The Road to Paris - On a Plateau - Asics Target 26.2 Training

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  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭

    Excellent news Ady - like you say, the peace of mind and reassurance is almost 90% of the issue. I bet you feel so relieved. 

    Take it easy then and don't go mad on Sunday if things are still a little tender. Make sure you are fit for the week after, I need you to drag me round!

  • Day 67 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (21/02/13)

    Target: 6 MILE BUILD-UP focused around MP (From 8.10-7.20)

    Actual: 30 minutes Go-Karting (okay, okay, I know it can't really be classed as marathon training, but it feels nicer putting this down than that dreaded word 'REST'!

    Both my knee and thigh were feeling much better today compared to yesterday. I can now climb stairs like a normal person and I can walk without a limp from my right thigh as well. In fact, I was even able to jog to the train station this morning after running late for work.

    Even if I was fighting fit and in the prime of my life I would have struggled to run today. I had a lunch time meeting and also a team bonding session after work as well down the local go-karting track.

    Go-karting was actually much more of a strenuous activity than I envisaged it would be. I've woken with bruises in various random positions today and aching arms. I was also on course of securing mid table obscurity for my go-karting team until I rammed a female colleague from behind and got black flagged. Apparently such contact behaviour is frowned upon on the race track and I was forced to drown my sorrows over a few pints afterwards, which was also part of the team building evening.

    Although I now feel like I am able to run again, even if at a slower speed that what has been prescribed, I've made the decision to not run until I've seen the physio on Friday afternoon. For the first time in my life, I'm actually going to rest when I know I need it!

  • Hahaha, Malcs, you just get better!



    Glad to hear that it was good news given at the physio today Ady. What are stability trainers?
  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭
    Do you mean a support shoe for over pronation Ady or a motion control shoe for under pronation?



    I was in a support shoe for a few years then, after gait analysis, I was told I should go neutral. Since then I have slowly developed tightness and pain in my outer calf (peroneals?) which which extends round to under the foot as well. It happened really slowly over a year or so but I never thought it could be the shoes.



    At boot camp Olly Murs made the same diagnosis as before - I needed neutral shoes so that just turned my attention further away from shoes as the cause.



    A month ago I decided on a whim to go and buy some new shoes with a little pronation support mainly because my arches were starting to creak on my longer runs. Since then my calf pain has started to slowly disappear. It's not gone completely but it's much much better than it was. It's really given me a new lease of life.



    Sounds like you might have been heading down the same path - you were advised to go neutral were you not, after years of using a support or motion control shoe?
  • I run with orthotics and its amazing how easier and more enjoyable they make my runs. I was advised at boot camp that I could go without them and run in neutral shoes, however I was doing fine with my orthotics and I always think that you shouldnt change/fix something if its not broke!
  • Day 66 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (21/02/13)

    Target: 4 MILES STEADY

    Actual: 1 minute on the treadmill when testing out my new Asics GT-2000  and a spot of marching on the spot with the physio.........in other words REST again!

    Today was the day when I was going to find out my injury prognosis. I was also replacing my neutral Asics Cumulus trainers with a brand spanking new pair of Asics stability GT-2000 trainers, aimed at those with a slight to moderate over-pronation.

    Before wearing my Cumulus I'd always worn stability trainers for over-pronation. First it was Mizuno and then New Balance. I was sceptical when told I no longer over-pronated, but as I was told this on two separate occasions when having gait analysis, I had no reason to doubt this. Considering I never had knee problems before changing to a neutral shoe, as soon as the problem began, I've always suspected the trainer choice.

    I still have no actual evidence that the trainers are the sole cause of my knee complaint. It's been mentioned twice now that more stability could be beneficial. It'll be interesting to see now if this change helps. I really hope it does. As previous times, I went to the Asics Flagship store in central London to buy my trainers and as per usual, the service and expertise of James and his team was faultless. I was impressed as always!

    I returned home and had a few hours to spare before my physio appointment. I was a little apprehensive and was fearing the worst. To settle my nerves, I decided comfort eating and a nap would be the best remedy. Luckily I ran out of jelly babies, jaffa cakes and chocolate before it made a dent on my recent weight loss!

    This was my first ever trip to the physio. I do get private health insurance through my work, but I need to be referred by a GP to receive this. I also have a £100 excess charge when claiming on my health insurance and as the cost for this consultation was £49 for 45 mins, it made no sense to try and do it privately!

    I didn't really know what to expect. All I wanted was good news and this is exactly what I received. I'm happy to say I should be back running from tomorrow, as long as I remember to take it easy to start with.

    The physio assessed how I stood, walked and ran on the spot and then after hearing what my complaint was, how I came to have it. She then started to build a picture of what the problem was. I apparently have one of the most common form of runner's knee complaints, on the inside at the top of the knee where it rubs with my femur. The reason it has felt stiff after running is due to inflammation. While she doesn't think I really over-pronate, the lack of support from my trainers, coupled with a need for extra upper leg strength are the likely causes for this.

    I was given a couple of 'golden nugget' techniques as the physio liked to call them. All I could think of when hearing these words was 'McDonalds' and how hungry I was feeling! The first technique is to tie elastic stretching bands around a table leg and my ankle. Sitting down, I then pull my foot gently away from the table leg, working my hamstring. This exercise will strengthen my hamstrings, which will also help control and reduce the extra pressure put on my knee.

    Another exercise she recommended doing was placing a beach ball between my ankles while lying down and then pushing my ankles together. This tensing should help promote good form and posture in my legs. This exercise is repeated with a towel and then cushions under my knees to change the height and difficulty of this exercise. Now all I have to do is track down a beach ball!

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  • ..............................

    Also good news was that my thigh strain was in my quads, not in my hip flexor region. She spent some time ultra-sounding both my knee and thigh. I'm not exactly sure what this does, but I'm under the impression it's to aid recovery? As she asked me to strip down to my boxer shorts and had her hand within a whisker of my right testicle, I didn't think it was the right time to ask her what she was doing in case she thought I was questioning her approach!

    Once it was finished, I asked her if she thought I needed to rest at all for any longer. Her response was a straight 'no', as long as I wasn't feeling any pain from either of the complaints. Music to my ears! She said as long as I knew my limits and didn't push beyond them there was no reason why I couldn't get back running, even if it meant taking the next few sessions easier than I normally would to make sure everything is settling down and healing correctly.

    So training should be ready to commence once again starting tomorrow! Confidence is back!

  • sarah osborne wrote (see)
    evening Ady, sorry to hear about your injury. I just hope that it recovers soon and your back up running by the weekend. It sounds like your doing all the right things.

    We managed to do loads of sight seeing in Barca, we spent about 7 hours on our feet on the saturday and almost 5 hours on the sunday (after the race) exploring the city. We made it to everything except neu camp. I went to see a match there last year followed by a tour of the ground the following day so I didnt mind but I think chris was a little disappointed. I did tell him to go with my dad whilst I was doing the race but he said that he wanted to watch me (I think he was more scared of getting lost). He said he wants to go back to watch a match there.

    Jelly babies in porridge.....its something ive not tried or even considered trying, im willing to give it a go though but I might have to wait until I wake up with a strong stomach!

    Hey Sarah........The trip to the physio today helped ease my fears slightly over my current niggles, which I'm really happy about. It's so easy to htink the worse all the time!

    I'm glad you managed to do a lot of sightseeing while in Barca. Do you ever worry though that you have done too much walking the day before the half marathon? I know I do when I've done marathons overseas, especially if it's a long weekend somewhere in Europe. As time is short, I always end up walking a similar amount to you on the Saturday and then feel shattered by the evening. It's one of those situaitons where you know it's not the ideal pre race routine, but you're not going to travel all that way and not see the city you're visiting! I'm not sure we will be allowed to do that for Paris though! 

    Not going to the Nou Camp just gives you both an extra excuse to go back there again another time!

    If it was me, I'd give the jelly baby - porridge combination a wide berth! image

  • RUTH MCKEAN wrote (see)

    Shady- Ady

    The deal about the cooked breakfast on the 8th April has my full supportimage As long as you.... keep up the good dietary work between now and then! Something I noticed about one of your food diary just now is the fact you had one lindor chocolate - I think this shows real discipline and that little piece of information shows me that you are really moving forward with things - before I wonder if you would have stopped at one?

    Carb loading, yes make sure you reduce /take out meat, fish, bulky fruit and veg that will fill you up

    pen leakage - brilliant!

    Malcs - every forum needs a malc!

    Haha....I totally agree, every forum page needs a Malcs! If he ever flies this forum nest, it'll be a sad, sad day!

    I can confirm it was only one Lindor chocolate I had. Since then I might have showed a little less control and doubled that tally! But I definitely think there's not been the normal splurges of bad food that I'd eat during previous marathon training. 

    I even went to the fish and chip shop today for Mrs. Shady Ady and didn't buy a thing for myself. I think this self-control will be something I'll try and keep well after Paris. I don't even want to go back to the chubby look I was sporting 10 weeks ago!

  • Malcs wrote (see)
    Ady - I know exactly how you feel. Niggles are just the worst thing. You are dong everything right though as the others have said.

    Drops in confidence are understandable but it is completely a mental thing though - deep down you know that. Trust in the training.

    I'm sure you'll manage your 20 too. If not, if the physio says rest then you'll have loads of time to get things on track for Spitfire.

    If the worst comes to the worst and you do have to rest up a few days the you'll have plenty of time to work on your animal impressionsimage

    I'll think of the animal impressions when I see the photographers at Spitfire next week. I'll expect you to work your magic on them again!

    It's looking like my 20 miler might be a goer this weekend after the physio visit today. I might not be able to run it as fast as I originally wanted to, but at least I'll be able to get my first 20 miler under my belt!

  • RUTH MCKEAN wrote (see)

    Shady- Ady

    Over the coming few weeks the focus will be on Paris and the food challenges that may bring. The first challenge is the restaurant choice for the Friday & Saturday night. If you were going on a leisurely holiday I would suggest different a restaurant each night and of course to try the local food BUT you are here to do a marathon! So I am looking to seek everyone’s honest opinion on restaurant type. My thoughts are Italian as Parisian meals are not typically carb heavy, more meat based. Last year I picked out some Italian places to eat and then sent links to you all so that you could at least know what was available and if this would be suitable for everyone, so the plan was to do something similar. I am also thinking of RRR who does not eat gluten or wheat (we had a similar issue last year but there was other choices at the Italian we ended up choosing) so I would suggest we look for something that may be Italian but some non- pasta /pizza options? 

    Ruth.......so you mean Pizza is off the menu? image Only joking! I'm more than happy to go somewhere that will suit RRR's requirements. I'm not a fussy eater, so basically anything edible that will be good for my carb-loading works fine for me.

  • Malcs wrote (see)

    Ady - how's the thigh today? Is the knee fine now? I missed your question about the weekend. I was planning a 16-18 miler. I am still tempted by 20 so we'll see if I can resist that. I really hope you get the all clear tomorrow to do the same but if you don't then it's no big loss - use next week to get the leg sorted and you'll be fine for Spitfire.

    Malcs........why are you thinking of resisting doing a 20 miler? Is it because of Spitfire the following week? You could always do your 18 miles and then add 1 mile jog w/up and c/down at a slower pace.

    I noticed you'd wrote that you managed to do your whole 18 mile run on no hydration at all. That's impressive. My intake is much lower in the cold weather, but there's no way I could go completely without taking something on, especially when using gels. Even the SIS Go Gels I use that don't require water, I feel I still need some water with it!

  • Paulo83 wrote (see)
    Sorry that iv cursed you! Maybe we should do it as a 3 legged race like at school sports days. Maybe that way we can both avoid using our injured limbs! I'm not normally superstitious but I was wearing number 1313 on Sunday when I damaged my leg. I joked about it before hand. I won't be doing that again!

    Hope your aches and pains are clearing up and your physio can aid a speedy recovery.

    Hey Paulo........I've never paid any attention to my race number in the past. Maybe I should do and expect the worse if I get any containing an unlucky combination!

    All being well I should be back running tomorrow. I'll just make sure I take it easy to start with. How's your injury doing? Can you see a return to running in sight yet?

  • sarah osborne wrote (see)
    Ruth can I ask a quick question...just packing my bag for sheffield and my shot blocks from last year and noticed that the sell by/use by date (not sure which one it is) says may and the other one June 2012....how likely are they to cause problems if I took them in feb 2013....do you think they would be fine to use or is it not worth the risk?

    It's at times like this I go back to my student roots. If it doesn't smell off, then it's good to go! I had the same issue with my gels and I still took them. They didn't cause any problems. Medicine on the otherhand I'm a little more cautious about using. 

    Malcs wrote (see)

    On the hydration one you mentioned that unless the conditions are very hot you shouldn't need Nuun or other electrolyte tabs. You also say that you know if you're a high sweater if you lick your hand and taste salt. On all my marathons I have felt like the sweat was pouring out of me and that was in warm not hot weather. I didn't need to lick my hand to know there was salt there - I could feel the damn stuff! I had patches of white on my face and body. 

    I assume this means that I must lose alot of salt - more than the average joe? I've suffered nausea, cramps and spasms on almost all my marathons. The one where it was least bad I used about 2-3 Nuun tabs. Each one has 360mg of Sodium so for 3 tabs that's over 1g of salt. Does it make sense that I should have to take that amount? Should I take less or more? I know you said before that cramps are not likely to be down to hydration but given what I just said about salt loss, does it seem more likely?

    My last marathon in Athens I was caked in salt by the time I was finished. I didn't take any salt tablets, but I wonder if it would have been beneficial as I hit the wall hard around 22 miles. I've never lost this much salt before and it was only 20 degrees or so on race day.

    /members/images/403074/Gallery/23869_587300618443_240296408_n_0.jpg

     

  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭
    Shady_Ady wrote (see)
    Malcs wrote (see)

    Ady - how's the thigh today? Is the knee fine now? I missed your question about the weekend. I was planning a 16-18 miler. I am still tempted by 20 so we'll see if I can resist that. I really hope you get the all clear tomorrow to do the same but if you don't then it's no big loss - use next week to get the leg sorted and you'll be fine for Spitfire.

    Malcs........why are you thinking of resisting doing a 20 miler? Is it because of Spitfire the following week? You could always do your 18 miles and then add 1 mile jog w/up and c/down at a slower pace.

    I noticed you'd wrote that you managed to do your whole 18 mile run on no hydration at all. That's impressive. My intake is much lower in the cold weather, but there's no way I could go completely without taking something on, especially when using gels. Even the SIS Go Gels I use that don't require water, I feel I still need some water with it!


    Shady_Ady wrote (see)

    Haha....I totally agree, every forum page needs a Malcs! If he ever flies this forum nest, it'll be a sad, sad day!

    Stop it, for goodness sake! At least your race photos would be safe from doctoring if I did a runner image

    Anyway, I'm so glad to hear that you're on track for your 20 miler. The reason I was trying to resist this temptation was that I didn't want to push my luck. I've done 12,14,16 & 18 for the last 4 weekends and so far everything has gone swimmingly. Part of me was thinking maybe cut back for a week and let the body have a rest. However, I reckon that only applies if the body needs it and right now I feel great.

    So with the minimal amount of arm twisting I'm there - your warm up warm down strategy works nicely for me so 20 miles it is! It'll have to be at the crack of dawn tomorrow though as my son has a rugby game at 10am. Could be interesting conditions as it's been snowing (lightly) here yesterday and today and was a tad chilly this morning.

    Luckily my tried and tested 20 mile route is quite interesting so that should distract me. I run up to Blackheath then through Greenwich Park and along the river before heading back through Deptford and Bromley. Well, I like it anyway image

    Where will you be heading? Are you off road and do you do a loop, laps or out and back? I hate running laps, I always like to feel like I'm going somewhere.

    Interesting what you say about Athens as it was probably about 20 degrees the last few times I did London too.

    When you say you hit the wall, did you feel sick or was it simply a case of running out of energy? I've felt sore, tired and sick many times but I've only hit the wall once. I know this because it was like nothing I've ever experienced before. Suddenly people started to flood past me and I genuinely struggled to put one foot in front of the other. My brain said "leg - move!" and very little happened. Really strange feeling and so gutting when you know you stll have 6 miles to go! 

    Regarding the hydration - DS2 and a few others told me a while back that they don't take very much, if an

  • That's good news on your injury front! Just don't go pushing your self too hard on this weekends 20 miler! I managed 30 minutes on the bike yesterday and my leg felt ok doing that. Didn't want to push it and do too much though! I'm off to see the physio/sports massage guy on Monday so hopefully he can guide me on when its safe to return! I've found it tough to resist going out for a short run but have managed not to so far. Iv not been so good at resisting Lindor this week though and a trip up to the football this afternoon will result in a few too many beers! Does that count as carbo loading?!
  • Malcs wrote (see)

    I've just watched a few more of the videos - very enlightening!

    For example I've just learned from Physio Sarah, on her hip flexor stretch vid, that (and I quote) "the kitchen table, if it's nice and sturdy, is a good place to do it".

    I knew you were getting the complete treatment Ady but I didn't expect them to provide marital advice too. Is Mrs Shady aware of this? image

    By the way, as a result of this exporation of the vids I just discovered your training day video - fantastic stuff! Once again you all come across as pros - I hate you all image

    Malcs........I agree, the video's have been an excellent addtition to the Target 26.2 hub! I loved the one on the foam roller. I'd never actually used one or even thought they were worth buying before Sarah recommended me to get one. Now I use it every night, and from the demonstrations in the video, I even use it correctly now as well!

    I practice the hip flexor 'stretches' seen in the video all the time now, due to the shortness of mine, which is one of the possible reasons I've encountered my 'runners knee' problems. Sadly though Mrs. Shady Ady doesn't allow us to 'do it' on the kitchen table. She thinks we'll break it! She doesn't like doing it on our bed either as it's too low to get in the right position. So that's left the single bed in the spare bedroom as the only place we can perform to an adequate level. I've tried doing it by myself when she isn't around, but it's just not the same!

  • sarah osborne wrote (see)
    Hahaha, Malcs, you just get better!

    Glad to hear that it was good news given at the physio today Ady. What are stability trainers?

    Hey Sarah..............I'd never called them stability trainers before Sarah from Asics called them this. I had always called them 'trainers for over-pronaters'. Although the way I called them rhymed nicely, it was definitely more of a mouthful! 

    I think I read somewhere that 70% of runners require stability trainers of some kind due to their natural running technique and alignment. It's a huge relief to have a pair of these to run in now. It might not make any difference at all switching trainers to the knee problems I've had, but mentally, I'm in a completely different place now.  We shall see over the next week or two. 

    I'll be breaking them in shortly! Nice and gentle today though as I still want to try and do my 20 miler tomorrow. I might even start off at 10-11 min/miles today just to make sure there are no problems with my quad injury. 

  • Malcs wrote (see)
    Do you mean a support shoe for over pronation Ady or a motion control shoe for under pronation?

    I was in a support shoe for a few years then, after gait analysis, I was told I should go neutral. Since then I have slowly developed tightness and pain in my outer calf (peroneals?) which which extends round to under the foot as well. It happened really slowly over a year or so but I never thought it could be the shoes.

    At boot camp Olly Murs made the same diagnosis as before - I needed neutral shoes so that just turned my attention further away from shoes as the cause.

    A month ago I decided on a whim to go and buy some new shoes with a little pronation support mainly because my arches were starting to creak on my longer runs. Since then my calf pain has started to slowly disappear. It's not gone completely but it's much much better than it was. It's really given me a new lease of life.

    Sounds like you might have been heading down the same path - you were advised to go neutral were you not, after years of using a support or motion control shoe?

    Hey Malcs.......I actually wasn't aware there was more than one type of stability shoe. My inexperience still shows sometimes! I was referring to over-pronation.

    It seems we have very similar issues (although in different places). The only reason I thought the trainers could possibly be a concern was after Sarah mentioned that they possibly don't give me enough support in my long runs as I tend to lose my form slightly and my left knee starts to dip in.

    Olly Murs lookalike and at the Asics store both said I didn't need a stability shoe. This is probably correct when running short distances, but on longer runs, this could have progressively gotten worse as my number of long runs increased. As I've never experienced knee injuries in my life and have always used stability shoes, then this is another reason why the neutral trainers flagged as a possible cause. I definitely wouldn't have changed them though if I could have ran through the discomfort and not missed any sessions because of it.

    This could just be one of those times when if it's not broken it doesn't necessarily need fixing. Buuuuuuuuuut........the lightness and bounce of my neutral trainers and ease it felt running in them could also have played a pivotal role in allowing me to run faster than I ever have before. I'm definitely not seeing any negative in all of this.......just development into knowing exactly what kind of runner I am!

  • sarah osborne wrote (see)
    I run with orthotics and its amazing how easier and more enjoyable they make my runs. I was advised at boot camp that I could go without them and run in neutral shoes, however I was doing fine with my orthotics and I always think that you shouldnt change/fix something if its not broke!

    Actually this was another thing the physio recommended to me as well (I knew I'd forget some of the things she was saying to me!). She was actually bluntly honest saying not to buy them from the physio practice as they were over-priced, compared to the ones sold in Boots, which did exactly the same job.

    I was recommended a medial orthotic and she said I can use these in my neutral trainers and they should do a similar job to if I was to use stability trainers. As I'd just bought my stability trainers and didn't fancy a return trip into London to return them, I have opted to run with these instead, but will use the orthotic option when using my neutral trainers as well.

  • Malcs wrote (see)

    Luckily my tried and tested 20 mile route is quite interesting so that should distract me. I run up to Blackheath then through Greenwich Park and along the river before heading back through Deptford and Bromley. Well, I like it anyway image

    Where will you be heading? Are you off road and do you do a loop, laps or out and back? I hate running laps, I always like to feel like I'm going somewhere.

    Interesting what you say about Athens as it was probably about 20 degrees the last few times I did London too.

    When you say you hit the wall, did you feel sick or was it simply a case of running out of energy? I've felt sore, tired and sick many times but I've only hit the wall once. I know this because it was like nothing I've ever experienced before. Suddenly people started to flood past me and I genuinely struggled to put one foot in front of the other. My brain said "leg - move!" and very little happened. Really strange feeling and so gutting when you know you stll have 6 miles to go! 

    Regarding the hydration - DS2 and a few others told me a while back that they don't take very much, if an

    I really wished I had a nice route like yours nearby I could use. I used to live near Richmond Park and this was where I'd do all my runs. You can never grow tired of running there - deer, undulating and challenging course and great views across London. Sadly I live too far away now to run there. image

    My long run is along the A320 from Woking to Staines, or along the canal from Woking to Farnborough, or the opposite way towards Weybridge and then joining the River Wey and if I ran far enough, the River Thames.

    I'm reaching the distance now though where I can run all the way to Windsor and back, which will add a bit of extra interest into my long run. 

    I always try and do an out and back route. There's not a good loop option near me than doesn't involve stopping and slowing down to cross roads all the time. As I wouldn't be doing this in Paris, then I don't think it's that beneficial to do it in training either. I'm not good with dealing with laps either mentally as my mind starts coming up with excuses to stop each time I complete one. 

    I've felt sick and been sick during races before, but I haven't classed this as hitting the wall before as it still felt like my legs had more to give. I'd only class it when I felt like I'd totally ran out of energy. In Athens I got to 20 miles and from there it was all downhill to the finish. I was comfortably on for sub 4 hour and felt fine, but 2 miles later my pace had slowed to nothing more than a shuffle. The energy had gone and whenever I tried to quicken up my legs and arms when into spasms of cramp. I was even getting cramp in my neck and cheeks! I think this was mainly down to the temperature, poor hydration during the race and also no real carb-loading plan the day before either.

    With the snow falling outside, I think today's jog will be one of those no hydration runs!

  • Sounds like good news Ady. Will give you a call later to discuss 20 miler. And will respond to forum queries/comments. Am thawing out from this morning's group session - feet numb!
  • Paulo83 wrote (see)
    That's good news on your injury front! Just don't go pushing your self too hard on this weekends 20 miler! I managed 30 minutes on the bike yesterday and my leg felt ok doing that. Didn't want to push it and do too much though! I'm off to see the physio/sports massage guy on Monday so hopefully he can guide me on when its safe to return! I've found it tough to resist going out for a short run but have managed not to so far. Iv not been so good at resisting Lindor this week though and a trip up to the football this afternoon will result in a few too many beers! Does that count as carbo loading?!

    Very glad to see you on the road to recovery and back cross-training again. That's definitely good news and very sensible to be rushing back. That's one reason why I'm going for a run today, so if I do get any twitches from my quad I can cross-train tomorrow instead and not be stuck somewhere miles from home if it happened on my 20 miler.

    Good luck on your physio trip on Monday. I hope it will be positive like mine. I was actualy shocked when she said there's no reason not to be running.....just take it much easier than normal to start with.

    I wouldn't worry about the beers.......you can;t watch weekend sport without enjoying one or two. I had a few beers Thursday evening. I have cut down on the amount I drink, but I'm still losing weight and enjoying te odd beer and chocolate, so it can't be all bad! Although I only think it can be classed as carb-loading if you're planning on using those calories the next day doing exercise!image

  • SamMurphyRuns wrote (see)
    Sounds like good news Ady. Will give you a call later to discuss 20 miler. And will respond to forum queries/comments. Am thawing out from this morning's group session - feet numb!

    Hey Sam.....I look forward to the call! Just about to go out for a very easy jog myself.  As always, I'm more than happy to go with what you prescribe regarding the 20 miler tomorrow!

  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭

    Paulo - if beer = carbo loading then that's one carbo load I would happily manage image

    My post earlier got cut I just realised. What DS2 told me was that the essential part was to be fully hydrated in the day or so before and drink loads afterwards. 

    We've got snow here too but it's kind of nice. 

    Running to Windsor must be nice Ady. Plenty to see around there. The down side of where I am is that it is mostly all built up - there's not much countryside unless you run the other way (into Kent) and then you run out of roads or have to use country lanes where you're just waiting for the next boy racer to come round the corner and flatten you!

  • Malcs, don't you ever run to/around Oxleas Woods? I used to live in Blackheath and Greenwich and used to run the Green Chain route up Shooters Hill and out to Lesnes Abbey. Much of it off-road and pretty green. Sure Green Chain must have a website with the route options...

     

  • Ksizzlepod: think your 20-week plan is very sensible - I've started using 20 week plans this year with my cleints. It just gives a slower build, and more time to play with if things go wrong...

  • MalcsMalcs ✭✭✭

    Sam - many thanks for the info. I actually live in Orpington but I've seen the Green Chain route signposted when I pass Eltham College on my run into London. Never crossed my mind to google the damn thing! image 

    Looks like I can get on one of the routes as early as Chislehurst which is only a few miles from me. Excellent!

    I will have to wait to use this another week though as I have already set my mind on running to Greenwich by the direct route. Can't resist a loop round the Cutty Sark pretending that it's VLM all over again....image

  • Day 69 - Asics Target 26.2 Paris Marathon Training (23/02/13)

    Target: Rest Day

    Actual: 6.29 miles in 56:43 @ 9:01m/m

    It feels so, so, so good to be running again!

    Today should have been a rest day, but after not running for three days and being given the all clear to start running again by the physio yesterday, I thought it better to do my easy 'recovery' jog from earlier in the week.

    My knee felt fine, but I was still slightly worried by my tight quad. I think I'd have felt it if I'd been doing 100m sprints, but as my pace was akin to a recovery jog I had no issue at all with it. I can't put into words how nice it is to be back running again. It feels like a huge stormy cloud has been lifted from my mind.

    I started off very gingerly and ran at a speed I don't think I've ran at since my very first training run before Christmas - 9:30m/m. This was definitely sensible. Not only was I recovering from an injury, but I was wearing my new stability Asics GT-2000 trainers for the first time. They felt light, but I don't think quite as 'bouncy' as my Cumulus.

    As the miles past, I started to stretch my legs more as I realised they were holding up and showing no sign of hurting. I didn't want to push myself too much though and end up spending more time on the sidelines. It was nice to be increasing the pace and everything feeling so relaxed and comfortable.

    I only really stretched it out in the last 1/3 mile to the finish and it felt good to be running at 7:30m/m pace and not feel like I was going to break down again. I think it will take a couple of weeks before I can get the mental image out of my head of injuring my quad, but physically, everything seems to be perfectly on the mend.

    After speaking with Sam, my 20 miler planned for tomorrow has now been moved to 2 weeks time. This will be 4 weeks out from Paris and the ideal time for doing my longest run, so maybe this injury has been a blessing in disguise in the long run. Instead I'll be running for 2hrs 30mins instead. It'll be nice to run on time rather than distance.

    Here's my run from today:

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/276694736

  • Calorie Watch! Food & Drink Diary – Friday 22nd February 2013

    Maybe a few treats too many today!

    8:30am - Breakfast - Fruit and Fibre Cereal w/ Semi-Skimmed milk. Cup of tea.

    9:30am - Pint of squash

    11:00am - Large chai tea latte

    1:30pm - Lunch - Marks and Spencer's Shrimp, Lime and Coconut Wrap, Bottle of Sugar Free Cranberry Lemonade

    3:00pm - 2 Lindt Lindor chocolates, 2 jaffa cakes and 4 jelly babies.

    7:00pm - Dinner - Egg noodles with shrimps (homemade). I might have helped my wife finish off her fish and chips as well, but this was no more than a mouthful or two or each I swear! Pint of squash

    8:00pm - Yoghurt, Cup of tea.

    11:00pm - Glass of water.

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