Bondi at night

Thursday, April 28, 2005
8km | Easy I ran last night on the road for the first time in months. I ran up to Bondi Junction, down Bondi Road to the Beach, stretched and headed home. My shins were fine but my calves were KILLING ME. I didn't push myself and just lumbered along and enjoyed the run. The last 4km or so were a bit challenging as my calves were screaming for me to stop and rest/walk. I stretched and iced afterwards. Mood: :)

Bump: 1/2M Program

Tuesday, April 26, 2005
26 days to SMH 1/2M Just posting the 1/2M program again so I dont have to go looking for it.

Anzac Day

Monday, April 25, 2005
14km @ 1/2M race pace | 1:20:21 | 5:42/km pace Today I set myself a test: to run 14km at race pace. Of course I have no idea what 1/2M race pace actually is, so I decided that a circa 2 hour finish in my first half would be an realistic goal. I ran the 7km Centennial/Queens Park loop twice at 6.30am. I ran without any pain or tightness in the shin or calves. To run at pace for the first time in 2 months was a little weird to me. I suffered from oxygen debt for the first 5 or so kms and at one stage doubted that I could actually maintain the pace. Luckily I settled down after 7km and was able to run in a good rhythmn. I spent some time on the harder surfaces and felt quite stong and felt no pain. Orthotics seem to be working a treat. Finished quite fresh with petrol in the tank. A definate confidence builder. Mood: :D

Slow and Steady

Saturday, April 23, 2005
7km | Easy After my forced layoff, I went out early this morning before the kids woke up and did the Queens/Centennial Parks loop. I rubbed with Deep Heat in the shins and stretched beforehand. My shins felt tight but there was no real pain. On the way into Centennial Park near the Darley Road ponds, I played chicken with a 30kg goose sitting on the path. It hissed at me but backed off in the end. I'll take any victory at the moment. On the way out of the park a man was walking his dog whilst shaving with a battery powered razor. Dont you just love a man who manages his time efficiently ? Mood: :D

Dumb day off.

Thursday, April 21, 2005
Paying the price for Tuesday, there was no running today. Shins have settled down thanks to ice, neurophen etc. Spinning instead. 10 mins warm up. 30 mins intervals. 5 mins warm down. I will have a run on Sunday. Should be OK. Mood: :|

Let down by the let downs

Wednesday, April 20, 2005
5km | Easy Stupid, stupid thing to do. After a visit to the physio 2 weeks ago, I decided not to continue doing the calf let down exercises as I had a theory that they were making my condition worse. I qualify that statement by saying that the exercises alone were certtainly beneficial in building calf strength, but I can't run and do the exercises at the same time. For me, it just wasn't getting any better. Running is more important in the short term (with the SMH 1/2M just around the corner) so the exercises got the flick for the time being. So last night I'm feeling particularly well and free of pain. I change into my gear and decide (why I dont know) that I might do the let down exercises before my run. The 3 reps of let downs are completed without any drama and I set of for a short run. Whamo, pain in the shin not unlike 4 weeks ago ! Arrrgh ! Lets hope I have now learnt a lesson from this ! Stretched, iced and took Neurophen. Looks like I might spin on Thursday to let it settle down and then reassess on the weekend. Mood: :(

Sunday long run

Sunday, April 17, 2005
34 days to SMH 1/2M 14km | Easy This is the first time I have ever run two days in a row. My 1/2M program has me sceduled now to run on both Saturday and Sunday. I have been quite happy running the 7km cross country lap of Centennial and Queens Parks lately and will continue to do so until after the Herald Half.I am positive that the soft surface is a major reason why I am running right now. I plan to stay on the soft surfaces and gradually introduce the road in the next month. I felt quite heavy in the legs and fatigued at about 5km. I had thoughts of heading home but I figured that the fatigue that I was experiencing (because of running twice in two days no doubt) would be not unlike the heavy legs I would get at 17/18km into the Half Marathon. It was a mental challenge really. Was I injured ? No. Was I tired ? Yes. Was I exhausted ? No. Then keep going wimp ! I pressed on and even ran the last 5km on the pavement as a test to see if my shins would hold up. No problems, touch wood. I finished the 14km and walked home (500m) for a warm down. Stretched and hosed down my legs for 10mins (brrr!) to aid in recovery. Mood: :)

Saturday training

Saturday, April 16, 2005
7km | Easy I ran this morning and did the Centennial/Queens Park loop. One lap at esay pace brought me home feeling fresh. Orthotics in the Asics 2100 were feeling OK after I laced them up differently and used the spare upper laceholes to pull the heel in tight. Mood: :)

Back on 1/2M Program

Friday, April 15, 2005
I'm feeling pretty up at the moment and am confident that I am on the right side of my injuries. I have decided to jump on board the 1/2M program published in the April 2005 Runners World. I have amended the Tuesday speedwork to just a easy run and will endeavour to get a decent base in the next month (hopefully without injury). Mood: :D

First hit out.

Thursday, April 14, 2005
37 days to SMH 1/2 30:00 | Easy After walking in the orthotics on Tuesday, I decided that the time was right for a jog. I taped (elastoplast) the "hot spots" which I indentified after Tuesday's walk as possible blister problems. I set out towards Queens Park and ran a few Kms on the grass and then diverted onto the footpath up to Bondi Junction. My calves felt tight in a different way. Andy the Pod and Larry the Physio forewarned me that the orthotics will make me run in the correct position and therefore my leg muscles will need to adapt. I ran home after about half an hour as I didn't want to push my luck with blisters or muscle strain. 30:00 spinning | 1:00 intervals I stretched and gulped some water down when I got home and jumped straight onto the trendy static bike. I did the same workout as last week and managed to get my heart rate to 145bpm at one stage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I look above and see that its only 37 days to my first 1/2M and I have in no way had a decent preparation. I am in a way quite a ease with it all really. The way I look at it I will only have say two long runs of over 15km between now and then, with a bunch of 7-10km runs in bewteen. Yes I could certainly do more, but I'm being cautious about injury. My plan is that after each short run I will jump in the static bike and pump out intervals for another 30/45/60 mins. That should aid with fitness, core strength etc. I am I stressed ? Nup. After all, the 1/2M is just me going out for a 2 hour run - right ? Can I do that ? You betcha ! Mood: :)

Breaking in the orthotics.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005
75:00 walking | Boring ! I picked up my orthotics from Andy the Pod yesterday. Andy said that it would take a while to get used to them and suggested that I walk in them for a few days before I run. So off I went walking about Waverley and Bondi - lurking about in the dark. My left foot felt quite "natural" after about 30:00 however my right foot felt like it had a big lump on the inside of my heel. Whatever, too early to judge. I will walk (and maybe run?) tonight if it feels right. Mood: :|

Two Parks

Sunday, April 10, 2005
13km | 90:21 | Easy I ran the combined lap of Centennial and Queens Parks at 6.00am this morning. The two laps were exactly 13km door to door. I ran on the soft grass edge in Centennial Park and grass all the way in Queens Park. My legs felt heavy for the first 5km or so but felt stronger at about 8km. I finished strong and felt like I had a heap left in the tank. Shins finished slighly tender. I stretched, iced and applied Voltaren Gel afterwards. Oh, towards the end of my first lap I heard "Hey Coolrunner !" and had the pleasure of meeting fellow CR LuLu ! Mood: :D

Part road, part grass

Friday, April 08, 2005
50:00 | Easy I was feeling good and I know that I shouldn't have - but I ran partly on the road last night. I ran the outside fence run of Centennial Park with an extra detour around the netball and tennis courts of Moore Park. So about 8/9km in total. I would say that it was a 60/40 grass/road ratio. After say 6 weeks of running on soft surfaces only, I certainly noticed the jarring on my legs. My quads were feeling it a bit (although that could have been the spin session on Wednesday) and my shins were starting to get a dull ache about 40:00 into the run. All in all I finished without any real pain and stretched and iced afterwards. I will run 10km cross country (back to low impact) on Sunday as I get my orthotics on Tuesday. I hope that the transition to orthotics will alow me to run on the road full time in the short term. I'm beginning to doubt my base for the 1/2M is adequate at this stage. Mood: :|

Spin session

Thursday, April 07, 2005
I read whilst sitting in Andy the Pod's waiting room I saw a Tri Mag which recommended a spin session which was as simple as 1:00 easy, 1:00 hard etc. The session required those repeated intervals for 30:00. So I dialed the resistance on the trendy bike to a easy setting of about 12 o'clock and warmed up for about 5:00. Then cranked it up to 3 o'clock and drove it hard for the 1:00, then back to 12 o'clock etc. At about 20:00 my quads were burning during each hard interval. I finished pretty wasted, stetched and iced. No pain today. Mood: :)

On the grass again.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005
45:00 | Easy I ran the same old grass stretch last night and felt no pain. I plodded along at a relaxed pace but frankly got bored after about 30:00. Life is rather restrictive when you have to stay off the road and on the grass. Of course I could drive to run - but thats a bit of a drama really. Cant wait until my niggles subside totally (perhaps with some more physio and the new orthotics) so I can wind up the distances and maybe get to do a 17/18km run once (or twice) before the 1/2M in May. Mood: :)

My visit to the Podiartrist

Tuesday, April 05, 2005
46 days to go to SMH 1/2M. Met with Andy the Pod today. Andy as it turns out is Podrunner on CoolRunning. Nice guy too ! Well the long and the short of it is that I'm all over the place. Andy measured, pulled, prodded and the like. Videoed my gait on the treadmill standing, walking and running. The result is that I'm a pigeon toed, weak calved, floppy tendoned pronator who needs orthotics ! So a plaster cast was made of my ugly feet and my (carbon fibre !) orthotics will be ready next Tuesday. Andy the Pod determined that my calves were pretty lose but my hamstrings were all locked up and they need lengthening. He showed me the right way to stretch my hamstrings (I have more than one on each leg it seems) so it will be a daily thing now until I can touch my toes. Stay tuned on that ! Oh, I noticed today that Larry the Physio is PhysioLarry on CoolRunning ! Way to go Larry ! Mood: :D

Forgive me Father for I have shin'd

Sunday, April 03, 2005
45:00 | Easy Ventured out this morning at dawn to run on the level grass of Queens Park. Every niggle possible had its turn to hurt within the 1st km, but it all settled down after I slipped into a slow rhythmn. I was the only one out there with the exception of an elderly male walker dressed in white singlet, satin boxers (with a little devil print), long red socks and his runners. Each to their own I guess ! I certainly felt good and imagine that I ran at around 6:00/km pace. I havn't been turning on the GPS lately as pace/distance etc are not important at the moment. I just want to be able to have a few slow weeks of solid running. That would be nice. Stretched and iced afterwards. No inflamation or soreness this morning. I'm thinking I will go down to Bondi Beach on Tuesday night to run for a bit. I have a parking pass there and most of the beach is floodlit at night. I'm hoping that Andy the Pod and Larry the Physio will allow me to run on sand as an alternative to grass. I wouldn't mind the variety over Autumn if possible. Also, I have my eye on the Bondi Barefoot (10km) later in the year and the Manly Soft Sand Classic (21km) is something to think about in the future. Mood: :)

Holla for a Marshall

Saturday, April 02, 2005
Spent the first part of my morning standing at station 2 of the Striders Domain Race with my vest and flag feeling quite envious of them all. After seeing the leaders fly past for the 3 laps with such ease made me think - it can't be all that hard ? You just have to get super fit, learn to run like the wind AND remain injury free. Easy really. ;-P I will venture out for 5km on the grass in the morning. Mood: :|