 5000m runner in Europe so no shame to lose to him and Lebid is obviously a legend when it comes to European running.

Right - got Hayley over so that's all I can post for the moment.

Best,
B

Friday, June 17, 2011

Day 4 - And that's all I've got the say about that.

Little bit more progress yesterday managed to get 9 minutes of running in which still sounds utterly pathetic but is a big deal for me at the moment. Unfortunately there was definitely some tightening up but the difference between the 30 second shuffle I was doing at the start of the week and what Im doing now is pretty huge. Im hoping I can have something vaguely like a normal run by Sunday.

I also managed to put in a good exercise bike session. 1:45 spending most of the time watching Forrest Gump. Hard work as for the first 75 minutes every 15 I put the resistance up a level with the final 15 minutes being very hard work before spending an extra 30 minutes just spinning relatively easily. 

The final bit was having just bought a foam roller I used that pretty heavily as well. Whilst work makes things tough it does mean you usually have a bit of spare cash in order to get yourself some kit. Unfortunately due to sitting down all day your hip flexors are utterly frozen!

The first time using it despite extensive work usingthe stick I could immediately feel some very sore areas in particular the lower section of my ITB/ outside of my quads was incredibly tight. I already knew this and had worked on it with the stick but never had much luck actually breaking the knots down. I could definitely feel some progress from the very start and hopefully some time on this each day will help ease up my muscles during the marathon training.

The other area its useful (aside from easing the muscles up) is that it is a great core workout constantly balancing on a single limb and rolling over it makes it pretty functional as well rather than just working a single muscle hard. Im not saying its going to be the absolute best core session ever but for someone as horrendous at core as me it certainly seems like a useful addition.

Finally big congrats to Aaron Scott on his selection to run for England. Hes made huge strides over the last couple of years and great to see it rewarded. Similarly Andy Norman who has recovered from some horrendous injury problems.
 
Right thats it for now got a cycle to do this evening and then hopefully a 15 minute run tomorrow! Hopefully pain free!

Best,
B

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Day 3

Apologies for the delay I will be updating daily (or near as) but will be doing it in the evening now discussing the past day just when I have time to blog!

So on the running side. I managed 4 minutes yes 4 WHOLE minutes. And I was actually definitely running rather than shuffling this time. No pain though I could feel the muscles tightening up a little bit. 

To be honest I spent about the next 10 minutes hopping about in happiness which has to be worth something as well?

I then managed to put a decent stint in on the exercise bike 70 minutes. Starting at the lowest level and gradually building up the resistance every 15 minutes with the last 10 minutes as a cool-down.
Im not sure how much it helps but I notice a big difference coming back from an injury when Ive been x-training every day compared to when I havent been. In particular with the exercise biking my legs generally feel really quite strong and I end up running hills a lot more strongly than I would before.
 
In terms of the build-up to Amsterdam I need to be running close to 80 miles per week within about 4 weeks. This shouldnt be impossible as once the irritation caused by the ligament is gone there should be no reason I cant run properly but its still a tough ask. Im also working on strengthening up my achilles and loosening up all my muscles. Its going to be a tough and hard campaign given the brevity (12 weeks) and Im going to need to be as strong as possible to avoid injury. 

Thats all for now hopefully a bit more running and a bit less biking tomorrow!

B

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Day 2

Sadly a dull day - all I did was 2 minutes running which was sortofI'mnotreallysurebutprobably painfree not quite as good as yesterday but it was an actual run rather than a shuffle.

I decided not to X-train tonight - right now the main pain when walking seems to be coming from the muscles in the glute which remain incredibly tight - which is also how I spent most my day just rubbing small knots of muscle that have formed up.

It's always an odd one - working in an office and trying to seem normal whilst actually being a runner. Elite athletes have it pretty easy - no one asks why they spend all day stretching, getting massage, doing odd drills.

The life of the office athlete consists of furtively rubbing your glute whilst you think no-one is looking, covert stretching in the bathroom stalls, heel dips on the stairs whilst prepped to pretend you were just walking up them should anyone come along, trainers and wet kit shoved under desk when back from a lunchtime run.

It's an odd life!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Amsterdam Gambit - The Beginning

The Thursday before last I broke down a mile from my house and was reduced to a walk, not even a normal walk, a wretched hobble with my back/glute in agony. A simple walk down an escalator had triggered a reaction in my back that reduced me to spending the evening unable to walk between my bedroom and the kitchen.

It's been a painful two weeks but I've finally seen some light at the end of the tunnel. After a session with super physio Noel Thatcher last week (Holly House) I knew what I'd done (irritated a ligament around my sacrum) and now I've finally done it - I've run again pain-free.

Okay- it was for 30 seconds and it was more of a hobble than a run but for the first time there wasn't a shooting pain going through my sacrum.

So - that officially launches the campaign - not with a bang but with a whisper (to mis-quote a famous phrase). I'm targetting Amsterdam and I've got an ambitious target (certainly more ambitious than someone currently running for a grand total of 30 seconds should have...) - it's going to be tough (and my coach is going to kill me for putting this up here!) but I like the challenge of the public appeal which keeps me accountable. After all - no-one's impressed when you go for the possible- it's possible!

This time round I'm planning on keeping a detailed log of how I'm feeling each day and sharing it via the blog. It isn't always going to be fascinating - it'll just be the tale of how a normal guy in a normal job goes about trying to do his best as a runner.

So - training today...

Running: 30 seconds
Exercise Bike: hour
Lots of stretching.

Bryn Running

Training diary and musings on running in general.