Heavy, man

I've neglected the blog a bit. Been bimbling along, same old same old - running seems to be a bit of a struggle in terms of getting faster, but it's still enjoyable so I keep getting out there. My niggly hip is not quite so bad at the moment, and doing non-running sessions seems to sort it out. Strange, but good!

The weekly routine is looknig approximately like this at the moment, but how it can be a routine when it seems to vary week by week I don't know!

Monday - club run in the evening
Tuesday - aerobics, provided there's no holiday substitute (as they're never as good!)
Wednesday - swim
Thursday - club efforts session
Friday - Gym
Saturday - parkrun
Sunday - social bike ride

I am making a concerted effort to get one good weights/strength session in per week. I'm feeling the benefit and enjoying the buzz of upping my weights/reps. At the moment I don't want to drop anything else from my week, but I know another session would be good... after Waveney I may give swimming the boot for a bit and really focus on strength. Or maybe aerobics, but that's *fun* where swimming, honestly, isn't really.

Today's session

Row, 5 mins
Plank, 3 x 38s (42s rest) (new time)
Twists, 3 x 15 @ 5kg (not sure what weight the next ball up is - might have to use a dumbbell to increase?)
Half pressups - 3 x 13
Biceps - 3 x 8 @ 8kg (new weight)
Squats - 3 x 10 @ 12kg (first time with weights - 6kg dumbbell each shoulder. Next time: grab an advisor to get the lowdown on the squat rack)
Lats - 3 x 8 @ 35kg
Triceps (cable): 3 x 6 @ 20kg (not so new, but done *properly* today, i.e. elbows fixed. Less rest at the top, harder work!)

So - a few weight increases, pleasantly fatigued afterwards, feeling good :) :)

Photo: Weight & Horoscope by wblj, on Flickr

Back in the swing of things!

My knee seems fine. Wheeee!

Weekend: no actual exercise (oops) but I did cycle to parkrun (volunteering) and the shops, stand for hours on Sunday volunteering at the tri, and go for a little swim in the river.

Monday: 3.7 mile run with the club - all fine. No problems with my (mostly healed) blisters either.

Tuesday: aerobics, being careful of twisting and changing direction, but again no ill effects during or afterwards. We had a good old cardio set in the middle, which rocked, but I am looking forward to a new routine! Might miss next week due to a school group session in the lab though :(

Wednesday: 30 min steady but strong swim (short because I was fitting it in between classes). My right ankle (I twisted it a while back slipping on wet grass, but seem not to have blogged that...) started to ache, but my knee didn't! The whole swim felt good and today I'm feeling it in my shoulders, which is a pretty good sign of having worked well.

Thursday (tonight) will be efforts, Friday a gentle and probably short lunchtime run (meeting at 1.30pm), Saturday parkrun, and if I can make it (and if clean kit allows), a little run on Sunday morning too (hen weekend away).

Photo: zero gravity by [auro], on Flickr (CC-BY-ND 2.0)

After all that...

...I seem to be on the mend! A day strapped up yesterday, a good night's sleep with my knee on a pillow, and today is almost, well, normal. I'm being careful, and haven't had time to run anyway, but it's looking OK. I cycled in to work and that was fine. Clearly my knee is an attention seeker.

Volunteering at parkrun and then the Norwich tri this weekend, so no epic workouts for me, but I might try a little jog up the lane and back, maybe a bike ride on Sunday evening, and some strength work at home (no squats or lunges, though!).

Photo: Othello Tunnels - Stretching into the Light by That Guy Who's Going Places, on Flickr

*sigh*

Still not able to exercise. My knee can go from being almost normal to making me hobble and sound like a chimp ("oohh! ooh! aahh!") for no apparent reason. Even though I figured it would be futile, I went to the medical centre this morning. Rest, elevate, ice and heat, painkillers, bandage, come back on Monday if it's bad, yada yada. At least I got a free tubigrip, but even that keeps rolling down.

I am going stir crazy. I really hope it's eased enough to allow a swim (with pull buoy to avoid kicking if necessary) tomorrow.

Photo: No Cop, No Stop, I Don't Care *Explored* by Sean Molin Photography, on Flickr

Ouch :(

What the...? I woke up this morning, and my knee hurts. (That sounds like the start to the worst blues song ever.) I feel like I'm not going anywhere for a little while.

I had a good night's sleep despite the 20°C temperature, don't think I was tossing and turning too much, but when I turned over first thing there was a definite OW moment. It seemed to settle down, I was able to get up and get myself to work (favouring one leg on the bike - SPDs would have been very handy), but after sitting on my arse for a couple of hours, it's bloody painful and I'm hobbling around like Long John Silver. Feels like I have twisted or otherwise strained it, rather than a bruise or knock. Barely any swelling, if at all. Hmph.

Until this point, it had been a good week. Well, possibly until last night, when I forgot my socks but decided to run anyway. Bzzt, wrong answer. Heel blisters threatening after 2 miles, and a walk home, with bare feet on the grass when possible. They don't seem too bad today but that's because I have a knackered knee occupying my thoughts!

The weekend got off to a good start with a gentle Friday run and then a guided river swim followed by a barbecue. Nothing on Saturday but a good day on Sunday, starting with 20 miles in the forest with Trish on her spare mountain bike, and then the usual circuit in the evening on the road bike with Clare and Alice. Followed by a cheeky dip in the river because it was bloody hot :) Feeling a tad saddle sore after all that, but a good day - biking the trails is fun, but hard work.

Photo: Pink by *Kicki*, on Flickr

I've been slack :(

I've been slack both on training and blogging. Time to rectify both. I'm currently at low fitness and high weight, so this is the start of reversing that situation...

This morning I went for a run with Lizzie. It was icy, so a bit stop-start as we gingerly walked the slipperiest bits. By UEA (~8.8km, 47 mins running + some walking) my achilles was grumbling (It's been doing that since I spent a bikeless week walking to and from work) so I cut straight back while Lizzie went over to Earlham. From the balloon field I pretty much had to walk due to a funny sharp stinging pain as if my heel was grazed. It was fine if I walked.

I've ordered new shoes, since my current pair is a year old now. If that doesn't fix it, it's straight off to the physio...

Off for a swim @50m tonight, 40 mins or so, with Kerry, Clare and Jane. Looking forward to it.

Plan for the rest of the week:
Mon: gym, row/strength (was going to run with Conac, but no more runs until my new shoes arrive)
Tue: aerobics
Wed: swim
Thu: run (shoes should be here)
Fri: gym
Sat: run or rest
Sun: swim

Tour de loos

Out with Lizzie for a weekend run, she requested staying close to civilisation, so it was an extended round-the-block with pit stops at Waitrose and the Holiday Inn! About 1:05 or something, so pretty slow. Still got achy legs and I think my PF is coming back :(

Aborted swim :(

I'm hoping I haven't done anything serious and/or daft - yesterday I was crewing on the wherry (yes, the very boat I am supporting by doing this tri!) and in amongst all the shoving, heaving and other quant-related activity I seem to have pulled, twisted or otherwise slightly knackered something somewhere. There's a niggly little pain under my armpit when I breathe in and do some movements, although it's not really bad. However, when I swam today, only ever intending to do a relatively gentle swim and concentrate on lengthening my stroke, I could only manage 15 minutes - breathing in with right arm extended (as I do at the start of every length) was not comfortable at all, and so in the end I gave it up as a bad job. Still, I only did it yesterday, so maybe if I rest it until the lake on Saturday (or beyond if it's not much improved) then it'll be OK. I hope! If push comes to shove on race day I reckon I can grit my teeth and get through it, but it'll be annoying if I can't do as well as I want to because of this.

Physio

Had my physio appointment this evening - I found the practice online, looking for one convenient for work/home, and it seems really good: Murphy Physiotherapy. I had a good hour's consultation with Jo, including pinpointing the exact problem, discussion of what might be the cause, some general advice to help ease the symptoms, exercises to help long-term by strengthening the gluteus medius (keeping everything in alignment), and ordering some orthotics.

It seems there might be various causes including the new shoes, some slight biomechanical issues (slight pronation, slightly lower arch that side), maybe not so much the mileage increase (due to my previous running at higher mileage) but possibly the effect of road camber from the Great East as my longest run in a long time. Also running in men's shoes is less than ideal as they are not just for a different foot shape but for complete different biomechanical layout (narrower hips, more straight up/down). However, as they have served me well so far Jo thought that it was worth keeping them and trying the orthotics. It seems there is a reasonable chance that will sort things out.

Also reassuring was the idea that the pain is not really related to long-term damage. Obviously I want to get rid of it, but running through it to get me through the Cowman shouldn't cause long term problems. The orthotics should be here next week, allowing for Easter, and so hopefully I can try another gentle run and see how it goes.

Time wounds all heels

Well, maybe not all of them, but I can't pass up a good pun :)

My heel was improved, but not 100%, on Sunday. Not bad, considering it was pretty painful on Saturday afternoon. I tried the rolling-a-golf-ball-under-my-foot suggestion that was made on a few pages, and it eased it quite considerably, but there is still a niggle. So I've booked in to the doctor's - but no appointment available until next Monday :(

I will give the runs a miss this week - maybe see if Lizzie wants bike company on Saturday, but I don't want to risk it until I've got this checked out. I can do the rower, stepper, bike and weights at the gym, and swim too, so all is not lost. But, dammit, I was really enjoying running. Bah.

Spring has sprung

Gorgeous day today, lots of flowers poking through, shame we had to take the Hethersett road as the travellers are still on Cantley Lane (it would probably be fine but I don't want to take the chance on loose dogs). Just went up and around Hethersett and back again, simple route. 10 min miling average, since it's bang on 11 miles and it took me 1:50 exactly. Good start to the weekend.

Except... got an annoying niggle in my left heel, it feels tight and sore - not so much when running, but afterwards.Web searching suggests it could be plantar fasciitis - hope not :( Might try going back to my old shoes next week to see if that helps.