Sunday 27 March 2011

i think...

...we might be back (touch wood)

two weeks and zero running. just getting fat.

physio last friday. really hopeful to get thumbs up.

thumbs up. friday lunch run. ouch. 1st mile painful. discard orthotics. pain relieved.

sunday. ditch the asics trail shoes. revert back to my favorites. north face rucky chuckies. result. 10.5 miles and little, if any, discomfort. 6 hours since finished and no repercussions.

plan. next saturday's 3 shires. maybe do the 20 instead of the 30 (being sensible). our first event of the year (hopefully).

charlie is delighted. i am delighted. we're all delighted.

hope i haven't spoken too soon.

ps thanks to everyone's words of encouragement. they were much appreciated.

Saturday 19 March 2011

sliding doors

TURN LEFTfriday..after a really demanding week at work we drive up to the horse and farrier in threlkeld. enjoy good food and jennings ale
saturday..run the ldwa 4 lakeland passes event with pooch. perfect spring day. hardly a cloud in the sky. love it! this is where i want to be. back to threlkeld for a repeat of friday night
sunday..drop down to south lakes for a cracking run with hayfella. a new route for me with a long time friend. babbling brooks and new born lambs abound

TURN RIGHT friday..no running
saturday..no running
sunday..no running

so you've guessed. im on the sidelines good and proper. not one yard run since last sunday. physio's orders..a conclusion i'd got to too. i've done the 'i'm not really injured' denial bit (this started early january). i've done the *&%$ angry part. i'm now hopefully moving into acceptance and looking forward to recovery with prescribed stretches, ice, physio and cross training.

while all this is going on i hope everyone is enjoying running in the beautifully brighter days we're getting and any events you're doing.

we'll be back. and one of the first things we're gonna do is pop up to the lakes and do the weekend we've missed out on

keep smiling folks!

Saturday 12 March 2011

OK so i could swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


having a glass half full, sunny side up kind of disposition i didn't like to mention in my last post the uncomfortable feeling i was getting from my right knee up into my quad as i was completing that first interval session for ages
the next day i didn't run, i hobbled and back to mike honey my physio i went
'too much too soon' he said. the problem lies with my knee tendon and its connection to my quad. my fast twitch muscles weren't firing properly apparently so all hell broke lose in my that region .
soooo..im back to weekly physio, a strengthening exercise (which does quite plainly show the difference between both legs) and no quick stuff for now, which is a bugger as i really quite like the variety and it was there to jettison me into some shorter fell races.
ok thats my new plan quickly derailed but hey much worse things and i'm already back running at my previous dreamy pace
but i'll be back soon i hope..steady..tempo..intervals..in that order...i'm too young to be a permanent hobbler,i really am.

Wednesday 9 March 2011

reaquainted with speed

im hoping my post title doesn't attract the wrong sort of blogger/follower/dealer. if you thought it was about popping some pills or shooting up i'm sorry to dissapoint

that said, there are some fine qualities to speed (street drug) that have relevance to speed (running pace)

- Speed makes people feel wide awake, excited and chatty.
- Clubbers take it because it gives them the energy to dance for hours without getting tired.
- Amphetamines was once the main ingredient in diet pills because it stops people feeling hungry

maybe i'll try some on the next 50 miler i do after all!

i digress

today was my first speed session for around 6 whole months. gasp. shock. horror. i know there will be running whippets reading this absolutely horrified by my lack of attention to any sort of pace sesion. the thing is, doing only ultras now i've kind of kidded myself that every run can be a lovely ambivalent plod, just floating along , in a daydream, without a care in the world. dont get me wrong, i love floating, its hypnotic. but in my mind i know i should be doing a couple of tough sessions a week like i did when marathon and half training.




so today folks i grasped that spikey nettle and headed to the xc track at macc harriers over lunch. its a perfect 1/2 mile circuit. a warm up, some dynamic stretches (hf taught me those), some strides, then 4 x 800's. i'll reveal my pace only so long as you dont laugh - a metronomic 7 min/mile each lap. for some fellow bloggers that's a LSR pace but not for this juggernaut. hey, it's a start. we've got to start somewhere yes? and having started i must keep going so i'll be poping up there weekly and building the number of reps up, maintaining the pace, as well as making sure i pop a weekly tempo run in for luck also. so, you whippets, you better watch out..this ultra collie's getting his skates on ;-)

and for the rest of the time i'll continue with my transcendental outings