Piriformed

Things were going good, except it's now been a week since the last time I ran.

I had had a good week, with  almost 80 km (one rest included) and some good running (5x1km, and a 17.40 park run with a fourth Km in 3.26). Then, at the end of last Monday's easy (and beautiful) 12km, i felt a bit of a sting in my right glute, which happens very often. Yet, when I went running the next day, the sting was still there, and got awful after about 12minutes of slow running. Since then, I have been pretty much useless, and still cannot even walk straight.

After a while, I began to worry it could be a stress fracture; but a few symptoms did not add up - doesn't hurt when I sit down, even for long time, or if I press on it, and I can move my leg in any way without pain. Doing crazy stretches like pigeon pose does not hurt either. It is only when I put weight on my foot - then, my glute screams. I went to the GP today, who confirmed that it looks like a bad muscle strain, but no cracks in the bones. It's basically a mammoth piriformis syndrome.

To do something in the meantime, I have been a few times at the pool: I tried deep water running, for a change. It is interesting, but (a) you look like an idiot (b) you need to be there when there is no one swimming, or they will hate you (and rightly so) and (c) it is probably the most boring thing after running on a treadmill. I ended up focusing on swimming only. You get a good workout out of it, but I should be running 20km per day, rather than doing half an hour of very poor freestyle. I tried a few "sprints", and I must have looked like a beached whale trying to get back into water...

Tomorrow might be a bike ride, weather permitting. Then, we will see. In the meantime, Aspirin, Voltaren, and meditation.. Needless to say, the morale is low, and the marathon target has suddenly disappeared beyond the horizon of utopia..

Find your reason

The HBF run went alright, all things considered.

The final time was 45'00", way below expectations. After a fast first km (3'20, partly downhill), I settled with a couple of people (including a surprisingly determined 12-year old, who will eventually cross the finish line a good 30secs ahead of me) traveling at 3.35/km. I thought this was quite ambitious, but the legs were feeling good, and I didn't want to lose this group and end up running on my own. I still don't know if I made a good decision, or perhaps I should have aimed to run at a steady 3.40 per km.

Anyway, when the going got tough, I didn't get going, for the lack of significant training showed up. At around km 4, my shoe got untied! What a novice!! I was so worried at the start about stretching and checking my dodgy calves, that I forgot to tighten up my shoes...  Luckily, I managed to cover almost the entire distance with flapping shoelaces, without tripping.

I began to suffer a lot by km 8 (still run at 3.41), and lost contact with my group. One thing that sucks about this race is that the 12km run merges with the half marathon pretty soon (at km 2), which condemns you to a never-ending slalom around and between much slower (and tired..) runners, who have been on their legs for an extra hour. I don't know how much that added to the final distance, but it certainly made a difference.

I eventually dragged myself over the last 3km at 3.50 pace. I don't know if a calmer start would have made things different, but I like to think that it would and that, without all the zig-zags, I would have hit the 44 mins benchmark as planned.

The next day, I celebrated by buying a new pair of shoes, the Mizuno Wave Rider 21. I went for a run yesterday (legs in pieces) and today (legs in semi-pieces), and they feel great. I wasn't comfortable doing more kms on my Nike Zoom Air Pegasus 34, which are still amazing but I will keep for the quicker work. So the morale is good, and the will to do is still there.

Let's see what happens now.

Edit: The official race website put me at an average pace of 3.41/km. Many people on the FB page have complained about race measurements, claiming that while the half marathon was certified, the 12km wasn't and in fact it was about 1/2 km longer. I don't how credible this all is, but I like it!

Bumps

Saturday night, trying to my work way round Perth for tomorrow's HBF Run for a Reason.

It's been a week of not much running. I knew I had run 7 days in a row, so a rest was in order. But I eventually decided to go anyway on Tuesday, and to do some speed work. Result: I pulled something in my right quad on the first of the (planned) 5x1000m. It didn't feel too bad, but I stopped immediately, and jogged back home (4.30/km) with no pain. Also, my left Achilles was starting to sting. I figured my body was sending me signals ("Rest, you old fart"), so I took two days off, celebrating my 41st birthday with an excellent sport massage that (hopefully) has unlocked my ileo-psoases.

In the meantime, the Armageddon hit the South West, so I ended up skipping another day of running yesterday. I eventually went out today as the storm was easing, and ran 8km with a good "rolling feeling", though I also managed to pull something else at the bottom of my right calf.

So, tomorrow I go to Perth with lots of question marks. The Park Run last week showed that I could travel at around 3.30/km (over 5 km..), so I thought a 44 mins tomorrow was within reach. But now I am not that confident. Most of all, I worry my calves&co will start bothering me for no particualr reason, as they have done for the past 5 years.

Well, let's see how it goes - above all, I hope to have fun.

17 weeks

An interesting week comes to a close, with the following remarkable features:

I ran pretty consistently the entire week, with a rest on Wednesday, totaling 76 km. I haven't done this for a really long time, so probably will try to stick to this mileage for the next week, and see how I go after that. Here are the details:

1. Monday: 12km easy
2. Tuesday: 2x2000 (7'10 - 6'56), rec. 1000 (4.40') + 1x1000 (3'25) 
3. Wednesday: Rest (core work at home)
4. Thursday: 11km easy run
5. 12 km with some 10' fartlek
6. Park Run 17.38
7. 12km easy (4'40) 

The Park Run on Saturday went well, I knew I could have done a 17.30, and I got close to it. Did the first 3kms in 3.39, 3.32, 3.40, then I let go and run the last 2km sub 3.30/km, with no particular effort. Good for building confidence.

I came out online with my marathon "plan" and received interesting comments from OZ runners. My "plan" was described as "monumental", "monstrous", and having "absolutely 0 chance of getting even close". I would have written similar comments if anyone asked me, to be honest 😆

Your body is a wave

Running, at least when training, is often not-fun. Your body aches, your breathing lags behind, gravity becomes suddenly stronger, and a thought keeps nagging you in the background: "Why are you doing this, for God's sake?" Yes, you will probably enjoy a post-training endorphine high: but while you are at it, pounding on concrete, things tend to go low rather than high.

A few years ago I took a class in the Alexander Technique (AT), which is described as "a way to feel better, and move in a more relaxed and comfortable way... the way nature intended." There is actually a lot to it that it's true, specifically the fact that, as we grow up, we quickly lose our capacity to counter gravity and we end up with very familiar "slumps".

The central claim of the AT is that we hold our heads incorrectly: there is a constant, underlying tension in our neck. AT teachers are fond of showing this by making people do very basic acts, like getting in and out of a chair. It is surprising to notice that the first muscles contracting are those at the bottom of the back of the head - even if they have got nothing to do with that specific movement.

Practicing the AT implies allowing the head "to move forward and up". There isn't much hope for me to explain this concept in any decent way, especially in this one post. But basically, think of your body as a wave:





(This is an excellent website on the topic, btw). This may sound silly, but it is actually a great tip. Especially when applied to running: see this (dated) article from The Guardian, talking about the benefits of running "over", rather than "on" the ground.

The next time you feel that you are dragging your body through that interval or tempo run, or maybe during a race, try this trick. It really works - you will run (moderately) lighter, more relaxed and fluid. For a short, but sweet moment, your legs will run faster. It's not going to make pain more fun though..

Today: 2x2000 (7'10/6'56) rec 1km 4'45, + 1x1000 (3'25). Just like a wave!

P.S. Exactly four months to go.

StairMaster, Bibra Lake and a hollow body

Things are going well, while autumn struggles to kick in, at least here in the West.

Two weeks have gone, of which one I did not run, as I had to go interstate for work, carrying a cold from my kids. I did, however, lots of work in the gym, especially on the StairMaster. It's a whole new level compared to the standard treadmill - it burns your legs, lungs and heart in about 10 minutes.

However, not running is not great for running purposes, so when I eventually returned to Fremantle, I adopted a low profile and a "let's start again, once again" attitude. Instead, a surprisingly positive week followed. Here are the details:

Monday - 8km in progression with the guys from WAMC 

1. 4.26
2. 4.26
3. 4.06
4. 3.56
5. 3.52
6. 3.45
7. 3.39
8. 3.37

Tuesday - 10km at 4.46
Wednesday - Rest (core work at home) - (have you tried hollow body holds?)
Thursday - 10km at 4.37, with 6x1' (3.25-35) and 1' jog
Friday - 11km at 4.48
Saturday (today) - Park Run in 17.50 (average 3.34/km, passing the first km in 3.47)

If I make it for a recovery run tomorrow, that'll be around 60km total this week, which is spot on. Still a very long way to go, but it feels good!

A good week

A surprising two weeks of continuity in running. I managed to bring the daily runs to 10km, this week I clocked in 50 km in 5 sessions, even with some "attempted speed".

On Monday, I did a good progression over 8km with the people from WAMC. We started at 4.30/km, then I built up km by km, the last one was 3.38.

On Thursday, I brought my body back into a long forgotten world, aka sub 3.30/km speed, with 3x1 km on the road: 3.34, 3.31, 3.23 rec 3, jogging.

Saturday was ParkRun day. I ran the first 2km at 3.35, then fatigue kicked in but I still managed to finish at 3.40 average (18.20). It made me aware of how crazy this all project is. But I also know I don't not qualify as "trained", with my total 2 weeks of running...


The plan for next week is to increase slowly the mileage, aiming for 55/60km weekly. I will have to travel interstate for work , and am donating blood on Tuesday - so will see how that goes!