Back in the day when I was a runner and actually training for races and what not, one of my best buddies served as my 'Coach', writing out training plans for me, acting as a mentor and someone to bounce ideas off, etc. He moved back to Cleveland a few years ago but pops down every so often on business and is in town this week as he is toeing the line in a 5k at Wake Forest on Friday night. So tonight I got to run with Tim and catch up, which is always a pleasure! On top of that, my knee which has been exceedingly troublesome the last few days, was a bit more cooperative this evening and I got 5 relatively pain free miles in. Tomorrow will be the true test of course but I'm certainly feeling a lot more positive than I was at the weekend!
Monday I headed out, could feel the knee immediately but it wasn't getting any worse so I did a couple of miles and had a good stretch after, Tuesday was 3 on the treadmill. Today was the end of my work week as I'm taking a couple of days off to visit Mum and Dad for the weekend. Looking forward to going home for the first time in three years!!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Laugh or cry?
Don't know which one to do! Now I've got some knee issue going on! Feels like a mild case of tendonitis that shouldn't hold me back for long but come on give me a break! I thought tendonitis was an over use injury, maybe it's brought on by under use!
Became aware of the potential issue on Thursday as I headed out for some solo post work miles before meeting up for the monthly Trysports group run. After a few steps I could feel a dull ache in my knee and stopped to massage it out and carry on with my run. It felt better after that as my legs slowly came round but had definitely given me pause for thought. Sure enough as I headed out on a beautiful Saturday morning there it was again. This time the ache was gait altering so I pulled the plug and reluctantly headed back inside from the gorgeous weather. I managed a 4 mile run today and 25 miles for the week but could still definitely feel something as I headed out.
Let's see what next week brings!
Became aware of the potential issue on Thursday as I headed out for some solo post work miles before meeting up for the monthly Trysports group run. After a few steps I could feel a dull ache in my knee and stopped to massage it out and carry on with my run. It felt better after that as my legs slowly came round but had definitely given me pause for thought. Sure enough as I headed out on a beautiful Saturday morning there it was again. This time the ache was gait altering so I pulled the plug and reluctantly headed back inside from the gorgeous weather. I managed a 4 mile run today and 25 miles for the week but could still definitely feel something as I headed out.
Let's see what next week brings!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Streaking
Today I headed out for a second run in two days- first time I have done that in a while! It was 15 degrees warmer than yesterday am so pretty ideal. I went to the Dowd and met up with Aaron, Caitlin, Mule, Caleb and Philip and warmed up with them down to the Dilworth Speed Loop.
Once there, the gang rocked out some mile repeats while I just carried on at an easy pace shouting encouragement whenever our paths crossed. After about 45 minutes of jogging around I headed back to the Dowd, 6.5 miles in the bank, 12.5 for the week- by far exceeding my year to date weekly average and it's only Tuesday haha! Plan is to run Thursday and Saturday for the rest of the week and potentially Sunday too if all goes well. Baby steps
Once there, the gang rocked out some mile repeats while I just carried on at an easy pace shouting encouragement whenever our paths crossed. After about 45 minutes of jogging around I headed back to the Dowd, 6.5 miles in the bank, 12.5 for the week- by far exceeding my year to date weekly average and it's only Tuesday haha! Plan is to run Thursday and Saturday for the rest of the week and potentially Sunday too if all goes well. Baby steps
Monday, March 4, 2013
Critter run
Sunday's run didn't happen. Lightweight that I am, 2013's first excursion into town for a few adult beverages on Saturday night left me feeling the worse for wear for much of Sunday. I did actually lace them up at one point but stepping out the back door made me feel nauseous. 6 miles was not going to happen and I quickly returned to the safety and comfort of my couch.
So instead of going out to run in beautiful sunny conditions I deferred the run until this morning when it was 25 degrees and pitch dark. Luckily I don't go out on the town very often.
When I did eventually run today it was a fairly uneventful run and the leg was pretty solid. I layered up and headed off road into Mcalpine for 45 minutes, just me, my headlamp, some good tunes and the usual assortment of unidentified critters jumping in and out of the undergrowth. I was literally the only person in the park which is hardly surprising being that it was before 5 when I headed out the door.
So instead of going out to run in beautiful sunny conditions I deferred the run until this morning when it was 25 degrees and pitch dark. Luckily I don't go out on the town very often.
When I did eventually run today it was a fairly uneventful run and the leg was pretty solid. I layered up and headed off road into Mcalpine for 45 minutes, just me, my headlamp, some good tunes and the usual assortment of unidentified critters jumping in and out of the undergrowth. I was literally the only person in the park which is hardly surprising being that it was before 5 when I headed out the door.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Dowding
After a day off yesterday I decided to venture out to run with the Friday morning Dowd crew for my first Dowd run in months! Although the plan is to do as many of these 'comeback' runs solo so that I can do them at my own (slower) pace and intensity, the set up this morning looked good as the crew were due to loop back to the Dowd after an easy 30 minutes to pick up later arrivals. As I was planning 30 minutes maximum myself this fit in well. Good company and 4.3 miles later I was back having a good stretch on the back porch of the Dowd with another pain free effort in the bank and the most optimism I have felt in a long time. On to Sunday
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Evening runner
So as I alluded to in my previous post, my legs have been feeling ready the last couple of days to go for a spin. I decided today that if all felt okay during the day at work I would head out for a few miles when I got home, so I did. With the gradually extending daylight hours and a beautiful, Carolina day in place it was the perfect opportunity to head into the park and do my 'trial run' on the softer surface that Mcalpine provides.
My plan for a quiet solo run that I could easily bail on without anyone knowing if required was scuppered almost immediately as I ran into Aaron within moments of entering the park! Thoroughly enjoyed catching up and the company so can't complain! We also ran into a fast group of Matena, Mitchell, Willis, Brinkley and others warming down from a workout- lesson being if you want to train 'under the radar' don't go to Mcalpine on a beautiful sunny evening!
I ended up doing a 30 minutes out and back route and the legs felt the most 'solid' they've been in recent memory, no pain of any note afterwards.
As the daylight hours lengthen I may become more of an evening runner for a while as my old legs seem to feel better after a day of walking around at work than first thing in the morning.
Going to take today off and then run again tomorrow after work
My plan for a quiet solo run that I could easily bail on without anyone knowing if required was scuppered almost immediately as I ran into Aaron within moments of entering the park! Thoroughly enjoyed catching up and the company so can't complain! We also ran into a fast group of Matena, Mitchell, Willis, Brinkley and others warming down from a workout- lesson being if you want to train 'under the radar' don't go to Mcalpine on a beautiful sunny evening!
I ended up doing a 30 minutes out and back route and the legs felt the most 'solid' they've been in recent memory, no pain of any note afterwards.
As the daylight hours lengthen I may become more of an evening runner for a while as my old legs seem to feel better after a day of walking around at work than first thing in the morning.
Going to take today off and then run again tomorrow after work
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Restart
I've decided to start the blog again!
I'm not running regularly right now, in fact I've essentially been on the sidelines since last May. For much of the time I barely think of myself as a runner any more such have been my injury frustrations! However, my body is starting to feel like it will be ready to start training again soon and I'm hoping that after so many false dawns the past few months, this time the restart will be for real!
For the second half of last year I had ongoing issues in my left glute/hamstring. I was able to put together the odd solid week of training, even venturing back into the odd couple of races but really I was running through the injury, only the good hands at Carolina Sports Clinic holding me together. I could run so I did, even though not even one run was pain free. Yes I was being stupid and in major denial, shoot me!
Then just round the New Year, a new injury struck. Great, at least I can forget about the other injury for a while and focus on this one right?! Groin strain on the other side. At last I was stopped in my tracks. I couldn't run even if I wanted to. This was a weird injury. I could barely feel it on a day to day basis but every time I did a test run I would get 10 minutes in and the pain would start to flare up again. A couple of days off and it would feel ready again only to break down on my next effort to run. So my training log for the first six weeks of the new year was a cycle of run, rest, rest, run, rest, rest, rest, run, rinse, repeat!
However, last week, a breakthrough of sorts. After yet another aborted effort, I was walking/limping around the next day and the pain in my groin seemed to have shifted around to my quad. From previous experience of injury I have found this to be a good thing, a sign of pain trying to leave the body if you like. So I haven't run for the past week or so and right now I can't feel any pain at all.
Am I ready at last to start training again? We'll see. One of the purposes of restarting the blog is to have some sort of accountability to a wider audience. If I say here that I'm going to be cautious and listen to my body more then there is more chance of me doing so. Keep your fingers crossed!
I'm not running regularly right now, in fact I've essentially been on the sidelines since last May. For much of the time I barely think of myself as a runner any more such have been my injury frustrations! However, my body is starting to feel like it will be ready to start training again soon and I'm hoping that after so many false dawns the past few months, this time the restart will be for real!
For the second half of last year I had ongoing issues in my left glute/hamstring. I was able to put together the odd solid week of training, even venturing back into the odd couple of races but really I was running through the injury, only the good hands at Carolina Sports Clinic holding me together. I could run so I did, even though not even one run was pain free. Yes I was being stupid and in major denial, shoot me!
Then just round the New Year, a new injury struck. Great, at least I can forget about the other injury for a while and focus on this one right?! Groin strain on the other side. At last I was stopped in my tracks. I couldn't run even if I wanted to. This was a weird injury. I could barely feel it on a day to day basis but every time I did a test run I would get 10 minutes in and the pain would start to flare up again. A couple of days off and it would feel ready again only to break down on my next effort to run. So my training log for the first six weeks of the new year was a cycle of run, rest, rest, run, rest, rest, rest, run, rinse, repeat!
However, last week, a breakthrough of sorts. After yet another aborted effort, I was walking/limping around the next day and the pain in my groin seemed to have shifted around to my quad. From previous experience of injury I have found this to be a good thing, a sign of pain trying to leave the body if you like. So I haven't run for the past week or so and right now I can't feel any pain at all.
Am I ready at last to start training again? We'll see. One of the purposes of restarting the blog is to have some sort of accountability to a wider audience. If I say here that I'm going to be cautious and listen to my body more then there is more chance of me doing so. Keep your fingers crossed!
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