I have been running, but I have not had the chance to blog. OK, honestly I have not made it a priority. I just didn't feel comfortable trying to blog during my breaks at work, then early Monday mornings. I was a little down about the whole shin thing. I have still been running about 60km per week, however for the past 4, there were 2 were the mileage was reduced and I was either busy with re-insulating my attick or looking for a house in Pickering so that the whole family can be together.(just not going to happen)
This is what I found that helps:
- slow down, aprox. every other day, doubles 1/2 an hour in the morning and at night, stretch after each
- ice bath after long or fast runs
- 1000mg of MSM twice a day
- Custom orthotics ? Not so sure about these, but they don't seem to be causing any problems.
Tonight I ran 15km. The first 6.5 was at about the 6:00/km pace, the next 4 was at about the 5:00/km pace and the last was at about the 4:15/km pace. Damn it felt good!
In total it was about an hour and 21 minutes.
Yesterday I did some hill running at Hogs Hollow. Only 4, I think that I could have done some more because the legs felt really fresh tonight.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Late Update of South Huron Run
I have been so busy lately with the family, work and purchasing a new vehicle. The 1999 Ford windstar that we had, had a lot of parts replaced under warranty. Those same parts (transmission, tie rod ends, sway bars, air conditioning, etc.) are starting to break again. It's time to get a new vehicle, a Honda. We pick up a new CRV on Monday. I've noticed that there are some that check the blog out on a regular basis, I am sorry that I have not updated it.
Last Sunday was the South Huron 8km race. I beat last years time by a minute and 26 seconds and almost 10 minutes from 2 years ago. There were 138 people in the race, and it was not that crowded. It is part of the runner's pike series. The south huron trail is a stone chip trail that runs along the ausable river from Exeter to the Morrison. Most of the race is in the shade, but there are a lot of small hills and sharp truns that can slow you down.
The first split was still faster than what I wanted at 3:37. I was hoping to make the first km one of my slowest. One of these days I will really do that. I started to pass some younger ones that started out too hard. Then got into a groove with 3 others just within reach. At about the 3rd kilometer, I caught up and passed one. I never saw him again. I stuck with the other 2 that were very close together. I thought we were going at a good pace, but when I clocked the 4th km at 4:20, I was not impressed. I picked up the pace a bit and passed one of the 2. The 3rd guy also looked at his watch and started to pick up the pace. Eventually between the 4th and 5th kilometer, I passed him. I did not stay there for long. He passed me again very soon after and I couldn't keep up within some of the smaller hills. I can really feel the effects of any hills. That was the positioning from then on in to the finish line. I heard someone behind me around the dreaded hill in the last k, but I kept in front. Once up the hill there is about a 300m flat stretch to the finish line. About half way there, I felt like I was going to puke. It sounds freaky, but at this point in the race, this is how I want to feel. I never second guess my effort when I feel this way. I backed of just a touch to keep the puking under control, then slowly accelerated to the finish line.
Here are the splits:
This years:
3:37.9, 4:01.6, 3:59.7, 4:20.6, 4:04.0, 4:18.1, 4:07.1, 4:14
3:48, 4:02, 4:24, 4:22, 4:22, 4:31, 4:15, 4:22
I was much more consistent last year. I was also running mostly by myself then too.
I am still waiting for the orthotics to come in. Other than the race, I have not been doing any speed or hill work outs. Just base running, stretching and some strengthening. Last week, I still managed to put in 40km in 4 sessions. This week I hope to do 5 sessions again. The shins have been feeling really good, but I am going to wait until the orthotics are in and until I have run with them for a couple weeks, before I increase my mileage.
Last Sunday was the South Huron 8km race. I beat last years time by a minute and 26 seconds and almost 10 minutes from 2 years ago. There were 138 people in the race, and it was not that crowded. It is part of the runner's pike series. The south huron trail is a stone chip trail that runs along the ausable river from Exeter to the Morrison. Most of the race is in the shade, but there are a lot of small hills and sharp truns that can slow you down.
The first split was still faster than what I wanted at 3:37. I was hoping to make the first km one of my slowest. One of these days I will really do that. I started to pass some younger ones that started out too hard. Then got into a groove with 3 others just within reach. At about the 3rd kilometer, I caught up and passed one. I never saw him again. I stuck with the other 2 that were very close together. I thought we were going at a good pace, but when I clocked the 4th km at 4:20, I was not impressed. I picked up the pace a bit and passed one of the 2. The 3rd guy also looked at his watch and started to pick up the pace. Eventually between the 4th and 5th kilometer, I passed him. I did not stay there for long. He passed me again very soon after and I couldn't keep up within some of the smaller hills. I can really feel the effects of any hills. That was the positioning from then on in to the finish line. I heard someone behind me around the dreaded hill in the last k, but I kept in front. Once up the hill there is about a 300m flat stretch to the finish line. About half way there, I felt like I was going to puke. It sounds freaky, but at this point in the race, this is how I want to feel. I never second guess my effort when I feel this way. I backed of just a touch to keep the puking under control, then slowly accelerated to the finish line.
Here are the splits:
This years:
3:37.9, 4:01.6, 3:59.7, 4:20.6, 4:04.0, 4:18.1, 4:07.1, 4:14
3:48, 4:02, 4:24, 4:22, 4:22, 4:31, 4:15, 4:22
I was much more consistent last year. I was also running mostly by myself then too.
I am still waiting for the orthotics to come in. Other than the race, I have not been doing any speed or hill work outs. Just base running, stretching and some strengthening. Last week, I still managed to put in 40km in 4 sessions. This week I hope to do 5 sessions again. The shins have been feeling really good, but I am going to wait until the orthotics are in and until I have run with them for a couple weeks, before I increase my mileage.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Right Foot, "I'll fix that"
In the past year I have seen a podiatrist often, my family doctor, a sports medicine doctor and a massage therapist, all for running. Everyone of them has asked "do I feel more pain on shin then the other". After a couple of days there is usually the same amount of pain and inflammation in the shins. However, when the problem was there and when I ran, there is usually a little more pulling in the right shin. Also, the therapists have noticed that when I walk my right leg is a little awkward or different. I have noticed that when I run, the right foot seems to land a little harder. Also, my right hamstring usually acts up before the left one. After the cast was taken, Robert noticed that the big toe of my right metatarisal, in the neutral position, is quite high. High enough that he could fit a pen under it and probably a second one. The left was only a couple of mm higher. That part will be fixed. They should be in 2 weeks from Tuesday. Oh ya, he also the first one to mention getting a compartment syndrome test done. If the orthotics don't work that will be my next avenue.
something unexpected did happen this week. I was able to finish my plan without any pain in the shins. The MSM and the eggs right after my run seem to be doing the job or it could be the slower running. It could also be, as I think Lydiard has said "it's everything".
Here are the results from last week:
S: 9.87k in 53:30, 5:25/km chip trail
M: 9.19k in 51:02, 5:33/km chip trail
T: off (leg exercises and stretching twice)
W: 13k in 1:12, 5:31/km pavement and 1k of grass (very hot and humid)
T: 8.98k in 48:40, 5:25/km pavement (very hot and humid)
F: off
S: 10.48k in 53:58, 5:09/km chip trail, includes a 3k marathon pace in 14:03
Total of 51.53km in 4 hours and 40 minutes
I felt so good yesterday that I decided to pick up the pace and do an M pace or higher aerobic workout. I used the 4th, 3rd and 2nd k markings of the race on the trail. I found it difficult to lock on to the pace with splits of: 4:50, 4:33, and 4:40. I started to wonder about a marathon, and thought man those guys that run the marathons have to be well disciplined to not get caught up in to the action and run at the level were you are exerting yourself just tiny bit but not too much. With the 5 and 10k races, I find that you go out at a certain pace that is hard, and it is just below your max and kind of hold on. Maybe it was just the day and I could not pace it right, I don't know. But I can't imagine running a marathon with such fluctuations. What type of runner am I? I have been asking myself that question ever since Robert asked me that last week.
This weeks plan:
S: 9k easy
M: 11k easy with some strides
T: off
W: 13k easy
T: 9k easy with some strides
F: off
S: 9k easy
something unexpected did happen this week. I was able to finish my plan without any pain in the shins. The MSM and the eggs right after my run seem to be doing the job or it could be the slower running. It could also be, as I think Lydiard has said "it's everything".
Here are the results from last week:
S: 9.87k in 53:30, 5:25/km chip trail
M: 9.19k in 51:02, 5:33/km chip trail
T: off (leg exercises and stretching twice)
W: 13k in 1:12, 5:31/km pavement and 1k of grass (very hot and humid)
T: 8.98k in 48:40, 5:25/km pavement (very hot and humid)
F: off
S: 10.48k in 53:58, 5:09/km chip trail, includes a 3k marathon pace in 14:03
Total of 51.53km in 4 hours and 40 minutes
I felt so good yesterday that I decided to pick up the pace and do an M pace or higher aerobic workout. I used the 4th, 3rd and 2nd k markings of the race on the trail. I found it difficult to lock on to the pace with splits of: 4:50, 4:33, and 4:40. I started to wonder about a marathon, and thought man those guys that run the marathons have to be well disciplined to not get caught up in to the action and run at the level were you are exerting yourself just tiny bit but not too much. With the 5 and 10k races, I find that you go out at a certain pace that is hard, and it is just below your max and kind of hold on. Maybe it was just the day and I could not pace it right, I don't know. But I can't imagine running a marathon with such fluctuations. What type of runner am I? I have been asking myself that question ever since Robert asked me that last week.
This weeks plan:
S: 9k easy
M: 11k easy with some strides
T: off
W: 13k easy
T: 9k easy with some strides
F: off
S: 9k easy
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Orthotics and other changes commin'
On Thursday my shins were starting to hurt. I stopped at 1.5km into the run. They were very sensitive to the touch as well.
Friday, I had an appointment to get another structural integration massage. I learnt a new way to stretch the shins. The therapist also asked me about my diet. I told him what I eat when I am in Toronto;
- gatorade during and after the run
- bran cereal in the morning with yogurt
- banana and 4 other fruits
- spaghetti with meat balls or stir fry or left overs from the weekend for lunch and supper
- large salad with green leafy lettuce
- bagel
- toast with honey
- one or 2 coffee's
Too many carbs. I think the biggest difference I can make is to get rid of the bran for breakfast. The purpose of the bran is to suck all the fats and crap out of your body to help rid it of cholesterol and stuff, which is what I was told to do when I had high cholesterol. Do I need to do that now? I don't think so. I need all those fats and proteins to help rebuild the muscle tissues, especially after a run. I am going to start having Vector cereal after wards with an egg and piece of toast.
He also suggested that I use a supplement called MSM to reduce the inflammation and help in the re-construction of the connectivity tissues. I went to the local pharmacy and found one with clucosamine and MSM in it. The clucosamine is suppose to help with connectivity tissues. I'll give this a try as well. I also need to cut out the coffee they could be influencing the adrino gland which releases anti-inflammatory substances.
After a few e-mails with my podiatrist, I am finally getting orthotics. They may not be the answer to all the problems, but I can't leave this stone unturned. I hate going out for a run and thinking "could these help? Could I increase my mileage more with them? If I don't have them, will I end up repeating the same thing that happened last winter? " It drives me crazy. If they will help reduce the chances of my shins getting sore after increasing the mileage, then great. If anything it should give me peace of mind. My goal is to get to 60k without any shin problems. It's fairly simple right now. Once I hit that milestone I can figure out what races I really want to run. Along the way, I may go into a couple races, but I don't expect much out of them, it is more for fun.
Here is my running break down for the past 2 weeks starting July 16:
S: 12.76k in 1:11:48 at 5:37/km AM
M: 8.73 including a 3k M pace in 13:35 or 4:31/km
T: off
W: 5.25k in 28:12 or 5.25/km on the grass
T: off
F: 11.6k, with 5k race in 19:27,
S: 4.45k in 36:36, with my youngest son on the trail
Total 43km
S: 10.27k in 1:00:52, at 5:55/km on the trail (first 10 minutes with Donna)
M: off
T: 9.11k in 48:38, at 5:20/km, on a paved trail in Scarborough
W: 13.13k in 1:11:20 at 5:26/km, on same trail with some grass running
T: 1.5k, stopped due to sore shins
F: off structural integration massage
S: 10.72 in 57:14 at 5:20/km, on chip trail
This weeks plan:
S: 10k easy (51 minutes or more)
M: 9k easy (47)
T: Off
W: 13k L easy (some grass) (68)
T:9k easy (47)
F: off
S: 10k easy with strides (51)
Friday, I had an appointment to get another structural integration massage. I learnt a new way to stretch the shins. The therapist also asked me about my diet. I told him what I eat when I am in Toronto;
- gatorade during and after the run
- bran cereal in the morning with yogurt
- banana and 4 other fruits
- spaghetti with meat balls or stir fry or left overs from the weekend for lunch and supper
- large salad with green leafy lettuce
- bagel
- toast with honey
- one or 2 coffee's
Too many carbs. I think the biggest difference I can make is to get rid of the bran for breakfast. The purpose of the bran is to suck all the fats and crap out of your body to help rid it of cholesterol and stuff, which is what I was told to do when I had high cholesterol. Do I need to do that now? I don't think so. I need all those fats and proteins to help rebuild the muscle tissues, especially after a run. I am going to start having Vector cereal after wards with an egg and piece of toast.
He also suggested that I use a supplement called MSM to reduce the inflammation and help in the re-construction of the connectivity tissues. I went to the local pharmacy and found one with clucosamine and MSM in it. The clucosamine is suppose to help with connectivity tissues. I'll give this a try as well. I also need to cut out the coffee they could be influencing the adrino gland which releases anti-inflammatory substances.
After a few e-mails with my podiatrist, I am finally getting orthotics. They may not be the answer to all the problems, but I can't leave this stone unturned. I hate going out for a run and thinking "could these help? Could I increase my mileage more with them? If I don't have them, will I end up repeating the same thing that happened last winter? " It drives me crazy. If they will help reduce the chances of my shins getting sore after increasing the mileage, then great. If anything it should give me peace of mind. My goal is to get to 60k without any shin problems. It's fairly simple right now. Once I hit that milestone I can figure out what races I really want to run. Along the way, I may go into a couple races, but I don't expect much out of them, it is more for fun.
Here is my running break down for the past 2 weeks starting July 16:
S: 12.76k in 1:11:48 at 5:37/km AM
M: 8.73 including a 3k M pace in 13:35 or 4:31/km
T: off
W: 5.25k in 28:12 or 5.25/km on the grass
T: off
F: 11.6k, with 5k race in 19:27,
S: 4.45k in 36:36, with my youngest son on the trail
Total 43km
S: 10.27k in 1:00:52, at 5:55/km on the trail (first 10 minutes with Donna)
M: off
T: 9.11k in 48:38, at 5:20/km, on a paved trail in Scarborough
W: 13.13k in 1:11:20 at 5:26/km, on same trail with some grass running
T: 1.5k, stopped due to sore shins
F: off structural integration massage
S: 10.72 in 57:14 at 5:20/km, on chip trail
This weeks plan:
S: 10k easy (51 minutes or more)
M: 9k easy (47)
T: Off
W: 13k L easy (some grass) (68)
T:9k easy (47)
F: off
S: 10k easy with strides (51)
Monday, July 24, 2006
Easy runnin' for the week
I signed up for another race. This one is the home town one and I can't miss it. Usually I just sign up and don't give any donations, but I felt good about giving a donation this time. After all it's for the trail. My family uses it all the time.
I wonder if I should be concentrating on my training rather than any races at this time though.
This weeks plan:
S: 10k easy (51)
M: Off
T: 9k easy (47)
W: 13k L easy (some grass) (68)
T:9k easy (47)
F: off
S: 10k easy with strides (51)
I moved my long run to Wednesday. All the races I have ever run in have been on the weekends. Therefore, I thought that it would be a good idea to place a quality run on the Saturday. I think Ken mentioned this to me many months ago. Next week, I will run on the Monday instead of the Tuesday, so that my long run comes after a day off.
I wonder if I should be concentrating on my training rather than any races at this time though.
This weeks plan:
S: 10k easy (51)
M: Off
T: 9k easy (47)
W: 13k L easy (some grass) (68)
T:9k easy (47)
F: off
S: 10k easy with strides (51)
I moved my long run to Wednesday. All the races I have ever run in have been on the weekends. Therefore, I thought that it would be a good idea to place a quality run on the Saturday. I think Ken mentioned this to me many months ago. Next week, I will run on the Monday instead of the Tuesday, so that my long run comes after a day off.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
The Fun Begins....
I've forgotten how hard it is to keep a fast pace over an extended period of time. Here is my pace of the race:
Way too fast at the beginning?
I am going to make an excuse here and say that the crowd was really pushy. I was around smaller and what appeared to be slower runners that were really pushing me around. I thought these people are just going out way too fast. For a split second I remembered the wrong thing. The first km in other races usually set up the finishing positions. Then I sped up to get into position and show these people that I am not to be pushed around. Oops... At the corner before a downhill portion, I saw Ken pass me. I knew then that I was going too fast for sure. I felt OK though, the legs were moving fast, the breathing was not yet heavy. Then, I was neck and neck with someone who I've always wanted to either beat or just race with. We were going down the final stretches of the downhill portion, about 480m of downhill in total, and entering into the park path. I passed him to get around some slower people and then he gave this burst of speed that I tried to keep with. I just couldn't match it. I tried to keep close to him. Some other people passed me and I lost it. At about the half way point, the race was an out and back, I started to have trouble with my stride. I could no longer keep it fast and short. I would slow down and realize it, try to pick it back up a little and couldn't keep it for long. A few people passed me up the hill on the way back, then I turned the corner for the final flat stretch to the finish line (about 250m). I ran faster, but I just couldn't dig deep. I may have passed one or 2 and one or 2 passed me. I was breathing very heavy and feeling faint at the finish line.
Then I look at this (in mile pace) my last 250m was fast. Could I have tried a little harder from the half way point? I hate second guessing myself like this.
My official time was 19:29. Not bad considering that last year I ran it 20:31 with more preparation. I.e. No injury recovery period.
Was it above my lactate threshold at the beginning and I was doomed from then on? Would I have run a better time if I would have run a 3:35 or 3:40 /km at the start? Could this be an indication of where I could get to? Could I get to sub 18 by September?
I think it is best to continue with the remaining 6 weeks of my training plan. At the end of that period I need to figure out a goal to set. When, where and at what distance. The fall season is fast approaching and I can't fit a full 24 week period of training in before any of those races. Around the Bay 30k could be it. Those are my thoughts for now.
Way too fast at the beginning?I am going to make an excuse here and say that the crowd was really pushy. I was around smaller and what appeared to be slower runners that were really pushing me around. I thought these people are just going out way too fast. For a split second I remembered the wrong thing. The first km in other races usually set up the finishing positions. Then I sped up to get into position and show these people that I am not to be pushed around. Oops... At the corner before a downhill portion, I saw Ken pass me. I knew then that I was going too fast for sure. I felt OK though, the legs were moving fast, the breathing was not yet heavy. Then, I was neck and neck with someone who I've always wanted to either beat or just race with. We were going down the final stretches of the downhill portion, about 480m of downhill in total, and entering into the park path. I passed him to get around some slower people and then he gave this burst of speed that I tried to keep with. I just couldn't match it. I tried to keep close to him. Some other people passed me and I lost it. At about the half way point, the race was an out and back, I started to have trouble with my stride. I could no longer keep it fast and short. I would slow down and realize it, try to pick it back up a little and couldn't keep it for long. A few people passed me up the hill on the way back, then I turned the corner for the final flat stretch to the finish line (about 250m). I ran faster, but I just couldn't dig deep. I may have passed one or 2 and one or 2 passed me. I was breathing very heavy and feeling faint at the finish line.
Then I look at this (in mile pace) my last 250m was fast. Could I have tried a little harder from the half way point? I hate second guessing myself like this.My official time was 19:29. Not bad considering that last year I ran it 20:31 with more preparation. I.e. No injury recovery period.
Was it above my lactate threshold at the beginning and I was doomed from then on? Would I have run a better time if I would have run a 3:35 or 3:40 /km at the start? Could this be an indication of where I could get to? Could I get to sub 18 by September?
I think it is best to continue with the remaining 6 weeks of my training plan. At the end of that period I need to figure out a goal to set. When, where and at what distance. The fall season is fast approaching and I can't fit a full 24 week period of training in before any of those races. Around the Bay 30k could be it. Those are my thoughts for now.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
200m in 40 easy...
I had a little change in plans.
Yesterday, I took a last minute vacation day and went to the beach yesterday with Donna and the kids. I had to get into work early and left at 4:30AM this morning. Therefore, I did the workout last night around 7:30 in the hot sticky and humid weather.
Oh how it feels good to be running faster.
The marathon pace run was 3km in 13:38 or 4:32/km or 7:18/mile. There was a little more breathing than I would have liked, probably due to the humidity. I recovered quickly and got on to the 200m. The first one shows 41 seconds but I forgot to press the lap button until I was passed the marker, which is really at about 202m. The next one, after a 2 minute rest, went a little faster with less effort, the time showed 40. I tried to run fast but in control. I take this too mean that your close to max speed, but hold back and work on your form. The tables show that I should not have gone any faster than 42 seconds. I don't think that the 2 seconds will make that much of a difference, but I did try.
We'll see what I should really be training at after Friday.
What a blast! Loved it.
Yesterday, I took a last minute vacation day and went to the beach yesterday with Donna and the kids. I had to get into work early and left at 4:30AM this morning. Therefore, I did the workout last night around 7:30 in the hot sticky and humid weather.
Oh how it feels good to be running faster.
The marathon pace run was 3km in 13:38 or 4:32/km or 7:18/mile. There was a little more breathing than I would have liked, probably due to the humidity. I recovered quickly and got on to the 200m. The first one shows 41 seconds but I forgot to press the lap button until I was passed the marker, which is really at about 202m. The next one, after a 2 minute rest, went a little faster with less effort, the time showed 40. I tried to run fast but in control. I take this too mean that your close to max speed, but hold back and work on your form. The tables show that I should not have gone any faster than 42 seconds. I don't think that the 2 seconds will make that much of a difference, but I did try.
We'll see what I should really be training at after Friday.
What a blast! Loved it.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Body Fat.. too high?
During the past few months I have gone from 152/154 lbs in weight up to 162/164 lbs. I think that it has been all body fat. Ken has a scale that measures body fat. This scale is programmable to keep information for a number of people, for me he set it to being athletic. It measured a reading of 13.4%. Ken has a reading around 10%. His scale read my weight as 163.8 lbs. Wowa. The Performance Nutrition for Runners book by Matt Fitzgerald states that this range is 6 to 13% for athletes. The book also states that if you are gaining weight and injury prone, then you could be eating too many carbs and not enough proteins. I have been trying to cut out (or back) on the nasty little habits like easting cakes, cookies, candy, bagels, toast (whole wheat), wine (yikes) and eating more fruits. I have been setting out 5 fruits/day. I have also been eating more beans within soups as well as anything with more protein in general.
This weeks running:
S: around 11k at 5:47/k pace, London
M:off
T: 8.92k at 5:11/k pace, Don River Trail
W: 10.5k at 5:35/k pace, Roads and Sidewalks with the RR
T: 6k at 5:13/k, Grass
F: Off
S: 8.2k in 40:51, 2.6k in 11:27, at 4:24/k pace track
It is that time to increase my distance to 51km/week, but I also registered for a race. The plan also called for some R pace stuff, which is anaerobic workouts. For me that would be now more than about 86 seconds around a 400m on the track. I was thinking of leaving this until the 3rd week of running at this new distance of 51km/week. The race is more than enough of workout that will put extra stress on me.
I changed my mind after talking to Ken though, he had a great suggestion. Wait a week too increase my distance and do a 3k marathon pace run on Tuesday and finish off with 2x200m R pace (no faster than 42 seconds). I think that this will provide me with a reasonable test of the legs before the race and kind of wake up my speed. I haven't run fast since March. I spoke to Ken on my long run which I had already extended to be 25% of the increase mileage.
The plan is as follows:
S: 13km in aprox 78 minutes
M: off
T: 8km in aprox 58 minutes
W:6km in aprox 37 minutes with strides
T: off
F: 5k race, 4k warmup and cool down
S: 5
42k in total.
This weeks running:
S: around 11k at 5:47/k pace, London
M:off
T: 8.92k at 5:11/k pace, Don River Trail
W: 10.5k at 5:35/k pace, Roads and Sidewalks with the RR
T: 6k at 5:13/k, Grass
F: Off
S: 8.2k in 40:51, 2.6k in 11:27, at 4:24/k pace track
It is that time to increase my distance to 51km/week, but I also registered for a race. The plan also called for some R pace stuff, which is anaerobic workouts. For me that would be now more than about 86 seconds around a 400m on the track. I was thinking of leaving this until the 3rd week of running at this new distance of 51km/week. The race is more than enough of workout that will put extra stress on me.
I changed my mind after talking to Ken though, he had a great suggestion. Wait a week too increase my distance and do a 3k marathon pace run on Tuesday and finish off with 2x200m R pace (no faster than 42 seconds). I think that this will provide me with a reasonable test of the legs before the race and kind of wake up my speed. I haven't run fast since March. I spoke to Ken on my long run which I had already extended to be 25% of the increase mileage.
The plan is as follows:
S: 13km in aprox 78 minutes
M: off
T: 8km in aprox 58 minutes
W:6km in aprox 37 minutes with strides
T: off
F: 5k race, 4k warmup and cool down
S: 5
42k in total.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Race #2 - Signed Up
This week has been working out really well. The strides have done wonders to bring something more exciting than just easy running. The break down went like this:
S: 10.5km in 56:36, (156BPM) at 5:23/km South Huron Trail
M: Off
T: 8.32 in 44:55, at 5:23/km (stides) Shouth Huron Trail
W: 5.8 in 29:52, 5.08/km South Huron Trail
T: aprox 8.75 in 45:33, 5:12/km, Pinery trails
F: off
S: 8.76 44:55, with 3km in 14:02, 4:40/km
Total: 42.13km in 3:41:51 5:15/km
Saturday was a little different than planned, but it was enjoyable. The 3km was done on a local dirt track and was suppose to be done at my estimated marathon pace from the VDOT tables, with a VDOT of 51. This was no where near that. This is because the garmin sucks on the track, somehow it was measuring the track as being 430m instead of 404 or so. The thing was telling me that my pace was faster than what it really was. The idea of the M pace is to give me a little taste of running at a high aerobic level without doing too much of it. The 4:40 pace increased my breathing but I could have kept going and going. The idea came from Ken who received an e-mail from Jack Daniels about phase 4, but we applied it here as well.
I will repeat the same for next week, even though it has started off a little differently. Yesterday Ken and I went to a track where he wanted to do a time trial. He ran with me for a warmup, and then I kept running while he did some stretching. After he was finished with his strides, I hopped the fence to time his run. I would be happy with the results, but it was not a PB for him, which he had hoped to do becuase he expected to be peaking right now. His time for the 5000m was 17:14 (3:27/km). I ran with him for a lap, about 3/4 of the way through, to help encourage him to pick up the pace. That was cool! Race pace for a short distance, ahhh.
Yesterday morning, I signed up for a 5km race in London that I ran last year in 20:31. It is an evening run at 7:10 on the 21st of July. The day after our 10th Wedding anniversary. It should be fun.
S: 10.5km in 56:36, (156BPM) at 5:23/km South Huron Trail
M: Off
T: 8.32 in 44:55, at 5:23/km (stides) Shouth Huron Trail
W: 5.8 in 29:52, 5.08/km South Huron Trail
T: aprox 8.75 in 45:33, 5:12/km, Pinery trails
F: off
S: 8.76 44:55, with 3km in 14:02, 4:40/km
Total: 42.13km in 3:41:51 5:15/km
Saturday was a little different than planned, but it was enjoyable. The 3km was done on a local dirt track and was suppose to be done at my estimated marathon pace from the VDOT tables, with a VDOT of 51. This was no where near that. This is because the garmin sucks on the track, somehow it was measuring the track as being 430m instead of 404 or so. The thing was telling me that my pace was faster than what it really was. The idea of the M pace is to give me a little taste of running at a high aerobic level without doing too much of it. The 4:40 pace increased my breathing but I could have kept going and going. The idea came from Ken who received an e-mail from Jack Daniels about phase 4, but we applied it here as well.
I will repeat the same for next week, even though it has started off a little differently. Yesterday Ken and I went to a track where he wanted to do a time trial. He ran with me for a warmup, and then I kept running while he did some stretching. After he was finished with his strides, I hopped the fence to time his run. I would be happy with the results, but it was not a PB for him, which he had hoped to do becuase he expected to be peaking right now. His time for the 5000m was 17:14 (3:27/km). I ran with him for a lap, about 3/4 of the way through, to help encourage him to pick up the pace. That was cool! Race pace for a short distance, ahhh.
Yesterday morning, I signed up for a 5km race in London that I ran last year in 20:31. It is an evening run at 7:10 on the 21st of July. The day after our 10th Wedding anniversary. It should be fun.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Knees up!
This week was fairly good. The shins started to feel a little tender on Wednesday, but recovered before my run on Thursday morning. Even my upper legs were starting to feel "worked out", which is great. I love that feeling! I wandered why, though? In my mind, I have not really been doing that much running. So I took a look at my last post to see if I was running the correct mileage. I'm a little embarrassed. I was running for 46 minutes and not 41. So the week went like this:
Sunday: 10.3km in 56 minutes, trail
Monday: off
Tuesday: 9.05km in 46, road and track
Wednesday: 8.83 in 46, grass
Thursday: 8.63 in 46, paved trail and road
Friday: off
Saturday: 5.3km in 28, trail (damn garmin didn't work)
total 42.08 km in 3:42:14, (5:16/km)
The plan for this week is to do the same weekly mileage. I think I will do the same as last week, since things mistakenly worked out, but do the 5k on Wednesday instead of Saturday. I also mix in 3 or 4 strides somewhere in the middle of the run on Tuesday and Thursday.
I've had this nagging soreness in my right hamstring. I think that it has something to do with the short strides (to increase my cadence, spend less time in the air, less pounding, lighter step, less chance of shin splints). I found that my right foot sometimes hits the ground before I expect it to, when I am bringing my foot forward. So I started raising my knee up higher. However, this increases my chance of overstriding again. It's all about balance, right? Bringing the knees up just feels better. So I have to keep 2 thoughts in my head, "knees up but short stride". When I do this and count my stride rate, it is around 43 to 45 steps for one foot within 30 seconds. (172 to 180)
I am on vacation this week. The most often asked question people ask me is "so where are you going?". I always respond with Home. I am so glad to be home! I got a canoe and it has been a blast with the kids. We drove to a spot, that a neighbor told us about, and canoed along the river. Check out this old oak tree:
Sunday: 10.3km in 56 minutes, trail
Monday: off
Tuesday: 9.05km in 46, road and track
Wednesday: 8.83 in 46, grass
Thursday: 8.63 in 46, paved trail and road
Friday: off
Saturday: 5.3km in 28, trail (damn garmin didn't work)
total 42.08 km in 3:42:14, (5:16/km)
The plan for this week is to do the same weekly mileage. I think I will do the same as last week, since things mistakenly worked out, but do the 5k on Wednesday instead of Saturday. I also mix in 3 or 4 strides somewhere in the middle of the run on Tuesday and Thursday.
I've had this nagging soreness in my right hamstring. I think that it has something to do with the short strides (to increase my cadence, spend less time in the air, less pounding, lighter step, less chance of shin splints). I found that my right foot sometimes hits the ground before I expect it to, when I am bringing my foot forward. So I started raising my knee up higher. However, this increases my chance of overstriding again. It's all about balance, right? Bringing the knees up just feels better. So I have to keep 2 thoughts in my head, "knees up but short stride". When I do this and count my stride rate, it is around 43 to 45 steps for one foot within 30 seconds. (172 to 180)
I am on vacation this week. The most often asked question people ask me is "so where are you going?". I always respond with Home. I am so glad to be home! I got a canoe and it has been a blast with the kids. We drove to a spot, that a neighbor told us about, and canoed along the river. Check out this old oak tree:
Saturday, June 24, 2006
A Stride in the right direction
This week went exactly as planned. This easy running is really starting to seem easy too. Here is what I did this week:
Sunday: 40 minutes, 7.44km at 5:21, An out and back on a dirt country road, even got a sun burn.
Monday: off
Tuesday: 30 minutes, 5.75km at 5:13, on grass
Wednesday: 32 minutes, 6.13km at 5:15, on road and dirt track
Thursday: 30 minutes, 6.04km at 4:59, on paved trail (Don River)
Friday: off (walk and stretch)
Saturday: 30 minutes, 5.87km at 5:01, on chip gravel trail (South Huron)
Time to bump it up for next week, I'll use an average of 5:11/km to determine my time to get the distance of 42km, with 25% of that for tomorrow. 42km @ 5:10 pace is about 3:37:00 total time.
Sunday: 10.5km or about 55 minutes,
Monday: off
Tuesday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Wednesday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Thursday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Friday: off
Saturday:7.875 or about 41 minutes
The right hamstring still bugs me a little a few hours after the run, but it happens more after the days when I run with a really short stride or my push off is just done with my legs up to the knee. (I think that this is the sitting in a bucket feeling that mike has talked about) I find that I need to use my legs all the way up to my gluts muscle. It helps keep me from getting a bouncing feeling and I feel lighter. I guess you can say I am still trying to find the best running technique that will be the most efficient and smoothest. I have also been trying to land as lightly as possible as jack Daniel's states "like running on egg shells."
Sunday: 40 minutes, 7.44km at 5:21, An out and back on a dirt country road, even got a sun burn.
Monday: off
Tuesday: 30 minutes, 5.75km at 5:13, on grass
Wednesday: 32 minutes, 6.13km at 5:15, on road and dirt track
Thursday: 30 minutes, 6.04km at 4:59, on paved trail (Don River)
Friday: off (walk and stretch)
Saturday: 30 minutes, 5.87km at 5:01, on chip gravel trail (South Huron)
Time to bump it up for next week, I'll use an average of 5:11/km to determine my time to get the distance of 42km, with 25% of that for tomorrow. 42km @ 5:10 pace is about 3:37:00 total time.
Sunday: 10.5km or about 55 minutes,
Monday: off
Tuesday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Wednesday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Thursday: 7.875 or about 41 minutes
Friday: off
Saturday:7.875 or about 41 minutes
The right hamstring still bugs me a little a few hours after the run, but it happens more after the days when I run with a really short stride or my push off is just done with my legs up to the knee. (I think that this is the sitting in a bucket feeling that mike has talked about) I find that I need to use my legs all the way up to my gluts muscle. It helps keep me from getting a bouncing feeling and I feel lighter. I guess you can say I am still trying to find the best running technique that will be the most efficient and smoothest. I have also been trying to land as lightly as possible as jack Daniel's states "like running on egg shells."
Monday, June 19, 2006
Increase Distance?
This week was a great week. It feels like things are finally coming together. I ran a total of 29km:
Sunday: 5.07 in 29:04 (Trail) (5:43/km)
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 5.78 in 30:04 (Grass) (5:12/km)
Wednesday: 6.38 in 32:50 (Road and Track) (5:08/km)
Thursday: 5.78 in 30:05 (Grass) (5:15/km)
Friday: Off (Rolfing massage)
Saturday: 5.07 in 29:04 (Trail) (5:09/km)
I was starting to feel a little bit of soreness in the shins by Friday. However, there was no inflammation. I think that I can contribute this to soaking in the cold baths for about 15 to 20 minutes immediately after the runs. Also the mizumo's may be helping a little bit, but I am not sure.
The above mileage is what I was doing 3 weeks ago. I have been so tempted to increase the distance this week by Jack's rule 1.5km or 6 minutes per training session. I think that I will stick with this distance for another week, if everything feels as good as it did this week, then I will increase my distance. I am not sure what rule to follow though. There is another way to increase the distance as well. In the Daniel's Running Formula there is an "adjustments to training following a setback" table. You look up the amount of time you have been off and then it gives you a break down of how to progress to the previous mileage. What distance could I use? I don't think that I can use my weekly distance I ran when I got injured. I obviously increased way to quickly. I was thinking of using an average distance of 60km, which is what I was running when I got my 10k down below the 40 minutes.
If I use this distance then I should be able to run 1) 60km at 33% for 3 weeks (20km) I think I can consider that done.
2) 3 more weeks at 50%, (30 km) done.
3) 3 more weeks at 70%, (42km) starting next week.
4) 3 more weeks at 85% (51km) + strides and R.
5) 3 more weeks at 100% (60km) + strides + Tempo + R..
I think that I can place myself at stage 2. How do I progress? Increase of 7.5km every 3 weeks or do I follow the setback formula? I want to increase the distance to 42km next week, because it gets me to my distance sooner. Is it safe though, or will have another setback?
Yesterday, I ran about 7.5km in 40 minutes. I feel the need to do something a little faster though, like maybe a tempo run. However, I am not sure what that would do at this point. I think that I need to get my total distance/time up before I introduce this type of a workout into my schedule. The schedule above shows that I should not do this for another 3 to 4 weeks.
My Hamstring has been bothering me a little bit. I think that it may have to do with stretching while the muscles are cold. I'll add a short 10 minute walk at night before I do any stretches. This should be enough to get the muscles warmed up but not give me any problems with the shins.
Sunday: 5.07 in 29:04 (Trail) (5:43/km)
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 5.78 in 30:04 (Grass) (5:12/km)
Wednesday: 6.38 in 32:50 (Road and Track) (5:08/km)
Thursday: 5.78 in 30:05 (Grass) (5:15/km)
Friday: Off (Rolfing massage)
Saturday: 5.07 in 29:04 (Trail) (5:09/km)
I was starting to feel a little bit of soreness in the shins by Friday. However, there was no inflammation. I think that I can contribute this to soaking in the cold baths for about 15 to 20 minutes immediately after the runs. Also the mizumo's may be helping a little bit, but I am not sure.
The above mileage is what I was doing 3 weeks ago. I have been so tempted to increase the distance this week by Jack's rule 1.5km or 6 minutes per training session. I think that I will stick with this distance for another week, if everything feels as good as it did this week, then I will increase my distance. I am not sure what rule to follow though. There is another way to increase the distance as well. In the Daniel's Running Formula there is an "adjustments to training following a setback" table. You look up the amount of time you have been off and then it gives you a break down of how to progress to the previous mileage. What distance could I use? I don't think that I can use my weekly distance I ran when I got injured. I obviously increased way to quickly. I was thinking of using an average distance of 60km, which is what I was running when I got my 10k down below the 40 minutes.
If I use this distance then I should be able to run 1) 60km at 33% for 3 weeks (20km) I think I can consider that done.
2) 3 more weeks at 50%, (30 km) done.
3) 3 more weeks at 70%, (42km) starting next week.
4) 3 more weeks at 85% (51km) + strides and R.
5) 3 more weeks at 100% (60km) + strides + Tempo + R..
I think that I can place myself at stage 2. How do I progress? Increase of 7.5km every 3 weeks or do I follow the setback formula? I want to increase the distance to 42km next week, because it gets me to my distance sooner. Is it safe though, or will have another setback?
Yesterday, I ran about 7.5km in 40 minutes. I feel the need to do something a little faster though, like maybe a tempo run. However, I am not sure what that would do at this point. I think that I need to get my total distance/time up before I introduce this type of a workout into my schedule. The schedule above shows that I should not do this for another 3 to 4 weeks.
My Hamstring has been bothering me a little bit. I think that it may have to do with stretching while the muscles are cold. I'll add a short 10 minute walk at night before I do any stretches. This should be enough to get the muscles warmed up but not give me any problems with the shins.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Rolfing Massage
By Wednesday there was no pain in my shins. I dug into the shins deeply trying to find any little hint. There was none. This was good, but I did not run anyways.
Friday I went to London to get a rolfing massage (structural integration). I walked up and down a hall way so that the therapist could see my posture and legs. Right away he noticed something that no body had noticed before. My IT band was tight. He asked me to lay down on my right side on the bench and then started with his lower arms on the side of my upper leg. I asked him my "IT band is tight, really?" He kind of chuckled and stated "it's as hard as rock!" He moved the arms apart while applying a large amount of continuous pressure on the side of the leg. What a weird feeling! He also worked on the shin and calve muscles. It hurt a little, but well worth the pain. I honestly feel like I have some new legs. Just amazing!
I also talked to him to him about inflammation. You will always have inflammation after a run, it is just a natural response to the type of exercise. You need to give it the time it needs to recover. He suggested I take a cold bath immediately after my run. No stretching just head to the bath. This got me thinking, so when should I stretch? I will do this in the evening after doing some strengthening exercises. I need to come up with a better plan for these exercises. I get bored of them and need to mix it up a little.
Sunday; Run during the morning/day, strength exercises in the evening sitting and standing calve raises, ankle exercises with the elastic band (physio)
Monday morning: pushups, situps, leg tube exercises from Robert
Tuesday; morning run, evening ankle exercises, standing calve raises
Wednesday;morning run, evening leg tube exercises
Thursday; morning run, evening ankle exercises
Friday; off
Saturday; morning or day run, evening tube exercises
I hope that I can stick to the evening exercises. I am usually really tired from work by that time.
There is another little exercise that I have been doing at work every once in awhile. I have a 5 pound weight with duck tape as a foot strap. I rest my leg up on something so that I can pull my toes up and hold for 30 seconds, then release and repeat until it burns. This is to try and strengthen my shin muscles. I have included a special exercise to stretch my shin muscles later.
I ran 5km in about 25 minutes yesterday in Ascics 1110's (These were suppose to be my marathon shoes) on the grass. I followed the Saturday plan above and it worked like a charm. Absolutely nothing to complain about. No tenderness, no soreness, no tightness and I finally got a really good nights sleep. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night thinking about software design crap from work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I hate not getting a good nights sleep.
Today I am going to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of Mizuno wave nirvana 2. They are a very high stability shoe with a forefoot drop at the metatarsils. This forefoot drop should help with the ball of my big toe being lower then the rest. I tried a pair on and they provide much more room in the toes then the asics gel empires. They feel very different, but still comfortable. These things better help out!
One more thing. Last weekend I borrowed the first edition of the "jack Daniel's Running Formula" from Ken. I like parts of Lydiard's and part of Daniel's training plans. I went out and got the second edition. Now I can refer to them as often as I like. Man, what an exciting week! I sure am thankful for all the help I have been getting lately.
Friday I went to London to get a rolfing massage (structural integration). I walked up and down a hall way so that the therapist could see my posture and legs. Right away he noticed something that no body had noticed before. My IT band was tight. He asked me to lay down on my right side on the bench and then started with his lower arms on the side of my upper leg. I asked him my "IT band is tight, really?" He kind of chuckled and stated "it's as hard as rock!" He moved the arms apart while applying a large amount of continuous pressure on the side of the leg. What a weird feeling! He also worked on the shin and calve muscles. It hurt a little, but well worth the pain. I honestly feel like I have some new legs. Just amazing!
I also talked to him to him about inflammation. You will always have inflammation after a run, it is just a natural response to the type of exercise. You need to give it the time it needs to recover. He suggested I take a cold bath immediately after my run. No stretching just head to the bath. This got me thinking, so when should I stretch? I will do this in the evening after doing some strengthening exercises. I need to come up with a better plan for these exercises. I get bored of them and need to mix it up a little.
Sunday; Run during the morning/day, strength exercises in the evening sitting and standing calve raises, ankle exercises with the elastic band (physio)
Monday morning: pushups, situps, leg tube exercises from Robert
Tuesday; morning run, evening ankle exercises, standing calve raises
Wednesday;morning run, evening leg tube exercises
Thursday; morning run, evening ankle exercises
Friday; off
Saturday; morning or day run, evening tube exercises
I hope that I can stick to the evening exercises. I am usually really tired from work by that time.
There is another little exercise that I have been doing at work every once in awhile. I have a 5 pound weight with duck tape as a foot strap. I rest my leg up on something so that I can pull my toes up and hold for 30 seconds, then release and repeat until it burns. This is to try and strengthen my shin muscles. I have included a special exercise to stretch my shin muscles later.
I ran 5km in about 25 minutes yesterday in Ascics 1110's (These were suppose to be my marathon shoes) on the grass. I followed the Saturday plan above and it worked like a charm. Absolutely nothing to complain about. No tenderness, no soreness, no tightness and I finally got a really good nights sleep. I didn't wake up in the middle of the night thinking about software design crap from work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but I hate not getting a good nights sleep.
Today I am going to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of Mizuno wave nirvana 2. They are a very high stability shoe with a forefoot drop at the metatarsils. This forefoot drop should help with the ball of my big toe being lower then the rest. I tried a pair on and they provide much more room in the toes then the asics gel empires. They feel very different, but still comfortable. These things better help out!
One more thing. Last weekend I borrowed the first edition of the "jack Daniel's Running Formula" from Ken. I like parts of Lydiard's and part of Daniel's training plans. I went out and got the second edition. Now I can refer to them as often as I like. Man, what an exciting week! I sure am thankful for all the help I have been getting lately.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Let's Try Again
All I have been able to think about this weekend is running. I practically read the "Daniel's Running Formula" over the weekend. There are alot of similarities between Lydiard and Daniels and there are also a lot differences. You can go to letsrun.com, and read the thread on this or get the books and read them. I learnt more about the Daniel's base building by reading his book than from the thread. I think that if I follow Daniel's Formula I will be able to run fairly close to my potential and prevent injuries.
I went to see a Podiatrist in London today. We discussed a number of issues:
- Overstriding, I am well on my way to correcting this with regards to controlling my cadence on easy/long runs.
- The Gel Empires, for me, are great for faster runs, but not the slower ones. They are too flexible and I require more stability. The shin splints are caused by over pronating on runs were I am heel striking. However, during races and tempo runs, he suggests, and I agree, that I am landing at the mid to fore foot. Therefore, the orthotics would not help. He does not yet want to put me into Orthotics.
- my calf muscles are much stronger than my shin muscles and I should work on strengthening those muscles. He gave me a number of exercises, they are different than what I have been doing and I think they will focus more on fixing the cause rather than just healing the injury.
- He pressed the anterial area of the shin, between the tibia and fibia? It stung like crazy. At first, I don't think that he thought it was a big deal. "There are a lot of fast runners that have the same problem." I don't think that I gave it enough time to heal. He suggested I see a massage therapist and get a "ralphing" massage. He had a huge smile on his face and said it will hurt! I have an appointment to get this done on Friday. It will take an hour! ouch.
- I will be off for 2 weeks, and then I will start with short runs, very short.
Even though the outcome of today's meeting is not what I expected, I feel much more confident that I have a plan in place to correct the causes. If this doesn't work, I am certain that I will get some orthotics.
Could I keep running with the shins in the current shape they are in? Probably. Would it come back to haunt me in 6 to 8 months when I really start running harder? Definitely!
I went to see a Podiatrist in London today. We discussed a number of issues:
- Overstriding, I am well on my way to correcting this with regards to controlling my cadence on easy/long runs.
- The Gel Empires, for me, are great for faster runs, but not the slower ones. They are too flexible and I require more stability. The shin splints are caused by over pronating on runs were I am heel striking. However, during races and tempo runs, he suggests, and I agree, that I am landing at the mid to fore foot. Therefore, the orthotics would not help. He does not yet want to put me into Orthotics.
- my calf muscles are much stronger than my shin muscles and I should work on strengthening those muscles. He gave me a number of exercises, they are different than what I have been doing and I think they will focus more on fixing the cause rather than just healing the injury.
- He pressed the anterial area of the shin, between the tibia and fibia? It stung like crazy. At first, I don't think that he thought it was a big deal. "There are a lot of fast runners that have the same problem." I don't think that I gave it enough time to heal. He suggested I see a massage therapist and get a "ralphing" massage. He had a huge smile on his face and said it will hurt! I have an appointment to get this done on Friday. It will take an hour! ouch.
- I will be off for 2 weeks, and then I will start with short runs, very short.
Even though the outcome of today's meeting is not what I expected, I feel much more confident that I have a plan in place to correct the causes. If this doesn't work, I am certain that I will get some orthotics.
Could I keep running with the shins in the current shape they are in? Probably. Would it come back to haunt me in 6 to 8 months when I really start running harder? Definitely!
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Slow and Steady
The training is starting to look better and better all the time now. This weeks running:
Sunday: South Huron Trail 9.22km in 51:40, 5:18/km( miles, 8:33/mi)
Monday: Grass 3.52km in 18:37, 5:17/km (2.19 miles, 8:30/mi)
Tuesday: Grass 3.35km in 18:31, 5:31/km (2.08 miles, 8:53/mi)
Wednesday: Grass 7.05km in 36:59, 5:14/km, (4.38 miles, 8:26/mi)
Thursday: off
Friday: Grass 4.34km in 21:41, 5:00/km (2.69 miles, 8:00/mi)
Saturday: South Huron Trail 9.73km in 49:43, 5:06/km (6.05 miles, 8:13/mi)
Total of 37.7km in 3:17:11,5:13/km (23.43 miles, 8:24/mi)
I ran with Ken today, and next week he racing in a 5000m track meet. He ran it in 16 something last year and he is hoping to improve on his time this year. I wish him the best. The Garmin is just not working very well on the trail anymore and it didn't really feel like we were going that fast. We were chatting up a storm too.
A really good week, man it feels good to be running again!
The shins are ok I will be going to speak to Robert on Monday. My biggest questions for him will be:
1) Can I correct the overstriding, if so then how? (Maybe he can tell me something I have not read yet.
2) Why is the inflammation in my shins caused by the overstriding mechanically? I want to know more details.
3) Show him the following graphs and see what he has to say.
I hope that I can keep this progress up and get to the state I was at in January without injury.
The following graphs shows my weekly mileage for the year. Ignore the first week, it is when I got the Garmin.
Next Weeks plan is to run on the grass, 2 days at 20 minutes, 1 at 50 minutes and then 2 at 20 minutes and then back here on the trail for an hour, if things go well on Monday.
Sunday: South Huron Trail 9.22km in 51:40, 5:18/km( miles, 8:33/mi)
Monday: Grass 3.52km in 18:37, 5:17/km (2.19 miles, 8:30/mi)
Tuesday: Grass 3.35km in 18:31, 5:31/km (2.08 miles, 8:53/mi)
Wednesday: Grass 7.05km in 36:59, 5:14/km, (4.38 miles, 8:26/mi)
Thursday: off
Friday: Grass 4.34km in 21:41, 5:00/km (2.69 miles, 8:00/mi)
Saturday: South Huron Trail 9.73km in 49:43, 5:06/km (6.05 miles, 8:13/mi)
Total of 37.7km in 3:17:11,5:13/km (23.43 miles, 8:24/mi)
I ran with Ken today, and next week he racing in a 5000m track meet. He ran it in 16 something last year and he is hoping to improve on his time this year. I wish him the best. The Garmin is just not working very well on the trail anymore and it didn't really feel like we were going that fast. We were chatting up a storm too.
A really good week, man it feels good to be running again!
The shins are ok I will be going to speak to Robert on Monday. My biggest questions for him will be:
1) Can I correct the overstriding, if so then how? (Maybe he can tell me something I have not read yet.
2) Why is the inflammation in my shins caused by the overstriding mechanically? I want to know more details.
3) Show him the following graphs and see what he has to say.
I hope that I can keep this progress up and get to the state I was at in January without injury.
The following graphs shows my weekly mileage for the year. Ignore the first week, it is when I got the Garmin.
Next Weeks plan is to run on the grass, 2 days at 20 minutes, 1 at 50 minutes and then 2 at 20 minutes and then back here on the trail for an hour, if things go well on Monday.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Knock On Wood
It seems like things are finally coming together. Saturday I ran a short 3.24km on grass in 17:08. Sunday I ran the trail with a heart rate monitor and the garmin. The garmin was not working very well in the tree covered areas, so I think that the distance is a little off. It measured 9.22km in 51:40. The full loop when measured in the early spring was about 6.8 to 7km, When I use the sportTracks mapping tool to figure out the loop as per yesterdays readings, I get 6.48. That is a whole 0.5 km off. So if I add this in the total is 9.72km in 51:40. This would make my pace at 5:15, fairly close to the target I set out for yesterday. This shins are feeling good.
The heart rate monitor gave me an average of 159 beats/min. I really don't know what my max is. Using 220 minus my age is probably not that accurate (188). If I use that then I was running at 85%, but it was warm out and humid, about 26ºC, which elevatess the heart higher and should be taken into consideration as well. I am sure that my max is higher than this, I had it the low 190's last year. When I start doing track work, I'll measure it.
This weeks plan:
Monday: 15 minutes on grass
Tuesday: 15 minutes on grass
Wednesday: 45 minutes on grass
Thursday: 15 minutes on grass
Friday: 15 minutes on grass
The heart rate monitor gave me an average of 159 beats/min. I really don't know what my max is. Using 220 minus my age is probably not that accurate (188). If I use that then I was running at 85%, but it was warm out and humid, about 26ºC, which elevatess the heart higher and should be taken into consideration as well. I am sure that my max is higher than this, I had it the low 190's last year. When I start doing track work, I'll measure it.
This weeks plan:
Monday: 15 minutes on grass
Tuesday: 15 minutes on grass
Wednesday: 45 minutes on grass
Thursday: 15 minutes on grass
Friday: 15 minutes on grass
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Grass Man
I have been running around the soccer fields all week, except Sunday. It is a little boring, but not as much as the pool. The pavement feels really hard after running 4k on grass. On Wednesday, I thought that it was making the shins worse, but I stuck with it. I can still feel a little pull at the front of the shins when I start to run, but it disappears in about 5 to 10 minutes. There was no inflammation after the runs today and yesterday, but I still iced them immediately after stretching. I always stretch after my runs.
Here is the breakdown of my running so far this week.
Sunday: 5.18 km with my wife, slow
Monday: 4.24km in 21:32 (5:04/km, 8:10/mile)
Tuesday: 4.26km in 22:56 (5:23/km, 8:40/mile)
Wednesday: 3.56km in 18:29 (5:11/km, 8:21/mile)
Thursday: 3.58km in 19:01 (5:18/km, 8:32/mile)
Friday: 5.2km in 25:34 (4:54/km, 7:54/mile)
I'll do a short run tomorrow on the grass, but I am not sure about Sunday. I would like to go for a run on the local trail. The full loop is about 7km and it is about 1 km from my house. That would make about 9km in total. I think that if I run no faster than 5:20/km, or about 48 to 50 minutes, I should be OK.
Here is the breakdown of my running so far this week.
Sunday: 5.18 km with my wife, slow
Monday: 4.24km in 21:32 (5:04/km, 8:10/mile)
Tuesday: 4.26km in 22:56 (5:23/km, 8:40/mile)
Wednesday: 3.56km in 18:29 (5:11/km, 8:21/mile)
Thursday: 3.58km in 19:01 (5:18/km, 8:32/mile)
Friday: 5.2km in 25:34 (4:54/km, 7:54/mile)
I'll do a short run tomorrow on the grass, but I am not sure about Sunday. I would like to go for a run on the local trail. The full loop is about 7km and it is about 1 km from my house. That would make about 9km in total. I think that if I run no faster than 5:20/km, or about 48 to 50 minutes, I should be OK.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Re-read Injuries In Running To the Top
I had some time to re-read a few pages in Arthur Lydiards book running to the top. The first section I went to was the injury section. It's amazing how things can seem so much clearer the second time I read things, especially after a period of time has passed since the last time I read it. In that section I learnt or was reminded of the following ways to recover from the injury:
- must use ice,
- if you want to run, stay on the flats, on grass
- no running down hills, walk if you come to one
- physio can help
- need flexible ankles
- shin splints can be troublesome for such a long period,
He also talks about the reasons why shins splints occur; one is the shoes being too stiff I already talked about earlier, and the second being tight calfs and I also noted that earlier.
Then I turned to the "how to start running". Here I thought, that because I have been running for awhile and my times are ok, I know a few things about running. Well when I re-read the basics as noted by Arthur I am reminded that it is a continuous learning process. Here are the reasons why:
Arthur writes to start by doing 5 minutes out and back. I started with a race a couple years ago and even now I started with a minimum of 5k, approach 12.5 minutes out and back maybe this was too much (at a faster pace than my first race too). I noticed that Eric was starting out at much shorter distance to see if the injury had subsided.
Try running every day, at about 15 minutes. I ran every other day.
Once you can run every day at 15 minutes, then bump it up to 30 minutes one day and then 2 days of 15, again I started at about 25.
Do you think that this section is just for beginners? Ah, not really because then he talks about my favorite part: getting sore muscles. I think that I can also use this for a recovery from an injury. He says to get out an jog every day to get the blood flowing through the area of the pain. If you stop and wait for the pain to go away, then you'll have to begin again and work through the pain, you'll have gained nothing. Here is how I use this for my own problem. I run for some good amount of time every other day. Lately I have only been doing my ankle exercises. I was biking and swimming, and one could argue that, that got my blood pumping through the area. I'll try to ignore that part, because I thought I was on to something here. What I want to do is: try light slow running every day, about 40 minutes one day and then jogging for 2 days at 15 to 20 minutes. See how that goes.
Last weeks workouts went surprisingly well:
- Monday, 4.27km in 15:15 at 5:54 pace (2.65 miles at 9:30)
- Tuesday, off
- Wednesday, 7.34km in 40:20 at 5:29 pace (4.56 miles at 8:50)
- Thusrday, off
- Friday, 7.97 in 39:30 at 4:57 pace (4.95 miles at 7:58)
You know looking at the miles paces, it seems more obvious how much faster the Friday run was. Maybe that is why the shins flared up just a touch only on that day. I have a hard time keeping my speed down. It felt like a bloody darn jog!
Today I will run 40 minutes with the kids and my wife. I'll make a plan to stick with them, instead of taking off and running faster. Monday and Tuesday I will try running 15 minutes, then 40 minutes on Wednesday and 15, Thursday and Friday.
- must use ice,
- if you want to run, stay on the flats, on grass
- no running down hills, walk if you come to one
- physio can help
- need flexible ankles
- shin splints can be troublesome for such a long period,
He also talks about the reasons why shins splints occur; one is the shoes being too stiff I already talked about earlier, and the second being tight calfs and I also noted that earlier.
Then I turned to the "how to start running". Here I thought, that because I have been running for awhile and my times are ok, I know a few things about running. Well when I re-read the basics as noted by Arthur I am reminded that it is a continuous learning process. Here are the reasons why:
Arthur writes to start by doing 5 minutes out and back. I started with a race a couple years ago and even now I started with a minimum of 5k, approach 12.5 minutes out and back maybe this was too much (at a faster pace than my first race too). I noticed that Eric was starting out at much shorter distance to see if the injury had subsided.
Try running every day, at about 15 minutes. I ran every other day.
Once you can run every day at 15 minutes, then bump it up to 30 minutes one day and then 2 days of 15, again I started at about 25.
Do you think that this section is just for beginners? Ah, not really because then he talks about my favorite part: getting sore muscles. I think that I can also use this for a recovery from an injury. He says to get out an jog every day to get the blood flowing through the area of the pain. If you stop and wait for the pain to go away, then you'll have to begin again and work through the pain, you'll have gained nothing. Here is how I use this for my own problem. I run for some good amount of time every other day. Lately I have only been doing my ankle exercises. I was biking and swimming, and one could argue that, that got my blood pumping through the area. I'll try to ignore that part, because I thought I was on to something here. What I want to do is: try light slow running every day, about 40 minutes one day and then jogging for 2 days at 15 to 20 minutes. See how that goes.
Last weeks workouts went surprisingly well:
- Monday, 4.27km in 15:15 at 5:54 pace (2.65 miles at 9:30)
- Tuesday, off
- Wednesday, 7.34km in 40:20 at 5:29 pace (4.56 miles at 8:50)
- Thusrday, off
- Friday, 7.97 in 39:30 at 4:57 pace (4.95 miles at 7:58)
You know looking at the miles paces, it seems more obvious how much faster the Friday run was. Maybe that is why the shins flared up just a touch only on that day. I have a hard time keeping my speed down. It felt like a bloody darn jog!
Today I will run 40 minutes with the kids and my wife. I'll make a plan to stick with them, instead of taking off and running faster. Monday and Tuesday I will try running 15 minutes, then 40 minutes on Wednesday and 15, Thursday and Friday.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Will it ever Heal?
I thought that things were going fairly well this week, but now I am not so sure. Every time I ran this week the shins would flare up a little and after 48 hours they would be fine again. They really seemed to flare up on Saturday when I ran a little harder, I would say about 1/2 effort. Maybe I shouldn't be running hard days just yet. I took Monday and Friday completely off from everything. I also ran Tuesday and Thursday and did some pool running again on Wednesday. When I start the run, I feel a little pull at the shins, but it goes away after about 10 minutes of running. I guess that this is when they are finally warmed up. I made an appointment to speak to the podiatrist I have been seeing in London again. Robert's official title is D.O. (MP).,D.Pod.M. Osteopath. Hugh, pretty cool. But I can't get in to see him until June 5th at 5:00PM. In the meantime I will keep trying to add to my distances at a slow pace.
The plan for this week:
Monday: Short easy run, 25 minutes or so ( already done, 4.27km at 25:15)
Tuesday: Easy Bike, to and from work
Wednesday: Easy Long run, 45 minutes
Thursday: Pool Running, 40 minutes
Friday: Easy Run, 30 minutes
Saturday: Easy, 20 minutes, if the shins feel ok
Last weeks training:
Tuesday: 6.11km at 29:45 (4:52 pace)
Wednesday: Pool Running
Thursday: 8.16km at 41:19 (5:03 pace)
Saturday: 6.07km at 30:19 (avg 4:58 pace, with a 5.08k at 22:40 or 4:27 pace)
I have been putting on a few pounds too, I am now up to 160. Gotta stay away from the sweets. 3 months ago I was around 152 to 154.
The plan for this week:
Monday: Short easy run, 25 minutes or so ( already done, 4.27km at 25:15)
Tuesday: Easy Bike, to and from work
Wednesday: Easy Long run, 45 minutes
Thursday: Pool Running, 40 minutes
Friday: Easy Run, 30 minutes
Saturday: Easy, 20 minutes, if the shins feel ok
Last weeks training:
Tuesday: 6.11km at 29:45 (4:52 pace)
Wednesday: Pool Running
Thursday: 8.16km at 41:19 (5:03 pace)
Saturday: 6.07km at 30:19 (avg 4:58 pace, with a 5.08k at 22:40 or 4:27 pace)
I have been putting on a few pounds too, I am now up to 160. Gotta stay away from the sweets. 3 months ago I was around 152 to 154.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Threads Of Life
Yesterday I ran/jogged a 5k on wards island with my youngest boy, Brandon, who is 4 years old. We started off at the back of the pack to catch up to his older brother (Jared) and the sister of a dear friend of mine that was killed in an accident at work. After we passed them, I tried to keep Brandon motivated and got him to run a bit more. He said he was getting tired, he was running to fast and I told to slow down and take it easy. He did, for a bit and then said he was getting tired again. It must of been about a kilometer that he ran by himself. I then put him on my shoulders and jogged until he wanted down. I asked him if he was going to run. He said no, so told him to stay on my shoulders. The next time he asked, he said he would run. This was probably around 2km. He ran for a bit and then wanted to walk. I asked him to run until the next bench on the boardwalk. He did and then I put him back on my shoulders. We had passed a number of people even some other joggers and I didn't want them to catch up. Pretty sad, to be that competitive. We did this, running with him on my shoulders for a bit and then putting him down and getting him to run all the way back to the finish line. I don't think it took us any longer than 30 minutes. He is one fast little runner. I checked his shins to see if they were inflamed, I just couldn't resist. They were not.
My best friend was killed, when a limousine that he was working on, without stands under the axles fell off the car jack and on to him. It is a really shitty thing that happened, but for the last 2 years we have gone to this event to grieve his death. To find out more about the threads of life you can go to www.threadsoflife.ca.
My best friend was killed, when a limousine that he was working on, without stands under the axles fell off the car jack and on to him. It is a really shitty thing that happened, but for the last 2 years we have gone to this event to grieve his death. To find out more about the threads of life you can go to www.threadsoflife.ca.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Rediscovering the Library
In the last post I said I wanted to do some more research on orthotics. Searching on the internet is a fairly decent start, but it is just not as good as going to the library and picking up a good book. Even a library within a town of 5000 people has a few books on the foot. The book that I am currently reading is called the "Foot Doctor". It is mostly about orthotics. He goes on and talks about a lot of the problems in bio-mechanics that the foot can have. I had trouble truly understanding a lot of details that the podiatrist, doctor, and physio therapist have discussed with me. It probably would have been better for me to have read this book a few months ago.
Here are a few of the relevant things that I picked up:
Here is my plan for the next 2 weeks:
Here are a few of the relevant things that I picked up:
- periostitis - inflammation of the lining of the bone, caused by the lining pulling away from the bone, which I had thought was of the muscle
- gate cycle has 2 parts; stance and swing,
- the stance part (foot in contact with the ground) has 3 parts; heel-strike, mid-stance, propulsion
- in first and last part there is a normal amount of pronation and supination (±4%), the mid-stance should be neutral
- pronation is when parts of the foots, mostly the subtalar (1 of 3 bones that make up the rear foot) rollsinwardss
- supination is when parts of the foot, mostly the midtarsal, rolls outwards
- 25% of the bones in your body are located in the foot, so pronation and supination can be a little more complicated than what I have mentioned above
- a computerized gait analyses may help in truly answering the question of my foot being "flat" while weight bearing as well as the amount of pronation and supination
- using heat on the shins may increase the blood flow to the problem areas and help with the recovery, by "superinflamingg", a type of physio therapy that worked well on my injured neck a while ago, icing afterwards is a good idea
- mis-alignment of the metatarsils, namely the balls of the feet, can cause over pronation or supination, which the podiatrist in London determined, that my metatarisl of my big toe is lower than the other 4, making contact to the ground first, which is why I wear the Asics Gel Empires, with the dynamic forefoot cradle.
- A good podiatrist can determine a persons gait by watching them walk in bare feet on a flat surface, which is what the podiatrist in London had me do
- So many other problems exist that I don't seem to have can cause problems (i.e. there are more good things about my mechanics than bad)
- Orthotics can not heal the wounds, but properly fitted ones may prevent an injury from reoccurring
Here is my plan for the next 2 weeks:
- try to get in to see Robert Taylor in London and talk about the overstriding and possibly getting orthotics again
- continue reading about the foot
- orthotics will not fix everything, but may still yet help, a computerized gait analysess may really help me choose them
- let my shins heal, and take it each day, each week and each month at a time
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Pool Running to Relax the Calfs?
On Tuesday, I did some pool running. I warmed up for 5 minutes and then did 1/2 lap fast and hard and the other 1/2 easy. I continued this for about 20 minutes. I felt somewhat tired or wore out so I just did some steady running for the remainder of the 45 minutes. When I was getting dressed I remembered to stretch. As I started to stretch my calfs, wow, were they ever relaxed. This is very unusual, these things are normally very tight.
Today was my last physio appointment. There are no signs of sore shins. One of the tests my therapist performs every time I see her is to lift my toes up, this time they went up far and easily. She looked quite surprised. I think that the pool running helped. Now I will continue to try and go it on my own, as she suggested, I did not request it. I will continue the strengthening, stretching, massaging and x-training, while I SLOWLY increase my mileage.
One of the things that I am puzzled about is the orthotics issue. A podiatrist that I see in London and a Sport Medicine doctor that I have been seeing in Toronto both indicate that orthotics are generally more necessary for people with flat feet. What they do not agree on is the type my foot is. The one says it is a medium to high arch and the other says it is low. I have heard from so many sources that orthotics are really necessary for people with flat feet. My foot is by no means flat when there is no weight bearing on it. When I stand on it, the arch does flatten, but does it flatten enough to call it flat footed? I think I need to do some research on this issue over the next 2 weeks and determine for myself if this will help reduce the chance of injury as well as the overstriding. I do not want to fork out $450 for something that is not going to help or maybe worse, cause more problems, because it modifies something that is incorrectly diagnosed.
Today I ran with some people from the local running store. My Garmin says we ran 6.4km and 2 others said 7.3 to 7.4km. Strange. The time was about 47:19. Very slow, but good, because again, there is no inflammation in the shins. It's funny how the tape was suppose to help prevent the shins from flaring up, and now without it, they really don't. Even though I feel like I am not going too fast at or just below 5:00/km pace before, it's becoming very obvious that it was, right now at this stage. Tomorrow I will stick to the plan and do some pool running.
Today was my last physio appointment. There are no signs of sore shins. One of the tests my therapist performs every time I see her is to lift my toes up, this time they went up far and easily. She looked quite surprised. I think that the pool running helped. Now I will continue to try and go it on my own, as she suggested, I did not request it. I will continue the strengthening, stretching, massaging and x-training, while I SLOWLY increase my mileage.
One of the things that I am puzzled about is the orthotics issue. A podiatrist that I see in London and a Sport Medicine doctor that I have been seeing in Toronto both indicate that orthotics are generally more necessary for people with flat feet. What they do not agree on is the type my foot is. The one says it is a medium to high arch and the other says it is low. I have heard from so many sources that orthotics are really necessary for people with flat feet. My foot is by no means flat when there is no weight bearing on it. When I stand on it, the arch does flatten, but does it flatten enough to call it flat footed? I think I need to do some research on this issue over the next 2 weeks and determine for myself if this will help reduce the chance of injury as well as the overstriding. I do not want to fork out $450 for something that is not going to help or maybe worse, cause more problems, because it modifies something that is incorrectly diagnosed.
Today I ran with some people from the local running store. My Garmin says we ran 6.4km and 2 others said 7.3 to 7.4km. Strange. The time was about 47:19. Very slow, but good, because again, there is no inflammation in the shins. It's funny how the tape was suppose to help prevent the shins from flaring up, and now without it, they really don't. Even though I feel like I am not going too fast at or just below 5:00/km pace before, it's becoming very obvious that it was, right now at this stage. Tomorrow I will stick to the plan and do some pool running.
Monday, May 01, 2006
A Good Run
Today was a good run. There was no inflammation in the shins afterwards. I ran exactly 5km at 28:06, (5:37/km) much slower than I like, but that is the point of it right now, right? Another good thing, I ran without taping up the shins.
Saturday: 45 minutes, elliptical
Sunday: 1:15 elliptical
Plan for the week:
Tuesday: Pool running, 45 with hard 2 minutes, easy 2 minutes after 5 minutes warm up
Wedensday: Running, 5k
Thursday: Pool Running, steady 30 minutes
Friday: Jog, or off
Saturday: Elliptical 1:20 minutes
Sunday: 5k on Toronto Island
Saturday: 45 minutes, elliptical
Sunday: 1:15 elliptical
Plan for the week:
Tuesday: Pool running, 45 with hard 2 minutes, easy 2 minutes after 5 minutes warm up
Wedensday: Running, 5k
Thursday: Pool Running, steady 30 minutes
Friday: Jog, or off
Saturday: Elliptical 1:20 minutes
Sunday: 5k on Toronto Island
Saturday, April 29, 2006
One Long Week
Work has been crazy lately. It requires much time than I care to spare.
Here is what I did for the week.
Monday: Ran 5k: 27:39 real easy
Monday PM: Bike 10k 26 minutes.
Tuesday: Bike AM/PM 20k, 53 minutes
Wednesday: Run 4.3k, 22 minutes
Thursday: Pool Running 30 minutes
Friday: Off
When I run, there is no pains or strains in the shins. On Wednesday after the run, I massaged the shins. This is a deep massage. There is some tightness and soreness along the bone when pressure is applied. I think that this is to be expected. I don't think that this is something that should keep me from running. However, my therapist suggested I wait until Monday to run. Either way, not running yesterday, will not really cause any harm or good. I just worked late.
I continue to do my usual strength exercises as noted in previous posts. The one good thing I think I got out of this week is the pool running. It was not as boring as I thought it would be. The pool had these float belts that can be strapped around the waist, at least that is were I think it was suppose to stay, it rose up to my chest. I stood in the pool and then tried simulating the running motions. At first I was trying to move the legs fast, but I felt that this was not working the areas that need it. With pool running, you can choose the position of your body relative to your head. Lean a little more forward, lean a little back or pull your legs up higher at the rear. When doing this you can choose to work other parts that you may not work as much while running on the ground. I think that my gluts are somewhat weak, and if I concentrate on using those muscles to move my legs they may get stronger and reduce the amount of effort needed by the hamstring. One thing is for sure, pool running does feel like it will help more than biking.
Today and tomorrow will be elliptical days with some running on Monday. I am going to try it without the tape.
3 more weeks until the rebuild, really begins. I look forward to running outside more.
Here is what I did for the week.
Monday: Ran 5k: 27:39 real easy
Monday PM: Bike 10k 26 minutes.
Tuesday: Bike AM/PM 20k, 53 minutes
Wednesday: Run 4.3k, 22 minutes
Thursday: Pool Running 30 minutes
Friday: Off
When I run, there is no pains or strains in the shins. On Wednesday after the run, I massaged the shins. This is a deep massage. There is some tightness and soreness along the bone when pressure is applied. I think that this is to be expected. I don't think that this is something that should keep me from running. However, my therapist suggested I wait until Monday to run. Either way, not running yesterday, will not really cause any harm or good. I just worked late.
I continue to do my usual strength exercises as noted in previous posts. The one good thing I think I got out of this week is the pool running. It was not as boring as I thought it would be. The pool had these float belts that can be strapped around the waist, at least that is were I think it was suppose to stay, it rose up to my chest. I stood in the pool and then tried simulating the running motions. At first I was trying to move the legs fast, but I felt that this was not working the areas that need it. With pool running, you can choose the position of your body relative to your head. Lean a little more forward, lean a little back or pull your legs up higher at the rear. When doing this you can choose to work other parts that you may not work as much while running on the ground. I think that my gluts are somewhat weak, and if I concentrate on using those muscles to move my legs they may get stronger and reduce the amount of effort needed by the hamstring. One thing is for sure, pool running does feel like it will help more than biking.
Today and tomorrow will be elliptical days with some running on Monday. I am going to try it without the tape.
3 more weeks until the rebuild, really begins. I look forward to running outside more.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Keeping Positive
Yesterday, I was thinking that I would never be able to run without the shins flaring up. Then, this morning I finally updated my exercise log. It is a spreadsheet were I keep track of my time, distance, pace, type of workout and comments. I also keep track of events that I wanted to enter this year. Most of those have been deleted. I have not updated this for about a month. I was surprised to see how much I have actually run. It shows that I have only been off my feet without running for 10 days straight. I must say that this isn't really that bad, even though I have not been running over 5.5k. I have been running a small amount for the past 4 weeks, as you can see from the graph below. It is suppose to take 8 to 10 weeks for the damaged tissues to heal. I think that it would be good idea for me to give it some more time. It appears that running 3 times a week at no more than 5k at one time is not causing any problems. This morning there was no tenderness along the shin bone while massaging it.
The following graph shows my time in minutes and distance in kilometers per week for this year.
The plan for this week:
Elliptical, 70 minutes
5k run, 25
Bike, 50
5k run, 25
Pool Running, 45
5k run, 25
Elliptical, 50
Yes, I am going to try running in a pool. Yesterday, I read that you can turn pool running into more than just going for a certain amount time. I will try and simulate a "Tempo" run next week. This week I will just try a steady rung and see how it goes.
Friday I ran 5k in about 26 minutes.
Yesterday, I made the elliptical training a little fun. I warmed up for 20 minutes and then went fast for 1.5 minutes, then slow for 1.5 minutes repeated 6 times. I guess you could call it an "elliptical fartleck".
The following graph shows my time in minutes and distance in kilometers per week for this year.
The plan for this week:
Elliptical, 70 minutes
5k run, 25
Bike, 50
5k run, 25
Pool Running, 45
5k run, 25
Elliptical, 50
Yes, I am going to try running in a pool. Yesterday, I read that you can turn pool running into more than just going for a certain amount time. I will try and simulate a "Tempo" run next week. This week I will just try a steady rung and see how it goes.
Friday I ran 5k in about 26 minutes.
Yesterday, I made the elliptical training a little fun. I warmed up for 20 minutes and then went fast for 1.5 minutes, then slow for 1.5 minutes repeated 6 times. I guess you could call it an "elliptical fartleck".
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Bike More to beat the Gas Prices
I drove to work yesterday with half of my bike hanging out of the trunk of my car. I followed the same route that I would normally take with my bike. It took me about 35 minutes. On my bike it normally takes about 26 or 27 minutes. I rode the bike back to the house last night and I really enjoy it with this nice weather.
This morning I ran about 4.5km at 5:18/km pace with the shins tapped up. It was nice and relaxed, but I can tell that my conditioning is coming down, it's not as easy to run 5k. There was no pain in the shins during or after. The right one is a little tighter than I expect, but OK.
I also rode my bike into work this morning and will ride the bike back to the house this evening.
The shins were a little sore at Physio though... Take another 2 days off of running and see how they feel. Just gotta keep it easy and do the strengthening exercises. I might look into doing some pool running.
This morning I ran about 4.5km at 5:18/km pace with the shins tapped up. It was nice and relaxed, but I can tell that my conditioning is coming down, it's not as easy to run 5k. There was no pain in the shins during or after. The right one is a little tighter than I expect, but OK.
I also rode my bike into work this morning and will ride the bike back to the house this evening.
The shins were a little sore at Physio though... Take another 2 days off of running and see how they feel. Just gotta keep it easy and do the strengthening exercises. I might look into doing some pool running.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Fun with Kids
When someone has an injury, they should probably take extra precautions to handle it with care. I did 2 things this weekend that may not have been so good for my shins. I first was asked to "race" by my niece in the back yard. I did a small, very small warm up. I ran around the back yard, hoping that she would follow. Then my nephew got into the "race". He is about 11 years old. I thought that I would control my speed enough to just kind of nudge him on, but oh no I had to give myself a burst of speed, because it was fun. That was on Saturday, and I think that I started to feel a little bit of inflammation then.
Yesterday, I ran another 5.4km, in about 25 minutes. I tapped up and did not feel any inflammation after that. However, later in the day I got on the trampelene with my boys and they wanted me to jump as high as I can. I was definitely using my ankles in a springing like motion, thinking this will be a good strengthening exercise. The shins are definitely inflamed from this. This is so frustrating!
Yesterday, I ran another 5.4km, in about 25 minutes. I tapped up and did not feel any inflammation after that. However, later in the day I got on the trampelene with my boys and they wanted me to jump as high as I can. I was definitely using my ankles in a springing like motion, thinking this will be a good strengthening exercise. The shins are definitely inflamed from this. This is so frustrating!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Not A good Start
It looks like the 2 months of reducing my mileage and finding that my shins were still getting sore, and going for 2 to 3 weeks of physio therapy and the shins are healed. I ran on Wednesday, 5.1 k in about 26 minutes. This felt great. The shins were tapped up to prevent any re-occurring injury. Later on through the day my hamstring go sore and was still sore Yesterday. It was sore when walking in my worn out shoes (at the heel) that I wear for work. If I walked in my bare feet and it felt about 10 times better. What the $%^&!
It could be the change in my stride. I reduced my stride length and increased the rate (from 170 to 180/minute). I would have thought that a longer stride length would have increased the risk of hurting the hamstring, but it appears to be the speed for me. I am hoping that it is just not used to it. Work has still been keeping me very busy!
As far as my diet is concerned, I never even read one more page out of the book. However, I did buy some milk, more vegetables and trail mix. It is difficult to find seeds that sell without shells that you have to spit out.
I think I should list my Physio treatment exercises:
Happy Easter.
Training since last entry has been pretty crappy: 20 minutes on eliptical on Monday and 20 minutes of running on Wednesday.
It could be the change in my stride. I reduced my stride length and increased the rate (from 170 to 180/minute). I would have thought that a longer stride length would have increased the risk of hurting the hamstring, but it appears to be the speed for me. I am hoping that it is just not used to it. Work has still been keeping me very busy!
As far as my diet is concerned, I never even read one more page out of the book. However, I did buy some milk, more vegetables and trail mix. It is difficult to find seeds that sell without shells that you have to spit out.
I think I should list my Physio treatment exercises:
- 4 foot movements using theraband for resistance (down and in with a curl, down and out, up in/out)
- butt raises with the legs strapped so that the knees goes over the feet (work the gluts)
- balance with one leg on the trampelene and move the foot from the rear around the outside to front and then back through to the starting position and repeat
- another glut exercise while lying on your side, raise the leg behind you and kind of up from the floor, keeping your hip forward, trying to use ur glut and not the hamstring
- calf raises with a twist, stand on a step and quickly move up and then slowly (10sec) move down until the heel is below the step
- working the abductors, stand in front of a step, move your leg straight back, then pull the leg forward and turn your leg at the inner thigh and tap the edge of the step. You can bend your knee before the tap.
- wall squat, using a big ball against the wall and a small ball between the knees, start standing straight up, then roll down into the squatting position, hold for 10 seconds and then straighten
Happy Easter.
Training since last entry has been pretty crappy: 20 minutes on eliptical on Monday and 20 minutes of running on Wednesday.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Nutrition - Daily intake ?
My legs feel great even after 1 1/2 hours on the eliptical trainer with the shins taped up. I really miss just going out in any weather and just running.
I am reading the Performance Nutrition by Matt Fitzgerald. What's interesting is that it starts off with many parts being similar to what Lydiard is describing in his book. This ranges from Vitamins and there effects on the body to how base nutrients do not exist in foods that are produced for high profit. I wonder if my dietary intake has been supplied with too much grains and carbs and not enough fruits and vegetables. I'll have to start a daily log of what I am eating and analyze it. My normal routine is:
breakfast; yogurt with bran cereal, orange juice, toast with honey, coffee and a banana,
Snack: Apple, bagel and/or nuts, or pretzels
Lunch; leftovers from the night before with a fresh salad (lettuce tomato, carrot, onion, green pepper, croutons, dried cranberries)
Snack; what ever I can find at work, more of the same as the other snack and sometimes I sneak in another coffee or a hot chocolate, or a tea with honey,
Dinner: Ranges from stir fry to spaghetti with sauce and sometimes meat, during the weekend my wife does the cooking and she prepares a large variety of foods. (She is a great cook to)
Another piece of toast or 2 with honey when I get to where I sleep
Let's tally this up:
Meats: 1 or 2,
vegetables: aprox. 4
Fruit: 2 or 3
beans, nuts, seeds: 1 or 4 depending on meals and how many handful of nuts I take
Dairy: 1 or 2
Whole Grains: 4 to 8 depending on the meals.
Doesn't seem too far off. I can see that I should increase the dairy intake by having a couple of glasses of milk. (Ken has already told me this a few times) Add a vegetable or 2 and a couple more fruits and maybe get some seeds. It actually sounds delicious.
Tomorrow I plan to do about 20 minutes on the eliptical without the shins taped up.
I am reading the Performance Nutrition by Matt Fitzgerald. What's interesting is that it starts off with many parts being similar to what Lydiard is describing in his book. This ranges from Vitamins and there effects on the body to how base nutrients do not exist in foods that are produced for high profit. I wonder if my dietary intake has been supplied with too much grains and carbs and not enough fruits and vegetables. I'll have to start a daily log of what I am eating and analyze it. My normal routine is:
breakfast; yogurt with bran cereal, orange juice, toast with honey, coffee and a banana,
Snack: Apple, bagel and/or nuts, or pretzels
Lunch; leftovers from the night before with a fresh salad (lettuce tomato, carrot, onion, green pepper, croutons, dried cranberries)
Snack; what ever I can find at work, more of the same as the other snack and sometimes I sneak in another coffee or a hot chocolate, or a tea with honey,
Dinner: Ranges from stir fry to spaghetti with sauce and sometimes meat, during the weekend my wife does the cooking and she prepares a large variety of foods. (She is a great cook to)
Another piece of toast or 2 with honey when I get to where I sleep
Let's tally this up:
Meats: 1 or 2,
vegetables: aprox. 4
Fruit: 2 or 3
beans, nuts, seeds: 1 or 4 depending on meals and how many handful of nuts I take
Dairy: 1 or 2
Whole Grains: 4 to 8 depending on the meals.
Doesn't seem too far off. I can see that I should increase the dairy intake by having a couple of glasses of milk. (Ken has already told me this a few times) Add a vegetable or 2 and a couple more fruits and maybe get some seeds. It actually sounds delicious.
Tomorrow I plan to do about 20 minutes on the eliptical without the shins taped up.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Doctor, Massage, Physio, Very busy
Monday was a busy day. I took the day off work to get some things done at home, like clean my car, which was neglected for the past 2 years. I also had a doctor's appointment. This was interesting. My Doctor was a runner that also got injured and stopped because of it. He gave me his insight. One of the things he said was that many of the people that continue to run into there later stages of life can do so because they do not get injured. He said their bio-mechanics are naturally perfect for this. He also told me that there are other sports that can be done. Then he remembered how nice the sport of running can be. I can tell he loves it and really wishes he could run. The question I ask myself now is; do I want to be very competitive or run for the long term? For some reason I can't ever picture myself not running when I'm in my old age.
I also had another session of massage therapy on Monday. The calves were still tight, but after the massage they feel much better.
Tuesday I go to work fairly late and had to go to physio therapy as well. I forgot to mention that I have also been getting ultrasound treatments as well. I also was given a couple more exercises to try. One of them was balancing on one foot on a trampelene and rotating the other one from the back around the outside stretching somewhat in front of you and then back. Try it 10 times while keeping your knee over your 2nd toe. Fun.
Wednesday was a 13 hour day at work, with the regular routine of exercises in the morning, massage and ice at night and in the morning.
Thursday was another day of physio therapy. This time I was surprised. While the therapist was pressing hard on my shins she asked do feel any tenderness when I do this. I didn't say anything right away I wanted to make sure, I couldn't feel any pain. So I said no. She said OK, you can try 5k on the weekend, very light taped up. I couldn't believe it. So soon! YES!
Friday was another long day at work.
Wednesday to Friday I biked every were. about 70km in total. (The garmin sure is handy)
Today I ran for about 1/2 an hour with my wife and the kids. The kids were on their bikes. The pace was no faster than 5k/minute. So far there is no heat or tenderness in the shin area. One funny thing; there is a very small hill and my youngest had trouble getting up the hill. We kept on going, thinking that he would catch up, but he got mad and threw his bike down, he said that he thought he would never catch us. I think he really got mad because he thought he would be able to beat us. He seems very competitive, already. We don't push this but he must picking it up from somewhere. :-)
Tomorrow, I'll get on the eliptical for 1 1/2 hours.
I also had another session of massage therapy on Monday. The calves were still tight, but after the massage they feel much better.
Tuesday I go to work fairly late and had to go to physio therapy as well. I forgot to mention that I have also been getting ultrasound treatments as well. I also was given a couple more exercises to try. One of them was balancing on one foot on a trampelene and rotating the other one from the back around the outside stretching somewhat in front of you and then back. Try it 10 times while keeping your knee over your 2nd toe. Fun.
Wednesday was a 13 hour day at work, with the regular routine of exercises in the morning, massage and ice at night and in the morning.
Thursday was another day of physio therapy. This time I was surprised. While the therapist was pressing hard on my shins she asked do feel any tenderness when I do this. I didn't say anything right away I wanted to make sure, I couldn't feel any pain. So I said no. She said OK, you can try 5k on the weekend, very light taped up. I couldn't believe it. So soon! YES!
Friday was another long day at work.
Wednesday to Friday I biked every were. about 70km in total. (The garmin sure is handy)
Today I ran for about 1/2 an hour with my wife and the kids. The kids were on their bikes. The pace was no faster than 5k/minute. So far there is no heat or tenderness in the shin area. One funny thing; there is a very small hill and my youngest had trouble getting up the hill. We kept on going, thinking that he would catch up, but he got mad and threw his bike down, he said that he thought he would never catch us. I think he really got mad because he thought he would be able to beat us. He seems very competitive, already. We don't push this but he must picking it up from somewhere. :-)
Tomorrow, I'll get on the eliptical for 1 1/2 hours.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Lot's of Reading
I am almost done reading the book. It's been difficult to put it down and spend time doing the things that need to get done around the house. Page 105 is the most interesting for me because it describes the first phase in a way that is somewhat different then what I remember from the summary outline that is linked to Mike's web page. I am treating this first phase as a great learning experience so that when I try it again. I will know when to back off.
The best results come when you train to a comfortably tired state, knowing as you finish that the training could have been harder. Keep always in mind that you never run too slowly but you can run too fast.
Many of my first long Sunday runs were with Ken. He is a much faster runner than I am. We would run an out and back on a country gravel road together and he would slowly pick up and pull away from me. I knew that he was faster and that I should not be even trying. I know that I kind of did try, and maybe did not pay enough attention to my own pace. I thought wow I'm not too far behind. By the end of the run, there was no way I could have tried harder. It was only when I started to get sore did I start to slow down on my longer runs.
The other thing that Lydiard states is that "The in-between days are used for runs up to 60 minutes over varying terrain to strengthen the legs and condition generally or for rest. If the legs start to get unduly tired, you must ignore the schedule and lighten the training for a few days until your legs have recovered and you can run again with reasonable comfort.
Sometimes my legs would feel so bad that I thought a good picked up pace would loosen them up. Not so, it undoubtedly made it worse.
I can't wait to get these shins healed and try new knowledge and understanding.
Yesterday's training: More eliptical training 50 minutes,
The calves need to be stretched and massaged, they are feeling a little tight. I wanted to do 90 minutes but backed off because the calves were so tight.
The best results come when you train to a comfortably tired state, knowing as you finish that the training could have been harder. Keep always in mind that you never run too slowly but you can run too fast.
Many of my first long Sunday runs were with Ken. He is a much faster runner than I am. We would run an out and back on a country gravel road together and he would slowly pick up and pull away from me. I knew that he was faster and that I should not be even trying. I know that I kind of did try, and maybe did not pay enough attention to my own pace. I thought wow I'm not too far behind. By the end of the run, there was no way I could have tried harder. It was only when I started to get sore did I start to slow down on my longer runs.
The other thing that Lydiard states is that "The in-between days are used for runs up to 60 minutes over varying terrain to strengthen the legs and condition generally or for rest. If the legs start to get unduly tired, you must ignore the schedule and lighten the training for a few days until your legs have recovered and you can run again with reasonable comfort.
Sometimes my legs would feel so bad that I thought a good picked up pace would loosen them up. Not so, it undoubtedly made it worse.
I can't wait to get these shins healed and try new knowledge and understanding.
Yesterday's training: More eliptical training 50 minutes,
The calves need to be stretched and massaged, they are feeling a little tight. I wanted to do 90 minutes but backed off because the calves were so tight.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Another day another dollar
I followed the regular routine of stretch, massage, leg/foot exercises and icing, then went into to work this morning for a few hours. This is not a normal thing for me on a Saturday, but it was needed. After work I drove for a couple hours to get home to my family.
I finally purchased the book; Running to the top by Arthur Lydiard. So far after reading a few pages, I like his style. The first part I noticed as I flipped through the book is the injury section and especially shin splints. Some of the causes he points out:
- stiff shoes at the heel,
- heel striker,
- tight ankle and calf muscles,
One of the things he suggested is to NOT run fast down the hills, walk or take them slow. First calf raises are suppose to help build the strength and flexibility. I was doing this and found that it would tighten up the calf muscles though. Also Hill bounding or springing will help build the muscles to prevent this injury from happening.
I found that the shins could easily get inflamed after doing the springing routine, even without the fast downhill running. However, I can say that they weren't really heeled so I should not have been doing them anyways.
Are Asics Gel Empires too Stiff? I would think that the Gel and the big chunks on the heal would make them soft like and full of padding.
I know that ALL my muscles got really stiff when doing the conditioning phase. I think I started out going too fast and progressed too much in mileage and this caused my muscles to get stiff. (I have to say though the legs have really formed up nicely) The heel striking thing would line up with the "overstriding" theory as well. It was probably a combination of all of these things that led to my shins getting really sore or I just wasn't healed yet from last season when I started my first conditioning phase. I can't wait to try it all again after getting healed.
I got on the elliptical trainer for 60 minutes around the 85 to 92 rev. / minute, with no tension.
Had supper and took the kids out to fly some kites. What a blast. The youngest was worried a plane was going to hit it. He thought it was too high.
I finally purchased the book; Running to the top by Arthur Lydiard. So far after reading a few pages, I like his style. The first part I noticed as I flipped through the book is the injury section and especially shin splints. Some of the causes he points out:
- stiff shoes at the heel,
- heel striker,
- tight ankle and calf muscles,
One of the things he suggested is to NOT run fast down the hills, walk or take them slow. First calf raises are suppose to help build the strength and flexibility. I was doing this and found that it would tighten up the calf muscles though. Also Hill bounding or springing will help build the muscles to prevent this injury from happening.
I found that the shins could easily get inflamed after doing the springing routine, even without the fast downhill running. However, I can say that they weren't really heeled so I should not have been doing them anyways.
Are Asics Gel Empires too Stiff? I would think that the Gel and the big chunks on the heal would make them soft like and full of padding.
I know that ALL my muscles got really stiff when doing the conditioning phase. I think I started out going too fast and progressed too much in mileage and this caused my muscles to get stiff. (I have to say though the legs have really formed up nicely) The heel striking thing would line up with the "overstriding" theory as well. It was probably a combination of all of these things that led to my shins getting really sore or I just wasn't healed yet from last season when I started my first conditioning phase. I can't wait to try it all again after getting healed.
I got on the elliptical trainer for 60 minutes around the 85 to 92 rev. / minute, with no tension.
Had supper and took the kids out to fly some kites. What a blast. The youngest was worried a plane was going to hit it. He thought it was too high.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Lots of TLC
I have been taking it really easy and I have been very diligent on:
- massaging
- stretching
- foot exercises
- icing
- hot/cold shower water on the legs
I can feel it working already. When I apply deep pressure my muscles on the outside of the shin, there is less and less pain at every massage.
I had another appointment with my physio therapist were it was more of the same as noted above, except that the electrical pulsing thing was connected to my shins. That thing feels weird. It creates an electric shock that causes my muscles to pull/twist my foot inwards.
I now realize that I must fix this in order to get better. I asked the therapist, how can someone run a marathon without feeling pain. She answered it with something like the following: there is muscle soreness, this is unavoidable, but there should be no inflammation.
Today was another day of biking to work.
Workout
biking approach 20k.
- massaging
- stretching
- foot exercises
- icing
- hot/cold shower water on the legs
I can feel it working already. When I apply deep pressure my muscles on the outside of the shin, there is less and less pain at every massage.
I had another appointment with my physio therapist were it was more of the same as noted above, except that the electrical pulsing thing was connected to my shins. That thing feels weird. It creates an electric shock that causes my muscles to pull/twist my foot inwards.
I now realize that I must fix this in order to get better. I asked the therapist, how can someone run a marathon without feeling pain. She answered it with something like the following: there is muscle soreness, this is unavoidable, but there should be no inflammation.
Today was another day of biking to work.
Workout
biking approach 20k.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Bike to Work
Yesterday I biked to work. 9.5km one way. I left at 7:30 in the morning for work and left to go to my place of stay here in Toronto at 8:30 at night. All in all a long day.
I followed the massage technique, and found the left leg to be much more tender than the right. I am suppose to massage in small circles and apply deep pressure. Then ice. 2 cubes per leg.
It takes a little longer to ge back to the place were I stay, I have to go up Don Mills road over the 401.
This morning I did some stretching, massaging, strengthening exercises and icing. Also hot/cold spray on the legs in the shower.
Today, I have another physio appointment and I am not sure what I will be doing for a workout. I hope that I can get this "inflammation" under control quickly.
I followed the massage technique, and found the left leg to be much more tender than the right. I am suppose to massage in small circles and apply deep pressure. Then ice. 2 cubes per leg.
It takes a little longer to ge back to the place were I stay, I have to go up Don Mills road over the 401.
This morning I did some stretching, massaging, strengthening exercises and icing. Also hot/cold spray on the legs in the shower.
Today, I have another physio appointment and I am not sure what I will be doing for a workout. I hope that I can get this "inflammation" under control quickly.
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