...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.
Sunday, 27 March 2011
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..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
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
Monday, 28 February 2011
here comes the sun :)
finally, that great big ball of fire in the sky and clear blue skies decided to pay us all a visit this week (see proof below). to celebrate the occasion, and a couple of birthdays in the UC household, I decided to take a half day holiday and sneak a little run in, in shorts would you believe it!
maybe it was unofficially the first day of spring and the kick start required to get everything to start coming back to life again
the route was so good I decided to do it all again,and more, yesterday with raldiss. i'd guestimated off the top of my head it would be around 20 miles, in the end it was 24, which make it very pleasingly our longest outing this year so far. a row of 3 consecutive and rather brutal climbs towards the end ensured a tasty sting in the tail..all good training for the events coming our way soon. and charlie ate it up too without any difficulty which was reassuring to see
i can't wait now for light mornings and balmy evenings. it can only be all good.
maybe it was unofficially the first day of spring and the kick start required to get everything to start coming back to life again
the route was so good I decided to do it all again,and more, yesterday with raldiss. i'd guestimated off the top of my head it would be around 20 miles, in the end it was 24, which make it very pleasingly our longest outing this year so far. a row of 3 consecutive and rather brutal climbs towards the end ensured a tasty sting in the tail..all good training for the events coming our way soon. and charlie ate it up too without any difficulty which was reassuring to see
i can't wait now for light mornings and balmy evenings. it can only be all good.
Sunday, 20 February 2011
ice road truckers
well all i can say is i didn't expect that!
me, raldiss (of 2010 c2c fame and supplier of the finest 'running pies' known to man) and charlie had a day's indulgent running planned from edale. so off we set off from home at 8am, into leek for some juice and then onward bound on the buxton road. only not so onward as it turned out. out of nowhere we went from cold blusterly conditions to a -5c artic-like landscape, with driving sleet/snow making for a whiteout. clearly the gritters weren't expecting it either.
needless to say, chaos was all around. lorries jack-knifing, cars unable to negociate inclines and the odd one detouring off the road altogether.luckily we were in the landrover but even so had to drive with care. descending into buxton it was obvious that our edale rendevouz would have to wait for another day so we hung a left and headed up to the cat and fiddle.
from there, our 5.5hr run out was tough going, with snow ,slush and mud slowing our progress and ensuring that our feet stayed soaked and cold throughout. i chose full waterproof bodycover whereas raldiss run in shorts! manly or niaive? i'll let you choose.
anyway, we had a hoot and gave ourselves a double reward. recovery eggs and bacon at peak view cafe followed a little later with lashings of re-hydrating staropramen and fish n chips in my local with mrs uc too. a grand day out altogether, even though not as planned
happy days
me, raldiss (of 2010 c2c fame and supplier of the finest 'running pies' known to man) and charlie had a day's indulgent running planned from edale. so off we set off from home at 8am, into leek for some juice and then onward bound on the buxton road. only not so onward as it turned out. out of nowhere we went from cold blusterly conditions to a -5c artic-like landscape, with driving sleet/snow making for a whiteout. clearly the gritters weren't expecting it either.
needless to say, chaos was all around. lorries jack-knifing, cars unable to negociate inclines and the odd one detouring off the road altogether.luckily we were in the landrover but even so had to drive with care. descending into buxton it was obvious that our edale rendevouz would have to wait for another day so we hung a left and headed up to the cat and fiddle.
from there, our 5.5hr run out was tough going, with snow ,slush and mud slowing our progress and ensuring that our feet stayed soaked and cold throughout. i chose full waterproof bodycover whereas raldiss run in shorts! manly or niaive? i'll let you choose.
anyway, we had a hoot and gave ourselves a double reward. recovery eggs and bacon at peak view cafe followed a little later with lashings of re-hydrating staropramen and fish n chips in my local with mrs uc too. a grand day out altogether, even though not as planned
happy days
Sunday, 13 February 2011
see the light
now that i've indulged myself in my previous post with a dusting of personal philosophy it's back to the nitty gritty
firstly, the magical mitts of mr michael honey @ trinity house in macc seem to have done the trick. he's an amazing physio and thanks to him any issues i encounter never become big ones. cheers mike!
so with near to full tendon recovery i thought it time to go longer. forecast sunny, we took off to the goyt valley with a 'make it up as you go route' in mind. it wasn't sunny but it was very wet, muddy, slippy and mysteriuosly beautiful as ever blessed with a heavy blanket of clag. and an early start means we get the place largely to ourselves bar any werewolves not yet in bed
as it went, our route, solely taking place around the goyt valley covered large parts of three local fell races - 'windgather', 'shining tor' and 'goyts moss' - though i dont think i quite ran this at anything near racepace!
the feeling of being back out without physical restrictions or niggling doubts was immense though i took it cautiously to avoid any repeats of unexpected and sudden inbalances ..there were plenty to be had without proper due care and attention
i could also tell that charlie knew we were back in the swing of it all again..my rucksac being a bit of a giveaway (more about that in a moment)
forecast sunny,i kept an eye out for it. 3 hours in at 11am it tried to show itself but our northern clag is a hardy type and not one for dispersing so easily. at around midday the sun finally won or maybe the clag just let it!
so that was our first 20 mile outing, with oddles of sqidgy ups and downs, for a good couple of months. i finished feeling strong, with plenty left in the tank, and no niggles around the knee area
right! and now on to a piece of kit first used by me yesterday..i cannot believe i haven't had one before..and so blindingly obvious
attached to the front of my sac this little number (though not as small as illustrated..im not a midget) meant i never had to take my pack off throught the run..simple yet genius..like most of the best gadgets that pepper our lives from time to time are!
firstly, the magical mitts of mr michael honey @ trinity house in macc seem to have done the trick. he's an amazing physio and thanks to him any issues i encounter never become big ones. cheers mike!
so with near to full tendon recovery i thought it time to go longer. forecast sunny, we took off to the goyt valley with a 'make it up as you go route' in mind. it wasn't sunny but it was very wet, muddy, slippy and mysteriuosly beautiful as ever blessed with a heavy blanket of clag. and an early start means we get the place largely to ourselves bar any werewolves not yet in bed
as it went, our route, solely taking place around the goyt valley covered large parts of three local fell races - 'windgather', 'shining tor' and 'goyts moss' - though i dont think i quite ran this at anything near racepace!
the feeling of being back out without physical restrictions or niggling doubts was immense though i took it cautiously to avoid any repeats of unexpected and sudden inbalances ..there were plenty to be had without proper due care and attention
i could also tell that charlie knew we were back in the swing of it all again..my rucksac being a bit of a giveaway (more about that in a moment)
forecast sunny,i kept an eye out for it. 3 hours in at 11am it tried to show itself but our northern clag is a hardy type and not one for dispersing so easily. at around midday the sun finally won or maybe the clag just let it!
so that was our first 20 mile outing, with oddles of sqidgy ups and downs, for a good couple of months. i finished feeling strong, with plenty left in the tank, and no niggles around the knee area
right! and now on to a piece of kit first used by me yesterday..i cannot believe i haven't had one before..and so blindingly obvious
attached to the front of my sac this little number (though not as small as illustrated..im not a midget) meant i never had to take my pack off throught the run..simple yet genius..like most of the best gadgets that pepper our lives from time to time are!
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