tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70394589231970668562024-02-20T15:43:39.256+00:00Diary of an Ultra RunnerChris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.comBlogger600125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-38216973822132954882014-02-01T15:56:00.000+00:002014-02-01T15:56:23.965+00:00the day it all went wrongIn the words of the song by Nazareth ... "woke up this morning ... "
Yes, that's how I'm feeling right now - just waiting for shit to happen [sorry about that].
Let's start at the beginning: woke up this morning ... and their was no warmth in the house. The heaters have stopped working. Not sure why, no matter what I try nothing seems to help in the slightest. Guess Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-75239701321881784602014-01-20T19:50:00.000+00:002014-01-20T19:50:43.715+00:00First few day's trainingWell, after the first week [and a bit ...] of training I can report that I feel fitter and healthier than at any time since early September 2012.
Let me briefly run through my recent running exploits -
MONDAY 13 JANUARY - in late afternoon it was 13 km fartlek,
TUESDAY 14 JANUARY - left home at 7.00am for a steady 14 km
as expected my calf muscles were a bit sore for a few days after this. &Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-17755550403425949362014-01-10T16:57:00.000+00:002014-01-10T17:23:05.986+00:00first post of 2014Well ... here I go again ...
Unfortunately I'm not going to do the traditional thing and write about my running in the previous year. I wish I could but in reality it would be just a single sentence ... hardly any running and no races.
But, for the past five or six weeks I've slowly arrived at the point at which I am able to run on four consecutive days - not very far, but four days Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-45247972640585131432013-12-22T11:04:00.001+00:002013-12-22T11:04:17.118+00:00good newsApologies for the delay ... went to see the specialist a couple of weeks ago and the news came through that everything is good.
About time too. No more operations or hospital visits needed ... until next time. Hopefully many years into the future. Strangely though, I like hospitals. Always have. Maybe it's the community spirit and camaraderie that exists in the Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-30200618755824116462013-11-23T14:45:00.000+00:002013-11-23T14:45:07.113+00:00Quick UpdateAnother brief post ... just to let everyone know that I had my final operation of the year (hopefully) about two weeks ago and I'm feeling happy about that.
Going to see the doctor next week and it should be confirmed that I won't need any more surgery for a few more years.
Then I've just got to wait for my body to recover from the surgery and for my breathing to return to normal after the Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-49298522847843445662013-10-02T12:48:00.001+01:002013-10-02T12:49:44.066+01:00what's happening ?
This isn't going to be an easy post to write ... it may waffle at times but bear with me a bit and everything will come out.
The past 12 months or so have not gone very well but, until August, things were definitely improving. I'm not going to go into any detail about what happened before that other than to give a very brief reminder ...
... injured badly at hour 21 in World 24 hr Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-78081150201763201532013-07-28T16:35:00.001+01:002013-07-28T16:35:51.221+01:00last week ... next weekNot posted for a while mainly because it's been a bit hectic here recently. Keir, home from university until September, invited his girlfriend to stay for a fortnight. She arrived from Belfast at lunchtime on Tuesday but he didn't tell us she was would be staying until two days before that ...
So Monday was spent shopping, cleaning, organising, baking, washing ... and training.  Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-58348770446446821062013-07-20T16:33:00.000+01:002013-07-20T16:33:52.371+01:00pacingTwo days ago, on Thursday, I ran with Otley AC for the first time since ... last August probably. It's been a long time and there was a few new faces but it was good to be back with old friends.
The following day I decided to run 3.2 km at tempo pace. Not knowing what that would be at the moment I looked at all my race times over the past twelve months and putting the figures into Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-87480251310896199562013-07-16T12:50:00.000+01:002013-07-16T15:26:27.501+01:00guest post number one - recovery
As mentioned previously there will be a few Guest Posts over the next few months (and beyond ?). The first one is here and it's from The Supplement Centre. I know that almost everyone who reads this will be familiar with the content but I feel it's always worth reminding ourselves about this very often overlooked aspect of training.
Three roads to running recovery
Being a runner Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-34679224585433226192013-07-13T20:15:00.003+01:002013-07-13T20:15:55.078+01:00a few bits and piecesFirst of all an apology. To all my race organiser friends, I know I've been pestering you for a couple of weeks now about when your races are likely to be held next year.
I hope you all understand that it's only because I'm feeling fit, healthy and ready to go after a lengthy absence. All the more so now that we have some good weather.
Next up ... there may be a few guest posts in Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-18113942423277230182013-07-10T20:52:00.002+01:002013-07-10T20:52:17.141+01:00so far ... so goodFour days into 'proper training' and everything seems to be going fine.
Sunday's run was nothing special except that I ran for distance instead of time. That felt very unusual at first, being able to run as fast or as slow as I needed to and knowing that it would have an affect on how long I'd be outside.
Monday was my first 'long run' and my first fartlek session. Felt good to run Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-6593247664992806632013-07-06T13:34:00.000+01:002013-07-06T13:34:43.030+01:00now what ?!Everything's fine ... hunky dory ... A OK ... great ... now what ?
Well, for a start I can now begin to train properly after three months of no running (and minimal strength work) followed by six months of a strict rehab regime.
Although I've been given the all clear it doesn't mean I'm going to immediately include all the things I did twelve months ago. That would be stupid. So, Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-52330376668401349042013-06-27T16:36:00.001+01:002013-06-27T16:38:10.833+01:00bits and piecesI thought it was too goods to last ...
Things were going so well until Monday afternoon when, right at the very end of my strength training session I decided to do some dumbbell Romanian deadlifts. Well, I guess the weights were too heavy because a few hours later my lower back began aching and by Tuesday morning it was quite painful.
I immediately decided against any cycling weight Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-20872746220266977962013-06-21T19:28:00.000+01:002013-06-21T19:40:14.986+01:00onto the final phaseYesterday I proved to myself that my body (specifically my right ankle) is now strong enough to withstand running - alternating with walking - on four consecutive days. For me this is an important milestone because my normal training regime includes running on four days and resting on the fifth.
Now ... the final phase of rehab is to do exactly the same but without the walking bit, ie Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-37376194656564027042013-06-15T16:41:00.000+01:002013-06-15T16:43:57.677+01:00volunteeringSpent a (mostly) enjoyable day on Wednesday helping with various tasks at the annual Otley 10 mile road race which attracted about 400 runners this year - the most for at least ten years.
Myself and a small team of volunteers began at 10.00am by putting up lots of signs around the race HQ (Otley Cricket Club). Stuff such as 'car park', 'late entries', 'first aid', etc. Then we set upChris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-6444863740038335712013-06-08T13:45:00.000+01:002013-06-08T13:45:00.691+01:00summer cold, etcJust when things couldn't get much better they took a turn for the worse. Over the past few days I've developed a rather bad cold. Over the past five or six days I've noticed my morning pulse getting progressively higher and higher and that's usually a sign of illness.
It hasn't been high enough to reduce my training in any way (until today) but yesterday afternoon the cold began in Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-80811027173939504022013-06-05T20:49:00.000+01:002013-06-05T20:49:11.663+01:00three days ... four daysToday I reached another milestone.
I have now finished running three consecutive days with the fourth being a rest day. On Friday I start the next, and final, phase of rehabilitation. Running four consecutive days.
This morning's run was good in that there was no pain at all in the ankle ... but the calf muscle did ache a bit during the final 2k or so. No aches or pains at allChris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-88757066588074973992013-06-01T20:18:00.001+01:002013-06-01T20:25:25.265+01:00short raceWell, well, well that was unexpected.
Whilst in Northern Ireland, midweek, I decided which one of the two races this weekend to take part in. I chose the local parkrun 5k - partly to make amends for messing things up at the beginning of March.
This morning I made absolutely sure I arrived in time for the 9 o'clock start. I probably arrived a bit too early really but that's better Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-48010259040537839512013-05-25T16:35:00.000+01:002013-05-25T16:35:02.004+01:00summer is hereWeather improving ... ankle improving again after a less than pain free few runs midweek ... things are looking good again.
Today's 40 minutes run, for instance, took me up the valley to the village of Burley in Wharfedale and on the way back I came across Zack Whitehead and we ran together back into Otley. Zack has been running recently after a few years out of the sport because of a kneeChris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-50368924959143648752013-05-19T16:20:00.000+01:002013-05-19T16:20:00.088+01:00seasonal weather ... very strangeI've been running on three consecutive days for a few weeks now and everything is still progressing well. Recently progressed from alternating running and walking to running non-stop. Feeling good but still doing lots of rehab exercises ...
... about 35 minutes a day at the moment which is much less than the 55 minutes I had to do daily in February. It will continue to Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-15140819641542299342013-05-12T18:37:00.000+01:002013-05-12T18:37:08.447+01:00The race I didn't runBy all accounts the weekend's race in Steembergen, Netherlands was a hard one. At one point there was a facebook post by the Aussie team which read:
"at the moment we're having four seasons worth of weather ... every 15 minutes."
No doubt about it that is the stuff that makes things very difficult in a 24 hour race and, I guess on average, performances will have been reduced by about 5 % Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-3049765586053958092013-05-07T16:55:00.000+01:002013-05-07T18:22:24.646+01:00Fay and meAs regular readers will know Fay and I recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We didn't really know how to celebrate this milestone (not having done that before ...) but, in the end, we decided to go back to the place we spent our honeymoon. Not the same hotel - I don't think that exists any more - but the same part of the world.
I suppose the story starts back in early Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-54969483993131512772013-04-28T19:23:00.002+01:002013-04-28T19:24:28.717+01:00fitness improvesThe week just gone was the one in which I began running on three consecutive days and resting on the fourth. So far all has gone well and there are no problems at all, it's still very early stages yet though.
Cycling and strength training is also progressing exceptionally well at the moment and my aerobic fitness seems to be getting better almost daily. One measure of this increase Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-3749483557817793992013-04-20T15:50:00.001+01:002013-04-20T15:50:14.812+01:00a marathon weekWell, this week has been fine for me. Using different shoes for strength training has worked wonders and I'm back on track again.
Running on Thursday morning wasn't easy though. Gale force winds and heavy rain meant that the 50 minutes felt like 150 minutes. Character building, as I often tell myself. Friday wasn't much better either. If the runs on Sunday and Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7039458923197066856.post-20506064392733958722013-04-14T20:48:00.002+01:002013-04-14T20:48:32.771+01:00injury updateAnother week gone ... not too bad. Not perfect but OK.
Everything was fine at the start of the week but in the middle my ankle began to rebel a bit. Not much but enough for me to postpone thoughts of another race for a while. As it happened yesterday's run was entirely pain free but I thought it better to be safe than sorry.
Today was much better and confidence has been Chris Carverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12981666701817524753noreply@blogger.com0