Probably the last post of '09

Due to Christmas my 14 week training program has gone a bit awry with things getting cancelled so I can go out and be merry. Last week was all to cock with just a big run on Saturday to add to the road miles.

Problems are occurring though. Firstly I am getting hideous horrendous blisters in the arch of my foot. Really gory messy things which made running difficult and putting shoes on afterwards agony. One blister was just shredded skin by the time I had completed the 7.4 mile run and although sore, wasn’t as bad as the blister on my left foot which was still intact, it was about the size of my thumb and for some reason I couldn’t lance it, it resisted the needle as though made of rubber, so every time I put pressure on my foot, the fluid felt like it was about to explode out through the skin. Not nice. To make matters worse I had tried to protect the area with strips of tape, which were supposed to take away any friction that was causing the damage. The blisters formed anyway.

Then the other thing which is a new pain is my toes. My three middle toes hurt like hell, still do actually. The internet tells me that it is because I am landing too hard on my feet. I’m intrigued how I can land less hard on my feet, unless I learn rudimentary flight I can’t think how to go about it.

So here I am at Tuesday in Christmas week and I have zero plans now to add any more miles onto my tally, I also have quite extensive plans to eat and drink to excess. I think week 4 of the 14 week plan will see me having taken a back step from where I was two weeks ago. I might blog again before Christmas but don’t count on it, as there is slim chance I will have done anything meaningful to blog about.

Will continue in the new year.

The great north swim was on channel 4 this weekend and for about 5 seconds I was on telly faffing around with my hat while someone in front of me was getting interviewed. I don’t know why he was getting interviewed, I was too excited about being on telly. Watching the swim over makes me want to sign up for it all over again though.

This Friday, me and my dad played squash for the last time in 2009. This Friday I have friends over and then it is Christmas and new year. I am finally able to play a game with a degree of ability. The ball now goes where I want it to go. I know my dad is holding back a lot of game winning shots because he pulls them out every now and again when I start getting cocky but I am starting to ask questions of his game. I think at some point in 2010 I will be good enough to give him a run for his money.

Saturday swimming was good. I put in 50 minutes or so, and about half of the lengths I swam freestyle. I am adopting total immersion teachings into my technique and I do think it is making improvements to my skill. I do still tire but I think it also has something to do with my breathing timing. Taking a breath every second stroke seems a bit too much and I sort of hyperventilate, taking one every fourth stroke sees me gasping for air and struggling, and I can’t do every third stroke as I find it off putting turning my head to the right for air. I am toying with a four, two, four breathing rhythm which might be working out for me. I’m off to some swimming forums later this week to find out if there is anything else I can try to improve my freestyle technique. I want to do the mile in 30 minutes next time out.

Sunday big run was out in the frost and was pretty chilly but it didn’t matter as I had my winter running clobber on. I wanted to run at a fast pace so pushed hard, every five minutes or so I noticed that I had settled back into a steady pace again and would then surge on, only for my high cadence to slow back to steady, which I would notice and on I went. It might have been cold but I was working hard enough for my sweat to steam off my thighs. A little over 7 miles in a little under an hour. Certainly the furthest I have run at that sort of pace, and although I was stuffed when I was done I think I can increase the distance at that speed over the coming couple of months. I did hurt my paws a bit with a couple of cracking blisters in the arch of each foot, and those rather than exhaustion is what made me glad to finally stop. Might need to research advanced blister protection too.

Week one of my 14 week training program is finished, just about, game of squash tonight to be played yet.

The run on Thursday was cancelled due to lack of interest but I don’t think it is going to be too much of a dent into the training regime as long as I don’t skip sessions too often. I am also going to have to adjust the plan a bit as I haven’t taken into account Christmas week, week 4 is going to be a bit disrupted with the festivities so rather than try to stick to the routine and fail, I will adjust it to take advantage of the days I have free and write off the days I haven’t.

Tuesday run was good though. Cold, and I failed to warm up adequately so my calves locked up pretty quickly and made running a little painful. There was also a hint of shin pain again so I am going to have to be mindful of that for the next time.

I now have a fourteen week plan which I am really pleased with, fourteen weeks because that’s when the Kilomathon is on. My training for the great north run was not structured at all. I would head out and run the distance that I felt like, and then get injured because I pushed myself too hard to quickly, then sit out for a few weeks while I waited for the pain to go away. This time I am going to build the distances sensibly. The plan itself is pretty straight forward.

Monday. Rest.
Tuesday. Pace run or hill run, alternating each week.
Wednesday. Rest.
Thursday Easy run.
Friday. Squash.
Saturday. Cycle and Swim.
Sunday big run.

The Tuesday run will either be a short 4 mile run with some high speed running thrown in, or I will tackle a hill. The Thursday easy run will be a nice casual jog with the wife (who also has a Owain devised 14 week plan, though her goals are slightly different to mine). Friday night squash is something different, using different muscles and exerting the cardio in a different way to distance running. Saturday morning will be a cycle to and from the swimming baths (about 6 miles) and then a 60 minute swim. And the Sunday big run will see me increase my mileage each week until by the time I reach week twelve I will cover the 16 miles of the kilomathon.

Last week’s squash was looking more promising, I have a few shots that are starting to test my dad and we are having more of a game of it now. I just need more practice, I am thinking in the long term I might consider joining a squash league.

The Saturday cycle and swim was surprisingly knackering. Riding to the baths was fine, it was all downhill. I then used the hour to work on my freestyle stroke. I am a convert to the Total Immersion technique, though it is going to take some time and practice before I have a strong freestyle stroke that will see me around a mile of open water swimming.
Cycling back out of town was slightly more arduous as it was pretty much all uphill and my legs were fried after the swimming. It has given me more of a desire to become a tri-athlete though.

Sunday big run. I was driven 6 miles away from home, and then ran back. It was really nice at 9am in the morning running through town. It was cool but I have winter running clothes now which made for a comfortable run.

Damage today? Surprisingly not much. I had achy calves from last weeks Wednesday run which were still tight for the squash, swimming and the Sunday big run, but I did stretch to warm down, and spent the rest of Sunday chilling my boots and today I am in surprisingly little pain. Feet hurt from blisters but nothing that time in the trainers can’t get rid of.

I went running properly last night for the first time since the Great North Run all the way back in September. I have kept myself pretty active in the intervening eight weeks with swimming and squash while I waited for the doctor to give me the nod, but I can’t believe how much my running fitness has fallen off. The blisters I accept were likely as my feet have got soft but the deep muscle ache that I have this morning was a bit of a surprise.

This run was a bit of a get back into the swing of it run so I ran an easy pace, 4 miles in about 40 minutes about 6 miles an hour, I wasn’t really watching the clock this time so no exact mph’s today.

I have got to be more structured and set myself less damaging targets if I am going to avoid a recurrence of the shin pain, so I am going to put together a more strict plan with a less rapid increase in distance. My target is to be race fit for the killerthon in March, and my cunning plan is to work out a training schedule working back from 14th March to now, building in mileage increments and some tapering at the end. My goal to complete the 16.3 mile event in about 2 hours 30 minutes, that’s averaging over 6 miles an hour for the distance which is something I am confident I can achieve after doing the half mary at that sort of pace, and with some structured training this time I think I will manage the extra distance.

These updates are getting later and later but I was waiting to see what the doctor said.

Friday night was squash night. 50 minutes and I was pretty knackered, it is less tiring every week I go and I’m not sure if it is because I am getting better at the game and am not running around the court so much or whether it is because I am getting fitter. Either way, by 50 minutes I was loosing concentration and was playing some awful shots. How long before I can give my dad a run for his money?...

Anyway, I finally went to the doctor last night to discuss my shonky shins and foot. The foot is a simple body part and there is very little to go wrong with it. In this instance my foot is probably bruised and it can take six to eight weeks to feel right again. So put up and shut up with the foot pain then.

The shin is not broken. There is no damage to the bones as far as the doctor can see and he is more than happy for me to start running again. He is convinced that I am suffering from Anterior Compartment Syndrome and it is something that I can train around, and with help and advice I can reduce the likelihood that I will suffer the pain again. He suggests joining a running club, which I am not sure about, and I have to warm up and warm down properly.

I have a couple of events that I will be taking part in for 2010 already booked. The Kilomathon on the 14th March, and I have now booked myself to take part in the Great East Swim which is 19th of June. (Talking about the Great Swims, they are being shown on telly at the moment on Sunday mornings at 8am on channel 4. Great North Swim is on 13th December so watch it and you might see me. Maybe.) There are a few other events I have espied and I might end up with quite a full event diary next year to make up for the fact that I won’t be taking part in the DW yet.

With events booked, and the all clear from the Doc, I am feeling the motivation to train again. Tonight I will start with a short street run to get back into it.