It's now been 38 days since I ran the London Marathon. In that time, I've rode plenty of virtual miles across landscapes of the USA. I have cross-trained, strength-trained and stretched muscles I never knew I had (which might have been the problem in the first place). But I've run very few miles. A stiff 3 miles one day, an agonising 4 miles the next. Not to mention the added stress and worry of losing out all that running fitness I'd built up since Christmas.
Physiotherapy gave me pointers on changing stride, and that seems to help. The only problem is I have to concentrate on my stride, which is actually more difficult to adapt to than the stride itself. I'm used to running my miles in a daydream, not counting my steps. But if it pays off, it'll be worth it.
Despite the glorious weather, I did as I was told on Saturday and went to the gym for my run, rather than risk the lumps and bumps of pavements and paths. I managed 4.5 slow but totally pain-free miles on the treadmill, which was positive. But I can't run the New York marathon on a treadmill.
So I've tested my new stride out in the real world a couple of times. Three very easy pain-free miles on Monday, but 6 miles today. The longest I've run since the London Marathon. The fastest I've run since the London Marathon.
I couldn't say it was pain-free. The right calf still feels very stiff, and at two points an burning pain went through the right knee, but it was fleeting both times and seemed to be more a reminder that I wasn't concentrating on my stride rather than a pain in itself.
But I managed to run a decent pace - 6 miles in 1:01, which I'll take after injury. The pain was not longlasting and I felt fit and strong at the end of it. Maybe I am on the road to recovery after all.
I know I need to get a few more miles under the belt, both on the road and on the treadmill, before I can feel fully confident again but it's reassuring to know I've still got the fitness to come back to. I just need to keep looking after that right leg and practising my new steps.
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Wednesday 16 May 2012
How I fell in love with strength training
I've already moaned about how my VLM-induced injury has driven me to the gym for cross-training. While this has vastly increased the number of inspiring podcasts I can listen to in a week, it still can't compare to a riverside run in the fresh air. I'm loyal in my relationships and running is a true love. But my sordid gym affair has awakened a new passion for me - strength training.
I'll confess I am lazy. My friends say that running 5 times a week is not lazy, but it is because all you have to do is get changed, pick up your keys and head out the door. I don't have to check my bike tyres are pumped up, I don't have to fill a gym bag, I don't have to take toiletries. I just lycra up and go. I can run home from work or meetings if I need to fit a run in. It's such a convenient form of exercise for a lazybones, low-effort type, like me.
In 5 years of running I have never bothered with any cross training or strength training, apart from bike rides for pleasure and swimming on holiday. My core has remained steadfastly neglected, as anyone who has seen my flabby belly in lycra can testify. But the last few weeks of not running have made me do other things to keep my fitness up. So I decided to work on my muscle strength. And it's been a revelation.
Apparently I have a waist! Who knew after 39 years that one of those lurked beneath the comfortably relaxed, couch potato, stomach muscles? I am fascinated, like a small child with a new toy. I keep poking it, just to make sure I am not imagining it. And it's happened in only 3 weeks, so I can't complain about the speed of results.
I'd say I'm only at a two-pack stage right now (with perhaps a couple of empty plastic loops hanging spare at the side, where someone has removed a couple of cans already) and I've got a long way to go in building upper body strength but I'm inspired by the rapid results to keep going and develop a strong core for my next marathon attempt. Who knows what I can do once I have toned stomach muscles? Who knows how fast I can run with toned upper arms?
So while I remain head over heels in love with running, I might just have to keep my affair with strength training going. I'm hoping it will keep the main relationship fresh, and maintain it for years to come, right into my old (good for) age.
I'll confess I am lazy. My friends say that running 5 times a week is not lazy, but it is because all you have to do is get changed, pick up your keys and head out the door. I don't have to check my bike tyres are pumped up, I don't have to fill a gym bag, I don't have to take toiletries. I just lycra up and go. I can run home from work or meetings if I need to fit a run in. It's such a convenient form of exercise for a lazybones, low-effort type, like me.
In 5 years of running I have never bothered with any cross training or strength training, apart from bike rides for pleasure and swimming on holiday. My core has remained steadfastly neglected, as anyone who has seen my flabby belly in lycra can testify. But the last few weeks of not running have made me do other things to keep my fitness up. So I decided to work on my muscle strength. And it's been a revelation.
Apparently I have a waist! Who knew after 39 years that one of those lurked beneath the comfortably relaxed, couch potato, stomach muscles? I am fascinated, like a small child with a new toy. I keep poking it, just to make sure I am not imagining it. And it's happened in only 3 weeks, so I can't complain about the speed of results.
I'd say I'm only at a two-pack stage right now (with perhaps a couple of empty plastic loops hanging spare at the side, where someone has removed a couple of cans already) and I've got a long way to go in building upper body strength but I'm inspired by the rapid results to keep going and develop a strong core for my next marathon attempt. Who knows what I can do once I have toned stomach muscles? Who knows how fast I can run with toned upper arms?
So while I remain head over heels in love with running, I might just have to keep my affair with strength training going. I'm hoping it will keep the main relationship fresh, and maintain it for years to come, right into my old (good for) age.
Wednesday 9 May 2012
Running hiatus
My enforced break from running continues. Another physio session today, and another pummelling, but apparently I've made great progress in the ITB, my hip & my glutes. However, the advice is that a few more days off running and sticking with the lower impact cross training will pay dividends. So I continue to visit the gym, and leave my running shoes at home.
I still miss running - as an activity, static cycling or crosstrainers are just not as exciting. They don't give you the opportunity to check out loads of interesting people, they don't give you the chance to see which houses have gone up for sale down your road, and they certainly don't give you any fresh air. On the upside, I can listen to music or podcasts (which I don't like to do when I'm running on the road - I like to have my hearing and my wits about me). And the virtual cycle tool is quite cool, as you cycle through random bits of the USA. This has the advantage of keeping you distracted while planning your next road trip holiday. It's pretty much convinced me to enter the Chicago Marathon in 2013 as that city looks very nice for running.
It's all about self-control now. At least now I've been given a schedule to start again from. Short-term deprivation should mean less downtime in the longer term. It would be easy to head out there tonight and test the right leg out. But I've got to resist. And if I can make my Creme Egg stash last until May, I can keep my hand out of the running biscuit tin for a little bit longer.
I still miss running - as an activity, static cycling or crosstrainers are just not as exciting. They don't give you the opportunity to check out loads of interesting people, they don't give you the chance to see which houses have gone up for sale down your road, and they certainly don't give you any fresh air. On the upside, I can listen to music or podcasts (which I don't like to do when I'm running on the road - I like to have my hearing and my wits about me). And the virtual cycle tool is quite cool, as you cycle through random bits of the USA. This has the advantage of keeping you distracted while planning your next road trip holiday. It's pretty much convinced me to enter the Chicago Marathon in 2013 as that city looks very nice for running.
It's all about self-control now. At least now I've been given a schedule to start again from. Short-term deprivation should mean less downtime in the longer term. It would be easy to head out there tonight and test the right leg out. But I've got to resist. And if I can make my Creme Egg stash last until May, I can keep my hand out of the running biscuit tin for a little bit longer.
Wednesday 2 May 2012
Missing you already
It's now been 10 days since I ran the London Marathon. I've managed to run for 5 minutes in that time, on a treadmill. And that was long enough to tell me that I'm not fit to run.
My knee niggle during the race has not eased through rest, so I have caved in and visited a physiotherapist, who has diagnosed ITB friction syndrome. I'm relieved with the diagnosis, because I know many runners who've had ITB problems and know you can come back from it relatively quickly. I've been given some fairly painful exercises to do and need to work on strengthening my glutes (I always knew I had a lazy arse, now it's official). But I am not to run - swimming or light stationary cycling only for me.
It's been less than 24 hours since I was told not to run, and 3 days since my knee expressed its own concerns on the treadmill. But I am already pining. I have a gaping hole in my life. It's not even the marathon training, it's the fact I can't pull on my shoes and go out there and do something that has been a major part of my life for the last few years.
It's a year since I last had an injury that put me out for a few weeks, but that injury was not on the back of a 5 days a week training regime. How do I fill my time without those 5 activities. How do I clear my head and get my thoughts sorted without my regular meditative run? How do I burn off enough calories to eat a slice of that cake I made? Now I have to pay to go in a gym or a swimming pool, I can't just head out for free to the streets or the park. I'm like a kid who can't play out in the garden anymore, and has to be ferried around in their parents' car instead.
It's not just the run itself. I hadn't realised how much running facilitates other parts of my life. Most importantly, working from a home office, it gives my day a focus, away from the computer and the telephone. It makes me feel fit and healthy, whereas now I am listless and feeling scatty. I have forgotten or lost multiple things in the last few days. My mind is suffering as well as my body.
But I know I need to give the leg the treatment it needs, so I can come back strong enought to run those half marathons and marathons. I need to make sure I am at my strongest for New York in November, and give myself the best shot possible of a sub-2 hour half marathon before then. So I am trying to be patient.
But I miss it
My knee niggle during the race has not eased through rest, so I have caved in and visited a physiotherapist, who has diagnosed ITB friction syndrome. I'm relieved with the diagnosis, because I know many runners who've had ITB problems and know you can come back from it relatively quickly. I've been given some fairly painful exercises to do and need to work on strengthening my glutes (I always knew I had a lazy arse, now it's official). But I am not to run - swimming or light stationary cycling only for me.
It's been less than 24 hours since I was told not to run, and 3 days since my knee expressed its own concerns on the treadmill. But I am already pining. I have a gaping hole in my life. It's not even the marathon training, it's the fact I can't pull on my shoes and go out there and do something that has been a major part of my life for the last few years.
It's a year since I last had an injury that put me out for a few weeks, but that injury was not on the back of a 5 days a week training regime. How do I fill my time without those 5 activities. How do I clear my head and get my thoughts sorted without my regular meditative run? How do I burn off enough calories to eat a slice of that cake I made? Now I have to pay to go in a gym or a swimming pool, I can't just head out for free to the streets or the park. I'm like a kid who can't play out in the garden anymore, and has to be ferried around in their parents' car instead.
It's not just the run itself. I hadn't realised how much running facilitates other parts of my life. Most importantly, working from a home office, it gives my day a focus, away from the computer and the telephone. It makes me feel fit and healthy, whereas now I am listless and feeling scatty. I have forgotten or lost multiple things in the last few days. My mind is suffering as well as my body.
But I know I need to give the leg the treatment it needs, so I can come back strong enought to run those half marathons and marathons. I need to make sure I am at my strongest for New York in November, and give myself the best shot possible of a sub-2 hour half marathon before then. So I am trying to be patient.
But I miss it
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