I'm strange.
I emerged from my massage last night, tired and bruised, after a very intense session concentrating on just one area of one leg. I loved it!
There's a type of pain associated with the massage of muscles in a certain condition, that is quite delicious. It's a pain you instinctively know is doing you good. It doesn't always happen with massage: sometimes it's just ouch-painful, but once in a while a muscle gets in a state, the unknotting of which is absolute ecstasy.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not the sort of person who sticks pins in myself for fun. Sometimes massage can be absolute hell. When tight muscles are sore to touch, then it's usually agony having them massaged. My hamstrings and ITB are such examples. Tracy pushes her thumbs of steel into my upper legs and the pain is so intense a sort of coping mechanism kicks in: I laugh! Yes, I laugh. This is nothing to do with enjoyment though. I suppose you have to laugh or you'll cry.
See, I told you: I'm strange.
There is a different sort of tightness though which just feels so good when treated. I get this sometimes when my piriformis muscle (deep in the buttock) gets tight and I start to get back ache. I massage it by lying on a tennis ball and writhing around, rolling the ball back and forth over the tight spot. The pain is a sort of warm deep aching: images of melted chocolate rather than cold steel. I writhe around in a pained ecstasy. I do this in private, you understand!
I've suffered with phantom pains on the inside of my calf for over a month now. At first these were 'treated' by massaging the calf, but apparently to no avail. Aside from the rather disconcerting knife stab pains, I realised by the tingly and vague nature of the day-to-day pains that they were likely caused by a trapped nerve, but where? I have slowly come to the realisation that it's a tight shin muscle (tibialis anterior) causing the problem, but due to various circumstances I haven't been able to get anyone to massage the shin, until the session last night back with my regular massage therapist Tracy. I guess the shin doesn't usually need much attention in a runner, so maybe I should forgive Tracy's colleagues for ignoring my requests to treat it.
So last night I discovered that the tibialis anterior and the adjacent lateral edge of the soleus have the same property as the piriformis. I think poor Tracy was getting a tad embarrassed at my exclaiming "Oh yes!" with regularity. It wasn't all guilty pleasure though, as Tracy had to get in deep against a nerve, and I got a sensation akin to someone cooking popcorn on the top of my foot, but it certainly was a massage unlike any other.
45 minutes of delicious pain to get rid of weeks of horrible phantom pain. I hope it worked!
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Beachy Head Marathon 2006
This year I was driver and supporter for the Beachy Head Marathon - I chose not to run it - I'm tired, OK?!
Lovely to meet the forumites Gobi, Snoop and Plodding Hippo (good luck Hipps in Dublin!), and well done to Matt the Brum for winning!
Here are the pics:
I ran it last year. Here is the 2005 report. Here are the photos
Lovely to meet the forumites Gobi, Snoop and Plodding Hippo (good luck Hipps in Dublin!), and well done to Matt the Brum for winning!
Here are the pics:
I ran it last year. Here is the 2005 report. Here are the photos
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Never satisfied: The Abingdon Marathon 2006
As I ran down the final straight I could feel the lactic acid burning in my legs. I had never put this much effort in before; I’d never felt that much burn. This was the hardest run race of my life. I crossed the line triumphant, the hot Lanzarote sun burning down on me.
Eh?
What’s that got to do with Abingdon on a rainy October Sunday?
It seems that last eye-balls-out 8*200m session, run as a 3 person relay race ‘paarlauf’, was one session too many at the training camp. I’d felt good all week but looking back I think that session pushed me over the edge into over-training territory. 2 days after returning to the UK I went for a long run feeling drained. My heart rate was at least 10bpm higher than what it should have been for the pace I was running. In other words I’d lost 30secs/mile in pace.
I’ve felt fatigue before, being unable to pick my pace up, but it’s never affected the pace/HR relationship: fatigue has slowed me in the past but my HR would be correspondingly lower. It would seem that this is the essential difference between simple fatigue and over-training: suddenly you become a less efficient runner, your HR spiralling.
Added to this I’d suffered a few niggles following Lanzarote with a slight calf strain leading to tightness and shin splints, and a strange phantom pain in the side of my calf. Fortunately this had just resulted in a few missed days of training and a reduced mileage, which may have helped with the over-training recovery anyway.
Fast forward to the Abingdon marathon and I lined up unsure of whether my pace had recovered. I’d seen a glimmer of hope at the Bells of Pattingham run, where suddenly it seemed my pace was better, as far as I could tell on the hills, ploughed fields and mud. The gentle runs in the days before the marathon seemed to contradict that though – had the Bells Run pushed me back over the edge into over-training territory?
My target for the race was to get the 3:15 London Marathon Championship qualifying time. I knew this was going to be a tall order after the upsets to my training, whereas a month previously I’d been confident. I’d told people that I’d know if 3:15 was a possibility once I was just 4 miles into the race – by then I’d see what my pace/HR relationship was and would know if I was going to be able to run the required 7:25/mile.
Spot Susie:
So the race was off, in near perfect weather conditions: a miracle considering a) the forecast and b) the horrendous weather suffered by the Great South Run later in the day. I felt quite relaxed after being chauffeured to the start by Gill, giving up most of her night’s sleep to get me there unruffled – what a star!
My heart rate monitor took a while to register as I built up a sweat, so I relaxed into what felt a sensible pace. After a mile I started to get a reliable reading and instantly my fears were realised, 2 miles earlier than I’d predicted. 3:15 was not going to be a possibility today, with my heart rate already at 144bpm, just a notch below my target, and my pace nowhere near the 7:20-7:25 I needed. As I settled to a sensible stable HR over the next few miles I was running at 7:40/mile and I had indeed lost nearly the 30secs/mile I feared.
I saw Gill at 6 miles. As she handed me a drink I shouted that I’d already missed 3:15.
I felt good, despite the lack of pace and a touch of stitch ( always a risk topping up with 250ml of sport drink before the start), so carried on undeterred to grab that PB and club record.
Ah yes the club record: 3:24:33 set by Chris at London a few years back. I love to have my targets! I did some quick calculations. The club record is 7:50/mile (it’s actually 7:48 – I should have known that) and I’m doing 7:40/mile so that’s a good buffer to allow for a slight slowing at the end surely? Hmmm.
The Abingdon course is quite nice, even if you include the industrial estate – it’s a very clean well-architected industrial estate – with a particularly nice bit down by the river and some pleasant countryside. It’s not as flat as London – there are noticeable undulations – but it must be one of the flattest courses around. We had a slight breeze in places and a little light rain mid-race, but boy were we lucky with the weather!
I was comfortable at half way, going through in 1:41:18. I realised though that I was now going to have to run the most even paced marathon I’ve ever run if I was to get the club record – the two halves of the race were going to have to be within 2 minutes of each other. My pace had suffered in Lanzarote, but what was my endurance like? Each mile was now a game of mental gymnastics as I calculated the required pace. I allowed myself 2 minutes to run the last 0.22 miles and calculated the pace with each passing mile in order to get to 26 miles in 3:22:30. I needed to run at 7:52/mile for the remaining miles. (In case you’re wondering, I’m well practised in pace calculation!)
The miles ticked by 7:48 – good, 7:32 – excellent, although helped by questionable mile marker positioning, 7:55 – oh dear, 7:58 – aaggh!, 7:53 – still not there, 7:48 – better. By mile 20 I was still needing 7:52/mile as I entered the tough last 6 miles.
A quick mention for the rest of Team Gratton. The ladies were well represented with Tigger’s mate Roo and Tootie Applebuns hoping for good results. Rich had spotted me at the start but I hadn’t spotted Dull Napoleon. I’d left TmR to her thoughts before the start – I’d spotted the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on her body language. TA had shot off like a rocket at the start and I was hopeful she might have more luck with her 3:15 target than I was experiencing with mine. Incidentally, I’d thought that Tootie Applebuns was some sort of reference to a pert bum playing tunes on expelled gases as she ran – something I can relate to – ah, the gastro-intestinal problems of high mileage! The truth is somewhat less spectacular having discovered that she got the name after typing her real-world name into a screen name generator – shucks!
At around 18 miles I spotted TA, in her distinctive purple kit, walking! Oh no! I patted her on the back and heard “bad stitch”. She’d started with a sore throat thinking it was race nerves, but was struck down badly the following day. She may have gone off a tad quick, but clearly she wasn’t in full health that day. :-(
Back with my race I tried to slot in with a few strong runners around me to try to pace off them. Following two guys in green who looked strong I passed a group, overtaking a young woman in a red crop top whom I’d had in my sights for much of the first half. She then left the group and overtook me. Clearly in her mind the race was on. This didn’t last for long though as she soon dropped back. Unfortunately so did the guys in green and I was left to latch on to a guy in a white vest who then came past. The guy in white looked really strong and I though he might be my ticket to the finish, but he too faded and I was left battling the clock on my own in the last few miles.
After putting in a 7:50, 7:47 and 7:53 things were looking good for the last 2 miles, but as I passed the 25 mile marker in 8:24 I got rather worried, apparently losing a lot of time and needing to run the last mile in 7:30.
The mile markers were mostly on stakes in the ground, as was mile 25, but I noticed they didn’t always correspond with the painted marks on the road. There was a faint 25 on the road 50m before the 25-mile marker – why would they deliberately put the sign past the mark when they could stick it in the verge right next to the line? I had to hope that the 8:24 lap was wrong and I wasn’t slowing. My GPS seemed to say I was still pacing well, but I’ve been caught out before trusting GPS – it usually measures long and gives a flattering pace measurement.
Entering the stadium at 26 miles:
I pushed as hard as I could, but couldn’t muster any more than 7:40/mile on the GPS. As we entered Tilsley Park for the run in, there was a slight incline which felt like a mountain to my tired legs. A few twists and turns and I ran onto the track, with just the 0.22 miles of the 26.22 to go. I’d made it with 2 minutes to go! I pushed on around the track and with relief saw the finish clock telling me I was well inside the club record.
I crossed the line in 3:24:10. Did I say well inside? I’d made it by 23 secs!
I punched the air, happy with my achievement, but it was tinged with the question of where my pace had gone. Hopefully in the coming weeks I might get the answer to that question.
I got my first ever spot prize: an Abingdon Marathon towel. I guess it's getting harder and harder to claim I had a bad day!
TmR and TA came in a bit later, well down on their expectations, however we waited around for the results of the British Masters Championships ever hopeful. TmR got the gold medal and TA got silver! Result! Well done you two! We all got something out of the race despite not achieving the times we thought we were capable of.
It was lovely to meet all the Runner’s World people at the end: RichK and his photos, Tiger, PS66, Beanz, Plodding Hippo, Dull Napoleon, who PBed but just missed 3:00, lp who got her championship place (well done, I’m jealous!), Hollywood and Shiraz. One pair I saw at the start but missed at the finish were Mick’n’Phil – they PBed in 4:03 – brilliant!
Well done to Mel, my real world friend, who just missed the 3:45 Good For Age mark, but she'd already achieved the GFA time for London earlier in the year.
I’ll post the splits and HR details separately, but looking at them I ran the best race I could possibly have run given my reduced fitness. In fact that’s the best marathon I’ve ever run and not just because it’s a PB – my execution was spot on.
As for my legs, they felt great! It was lucky I caught the tight shin muscle on Friday and managed to massage it out, or I would have had 26 miles of phantom pain, thinking I was pulling my calf apart. My legs feel great today, 2 days on, so it looks like I should bounce back quickly.
Now that doesn’t sound like overtraining does it?
Eh?
What’s that got to do with Abingdon on a rainy October Sunday?
It seems that last eye-balls-out 8*200m session, run as a 3 person relay race ‘paarlauf’, was one session too many at the training camp. I’d felt good all week but looking back I think that session pushed me over the edge into over-training territory. 2 days after returning to the UK I went for a long run feeling drained. My heart rate was at least 10bpm higher than what it should have been for the pace I was running. In other words I’d lost 30secs/mile in pace.
I’ve felt fatigue before, being unable to pick my pace up, but it’s never affected the pace/HR relationship: fatigue has slowed me in the past but my HR would be correspondingly lower. It would seem that this is the essential difference between simple fatigue and over-training: suddenly you become a less efficient runner, your HR spiralling.
Added to this I’d suffered a few niggles following Lanzarote with a slight calf strain leading to tightness and shin splints, and a strange phantom pain in the side of my calf. Fortunately this had just resulted in a few missed days of training and a reduced mileage, which may have helped with the over-training recovery anyway.
Fast forward to the Abingdon marathon and I lined up unsure of whether my pace had recovered. I’d seen a glimmer of hope at the Bells of Pattingham run, where suddenly it seemed my pace was better, as far as I could tell on the hills, ploughed fields and mud. The gentle runs in the days before the marathon seemed to contradict that though – had the Bells Run pushed me back over the edge into over-training territory?
My target for the race was to get the 3:15 London Marathon Championship qualifying time. I knew this was going to be a tall order after the upsets to my training, whereas a month previously I’d been confident. I’d told people that I’d know if 3:15 was a possibility once I was just 4 miles into the race – by then I’d see what my pace/HR relationship was and would know if I was going to be able to run the required 7:25/mile.
Spot Susie:
So the race was off, in near perfect weather conditions: a miracle considering a) the forecast and b) the horrendous weather suffered by the Great South Run later in the day. I felt quite relaxed after being chauffeured to the start by Gill, giving up most of her night’s sleep to get me there unruffled – what a star!
My heart rate monitor took a while to register as I built up a sweat, so I relaxed into what felt a sensible pace. After a mile I started to get a reliable reading and instantly my fears were realised, 2 miles earlier than I’d predicted. 3:15 was not going to be a possibility today, with my heart rate already at 144bpm, just a notch below my target, and my pace nowhere near the 7:20-7:25 I needed. As I settled to a sensible stable HR over the next few miles I was running at 7:40/mile and I had indeed lost nearly the 30secs/mile I feared.
I saw Gill at 6 miles. As she handed me a drink I shouted that I’d already missed 3:15.
I felt good, despite the lack of pace and a touch of stitch ( always a risk topping up with 250ml of sport drink before the start), so carried on undeterred to grab that PB and club record.
Ah yes the club record: 3:24:33 set by Chris at London a few years back. I love to have my targets! I did some quick calculations. The club record is 7:50/mile (it’s actually 7:48 – I should have known that) and I’m doing 7:40/mile so that’s a good buffer to allow for a slight slowing at the end surely? Hmmm.
The Abingdon course is quite nice, even if you include the industrial estate – it’s a very clean well-architected industrial estate – with a particularly nice bit down by the river and some pleasant countryside. It’s not as flat as London – there are noticeable undulations – but it must be one of the flattest courses around. We had a slight breeze in places and a little light rain mid-race, but boy were we lucky with the weather!
I was comfortable at half way, going through in 1:41:18. I realised though that I was now going to have to run the most even paced marathon I’ve ever run if I was to get the club record – the two halves of the race were going to have to be within 2 minutes of each other. My pace had suffered in Lanzarote, but what was my endurance like? Each mile was now a game of mental gymnastics as I calculated the required pace. I allowed myself 2 minutes to run the last 0.22 miles and calculated the pace with each passing mile in order to get to 26 miles in 3:22:30. I needed to run at 7:52/mile for the remaining miles. (In case you’re wondering, I’m well practised in pace calculation!)
The miles ticked by 7:48 – good, 7:32 – excellent, although helped by questionable mile marker positioning, 7:55 – oh dear, 7:58 – aaggh!, 7:53 – still not there, 7:48 – better. By mile 20 I was still needing 7:52/mile as I entered the tough last 6 miles.
A quick mention for the rest of Team Gratton. The ladies were well represented with Tigger’s mate Roo and Tootie Applebuns hoping for good results. Rich had spotted me at the start but I hadn’t spotted Dull Napoleon. I’d left TmR to her thoughts before the start – I’d spotted the ‘Do not disturb’ sign on her body language. TA had shot off like a rocket at the start and I was hopeful she might have more luck with her 3:15 target than I was experiencing with mine. Incidentally, I’d thought that Tootie Applebuns was some sort of reference to a pert bum playing tunes on expelled gases as she ran – something I can relate to – ah, the gastro-intestinal problems of high mileage! The truth is somewhat less spectacular having discovered that she got the name after typing her real-world name into a screen name generator – shucks!
At around 18 miles I spotted TA, in her distinctive purple kit, walking! Oh no! I patted her on the back and heard “bad stitch”. She’d started with a sore throat thinking it was race nerves, but was struck down badly the following day. She may have gone off a tad quick, but clearly she wasn’t in full health that day. :-(
Back with my race I tried to slot in with a few strong runners around me to try to pace off them. Following two guys in green who looked strong I passed a group, overtaking a young woman in a red crop top whom I’d had in my sights for much of the first half. She then left the group and overtook me. Clearly in her mind the race was on. This didn’t last for long though as she soon dropped back. Unfortunately so did the guys in green and I was left to latch on to a guy in a white vest who then came past. The guy in white looked really strong and I though he might be my ticket to the finish, but he too faded and I was left battling the clock on my own in the last few miles.
After putting in a 7:50, 7:47 and 7:53 things were looking good for the last 2 miles, but as I passed the 25 mile marker in 8:24 I got rather worried, apparently losing a lot of time and needing to run the last mile in 7:30.
The mile markers were mostly on stakes in the ground, as was mile 25, but I noticed they didn’t always correspond with the painted marks on the road. There was a faint 25 on the road 50m before the 25-mile marker – why would they deliberately put the sign past the mark when they could stick it in the verge right next to the line? I had to hope that the 8:24 lap was wrong and I wasn’t slowing. My GPS seemed to say I was still pacing well, but I’ve been caught out before trusting GPS – it usually measures long and gives a flattering pace measurement.
Entering the stadium at 26 miles:
I pushed as hard as I could, but couldn’t muster any more than 7:40/mile on the GPS. As we entered Tilsley Park for the run in, there was a slight incline which felt like a mountain to my tired legs. A few twists and turns and I ran onto the track, with just the 0.22 miles of the 26.22 to go. I’d made it with 2 minutes to go! I pushed on around the track and with relief saw the finish clock telling me I was well inside the club record.
I crossed the line in 3:24:10. Did I say well inside? I’d made it by 23 secs!
I punched the air, happy with my achievement, but it was tinged with the question of where my pace had gone. Hopefully in the coming weeks I might get the answer to that question.
I got my first ever spot prize: an Abingdon Marathon towel. I guess it's getting harder and harder to claim I had a bad day!
TmR and TA came in a bit later, well down on their expectations, however we waited around for the results of the British Masters Championships ever hopeful. TmR got the gold medal and TA got silver! Result! Well done you two! We all got something out of the race despite not achieving the times we thought we were capable of.
It was lovely to meet all the Runner’s World people at the end: RichK and his photos, Tiger, PS66, Beanz, Plodding Hippo, Dull Napoleon, who PBed but just missed 3:00, lp who got her championship place (well done, I’m jealous!), Hollywood and Shiraz. One pair I saw at the start but missed at the finish were Mick’n’Phil – they PBed in 4:03 – brilliant!
Well done to Mel, my real world friend, who just missed the 3:45 Good For Age mark, but she'd already achieved the GFA time for London earlier in the year.
I’ll post the splits and HR details separately, but looking at them I ran the best race I could possibly have run given my reduced fitness. In fact that’s the best marathon I’ve ever run and not just because it’s a PB – my execution was spot on.
As for my legs, they felt great! It was lucky I caught the tight shin muscle on Friday and managed to massage it out, or I would have had 26 miles of phantom pain, thinking I was pulling my calf apart. My legs feel great today, 2 days on, so it looks like I should bounce back quickly.
Now that doesn’t sound like overtraining does it?
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Weekly summary - 1 day to go
Read the comments in the table below on the state of my leg and you'd think I was having second thoughts about running the marathon tomorrow, but I think I've had a breakthrough.
From time to time I get symptoms of anterior compartment syndrome: tightness in the shin muscle, the tibialis anterior, presses on a nerve and causes pain. In the past this has been ankle pain, but I now think the pain I've been getting on the inside of my calf is caused by the same problem. I've been aware of tightness in my shin for the last week, but it has only been the last 2 days when this has become a problem while running. Last night it was really uncomfortable, causing me to wince a couple of times as I was running.
When I got home I massaged and iced and suddenly things felt much better, in fact this morning my leg felt fine. I walked to my piano lesson and got no twinges in the side of my leg at all. I think the problems I've been getting, possibly the shin splints too, have all been down to the shin muscle, even though the tightness was on the opposite side of the leg to the actual problem.
The annoying thing in all this is that I told my massage therapist that my tibialis anterior was tight on Wednesday, but despite this she just concentrated on my calves, hamstrings and quads. I've had this in the past where I end up massaging my shin myself when I get home from a massage because the therapist has either not had time to do the shin or has felt it unimportant.
Hopefully I'm right about this and I've caught it just in time before the marathon. One day to go and my shin feels tender to the touch, but I think I've got rid of the tightness. I hope the marathon goes well!
From time to time I get symptoms of anterior compartment syndrome: tightness in the shin muscle, the tibialis anterior, presses on a nerve and causes pain. In the past this has been ankle pain, but I now think the pain I've been getting on the inside of my calf is caused by the same problem. I've been aware of tightness in my shin for the last week, but it has only been the last 2 days when this has become a problem while running. Last night it was really uncomfortable, causing me to wince a couple of times as I was running.
When I got home I massaged and iced and suddenly things felt much better, in fact this morning my leg felt fine. I walked to my piano lesson and got no twinges in the side of my leg at all. I think the problems I've been getting, possibly the shin splints too, have all been down to the shin muscle, even though the tightness was on the opposite side of the leg to the actual problem.
The annoying thing in all this is that I told my massage therapist that my tibialis anterior was tight on Wednesday, but despite this she just concentrated on my calves, hamstrings and quads. I've had this in the past where I end up massaging my shin myself when I get home from a massage because the therapist has either not had time to do the shin or has felt it unimportant.
Hopefully I'm right about this and I've caught it just in time before the marathon. One day to go and my shin feels tender to the touch, but I think I've got rid of the tightness. I hope the marathon goes well!
| Monday | 4 miles | am: 4 easy on grass pm: massage | Leg felt dodgy afterwards, massage had no effect |
| Tuesday | Rest | Leg still dodgy with twinges on inside of calf when walking | |
| Wednesday | 3 miles | am: easy run on grass, pm: massage | Leg a bit better but still dodgy |
| Thursday | 5.8 miles | pm: Steady club run | Still getting twinges, tibialis anterior very tight |
| Friday | 4 miles | pm: easy run | Tibialis anterior very tight, aching badly |
| Saturday | Rest | tib. ant. better after self massage | |
| Total | 16.8 miles |
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Weekly summary - 1 week to go
Not a bad week leg-wise. I kept the shin splints under control and had a great Bells of Pattingham run - a real confidence booster.
The shin splints seem to have subsided but I've been worried today (Tuesday 17th) as the needle-like tingling has reappeared - I'm getting mild pain walking, but my physio didn't think there was anything worse than tight muscles. I think this is nerve damage aggravated by me poking around trying to ease the tightness causing the shin splints, but I can't be sure. I'm taking a rest day and I'll see how it goes - the priority is recovery now!
The shin splints seem to have subsided but I've been worried today (Tuesday 17th) as the needle-like tingling has reappeared - I'm getting mild pain walking, but my physio didn't think there was anything worse than tight muscles. I think this is nerve damage aggravated by me poking around trying to ease the tightness causing the shin splints, but I can't be sure. I'm taking a rest day and I'll see how it goes - the priority is recovery now!
| Monday | 5.7 miles | am: easy run pm: massage | leg OK but minor twinge |
| Tuesday | 10.5 miles | am: 4 easy pm: 6.5 miles fartlek: 3*5min of marathon pace | Leg feeling sore again - shin splints from tightness at origin of soleus. V tight VMO - maybe triggering the shin splints? |
| Wednesday | 10 miles | pm:steady run 8:25/mile 119bpm | Feeling better - shin OK after some serious ice massage on Tuesday night |
| Thursday | 9.3 miles | am: 3.7 miles easy pm: 5.6 miles 5*750m 6:40-7:00/mile 500m jog recover 147bpm max | Leg OK, but sore afterwards |
| Friday | 5.6 miles | am: easy run 9:15/mile | Still shin splint soreness afterwards |
| Saturday | 5.4 miles | am: easy run on grass | Leg feeling better - grass helps |
| Sunday | 9.5 miles | Bells of Pattingham | Leg felt OK! |
| Total | 56 miles |
Monday, October 16, 2006
Taking it easy: The Bells of Pattingham 2006
The objective today was to run the 7+ miles at marathon effort. No prospect of any prizes then in such a large race, but at the back of my mind I did wonder if I had a chance at the prize for top lady villager - it might be a bit of a con, but as my family live in the village, and my Aunt's friend is the race secretary, then they'd entered me as a villager. My Grandad was born in the village, so I guess I have some claim!
The weather was cooler than of late, but the conditions were near perfect with firm conditions for much of the race and only a bit of mud later on - not the extremes of rock hard drought ridden ploughed fields or quagmires of previous years.
The start varies depending on the crop in the first field. This year we weren't confined to the borders of the field and had a broad mass scramble down to the bottleneck exit at the far corner.
My legs have felt quite sore the last few days, with shin splint pain causing discomfort as the tight muscles pulled on the insertion points along my right shin. Today things were feeling much better though after just a single run on grass yesterday. Hopefully my legs will continue to settle down over the next few days and I'll be pain free for Abingdon.
The Bells course is easy on the legs - firm trails for much of the course, all off road, and only the first field of uneven stubble to watch out for. There are some rather steep bits though! I settled into a nice steady marathon effort, watching my HRM, but I couldn't help let my HR rise somewhat as we hit the big hill at 2 miles. Going downhill was fun though. I overtake so many people going downhill as I try to float down under gravity - some are just too cautious.
I'm always wary of chatting with other runners during races when I'm taking it easy, as I fear hacking someone off if they are 5 miles into a really hard effort. It was clear that the woman in blue ahead of me was putting some work in, but the young woman in red seemed relaxed and eager to talk and we passed a mile or 2 having a right good natter. She remarked that I sounded rather relaxed, to which I suggested that she too perhaps wasn't exactly taxing her talents, and on she pushed as I kept an eye on my HRM.
I had a dodgy moment as we dropped down a steep bit with a mile to go. I tried to do my mountain goat impersonation and went over on my right ankle - the dodgy leg! That's always the risk doing cross country before a marathon, but mercifully it seems OK.
I kept it nice and steady as we climbed the last hill, but at the back of my mind I wondered if I should push on to catch the woman ahead in case she was a villager. As we reached the final climb on to the playing fields I pushed a bit but it was all a bit late and she finished ahead of me.
I was shocked when I saw the finish time: 56:22 - that's 9 minutes faster than I've ever run it before. And that's taking it easy! (ave HR 144bpm)
I was even more shocked when I was handed a laminate which proclaimed me as 1st lady 40+". Wow!
I got to meet one the stars of my childhood too - Wolves legend John Richards presented me with my voucher - swiftly converted to a Helly-Hansen top.
It turns out that the top villager award is the "challenge trophy". There's no women's trophy so it always goes to a man - outrageous!
Apart from that huge disappointment (tee hee) I am absolutely over the moon. That was just the tonic I need ahead of the marathon next week - I guess I'm back on form!
The weather was cooler than of late, but the conditions were near perfect with firm conditions for much of the race and only a bit of mud later on - not the extremes of rock hard drought ridden ploughed fields or quagmires of previous years.
The start varies depending on the crop in the first field. This year we weren't confined to the borders of the field and had a broad mass scramble down to the bottleneck exit at the far corner.
My legs have felt quite sore the last few days, with shin splint pain causing discomfort as the tight muscles pulled on the insertion points along my right shin. Today things were feeling much better though after just a single run on grass yesterday. Hopefully my legs will continue to settle down over the next few days and I'll be pain free for Abingdon.
The Bells course is easy on the legs - firm trails for much of the course, all off road, and only the first field of uneven stubble to watch out for. There are some rather steep bits though! I settled into a nice steady marathon effort, watching my HRM, but I couldn't help let my HR rise somewhat as we hit the big hill at 2 miles. Going downhill was fun though. I overtake so many people going downhill as I try to float down under gravity - some are just too cautious.
I'm always wary of chatting with other runners during races when I'm taking it easy, as I fear hacking someone off if they are 5 miles into a really hard effort. It was clear that the woman in blue ahead of me was putting some work in, but the young woman in red seemed relaxed and eager to talk and we passed a mile or 2 having a right good natter. She remarked that I sounded rather relaxed, to which I suggested that she too perhaps wasn't exactly taxing her talents, and on she pushed as I kept an eye on my HRM.
I had a dodgy moment as we dropped down a steep bit with a mile to go. I tried to do my mountain goat impersonation and went over on my right ankle - the dodgy leg! That's always the risk doing cross country before a marathon, but mercifully it seems OK.
I kept it nice and steady as we climbed the last hill, but at the back of my mind I wondered if I should push on to catch the woman ahead in case she was a villager. As we reached the final climb on to the playing fields I pushed a bit but it was all a bit late and she finished ahead of me.
I was shocked when I saw the finish time: 56:22 - that's 9 minutes faster than I've ever run it before. And that's taking it easy! (ave HR 144bpm)
I was even more shocked when I was handed a laminate which proclaimed me as 1st lady 40+". Wow!
I got to meet one the stars of my childhood too - Wolves legend John Richards presented me with my voucher - swiftly converted to a Helly-Hansen top.
It turns out that the top villager award is the "challenge trophy". There's no women's trophy so it always goes to a man - outrageous!
Apart from that huge disappointment (tee hee) I am absolutely over the moon. That was just the tonic I need ahead of the marathon next week - I guess I'm back on form!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Weekly summary - 2 weeks to go
Things seem almost back to normal with my leg now. The theme of the week though was looking at my pace and HR readings and remarking to myself: "My heart rate shouldn't be that high for this pace!". Based on the pace/HR of my Sunday 20-miler, at best I will just scrape inside the magic 3:15 for the marathon, but at worse will miss it by a couple of minutes.
Why the high HR? I can't surely be detrained after just a few rest days in the last 2 weeks? My HR was high immediately after returning from Lanzarote. I'm concerned that I either overtrained, or picked up a virus while I was there (or on the flight back). Hopefully things will sort themselves out over the coming week. I just need to hang on and not panic. Easier written than done!
Nervy times!
Why the high HR? I can't surely be detrained after just a few rest days in the last 2 weeks? My HR was high immediately after returning from Lanzarote. I'm concerned that I either overtrained, or picked up a virus while I was there (or on the flight back). Hopefully things will sort themselves out over the coming week. I just need to hang on and not panic. Easier written than done!
Nervy times!
| Monday | Rest | pm: massage | |
| Tuesday | Rest | Big twinge at lunchtime put me off the idea of running that evening | |
| Wednesday | 5.2 miles | pm: easy run | Leg feeling much better |
| Thursday | 9 miles | am:4 easy pm: 5 steady | Now getting shin splint pain! |
| Friday | 4 miles | am: 4 easy pm: massage | |
| Saturday | 7 miles | am: 7 easy 9:00/mile 122 bpm | kept offroad as shin still sore on road. Pace/HR not good despite being offroad |
| Sunday | 20 miles | 8:15/mile 131bpm | HR 6bpm higher than last time I ran that route. Run went well though - feeling strong |
| Total | 45.2 miles |
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Back on track?
My long run went well: 20 miles in 2:45 (8:15/mile), although my HR is still too high - 131 bpm - 6bpm higher than the last time I did that route.
My massage therapist has done some great work. After getting shin splint symptoms on Thursday, she gave me a good pummelling on Friday, and despite some bruising which was still sore to touch, I was running pain free for the whole run.
Ever since coming back from Lanzarote my HR has been higher than it should be. I know I've had 6 days rest in the last 2 weeks, but can I lose fitness that quickly?
I have a week's solid training left, before I cutback in the final week. Having already effectively tapered, I reckon I can have a fairly good week of training before easing off in the final week. Is it all a bit late though?
Hopefully it will all come good, but I wish I was seeing HR data that suggested I was on for 3:15!
My massage therapist has done some great work. After getting shin splint symptoms on Thursday, she gave me a good pummelling on Friday, and despite some bruising which was still sore to touch, I was running pain free for the whole run.
Ever since coming back from Lanzarote my HR has been higher than it should be. I know I've had 6 days rest in the last 2 weeks, but can I lose fitness that quickly?
I have a week's solid training left, before I cutback in the final week. Having already effectively tapered, I reckon I can have a fairly good week of training before easing off in the final week. Is it all a bit late though?
Hopefully it will all come good, but I wish I was seeing HR data that suggested I was on for 3:15!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Weekly summary - 3 weeks to go
A week worrying about injury. My massage therapist was concerned about the state of my calf - I'd strained the top of the soleus (I later found what felt like a tear at the top - a lump that was intensely sore). A day's rest and I started running again hoping it would clear for the weekend although it didn't seem to improve and I ditched the long run.
As I've explained in other posts, I now think the soreness was actually due to nerve damage after I'd clumsily tried some self massage on an insertion point where the bone was sore. Who knows whether I could have done the long run. I might have wrecked the calf completely, or further damaged the nerve to the extent it was too painful to run - who can tell.
At least things seem back on track. Another massage tomorrow, Friday, and I should be OK for a last 20-miler.
It doesn't feel right having such low mileage for several weeks now, the 74 miles at camp split between 2 fairly low mileage weeks.
Ah the joys of marathon nerves!
As I've explained in other posts, I now think the soreness was actually due to nerve damage after I'd clumsily tried some self massage on an insertion point where the bone was sore. Who knows whether I could have done the long run. I might have wrecked the calf completely, or further damaged the nerve to the extent it was too painful to run - who can tell.
At least things seem back on track. Another massage tomorrow, Friday, and I should be OK for a last 20-miler.
It doesn't feel right having such low mileage for several weeks now, the 74 miles at camp split between 2 fairly low mileage weeks.
Ah the joys of marathon nerves!
| Monday | 4 miles | am: 4 easy pm: massage | Right calf sore |
| Tuesday | Rest | ||
| Wednesday | 4 miles | am: 4 easy | calf still sore but manageable, didn't feel wise to do evening run though |
| Thursday | 8.2 miles | am: 4.5 easy pm:3.7 miles easy club handicap race | leg OK but still soreness on inside of mid calf |
| Friday | 8.5 miles | am: 4.5 easy pm:4 easy | big twinge in the evening playing the piano! Strange! |
| Saturday | 6 miles | am: 6 miles steady | leg feeling better, but with some soreness still. However, after an afternoon wearing Skins compression tights on a shopping trip, feeling very sore. Big twinge in evening chopping veg |
| Sunday | Rest | Didn't feel I could risk a long run - leg not getting any better | |
| Total | 30.7 miles |
Injury update
Thanks for all the comments wishing me well!
I ran 5 miles last night and 4 miles this morning, and things are looking better. I'm still getting some soreness on the side of my leg, but no twinges since Tuesday. I also was getting some bone soreness around the lower shin, but it came and went during the run and wasn't sore afterwards, which makes me think it is also a nerve problem, ie the end of the same nerve which has been damaged on the side of my leg.
I'm now wondering if I could have carried on running through this, but there was definitely a muscular problem and who knows what might have happened if I'd run a 20-miler. I do think I could have run Tuesday night, but 1 run isn't going to make a difference.
My HR seemed a little high for the pace I was running, but I'm sure that will recover in a few days. I definitely feel you lose fitness in only 3 days. I know some will happily take 3 rest days before a marathon - that's not the sort of taper I would like to do!
I haven't posted last week's summary yet. When I'm moping around injured I'm not exactly the most motivated of people!
(but my productivity at work is unaffected if any colleagues are reading this!)
Feeling better!
I ran 5 miles last night and 4 miles this morning, and things are looking better. I'm still getting some soreness on the side of my leg, but no twinges since Tuesday. I also was getting some bone soreness around the lower shin, but it came and went during the run and wasn't sore afterwards, which makes me think it is also a nerve problem, ie the end of the same nerve which has been damaged on the side of my leg.
I'm now wondering if I could have carried on running through this, but there was definitely a muscular problem and who knows what might have happened if I'd run a 20-miler. I do think I could have run Tuesday night, but 1 run isn't going to make a difference.
My HR seemed a little high for the pace I was running, but I'm sure that will recover in a few days. I definitely feel you lose fitness in only 3 days. I know some will happily take 3 rest days before a marathon - that's not the sort of taper I would like to do!
I haven't posted last week's summary yet. When I'm moping around injured I'm not exactly the most motivated of people!
(but my productivity at work is unaffected if any colleagues are reading this!)
Feeling better!
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Injured!
I'm injured! This is my first real problem in 2 years. I lay awake last night with everything going round my head, weighing up the options, generally stressing. Non-runners (like my manager) can't appreciate how much stress this causes. After 6 months of hard effort, everything is jeopardised by the simple fact that I failed to get a massage at the training camp.
I picked up a bit of a strain to the soleus after the training camp. I ran the training camp with some tightness in my soleus, which could have been sorted out with a simple massage. I could have booked a session if I'd realised I had to queue at 9am to get an early booking, but by the time I got my act together I could only book for the last day so didn't bother. Ah hindsight! I only strained it after my return and the muscle tightened with 2 days rest.
I had some physio on the Monday of my return, had a day's rest, and carried on running up to last Saturday. I was running OK, albeit with some tightness that was still causing some bone soreness (similar to shin splints), but I was getting occasional twinges in the side of my leg. I carried on running. Things weren't getting worse, but as far as the twinges and general low level aching on the side of my leg went, they weren't getting any better.
On Friday evening I got a big twinge whilst playing the piano - not exactly an energetic activity - and I wasn't even working the sustain pedal; just sitting there. This maybe should have told me something about the nature of the problem. I ran 6 miles on Saturday without any twinges - things looking up! I then put on my Skins compression tights under my jeans, and went shopping. My leg felt so sore! In the evening I got another big twinge, this time whilst chopping vegetables - again not exactly a high energy activity! I rose on Sunday morning, leg feeling good, and had my pre-run breakfast, but as I walked around, the aching came back. I dejectedly decided it was best to not run that day.
Another rest day on Monday followed, with a physio session Monday evening. She gave me ultrasound again - there was definitely a problem, but was it really as bad as the aching seemed to imply?
Tuesday morning and the leg felt fine, so my enthusiasm was returning, with the prospect of a gentle evening run to test the leg. As the morning wore on though, the aching grew and my mood lowered. Then at lunchtime as I walked to my car I got another big twinge and my leg suddenly felt far worse. Had I torn something again? As I walked around the supermarket I was almost limping. Oh no!
How could my leg be worse after a physio session?
A few hours later my leg actually felt much better - back to the previous levels of background aching rather than the soreness I'd experienced at lunchtime. I decided not to run Tuesday evening - 3 rest days and the prospect of aquajogging looming!
Last night I slept in my Skins compression tights. In contrast to previous nights when my leg improved overnight (as you'd expect), my leg seemed to get worse as far as the tingly ache in the side of my leg was concerned. I lay awake formulating my thoughts, planning my diary, should I need to drop Abingdon and run Luton, and generally wondering why my leg seemed to get worse with rest.
Some observations:
- I've not noticed any improvement in the general tingly ache around the middle of the calf.
- The site of the actual injury further up seems a lot better, and the muscle generally feels relaxed and OK.
- Physio seems to make the lower problem worse (!)
- Compression tights seem to make it worse.
- Stretching seems fine and doesn't hurt.
- The twinges I've been getting are not during exercise, but during rest periods followed by a gentle movement rather than a sudden demand on the muscle.
All this leads me to the conclusion that the pain I'm getting is due to damage to a nerve running down the side of my leg. I can feel a structure at the site of the pain which may be a nerve rather than a vein or muscle fibre. I can well believe that the damage was caused by my amateur attempts at physio after the training camp. The 'proper' physio may well be aggravating this, although it does seem to have fixed the original muscular problem. I'm seeing my physio on Friday and I'll see what her opinion is.
I'm running out of time here, with only 2 weeks to go this weekend. I'll resume running later today, ignoring the ache, maybe using some ibuprofen gel, and see how it goes. The weekend 20-miler will be the final test of my leg. I suspect I will still be sore, but providing I can do the run then I should be OK for Abingdon.
One way or another I will know whether the race is on by next Monday. Fingers crossed!
I picked up a bit of a strain to the soleus after the training camp. I ran the training camp with some tightness in my soleus, which could have been sorted out with a simple massage. I could have booked a session if I'd realised I had to queue at 9am to get an early booking, but by the time I got my act together I could only book for the last day so didn't bother. Ah hindsight! I only strained it after my return and the muscle tightened with 2 days rest.
I had some physio on the Monday of my return, had a day's rest, and carried on running up to last Saturday. I was running OK, albeit with some tightness that was still causing some bone soreness (similar to shin splints), but I was getting occasional twinges in the side of my leg. I carried on running. Things weren't getting worse, but as far as the twinges and general low level aching on the side of my leg went, they weren't getting any better.
On Friday evening I got a big twinge whilst playing the piano - not exactly an energetic activity - and I wasn't even working the sustain pedal; just sitting there. This maybe should have told me something about the nature of the problem. I ran 6 miles on Saturday without any twinges - things looking up! I then put on my Skins compression tights under my jeans, and went shopping. My leg felt so sore! In the evening I got another big twinge, this time whilst chopping vegetables - again not exactly a high energy activity! I rose on Sunday morning, leg feeling good, and had my pre-run breakfast, but as I walked around, the aching came back. I dejectedly decided it was best to not run that day.
Another rest day on Monday followed, with a physio session Monday evening. She gave me ultrasound again - there was definitely a problem, but was it really as bad as the aching seemed to imply?
Tuesday morning and the leg felt fine, so my enthusiasm was returning, with the prospect of a gentle evening run to test the leg. As the morning wore on though, the aching grew and my mood lowered. Then at lunchtime as I walked to my car I got another big twinge and my leg suddenly felt far worse. Had I torn something again? As I walked around the supermarket I was almost limping. Oh no!
How could my leg be worse after a physio session?
A few hours later my leg actually felt much better - back to the previous levels of background aching rather than the soreness I'd experienced at lunchtime. I decided not to run Tuesday evening - 3 rest days and the prospect of aquajogging looming!
Last night I slept in my Skins compression tights. In contrast to previous nights when my leg improved overnight (as you'd expect), my leg seemed to get worse as far as the tingly ache in the side of my leg was concerned. I lay awake formulating my thoughts, planning my diary, should I need to drop Abingdon and run Luton, and generally wondering why my leg seemed to get worse with rest.
Some observations:
- I've not noticed any improvement in the general tingly ache around the middle of the calf.
- The site of the actual injury further up seems a lot better, and the muscle generally feels relaxed and OK.
- Physio seems to make the lower problem worse (!)
- Compression tights seem to make it worse.
- Stretching seems fine and doesn't hurt.
- The twinges I've been getting are not during exercise, but during rest periods followed by a gentle movement rather than a sudden demand on the muscle.
All this leads me to the conclusion that the pain I'm getting is due to damage to a nerve running down the side of my leg. I can feel a structure at the site of the pain which may be a nerve rather than a vein or muscle fibre. I can well believe that the damage was caused by my amateur attempts at physio after the training camp. The 'proper' physio may well be aggravating this, although it does seem to have fixed the original muscular problem. I'm seeing my physio on Friday and I'll see what her opinion is.
I'm running out of time here, with only 2 weeks to go this weekend. I'll resume running later today, ignoring the ache, maybe using some ibuprofen gel, and see how it goes. The weekend 20-miler will be the final test of my leg. I suspect I will still be sore, but providing I can do the run then I should be OK for Abingdon.
One way or another I will know whether the race is on by next Monday. Fingers crossed!
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