but I am actually enjoying having some time off running.
My entire body feel heaps better, so I am hoping that after this rest period I will be free from any niggles. It will be nice to be able to concentrate 100% on probably my only goal that I have made this year, which is Warwick in May.
I had another physio appointment today and she was happy with the calf issue. It is still tender when poked but again a vast improve from Sunday. She wants me to have until Monday off before I begin again. I was thinking about starting on the weekend but will take the advice and be a good boy.
I will keep up on the walking in which I have done a few 30 - 40 mins sessions aswell as the cycling. I have the bike permanently set up on the fluid trainer in front of the TV and generally ride for around an hour whilst watching the tennis.
I plan to head to the pool again, which will be a welcome relief from the tropical weather we are experiencing at the moment. I have tomorrow off so I am really looking forward to chilling out for a nice 4 day long weekend.
Might even throw a couple of bevvies down range and really get into the Australia Day celebrations :-)
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Watch out Hackett!
After my last post I had a few queries/questions so I will answer these first.
Ewen suggested that 'I should have kept going for the beep test' that I did the other day.
Unfortunately this wasn't even an option, the person running the cct stopped the CD as soon as level 7.5 was reached.
Scott asked "Where exactly is that tender spot on your calf?"
The pic below shows the muscles of the leg, the spot that is casuing me some issues is the upper region of the soleus muscle and medial Gastrocnemius. I can say that even after a few days rest it has improved 70% at least and I can push in and massage this area without it hurting too much. So certainly good signs.
Ewen suggested that 'I should have kept going for the beep test' that I did the other day.
Unfortunately this wasn't even an option, the person running the cct stopped the CD as soon as level 7.5 was reached.
Scott asked "Where exactly is that tender spot on your calf?"
The pic below shows the muscles of the leg, the spot that is casuing me some issues is the upper region of the soleus muscle and medial Gastrocnemius. I can say that even after a few days rest it has improved 70% at least and I can push in and massage this area without it hurting too much. So certainly good signs.
Three days now into my rest week and things are going very well. My leg feels great and I can really notice the difference even when I walk. I have been going for a couple of walks with Cass around the bike path that surounds our neighbourhood which is good. I am enjoying having a few days off with little impact and feel that if I concentrate on activities like swimming and cycling I don't think that my fitness will suffer that much at all.
Yesterday I went to the pool, I was expecting it to be croweded considering that it was a warm day. When I arrived however I was suprised to see the car park half full. The lap pool was dead and I had a choice of what ever lane I wanted. Very nice!
The plan was to swim 1500m, considering I haven't been swimming for about 3 months I wasn't sure how I would break the session down. I decided after a 100m warm up and some stretching that I would attempt to swim 1k before resting.
Apart from having some issues with my goggles filling with water and the sun burning my retinas out every time I took a breath I completed the 40 laps (25m pool) without a break. I by no means broke any speed records and wasted plenty of time turning around at each end but I got there in a time of 22.34 secs.
I had about 5 minutes rest before heading off again for the final 500m, at the 200m mark I stopped and adjusted my goggles for the 100th time and then continued on for the remainder. The last 200m was a struggle and my "technique" felt pretty ordinary. I finished in 11.07 which gives the time of 33.41 for 1500m not inc the 5 minute rest.
Last night my Lats and other back muscles felt half the size of what they should. I was damn tight and wasn't looking forward to waking up today. Thank god it wasn't too bad, I am a little sore and my shoulder is a little strained but apart from that I feel good.
I headed out to the Brisbane Road Runners second race of the year today, not to run but I was rostered on for marshalling. It would have been a warm morning for the runners and I was thankful for my position on the course, very shady. Not a huge turnout but some quality runners there including the return of Tesso which was nice to see. After packing up the stores I was glad to get home it is an early morning for those on duty, however like Tesso said I am lucky that I have only got the 14k event, there is a 35k event coming up in which she has been a marshall for. Yuck!
Tonight I might dust off the wind trainer and cycle for a bit while watching Federer kick arse.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
So that's the plan Stan!
Week - 7k
Month - 87k
YTD - 87k
My decision to have a relatively easy week have been reinforced and made a bit more rigid in regards to what I am allowed to do by my physio. After my issue last year with my shins I am required to go and have a check up with the physio every few weeks.
Today was such a day.
I explained I am having a slight problem with a spot on my calf. It is quite tender and it doesn't seem to loosen up no matter how much I massage it. After she examined it and inflicted a massive amount of pain she said that I should have a week off to see if it becomes less tender.
So that's the plan, a little unfortunate although I have no planned races, which is always a bonus I guess. I am allowed to walk so I will be annoying Cass more than ever to come for a walk with me, she will love it I can see it now ;-)
Anyway, so how did the beep test go? I hear everyone ask.
For those who don't know the beep test, it is a test run betweem two sets of markers 20m apart. You must make the markers at the other end before the next beep sounds. The test begins very easy and after a set number of intervals at one level it speeds up. Generally it is around a minute per level, therefore the higher the level the more reps of the 20m course you run.
Yesterdays session was an easy session, it seemed to fit in well with my easy week and looking back on it Im glad that the session had restrictions placed on it considering my leg at the moment. The person running it told us if everyone made it to level 7.5 then we would only do it once. This level is the standard required to get into the Army, so you would think that everyone would be able to achieve this. Wrong!
I saw one person drop out at around level 3 which is not even 500m of running, with plenty of others dropping out after that. About half the group made it to 7.5 (1120m), we had about 5 minutes rest and went again aiming for the same level. This time only about 1/4 of us made it which is pretty dismal to say the least.
Now with the no running I am going to try and get motivated and hit the pool at work, hopefully this will slow the rate of my already disappearing cardiovascular fitness ;-)
For those running at West End on Sunday I will see you there, I am rostered for marshalling duties.
Happy training everyone :-)
Month - 87k
YTD - 87k
My decision to have a relatively easy week have been reinforced and made a bit more rigid in regards to what I am allowed to do by my physio. After my issue last year with my shins I am required to go and have a check up with the physio every few weeks.
Today was such a day.
I explained I am having a slight problem with a spot on my calf. It is quite tender and it doesn't seem to loosen up no matter how much I massage it. After she examined it and inflicted a massive amount of pain she said that I should have a week off to see if it becomes less tender.
So that's the plan, a little unfortunate although I have no planned races, which is always a bonus I guess. I am allowed to walk so I will be annoying Cass more than ever to come for a walk with me, she will love it I can see it now ;-)
Anyway, so how did the beep test go? I hear everyone ask.
For those who don't know the beep test, it is a test run betweem two sets of markers 20m apart. You must make the markers at the other end before the next beep sounds. The test begins very easy and after a set number of intervals at one level it speeds up. Generally it is around a minute per level, therefore the higher the level the more reps of the 20m course you run.
Yesterdays session was an easy session, it seemed to fit in well with my easy week and looking back on it Im glad that the session had restrictions placed on it considering my leg at the moment. The person running it told us if everyone made it to level 7.5 then we would only do it once. This level is the standard required to get into the Army, so you would think that everyone would be able to achieve this. Wrong!
I saw one person drop out at around level 3 which is not even 500m of running, with plenty of others dropping out after that. About half the group made it to 7.5 (1120m), we had about 5 minutes rest and went again aiming for the same level. This time only about 1/4 of us made it which is pretty dismal to say the least.
Now with the no running I am going to try and get motivated and hit the pool at work, hopefully this will slow the rate of my already disappearing cardiovascular fitness ;-)
For those running at West End on Sunday I will see you there, I am rostered for marshalling duties.
Happy training everyone :-)
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
An easy week...... sort of!
Week - 5k
Month - 85k
YTD - 85k
I have a few tight bits that I would prefer to be not as tight, so I have made a decision to have an easy week.
Just quietly I am pleased with my dedication of incorporating a long(ish) run for most of the weeks dating back before Xmas, so this is my reward.
My plan however has been sabotaged a little by work deciding to inflict pain on those members who became lazy over the holiday break. So we have been doing a little running, but I will be skipping the longer mileage runs this week.
Yesterday we done the 2.4k track we use for the half yearly fitness tests, however we did it twice broken up by a recovery period. The recovery wasn't a set time, so I was happy being the first back I ended up getting a huge rest, well about ten minutes. I did however feel a bit sorry for the slower runners they did get the raw end to the deal.
I completed the first lap in 9.15 (3.51/k). I was happy with this which felt comfortable. I had a drink and done some stretching waiting for the remainder to finish. By the time we lined up I had cooled down a bit and for the first 200m I didn't feel that great. The aim for everyone the 2nd time around was to beat their first time.
At the 1/2 mark I was a few secs quicker than the first time so I was on track. I had been running with another bloke for this rep aswell but around the 1600m mark I upped the pace and he dropped back. From then on I attempted to maintain some form going up the last section which has a nasty short incline. I didn't look at the watch for the last 400m and was pretty chuffed that I actually crossed the line 2 secs faster (9.13).
I admit that I was puffing a bit after the second one, but quickly jogged back down the course to help my mate out who is struggling for fitness at the moment. It was a nice recovery, certainly lightened the legs back up.
Today was all upper body fitness so no running. The plan for tomorrow at work is a beep test cct. I am not really a fan.
Will report how it goes tomorrow
Month - 85k
YTD - 85k
I have a few tight bits that I would prefer to be not as tight, so I have made a decision to have an easy week.
Just quietly I am pleased with my dedication of incorporating a long(ish) run for most of the weeks dating back before Xmas, so this is my reward.
My plan however has been sabotaged a little by work deciding to inflict pain on those members who became lazy over the holiday break. So we have been doing a little running, but I will be skipping the longer mileage runs this week.
Yesterday we done the 2.4k track we use for the half yearly fitness tests, however we did it twice broken up by a recovery period. The recovery wasn't a set time, so I was happy being the first back I ended up getting a huge rest, well about ten minutes. I did however feel a bit sorry for the slower runners they did get the raw end to the deal.
I completed the first lap in 9.15 (3.51/k). I was happy with this which felt comfortable. I had a drink and done some stretching waiting for the remainder to finish. By the time we lined up I had cooled down a bit and for the first 200m I didn't feel that great. The aim for everyone the 2nd time around was to beat their first time.
At the 1/2 mark I was a few secs quicker than the first time so I was on track. I had been running with another bloke for this rep aswell but around the 1600m mark I upped the pace and he dropped back. From then on I attempted to maintain some form going up the last section which has a nasty short incline. I didn't look at the watch for the last 400m and was pretty chuffed that I actually crossed the line 2 secs faster (9.13).
I admit that I was puffing a bit after the second one, but quickly jogged back down the course to help my mate out who is struggling for fitness at the moment. It was a nice recovery, certainly lightened the legs back up.
Today was all upper body fitness so no running. The plan for tomorrow at work is a beep test cct. I am not really a fan.
Will report how it goes tomorrow
Saturday, January 13, 2007
18k River Loop
Week - 30k
Month - 80k
YTD - 80k
Arrived at Southbank this morning for the weekly run group. Cass and Sam also came once again for their long walk around the river. The weather was very overcast however the temp was quite low.
There were a few people missing aswell as others that took off in different directions not doing the regular river loops. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and when I found out that we were doing the 18k Green bridge run that sounded fine to me. I had not been over the new bridge before so it is great to run different routes. Clairie and Mark were doing this loop and adding on another 10k after we returned back to the Ship Inn. I considered doing part of this with them to clock about the same as last week. I eventually decided to just settle with 18k as I am not really training for anything in particular so there is really no need to run that far.
I also wore my new shoes today, I had run about 10k in them already and I can't ever remember getting a blister from running shoes so I gave them a hit out. I did however run the 10k with the normal inserts and left my orthotics out until this morning. Even after a 8 mths of wearing them they still feel like rocks, however they do achieve what they are supposed to so I can't really complain. I did try something different, I experimented putting the normal insert on top of the orthotic which felt nice until about the 5k mark.
It was at the Regatta which is our first water stop that I removed my shoes and took out the normal inserts. My feet felt too high in the shoe and it was causing parts of my feet to become sore. After I took them out it was sweet, although not as spongy the soreness dissapated very quickly.
I felt comfortable this morning, well apart from the weather. As I said earlier the overcast and low temp conditions seemed nice before we started, it was a different story once we began. After 6k my shirt was drenched, the humidity was high which was strange as I didn't really notice it at the start. It remained that way for the rest of the run and was getting heavy and baggy. My poor little nips copped a hiding aswell from the constant rubbing of the wet shirt, I may have to put band-aids on them ;-)
Overall I found this morning quite easy and due to the different groups, some running 13k some running 28k I found myself running a pace that nobody else was. I was a bit of a loner this morning but it was still a nice morning with everyone catching up at the water stops.
Overall about 1.31.xx for 18.2k so pretty much spot on 5min/k.
After the run Cass, Sam and I had breaky at the Cafe and then went home for a kip. I don't handle 4 am starts very well :-)
Month - 80k
YTD - 80k
Arrived at Southbank this morning for the weekly run group. Cass and Sam also came once again for their long walk around the river. The weather was very overcast however the temp was quite low.
There were a few people missing aswell as others that took off in different directions not doing the regular river loops. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do and when I found out that we were doing the 18k Green bridge run that sounded fine to me. I had not been over the new bridge before so it is great to run different routes. Clairie and Mark were doing this loop and adding on another 10k after we returned back to the Ship Inn. I considered doing part of this with them to clock about the same as last week. I eventually decided to just settle with 18k as I am not really training for anything in particular so there is really no need to run that far.
I also wore my new shoes today, I had run about 10k in them already and I can't ever remember getting a blister from running shoes so I gave them a hit out. I did however run the 10k with the normal inserts and left my orthotics out until this morning. Even after a 8 mths of wearing them they still feel like rocks, however they do achieve what they are supposed to so I can't really complain. I did try something different, I experimented putting the normal insert on top of the orthotic which felt nice until about the 5k mark.
It was at the Regatta which is our first water stop that I removed my shoes and took out the normal inserts. My feet felt too high in the shoe and it was causing parts of my feet to become sore. After I took them out it was sweet, although not as spongy the soreness dissapated very quickly.
I felt comfortable this morning, well apart from the weather. As I said earlier the overcast and low temp conditions seemed nice before we started, it was a different story once we began. After 6k my shirt was drenched, the humidity was high which was strange as I didn't really notice it at the start. It remained that way for the rest of the run and was getting heavy and baggy. My poor little nips copped a hiding aswell from the constant rubbing of the wet shirt, I may have to put band-aids on them ;-)
Overall I found this morning quite easy and due to the different groups, some running 13k some running 28k I found myself running a pace that nobody else was. I was a bit of a loner this morning but it was still a nice morning with everyone catching up at the water stops.
Overall about 1.31.xx for 18.2k so pretty much spot on 5min/k.
After the run Cass, Sam and I had breaky at the Cafe and then went home for a kip. I don't handle 4 am starts very well :-)
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