Rest

Caution applied again. I'm just about to start training hard with lots of sprints in the next 6 weeks, and I'd like to be totally rid of this knee thing going into it, so I was ultra-cautious and rested again today. Didn't have time for a swim either.

An over-cautious day perhaps

1M - aborted run!

I think my knee is ok, but it was feeling a bit tight and a little painful on my way out for my run today. To play it safe - bearing in mind that the target is April, not August, I decided to rest it.

I had no pain later in the day and I may well be being over-cautious. But probably a wise move.

Three days in a row and I'm ok!

12M - general aerobic at 5.53min/M

My confidence in my knee is building now. Yesterday I was anxious during the run. In fact, I had a false start in the morning when I tried a few hundred meters, thought I could feel it and left it 'til the evening run. But my knee was good all day and I was pretty hopeful this morning.

I'm a bit confused about what to call my different runs now that they all need to be faster than 6.00min/M pace. Was yesterday really a recovery run? I guess it was short. And it felt ok. I'm considering today's run a general aerobic workout. It felt pretty comfortable.

My mean pulse was 163bpm. In time, I think I will find my pulse a good indicator of effort, though I'm no confident of my maximum pulse yet. My resting pulse on Tuesday night was 42bpm.

Just 6

6M - recovery run with pack at 5.55min/M

Just six miles today. It was at a sharper pace than my usual recovery runs in an effort to stave off my knee troubles... it felt surprisingly easy and my knee was ok. I felt a bit of tightness in the knee at stages, but in retrospect the pain felt different and was more in my quads than ITB. It's probably just me being over-anxious or just a bit of reactive tightness.

Back running - with a fast 10 miler

10M - tempo run at 5.37min/M

I think I'm back! We'll see how my knee is doing later in the day, but I felt good blasting through these 10 miles around Hyde Park.

Ron feels I should run everything at 6.00min/M or faster from now on - which might be a bit of a challenge on tired days. Today I started at 6.00 and gradually picked it up. By the end I was going at about 5.20, having averaged 5.37 (just under record half marathon pace). I was tired by the end, but dead chuffed to be out there again. My pulse was 182bpm at cruising speed towards the end.

I enjoyed being out in Hyde Park having watched the triathlon there on Sunday.

I've applied a 'deep freeze' patch to my knee and popped some ibuprofen to reduce the chance of any adverse reaction. I'll aim for something steadier (but faster than 6.00min/M) tomorrow.

More swimming...

Another hour of swimming this morning. If I have a sustained injury at some point, I'm definitely going to learn crawl. Breast stroke is distinctly unglamorous. And slow.

Summary of week ending 25/07/10

Click to enlarge

Mon 19/7 - 6M recovery run at 6.38min/M
Tue 20/7 - Rest
Wed 21/7 - 16M; double with pack; 6M recovery run at ~6.55min/M; 10M VO2 max fartlek 12x800m at 2.30-2.40min
Thu 22/7 - Rest
Fri 23/7 - Rest
Sat 24/7 - Swim 1hr
Sun 25/7 - Swim 1hr
TOTAL - 22M

More swimming...

Another hour in the pool today. Other than the tedium of the surroundings, it's quite a nice way to pass an hour.

I talked to Ron today. My knee is pain free again, so I will rest it one more day then try it out on a fast 10 miler on Tuesday.

I bought a set of scales yesterday. Ron thinks I should lose a few pounds. My scales tell me I'm currently 9st 11lb (62kg); 9% fat; muscle mass 51kg; (and 61% water!). I think I raced the marathon at about that, or perhaps a couple of kilos less - though I didn't have scales so I don't know exactly. I think my optimum racing weight might be 9st 4lb. Should be an easy way to speed up!

I went to Hyde Park and watched the London leg of the World Triathlon Championships from the start/finish grandstand this afternoon. The British favourite Alistair Brownlee literally ran himself into the ground. Not the way to win, but a lesson in how to put every ounce into a race.

As you may have worked out, I LOVE to race. I used to just feel trepidation. Now, I can't wait for the challenge. Here's a picture of me in hot pursuit of the fast starter last weekend. I so enjoyed the first few miles while I worked out if I could stick it. Now I need some races in really strong fields where I know I'll have a good number of people running faster than me, so I can extend that challenge right the way through the race.

Swimming!

Yes, swimming! An hour of it. I'm crap at crawl, so I stuck with breast stroke. Not that easy to get the heart rate up, but I think it was hovering at 120-140bpm.

I also cycled 15M (gently) in the evening on the way to a pub. Sadly, the lack of running prevented me from managing a triathlon.

In between, I went to see Jamie for a bit of osteopathy. I felt great afterwards. My knee was pain free on walking for the first time today. I'm itching to get back running, but know I should wait.

Another rest day

The plan is to see how things go for a few days without running. I may rest for up to a week, but hopefully less. My kneee hurt yesterday on walking and is the same today. Nothing dramatic, but I know it wouldn't like running.

My knee needs a rest

Ron suggested I take a few days off running from today. It's probably sensible. My aims are long term and there's no sense in worsening things in mid-July. But it's surprisingly gutting. I think I'm addicted. I was considering fitting in a run this evening and pretending I hadn't yet got his message. But I was good. I'm going to swim instead for a few days.

On a (running) high!

16M - double; recovery & VO2 max fartlek
6M am recovery run with pack at ~6.55min/M
10M pm VO2 max fartlek incl 12x800m fast with pack at ~2.30-2.40min

I'm on a real high because I got in a really good session this evening despite my knee/ITB problem. I've known that it comes on / is more noticeable when I'm running slowly, so I altered my VO2 max session so that (instead of 800m jog recoveries) I had walk recoveries. It worked brilliantly. My knee didn't hurt at all in the fast sessions, despite being almost as bad as ever in my recovery fun and my 1.5M warm-up.

It felt fantastic. I could put my full power through my knee.

It means that the session was shorter than my usual VO2 max (10M rather than 14M). Though I covered the same distance at high speed. It also reduced my recovery time per rep (I recovered for the same time as the last rep had taken i.e 2.30ish mins rather tahn ~5.30 with my jog recovery version). My peak pulse was 177bpm (?lower than expected - though it hurt!). Trough pulses were ~115bpm.

We'll have to have a think about how I should alter my other sessions while my knee is misbehaving.

Another rest for my knee

This was not entirely planned. I had meant to run gently today, but jet lag, work and other plans conspired... and it may be a good thing for the knee, which still hurts a little on walking. We'll see what tomorrow's VO2 max brings. I'm a bit anxious - I don't have confidence that it will stand me putting full power through it.

Just 6 - and the knee held out

6M - recovery run at 6.40min/M

Just 6 today to ease my knee back into things. It was ok(ish)... A couple of times it gave a hefty twinge. But the rest of the time and now, back at the flat, it's fine. Funny. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

I'm back in London. My 23C run seemed beautifully cool after the heat of Philly.

Summary of week ending 18/07/10

Mon 12/7 - 5M recovery run at 7.45min/M
Tue 13/7 - 15M; double; 5M recovery run at 7.30min/M & 10M gen aerobic at 6.00min/M
Wed 14/7 - 10M gen aerobic at 6.00min/M
Thu 15/7 - 20M; double; 6M recovery at 6.45min/M & 14M fartlek incl 24x400m at ~70s
Fri 16/7 - Rest
Sat 17/7 - Rest
Sun 18/7 - 10M; including 8.46M race at 5.27min/M
TOTAL - 60M

$300 are mine!

10M - including 8.46M Pajama loop race at 5.27min/M; 1st position

My knee felt fine this morning, so I did race. It was a 5.30 start time to try to avoid the heat, but it was already 25C when we started (and 85% humidity).

It was pretty unpleasant and the pace set at the beginning was faster than I was planning. It was good racing practice. I tucked in behind the leader and let him lead out until he slowed a little at about 3 miles. I then passed him and gave a bit of kick to shake him off. From then on it was pretty lonely and hot, but I kept up my pace to the end. My max heart rate was 182bpm.

The 1st prize was $300 (which we are going to spend on a swanky lunch) and there were great pretzels, donuts and some coffee at the finish. Jon also did well - he came 8th!

My left knee (with the ITB problems) was fine during the race. I can just about feel something now, an hour or so later. I'll keep popping pills and stretching and aim to get back training fully tomorrow.

Another rest day

My knee is quite a lot better. I have minimal pain, but I rested it again today and kept up with the stretching and ibuprofen rehab.

Rest for my knee

No run today. Just plenty of ibuprofen and stretching of my ilio-tibial band. The pain is there on walking still. I'll see how it is tomorrow, but my plan is probably to rest again and then race on Sunday (faster running is less of a problem, and I will get miserable if I miss the race).

We picked up our numbers today. The race is called the Pajama Loop (because it's at 5.30am). It's part of a bigger event with the showpiece being a 24hr ultramarathon going repeatedly around the 8.4 mile loop we'll race on. It's uncomfortably hot in the day (35C and often very humid) and I don't envy the ultra-runners. They were having their temperatures and blood pressures taken before being allowed to register.

Knee trouble (and a good speed session)

20M - double; speed & recovery
14M am speed; 24x400m as fartlek with 2M warm up and warm down
6M pm recovery run at ~6.15min/M

This was a bad day overall. I have pain on the outside of my left knee because of something called 'ilio-tibial band syndrome'. I had it on the other knee when I started running properly 2 years ago. It went away then with some rest and stretching, but it's an irritation to say the least. It's caused by the tendon from the muscle running down the outside of your thigh getting irritated by repeated rubbing on bones at your knee.

It came on at the end of what was a very good speed session. I ran my 24x400m reps as a fartlek run over the loop the race will be on on Sunday. It was easy because there are distance markers every 400m. It was pretty hot, but I maintained my top speeds of 65-70s per rep all the way through. My Garmin tells me my peak pulses were 175bpm. My trough pulse at the end of a slow 400m was ~125bpm.

The pain came on in a slow patch in the last mile and persisted as I ran slowly home. Perhaps I shouldn't have gone out on my evening run - when it was worse - but I wanted to know how bad things were...

I'll rest tomorrow, stretch and try to calm the inflammation with regular ibuprofen.

10 on the 'mill

10M - general aerobic at 6.00min/M (treadmill)

I just plodded 10 on the treadmill today - ready for some speed tomorrow morning. I find treadmill running tedious in the extreme - though yesterday was an exception because there was a diverting 'Medical Mysteries' program on the telly near me. Today just presented me with the choice between a blank wall and a cookery program for the obese. I had to change treadmills after 5 miles so I could stare out of the window.

Legs a bit more tired today. Pulse 160bpm at cruising velocity my new toy tells me. No niggles. Nothing.

Looking forward to Sunday's race. Apparently there's $300 up for grabs.

A very wet day

15M - double; recovery and general aerobic
5M am recovery run at 7.30min/M
10M pm general aerobic at 6.00min/M (treadmill)

This morning's run was modified thanks to a rain storm of near-Biblical proportions. Refreshing to run in given the heat, but my trainers are feeling a bit sorry for themselves. The heat is hard to factor into plans - it's over 30 all day most days and 25 overnight. Even the gym is sweltering. My afternoon run was on the treadmill and still resulted in a completely sodden t-shirt.

The most exciting event of the day (running-wise) is my purchase of a heart rate monitor to pair with my Garmin. My resting pulse is 43bpm I have learnt.

Just 5

5M recovery run at ~7.45min/M

Just a very gentle one today with Jon along the river in Philly. Pretty hot. Left quad a bit achy after yesterday's long one. Nothing dramatic. No niggles.

Summary of week ending 11/07/10

Mon 5/7 - 6M; 6M recovery run at ~6.45min/M; weights
Tue 6/7 - 12M; double; 6M recovery runs x2 at 6.45min/M
Wed 7/7 - 20M; double; 14M VO2 max 12x800m hill reps & 6M recovery run at
Thu 8/7 - 16M; double; 6M recovery at 6.45min/M & 10M gen aerob at 6.05min/M
Fri 9/7 - 12M; fastish at 5.50min/M
Sat 10/7 - 10M; recovery at 6.40min/M
Sun 11/7 - 20M; long at 6.25min/M
TOTAL - 96M

A sweaty 20

20M - long at ~6.25min/M

I got up at 5.30 to avoid the heat, but that didn't seem to prevent me sweating a bucketload into my t-shirt. I wrung it out and hung if from my water bottle belt at 15 miles and was much happier after that. The Americans seem to like to run t-shirtless, so (other than my physique) I blended in nicely.

I started slow and meant to take it easy, perhaps 6.45-7.00 pace. That lasted a couple of miles before I stopped looking at my watch. The first half I averaged about 6.35 and the second half 6.15. I felt good and didn't feel like I was making much effort. In the last 2 miles my legs felt odd - the feeling that I used to get when I hit the pain barrier in school cross-country. I didn't take advantage of it today as I've experienced how much damage you can do if you really go for it. But it'd be good to learn how to get to that state in the marathon.

A gentle 10 in Philadelphia

10M - recovery run at 6.40min/M

Hmm. I think this was my Saturday run. Whatever it was, it was lovely. Jon and Tatiana live right by the Art Museum in Philadelphia (which Rocky runs up the steps to Eye of the Tiger). There's a great 8 mile circuit along the river. It was coolish by the time I started and, once the sun was low, overheating wasn't too much of a problem. It was nice and gentle and I managed to extend it a little to make up my 10. I took my Garmin so it could enjoy being in the US of A.

Long one using bits of the same route early tomorrow.

12 miles sharpish

12M - marathon race pace ~5.50min/M

I'm off to the US for a week and took the liberty of delaying my Friday run 'til early on Sat am to avoid the heat... but it was still Friday in the US, so I'm calling it my Friday run. Do you follow?

Anyway, it was lovely out and about at 5am! Sun just rising and my legs were full of running. Perhaps it's those vitamins I've been taking. I ran by feel rather than having a target. My instruction was '12 miles strong'. I think I ran the first few miles at around 6min/M pace and finished at a bit under 5.40 pace. A good start to my hol.

No niggles.

Another good day

16M - double; recovery run & general aerobic
6M am recovery run at ~6.45min/M
10M pm general aerobic at ~6.05min/M

Today was pretty gentle after yesterday's hill reps, but I was pleased because I didn't feel any real reaction to it.

The morning run was the usual pleasant jaunt along the river. I guess the day will come when I have to put more effort into these, but for now it's just to keep my legs ticking over.

I wasn't sure how my legs would feel to picking it up a bit this evening. It was pretty hot and I had my pack. But I quite enjoyed lengthening my stride and once I ditched my pack (in Pimlico after 6M) I felt good and springy. I also changed my T-shirt for a vest.

I saw my doppelganger running in a race in Battersea Park(he's a proper lookalike I was at university with - even I double take when I see him). Haven't seen him for 10 or so years. Strange.

Back on track with a good hill rep session

20M; double; VO2 max hill reps & recovery run
14M am; 12x800m hill reps at 5.00-5.06min/M plus 2M warm up / down
6M pm recovery run at ~6.45min/M

I felt much better today. Partly this is probably due to a few lighter days recently. Also, I got an early night (10ish) and got up in the cool early morning for my hard run. I finally tried out my new hill I'd spotted in Green Park. It's not as steep as the one I used before the marathon, but it's good and steep at the end, which is good.

I did 12 of them and found my pace was good throughout. In fact, I was fastest over the last couple (which were also the most painful). I should push harder next time, especially over the first half of each rep. My peak pulse was 204bpm and trough at the end of each rep ~112. Perhaps I should cut back on recovery time too - I currently jog back (~4min20s and then stand for 1 minute).

My recovery run felt good. No niggles.

Two recovery runs and some resolutions

12M - double; recovery runs x2
6M am at ~7.00min/M
6M pm at ~7.00min/M

My resolutions for the week are: 1. to sleep more (and only get up early for a long/hard run when I've managed an early night). 2. to eat better. Nutrition must be important. And even if it doesn't improve my times, at least I'll have a shiny coat. I've bought some multivitamins, lots of dried fruit for snacks and have vowed to eath more protein.

Anyway, in line with aim 1, I woke at a normal time having clocked up 7 hours and went for a gentle run in to work along the river. The world cup dictated that I only had time for a gentle one home. And I'm climbing into bed now to allow an early start for a good hard session in the morning. I'm feeling pretty springy again today.

6 and some weights

6M - recovery run with pack at ~7.00min/M

This is my regular Monday gig now. A really gentle one to work with my pack and some weights. Because of my tiredness over the last week or so I decided to go properly slow today. No watch, so might have been slower than I guessed. But it was nice. Ron's advice is that I should run by feel more than by my watch.

Heavy legs continue

20M - long run; crescendo long run

I was planning a fast/slow 20 miler today. One where I go 1M slow then 1M fast. But I had the same feeling in my legs as yesterday. Really heavy. Just couldn't shift them. So after 1 mile at 6min/M, I just let myself plod along at 7ish min/M pace for a few miles and decided the best was just to go with the flow. As usual on long runs, I picked up at around 7 or 8 miles and probably knocked out the last 13 or so at 6.30 pace.

So I suppose it wasn't so bad, but I'm suffering from the heavy mileage and perhaps too much effort put in alongside. Ron, being apparently psychic, sent me a message saying as much last night (but which I only read this afternoon).

No niggles though.

Heavy legs

9M - double; recovery run x2
6M am at ~6.45min/M
3M pm at ~7.00min/M

This was my worst day since I started this blogging business. I was planning a VO2 max (12x800m) session in the evening... which was probably a bad idea any way as I have a long run tomorrow. Anyway, when I got out there my legs were feeling dreadful and achy and there was nothing in them. I decided to call it a day and preserve what energy I have for tomorrow.

A sticky 22M day

22M - double; 10M recovery & 12M fast/slow
10M am recovery run with pack at ~6.45min/M
12M pm alternating fast/slow: 6x1M at 5.15-5.20 and 6x1M at 7.30-8.00min/M

I've been really tired these last two weeks (which I'm supposed to be). And the heat doesn't help. What was billed as a refreshing 10 along the river in the cool morning breeze turned out to be a sweat-fest. And you wouldn't want to come near me as I sit cooling off in Battersea Park after my more meaty evening session.

These fast/slow sessions are good fun, even if they are taxing. 1M seems to be over in a flash and I always feel like I'm whipping through the session.

My thigh is fab. My legs haven't felt this good sincet he marathon. Not a niggle to complain about.

6 and some weights

6M - recovery run at ~6.45min/M
Weights - 4x6x4kg curls, straight arm raises & squats

Very similar to Monday this one. A gentle pootle in to work along the river and then the same weights session this evening. I've fully recovered from Monday's weights. This one should have less impact again.