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!

Sandalites

Three weeks have gone by. Three pretty weird weeks, running-wise.

It started with the wrong pair of sandals. I wore them, I got a sharp pain in my right shin. My shin also became squeaky. Was it shin splints? Turned out it wasn't, as after 5 days of no improvement I went for a run, and it did not hurt while I was running - in fact, the pain went almost completely away shortly after. So, it must have been something having to do with my weird hips-sciatica-posterior kinetic chain. By the way, sciatica sufferers who are (not) reading this blog, have you ever tried gliding exercises? They work like a treat.
I chucked those vile sandals, and bought a new pair. The new ones caused a blister on the top of my right foot (same leg!). The blister got infected, which led to (a) fever (b) swollen groin glands and, most of all (c) swollen foot. Had to take antibiotics for a week to prevent "sandalites" (sandal-related syndrome) from sending me into septicemia - and, of course, had to further postpone my glorious return to the running scene.


Now, bacteria abated, back to the blackboard. I have run for 4 days, and am still functioning- but am running laughable distances, 7km max. But if it is true that "The Journey of  Thousands Miles begins with One Single Step", then I have begun, once again.

I have calculated 23 weeks until M-day, minus two days. Time to stop writing/talking about it. Time also to stop wearing sandals.

Squeaky shins

I'm going nowhere with my running. It's pretty logical, given that I'm not running. My shin is still bothering me, so I have decided to take the rest of the week off, doing swimming and circuit training at home, while my body decides what the hell it is to do..

It's getting weirder, by the way - yesterday, I noticed that when I lift my right foot my shin makes a squeaky noise!! I thought I was turning into an alien, but then I looked it up and discovered that apparently it is called 'crepitum', and it may occur in cases where the tendons are inflamed...

Someone braver than me recorded the same phenomenon in his own shin, and put it on youtube:




Does this still count as a "shiny" start to my marathon plan?

Shin splints and pantry moths

A week of non-running, except for a nice 8km on Thursday. I got a mild cold over last weekend, and decided to avoid running Sun-Mon-Tue as a precaution. On Wednesday, I was feeling better, but childcare duties kept me at bay.


I then went for a run on Thursday morning, and later in the afternoon I started developing a sharp pain in my right shin. I thought I might have previously hit it, while carrying my son's bags and skateboard on the bike uphill from his school back home -  but it got worse and worse. Two days later, it still hurts a lot and it's now even a bit swollen. It didn't help that I spent this afternoon cleaning the deck and cutting tree branches in the garden, of course.

I looked it up - apparently it's a typical runner issue, due to over training. Neither box was ticked, as I only had one moderate run on Thursday, and never experienced this kind of problem before. Then, I realised it could have been the shoes I was wearing - just two days before I had bought a pair of new sandals - Orthaheel Waveslide - looked cool and comfy, and discounted. But they are too archy, with a significant drop,

After two days without running, today my shin hurts more than ever - after a full day wearing those sandals! I've read that high heels in general are not good on the shins ... So, I'll put them on ebay, and buy a pair of proper ozzie flip-flops.

 During the week, I've kept working on my core at home, and today I did a quick but efficient swim session at the pool. At breakfast, we found a few moths in the kitchen pantry (and in our cereals..), so we went to buy one of those sticky traps.





The pantry looked quite when I walked in. I proceeded to opening the trap, and while I was still fidgeting with it, a little cloud of flying beings started to surround me... I suddenly felt like a character in the movie Avatar.

So far, we've counted 14 moths stuck on the gluey sheets!




Hopefully, next week I'll manage to write more about my running and less about my kitchen shenanigans.

In the beginning

Back to the Park Run after a long absence, it was nice to run with a bunch of happy people and to be challenged into no sinking. Did not know what to expect, given the non-training - but I liked to think that running 5k at around 3.40 per minute was possible.

Turns out I was right, as I did clock in 18.45 overall - which is not average 3.40mk/km, true, but that's because the first 2km went cautiously at 3.50 average. I was feeling OK though, so I  sped up a bit, caught up with a couple of fast starters, running the last 3km at 3.40 sharp. I usually tend to slow down towards the end, while today I was full of beams on the finish line- so that was good.

Now, it could be pointed out that in 24 weeks I am expecting myself to run a whole marathon at a faster pace than I did 5 km today. That's a fair comment, but it ignores where I am coming from. I just went through my Garmin history, and noticed that in 2017 I never ran more than 30 km in a week. In fact, I did not even make it to running 10km all at once. This could add to the "You are a fool" party, but also could support a more ethereal idea, according to which I am fresher than I would have been had I ran like crazy last year, and despite a total of ten training session in 2018 (averaging 30mins each..), I can put my shoes on and run 3.40mins per km.

I don't know what's going to happen or how I am going to do this - which is great! The plan is, obviously, to increase the weekly load - there isn't much more to do, in order to run a marathon. The real risk is to do too much too soon, which would end with me injured and depressed.

The strategy, for now, is to run 4-5 sessions per week, increasing the daily load of 1 km each week. This week I run 9km per session (every other day, so 4 sessions/week), so next week I'll take that to 10km, then 11 etc. One speed work out per week (will probably do a lot of fartlek), and then either the Saturday Parkrun or the Monday tempo runs with the folks from WAMC. I'll definitely focus on quantity rather than quality, including what Canova calls junk miles.

In the background, lots of work especially on the posterior kinetic chain (i.e. glute bridges, single leg squats - plus side-planks for hip-stabilisation) to keep my crazy calves at bay. A couple of 10ks in the near future (this and this) will tell me how much of a fool I am :)

Getting rid of the cobwebs

A good run yesterday with the folks from the Western Australian Marathon Club. They meet every Monday evening at Point Walter, a great spot along the Swan River, just south of Perth. You get to meet like-minded people, enjoy a beautiful scenery, train your stamina, and get a glimpse into how billionaires live (google image “Melville Beach Road” for an idea).

Monday night they schedule tempo runs of various lengths, so I joined in and run with a couple of dudes how were doing the 8 km. We started at around 4.20 pace, chatting about Italy’s non-elections and the WA running scene. After 5 km, I increased the pace progressively and ended up running the last 3 km at 3.40-45, without stressing. Felt nice. Overall, just under 12km.

In less than six months, I am supposed to run 42km at around 3.30. Here are some positives about the current situation:

1. I’m in a reasonably good shape. Have not put any weight on, still at around 62 kg as when I was 20, I think I could skim a couple of kilos of that, if/once the weekly km go up
2. No major physical issues. My calves remain a bit stiff, but hopefully I’m doing the right work to keep them at bay 
3. Despite a chronic lack of consistency, it seems that once I manage to line up a few runs (I think I have had around 10 runs over the past 2 months, and never over 8km) my body gets set for running at decent paces (see yesterday). So, I’m not starting from total scratch
4. I am working from home at the moment, so I can organise my days pretty easily, do lots of core work at home (using the Pomodoro Technique, 25 mins writing and 5 minutes working out - more on this later), eat well, and even sneak in a power nap in the afternoon if all the stars are aligned

On the downside, I have no idea how (if!) I will manage heavier running loads. At the moment, at a mere 30km a week, everything is like a pleasant stroll. But when (if!) I’ll get to do 30 km in one day, it’ll be very tough – and I have no idea how my 40 year-old body will cope with that. 

Also, six months (actually, just under 24 weeks) is a long time, and it will be hard to keep focused and maintain the motivation to run like a crazy person amidst work, family etc. And the risk of over-training will be one of the major threats to fend off - e.g. I will have to be very careful with increasing the running load over the weeks.

That said, the goal for this month is to stick to 8-10km per session, 4 times per week. Do lots of core work, especially on glutes, which have been flattened by years of philosophising on my ass. Trying to run a bit faster every now and then, and enjoy life.

Can I possibly do it?

This blog documents my attempt to run a marathon under 2hours and 30 minutes, and to do so with less than 6 months of training. I thought this attempt deserved a blog, for the details of this plan are, to say the least, ambitious, to the point I don't know how realistic the whole thing is.

Here's the background. I'm 40 year-old, and by the day of the race I will be already 41.
I have two kids, and a wife, who exert the amount of demands on me that any other middle-aged dad experiences day after day.
I live in Australia, though I grew up in Italy.

I haven't run properly for a very long time, though I was a "serious runner" as a teen-ager (68.08 in the half-marathon, 32.00 on 10,000m track). But I have never trained "seriously" since then, by which I mean following a training plan, doing different workouts, not to mention races.

In fact, over the past 10 years I have been unable to run consistently for more than a few weeks per time. Family, work (I'm an academic) and bilateral calf-pain have taken the best of my 30s. No regrets, for I had more important things to do than running anyway. Now things are somewhat settled, I seemed to have worked out the issue with my calves (too much sitting on my ass), I can navigate my life between family and work. Of course, things can dramatically change in just a second, in which case I'll change (i.e. abandon) my marathon plan.

The idea behind this blog is to share my training ideas with other people, and to somewhat use myself as a guinea-pig. The marathon is in less than 6 months, as already mentioned, so it would not be inappropriate to call this a mission impossible. That said, easy things are not exciting, and there's plenty of non-exciting stuff already in our lives!

So, stay tuned.