With the orthotics I've been raving about over the last two weeks I felt invincible and made a bit of a mistake last week. Particularly since I was just coming back off an injury and am in relative terms reasonably new to the whole long distance running thing & got a bit carried away, yet again.
Upon doing a 21km saturday week ago I was thinking to myself last wednesday after already running a 10 and 12km on mon/tue that 'hey, i did 21 comfortably enough on the weekend, I think I'll do another one'... which I did on the wednesday.
Feeling a little achey after the 21km that I did a little slower I thought all was going well if I gave myself the rest of the week to recover and to get out yet again on Saturday for another long run.... which I did, 22km's this time with the last 1km however in pain. Runner's knee on my right knee. I guess that the ideology of ONE long run a week is there for a reason. Since the last four days I have been in major ice / anti-inflam mode to try and reduce the pain.
Two weeks ago I ran 45km, last week 65km. "What a mistaka to maka" I think that I will be sidelined until this weekend at the least and once again have to bounce back from injury. Being enthusiastic is one thing, but not listening to sound advice from others and overtraining is another.
It's a lesson commonly learnt the hard way by those starting out and I'm kicking myself for being so stupid. On a side note though I am pretty happy with the distance I covered :)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Nice day for a half marathon.
Things appear to be falling into place as my training starts notching up again. Yesterday was perfect conditions to get out running in Perth with no winds, the sun out but far from scorching for this time of year.
My long run was supposed to be on Sunday but I couldn't wait till then! I worked out a course that I can run from home and into the city, around the bridges via east Perth and home again.... All up it was 21km and took 2:17:52 including drink breaks which I'm happy enough with as it was supposed to be slow.
Since there are so many bubblers to get a drink from on the way I didn't take any fluids along with me for the run. I stopped probably three times to catch a quick drink and at around the 18km mark took a Gu Vanilla Bean gel (that I carried in one of the pockets in my race ready shorts www.raceready.com )and washed it down. I've got no doubt that this helped in the last few km's giving my that extra edge. I hadn't had the vanilla before and didn't mind the taste or texture at all.
My muscles were pretty sore afterwards, and indeed in the last 2 km but later in the evening hardly felt anything lingering. Today I was itching to go out for another run and probably could have done just a recovery run but thought it best to give the joints a breather after such a long run on sat.
Over the course of the coming months I'll be increasing my distance for the long runs, with next week going for a 23km... after yesterday, I'm really looking forward to it!
My long run was supposed to be on Sunday but I couldn't wait till then! I worked out a course that I can run from home and into the city, around the bridges via east Perth and home again.... All up it was 21km and took 2:17:52 including drink breaks which I'm happy enough with as it was supposed to be slow.
Since there are so many bubblers to get a drink from on the way I didn't take any fluids along with me for the run. I stopped probably three times to catch a quick drink and at around the 18km mark took a Gu Vanilla Bean gel (that I carried in one of the pockets in my race ready shorts www.raceready.com )and washed it down. I've got no doubt that this helped in the last few km's giving my that extra edge. I hadn't had the vanilla before and didn't mind the taste or texture at all.
My muscles were pretty sore afterwards, and indeed in the last 2 km but later in the evening hardly felt anything lingering. Today I was itching to go out for another run and probably could have done just a recovery run but thought it best to give the joints a breather after such a long run on sat.
Over the course of the coming months I'll be increasing my distance for the long runs, with next week going for a 23km... after yesterday, I'm really looking forward to it!
Sunday, July 8, 2007
A Great Weekend
My return to training over the last week, and particularly over the weekend is certainly giving me a great deal of confidence. On Saturday I wanted to get back to where I was prior to my knee injury and set out for a 15km from home around the bridges and back again. I didn't feel puffed at any stage and not really any soreness either as I finished at an avg 6.20 pace.
With a bit of icing, compression in the skins and elevation, I hardly would have known that I'd just gone the distance feeling no niggles whatsoever.
Initially I had planned on resting today but after catching the last few runners in the Perth marathon and feeling so good I set out for a 12km run. About half of this run in the afternoon was along some of the marathon course as I saw the markers still there by the side of the track, and a good 20 or so Gu wrappers too.
The weather wasn't very good, but as I indicated in my last post, the rain is actually pretty grounding and didn't annoy me in the slightest. I was keen to extend it out to another 15km but thought it probably wasn't the best idea for my body.
Avg'd 6.05 pace for this run and sitting here after a tasty sunday night roast am very pleased that again I feel no soreness anywhere. For me at least it really does appear that the orthotics are what I needed all along and have no regrets spending the $$ on them now.
As much as I want to do some running tomorrow I think with the km's I have done over the last few days my body really does need a rest and will resume on Tuesday night, with some cross training, ie cycling to work to even things out.
Congrats to all that went in the marathon today! I hope to join you next yr.
With a bit of icing, compression in the skins and elevation, I hardly would have known that I'd just gone the distance feeling no niggles whatsoever.
Initially I had planned on resting today but after catching the last few runners in the Perth marathon and feeling so good I set out for a 12km run. About half of this run in the afternoon was along some of the marathon course as I saw the markers still there by the side of the track, and a good 20 or so Gu wrappers too.
The weather wasn't very good, but as I indicated in my last post, the rain is actually pretty grounding and didn't annoy me in the slightest. I was keen to extend it out to another 15km but thought it probably wasn't the best idea for my body.
Avg'd 6.05 pace for this run and sitting here after a tasty sunday night roast am very pleased that again I feel no soreness anywhere. For me at least it really does appear that the orthotics are what I needed all along and have no regrets spending the $$ on them now.
As much as I want to do some running tomorrow I think with the km's I have done over the last few days my body really does need a rest and will resume on Tuesday night, with some cross training, ie cycling to work to even things out.
Congrats to all that went in the marathon today! I hope to join you next yr.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
On the road again
Last night it was time to put my recovery to the test so I set out to do the bridge to bridge 10km in sth Perth. Wearing my new orthotics, my knee still freshly taped from Monday's visit to the pysio I took off...
For the first few km's it felt like I was flying, it was quite different to my w'end run as everything seemed to be flowing so smoothly. I started to think to myself about the orthotics and indeed I could feel quite a bit of pressure on my arches as I pounded down each foot.
After a while my mind wandered to other things and to tell you the truth I hardly noticed them at all. It was a dark and stormy night with the wind howling, and the rain coming down almost horizontally with the wind trying to get under my cap. I was pleasantly surprised to see probably 10 runners all up on the run, kind of a reaffirmation that I wasn't going crazy doing this sort of thing.
Having said that, it was really quite invigorating being at one with the elements and made me feel alive again after being stuck behind a computer all day. I lifted the tempo a little over the last 1km and was really happy that my body carried me the distance without much of a problem.
Sitting here 24 hrs later I have hardly any soreness at all to report except for probably just a 1-2% dull ache in the knee which seems to be getting better every day.
It is early days so far, but I am really really happy with how the orthotics have helped align my body and somewhat correct the biomechanics. It will probably take a long run on the weekend and a few more weeks to truly ascertain the effectiveness of them, but at the moment I couldn't be happier! It really did feel like I was running the way I was meant to be. I guess everyone has different shaped feet and the way they supinate, over pronate, or just go neutral doesn't necessarily mean they are the answer... for me however on just a couple of runs, they are (...i think :)
In hindsight I probably could have gone for an off the shelf inner sole approaching the $100 mark to try first, but I was stubborn in a way and thought that I may as well go for the custom ones and fork out the $$$ in hope they would work. The good news is that I really do think they are. I have been wearing them around the house over the last two weeks and after my run have no blisters, admittedly though there is a slight discomfort on my arches which my podiatrist said will go away and I won't notice them at all. Oh yeah and about the squeakiness, talcum powder works a treat!
I'll keep you posted in the coming weeks with a bit more of a conclusive analysis, but at the moment it's so great to be on the road again!
For the first few km's it felt like I was flying, it was quite different to my w'end run as everything seemed to be flowing so smoothly. I started to think to myself about the orthotics and indeed I could feel quite a bit of pressure on my arches as I pounded down each foot.
After a while my mind wandered to other things and to tell you the truth I hardly noticed them at all. It was a dark and stormy night with the wind howling, and the rain coming down almost horizontally with the wind trying to get under my cap. I was pleasantly surprised to see probably 10 runners all up on the run, kind of a reaffirmation that I wasn't going crazy doing this sort of thing.
Having said that, it was really quite invigorating being at one with the elements and made me feel alive again after being stuck behind a computer all day. I lifted the tempo a little over the last 1km and was really happy that my body carried me the distance without much of a problem.
Sitting here 24 hrs later I have hardly any soreness at all to report except for probably just a 1-2% dull ache in the knee which seems to be getting better every day.
It is early days so far, but I am really really happy with how the orthotics have helped align my body and somewhat correct the biomechanics. It will probably take a long run on the weekend and a few more weeks to truly ascertain the effectiveness of them, but at the moment I couldn't be happier! It really did feel like I was running the way I was meant to be. I guess everyone has different shaped feet and the way they supinate, over pronate, or just go neutral doesn't necessarily mean they are the answer... for me however on just a couple of runs, they are (...i think :)
In hindsight I probably could have gone for an off the shelf inner sole approaching the $100 mark to try first, but I was stubborn in a way and thought that I may as well go for the custom ones and fork out the $$$ in hope they would work. The good news is that I really do think they are. I have been wearing them around the house over the last two weeks and after my run have no blisters, admittedly though there is a slight discomfort on my arches which my podiatrist said will go away and I won't notice them at all. Oh yeah and about the squeakiness, talcum powder works a treat!
I'll keep you posted in the coming weeks with a bit more of a conclusive analysis, but at the moment it's so great to be on the road again!
Monday, July 2, 2007
...and I'm back.
It's been an agonizing fortnight as a combination of my sore knee and a cold put things on hold. I never would have thought that not being able to run for two weeks would put such a dampener on things as I felt somewhat like the Perth weather of recent times.
The sun however has come out and after two weeks of physiotherapy, icing, stretching and just rest I managed to get out for a little 5 km'er yesterday. I definitely could have gone further but thought it would be best to start small again.
The good news is that I pulled up with no niggles at all, and the remaining 2% or so soreness in my knee didn't flare up. I will probably resume running every second day gradually increasing back to what I was doing pre injury and fingers crossed I do hope to start getting along to the runs in the hills pretty soon. I'm thinking as you said Jon, towards the end of the month. Around that time I also would like to regularly join the wed night wamc runs too.
Oh yes...my orthotics which I finally picked up were part of my comeback run yesterday. I'll give an update on how I think they are going after wednesdays run.
... it's so good to be back, fingers crossed I don't go back to the injury basket any time soon.
The sun however has come out and after two weeks of physiotherapy, icing, stretching and just rest I managed to get out for a little 5 km'er yesterday. I definitely could have gone further but thought it would be best to start small again.
The good news is that I pulled up with no niggles at all, and the remaining 2% or so soreness in my knee didn't flare up. I will probably resume running every second day gradually increasing back to what I was doing pre injury and fingers crossed I do hope to start getting along to the runs in the hills pretty soon. I'm thinking as you said Jon, towards the end of the month. Around that time I also would like to regularly join the wed night wamc runs too.
Oh yes...my orthotics which I finally picked up were part of my comeback run yesterday. I'll give an update on how I think they are going after wednesdays run.
... it's so good to be back, fingers crossed I don't go back to the injury basket any time soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)