108 Days to VLM – A Mixed Bag.

The idea over Christmas and the New Year was to slowly build up the time running, so that I was running around 35 minutes on New Year’s Day. This should have been straightforward but this time of year for those with family and those who enjoy Christmas and all its excess will realise that rehabilitation, excess alcohol and rich, sugar filled food, not enough sleep, too much driving and unfamiliar beds is hardly likely to be a recipe for success.

The plan began well enough. I’m often banned from running on Christmas Day, but I was unlikely to be missed too much with just a three minute run – which passed without incident. Boxing day saw a six minute run a tenth short of a mile. The pace was fine, the abductors and groins feeling really tight. I managed an hour of high cadence on the elliptical trainer, which helped to burn off some of the Christmas dinner and Christmas Cake, and mince pies, and the fry up, and the bottle and a bit of champagne, and everything else consumed that most enjoyable of days.

Saturday was a day off from exercise as we drove down to my parents’ house in Minehead. As is customary plenty was consumed on our first night down. Heading to bed at around 1am, I woke at 5am parched and with a fuzzy head. Thankfully an emergency pint of water and numerous cups of teas later and I was feeling human again. Somehow I got out to run – the enthusiasm of beginning to run again helping no doubt. I went out for six minutes, nearly making it into town. The abductors in particular were fearsomely tight, so I did a full stretch before heading back, for a 1.67 run. The pace was pleasing but it still felt weird to be running as, though my legs weren’t quite used to what they were doing.

Monday saw a big jump in distance, bringing it up to near as damn it 5k. The legs felt a little less stiff but the heart rate was quite high, The next day and before heading to the next port of call, I managed four miles in a minute under thirty. All was well until the final hundred meters when I felt the right thigh begin to cramp. It ached a bit for a few hours but the pain subsided.

New Year’s Eve and we were in Eckington, near Pershore, and after a reasonably early night, albeit fuelled with some more alcohol, I headed out on what initially was a glorious run under blue skies and rolling scenic countryside. The legs initially felt a bit better than they had, albeit with abductors still tight. The third mile and as I caught a fellow runner I was feeling good, running mid six minute miles. Then the left thigh began to cramp, as the right did a day earlier, but more dramatically and far more painfully. I pulled up and stretched, turned around and tried to jog home. I managed around half a mile, but, after stopping three times, I admitted defeat and walked the two miles back to base. It was a disappointing and painful way to end the year, but as the pain subsided over the course of the day I was resigned to it being just down to the excesses of the time of year and a severe lack of stretching.

New Year’s Eve was fun, plenty of alcohol consumed but not too much as to have me suffering the following morning. There was no running New Year’s Day as we drove back home and I let the left leg recover. January 2nd saw me head out on what I’d planned to be a 20 minute run. At just over a km I felt the left thigh begin to cramp up again and before I even had chance to ease up and assess the situation the wave of pain shot all through the thigh and left me temporarily doubled up in pain. I hobbled back home and licked my wounds – not the most auspicious of ways to begin the year’s campaign, although, once again, the pain eased somewhat over the course of the day.

It was not so painful that I couldn’t make it to the local Aldi where they were selling a load of books about things such as stretching, yoga, pilates and back care for £2.99 each. On the spur of the moment I bought six of them. That evening I ran through the book about stretching and it soon became apparent why the thigh was cramping – the hip abductors and just about every muscle, for that matter, were ridiculously tight.

The next day and I was back on the elliptical trainer, putting in an easy an hour as it could be considering the excesses of Christmas. The left thigh felt okay and so I decided to take part in Witham Wheelers’ Reliability Ride on Sunday Morning. What should have been a 32 mile ride was under severe jeopardy thanks to a perfect storm of daytime rain followed by clear skies overnight, which saw temperatures plummet to -4 Celsius and untreated roads turn to ice rinks.

I gingerly made my way to the cycle club on Sunday morning, my fingers numb by the time I’d ridden the three miles or so. It was decided that the vast majority of the depleted numbers who turned up would ride an altered course, slightly shorter and using busier roads which, for the most part, had been gritted. The plan had been for most to ride at 16-17 mph due to the conditions. In my cycling naivety I took off on the first hill out of Grantham which created a splinter group who looked set to average 20mph. I hadn’t planned to ride that fast but after a few miles and with no idea where we were heading I had little choice but to sit at the back and hang on as best I could so I could find my way home. I hung on until the final few miles, which were on lethally icy roads and I didn’t fancy a tumble. 28 miles at an average of 19.6mph wasn’t a bad effort under the circumstances.

Once I’d cycled home, I had planned to hit the elliptical trainer for an hour, but as the left thigh felt fine I decided to head out for a short run. To my surprise the legs felt pretty good, and I put in 5km at just over 7 minute mile pace.

Flushed with confidence, the following day saw me run 4.5 miles and heading slightly further away from home. Again, although I felt ponderous and as though I was plodding, the pace was pretty pleasing. Yesterday I couldn’t get out as I was looking after the children, so I put in a two hour session on the elliptical trainer, which saw me digging into my suitcase of courage in the final half hour as the legs ran out of energy.

Today saw me on the streets again, and from the moment I set off I felt the legs were finally running again. I went a little further than planned, at just under 10km, but the pace was good and it felt easy. More importantly there was little pain, the abductors happier after targeted stretching and the core feeling stronger after five sessions in the last six days.

The plan now is to continue increasing the mileage, to continue using the elliptical trainer as it helps with both the running and the cycling, and to cycle on the Sunday’s with Witham Wheelers with the intention of possibly running a Duathlon in March. That is a long way away yet, but signs in the last few days are promising.

Day 84–The Long One Done–Eventually

The 24 mile run has been, for the past nine years or so, my longest pre-marathon training run. Back in Coventry I had a four lap loop of around six miles that I ran in alternate clockwise, anticlockwise directions. Sounds boring, but I liked it for some reason, not least of which because I was able to call home should anything untoward occur.

Last year I was with my brother for the 24 miler. Actually I should have completed the 24 mile run a week earlier over Easter in Boston, but a combination of injuries and a vicious headwind meant I could only muster 22 miles. A week later at my brother’s house and injuries still putting major doubts on my ability to run, we concocted a three pronged route of eight or so miles per on different out and back loops. Although I remember being able to pick the pace up a bit in the final miles, it was by no means the swiftest run I’ve ever done – taking three hours ten minutes to cover the 24.29 miles at an average pace of 7:49 per mile.

This year and the 24 mile run was scheduled for yesterday (Sunday), a week earlier than I would have liked, but work has dictated this is my last weekend I can guarantee fitting in a long run. As chance would have it my brother and his family was at my home this year, although he would not be running with me. And as it transpired, nor would I. The cold that came on late Friday, really kicked in after my short run on Saturday. The legs felt like jelly, the head like it was going to explode. I went through the motions of running as planned on the Sunday, forsaking the Indian meal for something more gastronomically more suitable for a long run, but by around 8pm I knew a run was very unlikely and tucked into a glass or three of champagne and other (nicer) varieties of sparkling wine.

Sunday was indeed a write-off. Heading out for a morning walk to the park with the kids in tow on a glorious spring day, I felt like I could run 2-3 miles max. I improved a little during the day, but ultimately felt comfortable, but frustrated, in my decision not to run.

Fortunately I had Monday as an alternate date for the 24 mile run. I woke a little groggy and stiff, but much better than I felt a day earlier. After a quick breakfast and some pfaffing I was ready to head out. A 24 mile run had been mapped out and I was heading out with the old faithful Garmin 305, the new 910XT stubbornly refusing to accept the course thanks to some continued issues with the Garmin Connect site.

Where yesterday was wall to wall blue skies and temperatures in the high teens, this morning was cloudy, with a cold breeze and temperatures struggling to reach double digits. Whilst this would make the run easier and more comfortable, it was again a bit frustrating as a warm weather run would have been good preparation should race day turn out to be a scorcher. Chilly and stiff, the first couple of miles were fairly torrid. I briefly wondered whether I should continue. Thankfully the legs improved a bit and I pushed on, the biggest limiter being the headwind I was running into for much of the first half of the run.

The biggest challenge in the opening half of the run was the hill on the approach to Hough on the Hill. The legs felt dreadful going up. As seems to happen though the agony of the climb appeared to kick start the body, as the next mile was the first to dip under seven minutes. After a long descent there was a string of flat to gently rolling miles I’ve not run on before which passed by fairly quickly, all run around or just under seven minutes per mile. I felt better than I did at the start of the run but not feeling fantastic. It was as though the body was going through the motions rather than actively engaging in the run. Apart from the general feeling of malaise, the only issue was a niggling left hip, the source of pain from which could be coming from any of the usual suspects – back, IT band, hamstrings quads etc..

At sixteen miles I joined a brief bridleway that led to a quiet lane which I ran back last October when I ran a breakthrough long run, in biblically wet conditions, at an average of under 6:40 per mile. I wasn’t running at that pace but at least I was feeling fairly comfortable and the dry conditions were far nicer than the torrential downpour I encountered that Saturday afternoon.

Not long after passing through Foston, I had the A1 to cross. This motorway in all but name is not the sort of road you want to put all your faith in weary legs that have covered 18 miles, but that’s what I had to do, as a safe gap in the traffic is hard to find. That hazard successfully tackled and it was back on with the run. By and large the run was 90% traffic free, a real boon of running in this area. On this road off the A1 I was passed by the largest motorhome I’ve ever seen, one so big it made the BMW X5 it was towing behind look like a Smart car. Thankfully there was nothing coming the other way so it was able to pass relatively safely.

These distractions were putting off the inevitable sting in this long run’s tail. At 21 miles, after crossing the A1 again – this time more comfortably thanks to a bridge – there was the small matter of Newark Hill to tackle. At three quarters of a mile long and averaging nearly six per cent it is something of a challenge in a car let alone running up it. I found a pace and stuck at it, thankfully this proved quite successful, except for some problems at the lower end of the left IT band which made my running stride feel quite unusual.

The hill tackled it was a couple of miles back to home. After the descent from Great Gonerby, which was nearly as painful on the quads as the ascent, I was pleased that the final mile, mostly flat, was the quickest mile of the run. It wasn’t blistering and nowhere near what I want to be running in the marathon, but it showed there was still some energy still in the body. When the run finished the inevitable coughing fit ensued, 24 miles taking its toll on lungs full of cold.

At 2h50min the run is hopefully somewhat longer in terms of time than I will run in just under five weeks time. Hopefully I will have better health and be free of the niggles in the left leg. As it is it was the second quickest 24 mile training run I’ve done, the 2010 edition was slightly quicker. Back then I was in half marathon PB shape and was in good health for the run. That today’s run was only marginally slower and I was only feeling around 60% should bode well.

Split Summary
===
1) 1m – 7:45(7:45/m) 128/136bpm 124cal
2) 1m – 7:34(7:34/m) 136/142bpm 124cal
3) 1m – 7:16(7:16/m) 143/151bpm 124cal
4) 1m – 7:15(7:15/m) 141/148bpm 124cal
5) 1m – 7:15(7:15/m) 142/149bpm 124cal
6) 1m – 7:18(7:18/m) 143/147bpm 121cal
7) 1m – 7:26(7:26/m) 147/161bpm 126cal
8) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 141/148bpm 123cal
9) 1m – 6:48(6:48/m) 137/141bpm 125cal
10) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 142/144bpm 123cal
11) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 141/145bpm 125cal
12) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 143/146bpm 124cal
13) 1m – 6:54(6:54/m) 142/147bpm 124cal
14) 1m – 7:01(7:01/m) 143/147bpm 124cal
15) 1m – 6:49(6:49/m) 141/147bpm 124cal
16) 1m – 6:55(6:55/m) 143/148bpm 126cal
17) 1m – 7:02(7:02/m) 141/145bpm 121cal
18) 1m – 7:00(7:00/m) 142/146bpm 124cal
19) 1m – 7:06(7:06/m) 143/151bpm 125cal
20) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 142/145bpm 124cal
21) 1m – 7:03(7:03/m) 145/150bpm 122cal
22) 1m – 7:19(7:19/m) 148/158bpm 123cal
23) 1m – 6:59(6:59/m) 147/157bpm 122cal
24) 1m – 6:38(6:38/m) 147/153bpm 124cal
25) 0.07m – 30(6:46/m) 151/152bpm 9cal

Day 82–Cold, Cold, Cold

The intention yesterday was to head to Newark to take part in parkrun. However through Friday evening it was clear I had caught one of the daughter’s colds – my throat was on fire and my nose rapidly becoming more and more blocked.

A fraught night’s sleep which saw me wake pretty much every hour to relieve the throat, saw me clearly in no fit state to take part in a swift run. I’d debated long and hard whether to run at all, in the end I did because I felt the cold had not got any worse since I’d risen and indeed was starting to get a little better.

So it was six easy paced miles on the usual riverside park out and back run. The legs were a little stiff and I couldn’t have gone much faster than I did, but I don’t think I did too much damage running – the heart rate remained as I’d expect it too and the pace actually quickened over the miles to be not far off what I’d expect for an easy paced run.

I just hope now I can continue to recover to be fit for tomorrow’s long 24 mile run. I don’t really have an alternative date in the calendar if it cannot be tomorrow, so have to keep my fingers crossed.

Day 52–The Wheels Begin To Fall Off

The right leg felt sufficiently better during the day to see me out for the Thursday night club run – it included five or so minutes of running with the buggy as I was late collecting my daughter from school. I didn’t go into the run with any great confidence of a positive outcome however – a feeling that I had a cold brewing didn’t help matters.

I ran 4.5 miles before joining up with the club – keeping close to home in case things went very wrong. The weather was miserable – wet and cold, only a degree or so above the point when snow would turn to sleet and then snow. My legs felt heavy and I struggled to enthuse myself. Things picked up a touch when I ran to the club – there was still very little pain in the right leg aside from a niggle near the knee.

We ran the same route as last week – to Belton House, then Londonthorpe before heading back to Grantham. We checked out our potential new meeting place – a cycle storage and changing facility behind the Tolle. It met with my approval as I acquired a sudden need to test the facilities with an emergency pit stop.

That inconvenience over and I felt a little more lively – something in the stomach clearly hadn’t agreed with me. Splashing along in the puddles I took a slightly longer route than my club mates so spent a mile or so making my way back to the front of the pack by the time we reached Belton House.

It was here where the inner thigh near the knee began to get quite sore when running. It was enough to slow me a touch although I couldn’t decide if it was more painful to run slowly or quickly. I settled mostly for something in the middle as I took a wrong turn somewhere in the dark and spent the next half mile heading back to the front of the pack and pushing on – feet by now totally soaked as large swathes of the road resembled streams and tributaries.

We climbed up through Londonthorpe and on the quiet narrow lane that takes us back to Harrowby and Grantham. By now the thigh was constantly quite painful and the discomfort and tightness began to spread to the upper calf. My consternation must have been fairly obvious as a few club mates asked if I was okay. I grumbled something about being injured and having to ease back for the next week or so.

Once into Harrowby and near the Girls’ school, I said my farewells and took the shorter way back home, the internal GPS successfully predicting, almost to the metre, that there would be exactly sixteen miles covered by the time I reached home.

A stretch in the rain then a long hot shower to warm up, followed by a twenty minute ice session, something I’ve not needed to do for the best part of a year. The following morning and there was no killer pain, thankfully, but enough discomfort for me to decide not to run – hopefully a day or two or more of rest, plus Ibuprofen, stretching and massage will see the problem settle. It’s been a good run without injury, hopefully this one will not set me back too much.

Day 35– Didn’t Think It Would Be This Good

I was fully expecting today’s recovery run to be a tortuous affair, the day after a hard 15 mile race. Thankfully, it turned out to be a surprisingly easy and relatively swift six mile run on the usual out and back Wyndham Park route. I left home a little later than usual in the morning, which was a blessing as there had been a hard frost overnight and with thermometer still reading zero Celsius when I left there was some patches of ice, but nowhere near as many as when I’d walked the kids to school a few hours earlier.

Wrapped up well in full winter gear, from the off the legs felt good and pretty much recovered from yesterday. The only caveat was that the right groin was predictably sore, but it didn’t slow me. The whole of my inner thigh feels tender to the touch so there is some massage and stretching to be done. At times on the run I had to reign myself in as I was creeping into six something minute miling and this was definitely meant to be a recovery run,

Another six and a fifth miles run, plus the seven miles of walking to and from and to and from school. All in all a good day.