Week 4 - A Brass Monkey

Week 4 seems to have gone well. I have been able to up my training and although my legs have complained during running, they actually seem to have coped with it quite well and have not ached the day after a session.

What I had forgotten was how hungry running makes me. I was woken up at 4:30am one day this week by my tummy rumbling very loudly. Today, after the Brass Monkey yesterday, I just couldn't seem to be able to eat enough despite eating a reaosnable amount yesterday too.

Monday I rested.

Tuesday was a 35 min tempo session. True to how I have been since returning to running, I was 1 min per mile down again. I was a little disappointed when I downloaded my Garmin because I had felt like I was flying. Not going to go very far flying at 8:27 per mile though...

Wednesday was a recovery run but up Stonegate Road again. I cut it short at 4 miles - partly because I had to get back to pick K up and partly because I was very aware that my legs had a longish run the next day.

Thursday was medium length run day except medium is actually quite long at the moment. It was an easy 8 miles. My legs had that weird thing they used to do where they felt fine to about 5 miles then turned to concrete then were fine again for the last 2 miles. I came to the conclusion that it was a switch in energy systems that used to cause it. No idea if that is right though!

Friday was another rest day. Following Tom's advice of resting the day before the day before a race instead of the day before.

Saturday I thought I was not going to be able to run as it was a busy day, but John stayed on Friday night which meant I could sneak out for a quick one before K woke up. And I do mean a quick 2 miles by the way! Then it was time to be proud mum as K powered round the school cross country race and came in 11th out of over 100 girls. Her friend came 4th and the team came 2nd. P R O U D :)

Sunday was my first half marathon since GNR in 2009 - 16 months! I had really not been sure whether I should do it. Not because I didn't think I could, more that I wondered whether I would be able to rein myself in enough to not wear my legs out and wipe out a week or more of London training. I decided that I would take the first 2 miles easy and then up it a bit and see how it went.

The day started strangely with a surprise phone call at 7am when I was in the shower. The call distracted me and I found it very hard to get my racing head on and even had to be reminded to have my breakfast.

To keep myself a bit in check during the race, I decided to start closer to the back than I would normally and luckily I found the Hyde Park Harriers ladies' group and they kept me calm. Off we went and I just aimed for around 10 minute miles...ish. I had set my Garmin for 2:09, but didn't follow that at all (there's a surprise!). Actually, I didn't do too badly and my first 4 miles were done around 9:30 pace. It then got a bit faster, but still around the 9:15 mark. It was really nice not pushing myself so hard that I couldn't breathe. I actually enjoyed catching people up and slowing the pace to have a natter to them. In fact, it was brilliant! My heart rate didn't want to get above 160 for most of the race. Special mention to Rich K who it was a lovely surprise to see - thanks for your cheers.

When I reached mile 10 I cheered outloud because that was officially the longest I had run in well over a year. It was only when I got to mile 12 that I decided to push it a bit. I wanted to start to train my legs to run when they were tired. So I pushed it and they responded - much to my surprise! The last mile I decided to really push it and I managed. I must have overtaken at least 30 people in that last mile and it felt really good. It was wonderful to turn into the racecourse and see John and all the Hyde Park Harriers there cheering. It really lifted me and I sprinted faster only to feel sick on the corner and have to slow it back down again!

Officially a pw at 2:02 - I managed 1:50 as part of my 22 miler when I was Edinburgh training, but it's done now. It has given me the confidence boost I needed that I can still run distances and suddenly a marathon seems more doable than it was a week or so ago. My legs are fine today and stairs have not been an issue. FAB.

I am not racing during this marathon training. Partly because there isn't a half marathon that is at the right time within a reasonable distance, partly because I need the longer distances and partly because I know that racing takes up so much extra time that I need to focus on my masters. It's going to be weird because I love racing so much, but I have to try to balance my time carefully.

I have adjusted my schedule for this week. I had 16 miles down as my long run on Sunday, but thought it was probably sensible to not have a 4 mile increase one week followed by a 3 mile the next so have decided to make it 14 instead. It has meant moving my first 20, but I think that is best. I am getting better at listening to my body (HURRAH!)


PS My 'super fast' last mile at the Brass Monkey was actually 8:31 pace which is slower than I ran the whole of Edinburgh at. Ho hum.....

MILEAGE FOR THIS WEEK: 32:49 MILES

Week 3 - Finally!

This week seems to have been much better training wise.  I managed to successfully keep my migration to the next age category at a low level and still have a lovely day - phew!

Luckily the ice disappeared and I was even able to get out for a run on my birthday.  I did 4 x 1   miles although the pacing wasn't fantastic.  Still, I got out and it made me feel better by actually being able to run.  I got some lovely new earphones for my iphone so I could really distract myself from the pain of intervals.  They weren't very consistent in pace at all: 8:47, 7:58, 8:43, 8:05.  In my defence, it was just on the road which is rather undulating in places.

Wednesday I went out from school again up Stonegate Road (again).  It was meant to be an easy 5 miles, but the hills meant that even though I dropped my pace, it wasn't very easy.  Surprisingly, I managed to be slower on the way back (ie downhill), but that may be because I remembered it was supposed to be easy and running fast was not easy!

Thursday was K's first evening at guides so I could get out and run a longer run.  We cycled up there - well I tried to cycle whilst K pedalled at such a slow speed I am sure it would have been faster to walk!  I then did close to 7 miles at an easy pace with not too much in the way of hills.  It was nice to get out and do something longer even though my legs felt tired.

Friday I decided to give my legs a rest because they are just not used to running three days on the trot at the moment.

Saturday was a slow parkrun meant as a tempo, but not quite quick enough: 26:16, but I am not too concerned because I have to see the bigger picture.

Sunday was a get up early and get out quickly morning.  I was out by 7:45 and 9 miles later I returned quite pleased and a bit more chilled.  It wasn't fast - I am about one minute down per mile compared with Edinburgh training, and it certainly wasn't easy as my legs took about 4 miles to get warmed up, but it is done.

Still can't decide about Brass Monkey...

TOTAL MILES: 29 - RESULT!

Week 2 - Ice Skating

My second week's training seems to have been a complete disaster. 

I finished my first week with a long run on Sunday in Dubai.  I had got 8 miles down to do, but the time change was affecting me badly so I decided to do 7.  However, I ran along the Marina and eventually hit a building site (not that that is hard in Dubai because they are everywhere!).  No problems I thought, I will just go round and back on to the Marina path again.  Except, it took me over a bridge and I was terrified of getting lost, so I turned round and came back again.  I managed to eek it would to just under 6 miles before my brain had had enough.  The above picture is from my Garmin showing this run.

Monday I did some intervals on the Marina.  I ran and John walked.  So I ran in front of him, turned round and ran back (total 2 mins), then walked for 1 min.  I did that 8 times.  My pace was mostly reasonable, although there is a long way to go to get back to full speed.

Tuesday I got up early before our flight home and forced myself out to run 5 miles easy.

Wednesday was a rest day.

Thursday I ran from school for the first time for ages.  I decided to go up Stonegate Road.  It nearly did me in!  Still, hills make you stronger...

Friday it snowed so I abandoned my run because it was slippy.  Friday night it rained, but because it was so cold, it turned the pavements into ice.  We slipped our way to the bus stop on Saturday morning for parkrun.  Now, since my operation I have been terrified of hurting myself and not being able to run again.  Because my legs are so dodgy I know that a slip can cause big problems higher up and it's just not worth the risk.  So I decided to see what it was like at Hyde Park before running.  It was not brilliant and as I was umming and ahhing, Sam said he needed a time clock person so that decided it for me. 

Sunday was a disaster too.  I went over to John's to run as he had to help his uncle and we were going out for lunch after.  The pavements were horrendous.  Every second step I slipped and my heart rate went through the roof as I tried to hold myself rigid in an attempt not to fall over.  I gave up and ended up doing just 2 measly miles when I needed to do 9. 

So now I have a tough decision to make.  Do I do the Brass Monkey or not?  I needed that 9 so I could do 11 next time then 13 would be fine.  Can I do it as a training run and walk 2 of the miles?  Can I jog the 2 miles slowly?  When is it best to do - beginning, end, spread out?  Decisions decisions decisions.  Ah well, still a little while to go to decide :)

I am also a little miffed that I missed out on my Jantastic target of 5 runs last week.  I only managed 4 and had planned 6.  Not a good start when I need to rebuild my consistency.

TOTAL MILES: 14.7

Week 1 - Running in the UAE

I read Kay's pre-marathon blog and know exactly how she feels.  My motivation and enthusiasm for this race has been virtually nil this time.  I have an awful lot of other stuff going on in my life at the moment and running, although I have been doing some, has rather taken a back seat recently.

I think part of the problem is that I really can't see how I can be fit enough to run the distance come April 17th.  I seem to have had so many physiological issues since my operation that my legs seem to be permanently stiff and bits of them are so sore that I nearly hit the ceiling when I try to release the tight bits.

My training program is basically my Edinburgh one with the dates changed and a more structured interval session now that I have different days available for training.  K is now at Guides not Brownies which gives me nearly two hours on a Thursday night which is definitely long enough for a mid length run.

I have started this week.  Day 1 was a rest day and a good job because I was a bit jetlagged having flown over to Dubai!

My first run was along Dubai Marina.  It is pancake flat which is perfect for me :)  There were lots of people out running and powerwalking even though it was about 8am local time (4am for my UK body!).  It's no wonder my legs did not want to move at all.  Still, I forced them to do 4 miles and they coped okay.  This is a picture of a building I saw en route:

Day 3: another 4 miles on the same route, but today's was much easier.  Listening to an interview with Andi Jones on Marathon Talk inspired me because he manages to marathon train despite also being a full time teacher. 

Day 4 and a switch to Abu Dhabi.  Interesting to go in the car along the corniche which is like the promenade and see the parks wondering which of them would be suitable for the first parkrun Abu Dhabi.  The corniche itself is set up for exercise with a dedicated cycle lane and traffic free paths which have exercise points on them with instructions for press ups etc at various points.  Once I had negotiated the very busy road to get on to the corniche, I could run for 2.5 miles out without ever having to stop to cross a road.  I could have run for another few miles I think, but this was a 5 miles easy run so I had to turn around and come back.  My legs were heavy again this morning.  There weren't as many runners out as in Dubai.

Day 5 and forced myself to get out this morning.  I know I would have felt guilty later if I had not gone out.  An easy 4 miles along the corniche again and that has made the first time I have done 4 days back to back training runs for well over a year.  There were more runners out this morning and a few families following the fitness points things which was lovely to see.  My achilles is sore, but hopefully that will ease off.  I know I will need to get a physio appointment pretty soon though if I am to stand any chance of being fit.

What has surprised and annoyed me is my lack of speed.  My legs just feel so heavy.  I am hoping that it is the jetlag and tiredness rather than a permanent lack of speed.  I am taking an extra day off this week and not doing the 3 mile tempo tomorrow morning.  Partly because I think my legs need a break and partly because it is New Year's Eve and I expect to be out to see 2011 in...

These are pictures from the corniche.  The building in the background of the second one is the Emirates Palace where they did have the world's most expensive Christmas tree.  We went to see it yesterday, but they had already started taking it down in preparation for NYE!

TOTAL MILES: 23.3

47 weeks to go

Hmm.  Back at work last week = very tired = too tired to write blog.

It was tough being back at work.  There are so many steps in the building and I was just so tired.  Being up at 8pm is a luxury at the moment as I am normally tucked up in bed and drifting off. 

I finally abandoned the crutches just over a week ago.  It was a lack of confidence making me keep them, but I can walk without them.  I found myself limping for the first few days, but a physio visit soon sorted that out.  I can do up stairs properly, but down I can't do yet without landing heavily. 

One thing that I have found is that I can actually put my heel down when I am walking.  It is amazing that I can do this without even having to think about it after so many years of walking on my toes and not being able to force my heel down even when told I must.  I wonder if my running style will be different when I am finally allowed to start running again.  Will I still be able to run on my toes?

Physio has been great.  I have had my muscles loosened and loads of exercises to do.  I have to start to build my glutes and calfs back up again now.  I am trying desperately to get my balance right because I have no balance on my right leg.  This lack of balance is still causing me to land heavily on my left leg.  My achilles is very sore at the moment. 

My mood has slipped with not being able to exercise.  I walked to the shop today rather than get the bus just so I could do some exercise because I felt quite down.  Still, only two weeks to go until I can hopefully get going again - although it may be longer because my knee still hurts :( 

Apart from work, there hasn't been time for much.  The PECO BBQ was great fun and it was nice to spend time with my running friends.  I am still getting to parkrun every Saturday morning to cheer people on.  It keeps me at least a little bit involved and allows me to see people.

Right, it's 6:20 so it's almost bed time now - night night!

49 weeks to go

Tough week this week.

Tried using no crutches at home.  Fine apart from stairs.  I tried to go up and down them on my own, but it hurt.

I have been really feeling it not being able to run and in considerable pain on occasions probably due to trying to do too much.  Wednesday I found myself in tears on and off throughout the day and was desperate for my endorphin fix.  Kept having to remind myself that this small amount of time was nothing in comparison with the amount of time it would let me run afterwards.

Thursday I started to panic that it hadn't worked.  My knee was clicking and sticking and also hurting when I tried to do some of the exercises.

Friday was physio day.  I got told off for using two crutches and am only allowed one when outside.  I can walk without them, it's just a complete lack of confidence.  I was walking very stiff legged at the beginning of my session, but she soon sorted that out.  I have more exercises to do including balancing on one leg (which I am still useless at!) and side stepping.  I also have to do the heel rolls exercise which is really hard for me to do when I can't put my heel down.  This is, surprisingly, easier now since the op.  My knee is clicking because my muscles have turned to mush and not keeping it in line to track properly.  I am walking better and can manage stairs providing I put both feet on each step, but it is so tiring.

Sunday was Leeds Half.  Loads of run club members running and marshalling.  Little K did the junior race and did FAB.  She finished the 2.5km in 11:01 minutes which is brilliant!  After, we went to a wonderful marathon party celebration.  I love my running family!  I am now very very tired and although I haven't done much today, it has completely worn me out...

50 weeks to go.

This week has been about getting my leg moving and accepting a few horrible things.

• On advice from T, it is looking like racing is out for this year.  GNR is the only one I have entered - shame it is the most expensive! 
• I cannot do as much as I want to be able to do because I end up with a very sore leg and sleeping about a million hours if I do try to do a few things. 
• A 10 minute walk currently takes me 30 minutes.

I have been at home this week.  I have forced myself to make use of my time and write some reports which will free up a bit of time at a later date.  I have also made sure that I have done my exercises 3 or 4 times each day. 

Wednesday was one week down the line and I tried to start to use just one crutch.  I managed okay until I went out for a coffee with AL in the afternoon and despite having my foot up in the cafe, still needed two crutches to hobble around Asda because my leg hurt so much.  It's soooo frustrating.

Thursday I decided to do a few bits to the club website and set up our new domain.  Caught up with points for the championship as well.

Friday I went to physio and was pleased that she was pleased with how my leg was mending.  I had a better range of motion than she thought I would have.  I can walk easily using two crutches without putting much weight on them, but go down to one crutch and I am limping.  Very strange!  Later walked to get K from Brownies and a 10 minute walk took me 30 mins.  Hmmm.

Saturday it was lovely because H came and picked us up and took us to parkrun.  Great to see everyone again.  Took some photos on my new camera and tested out the zoom which was great.  Took K to the new swimming pool and she liked it.  It will be the first club run from there on Tuesday.  It will be interesting to see how many people stay with us. 

After going to the pool, K and I went into town and despite a broken walk of 5 minutes, I was exhausted and in agony by the time we got home.  Leg up for the rest of the day.

So I now have 50 weeks to go and hopefully will be able to start some exercise in 4 to 6 weeks.  Must keep going with rehabilitation exercises if I am going to stand any chance of this.

(still looking a bit manky!)