now 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, over the next few weeks I'll be introducing - one at a time - hill reps, fartlek, speed work, tempo runs, long runs.  I finally feel as if I've been let off the leash ... a bit.

Cycling will continue much as before but weight training will shift from an emphasis exclusively on muscular strength (especially ankle) to a mixture of strength and endurance.

So the next few weeks will be a period of transition from rehab to training.  And during that time I'll be looking around for some long races to enter (especially as I'll be 50 years old in February) ... any ideas ?

I feel that in one unexpected way this rehab stuff has had a positive effect though.  It has taken a certain mental strength to adhere strictly to the regime when it would have been all too easy to, for example, enter a race or run further/harder than I should ... especially when the ankle has been feeling great for the past few weeks and I only live five minutes walk away from where Otley AC train.  I think that will stand me in good stead for the training and racing to follow.

Much to look forward to then, including running with my club (Otley AC) occasionally on training nights and in the odd race and handicap events (autumn relays perhaps).

Finally, the doctor told me that the medication for gout is working fine and there's no need to change or adjust the dose.  It's not affecting my running at all and everything's under control.

onto the final phase

Yesterday 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 running the whole time.  Beginning with 10 minutes tomorrow morning and ending with a full hour on Friday 5 July.

The following day I have an appointment with the physio just to confirm that everything is OK and that I'm fit enough to train normally again.  Also going to the doctor to check that the medicine for my gout is working and that it is the drug that suits me best ... I strongly suspect that everything's fine there.

Something to look forward to then.

three days ... four days

Today 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 all now, and no running tomorrow so I should be fine on Friday ... especially as I'm starting again at a very low level.

Looking forward to the final phase.  Hope the wonderful weather continues.

Summer at last.

seasonal weather ... very strange

I'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 decrease over the next six months or so but I strongly suspect that I'll have to do a little for many years to come.

Thoughts of racing have recently started to come my way.  I'm trying very hard to not look for a race until late June or early July.  The very fact that I'm thinking that way is a good sign and mentally I'm ready to go.  Just need the body to catch up.

At last summer weather appears to be on the way.  The bad weather during the World 24 hr Championships in Steenbergen ... well we had similar stuff here in Yorkshire.  And William Sichel apparently had a heatwave during the 6 day race in Hungary at the same time.  It seems to me that the world's weather is not how I remember it back in the 1970s.  Summer's were hot and sunny, winter's were cold and snowy ... simple.

a marathon week

Well, 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 Monday go well (as I expect they will) then I can begin training on three consecutive days.  Starting at a low level again and building up slowly so that the final three days will be running steadily for 50, 60 and 60 minutes.

But this week has been dominated by a couple of short races.  One in Boston, USA and the other in London, UK.

The Boston marathon will be remembered, not for being a great race, but for being the scene of a devastation rarely seen at sporting events.  Thankfully the perpetrators were identified and caught (or killed) but my thoughts go out to all those affected by the mindless violence of two brothers.

And so to tomorrow's race in London.  For the past few years, when watching the London Marathon, my attention has not so much been on the elite runners looking to win the race but on those rare souls who have taken part in every London Marathon.  The 'ever present club'.  In particular I will be watching out for Chris Finill who has run every London Marathon in less than 3 hours, a remarkable achievement.  Long may it continue Chris.

To finish today's post I thought I'd ask how many members there may be for the club of with the following rules:

 - been a runner continuously since before 1981
 - watched every single London Marathon live on TV
 - doesn't particularly want to take part in the London Marathon

Count me in ...

injury update

Another 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 restored again.

I think the slight relapse was caused by the shoes I have been wearing for strength training.  Wore a different pair today and it was like having new ankles ... absolutely no pain whatsoever.

Running earlier in the morning than usual is also a risk factor for ankle injuries because the achilles tendon remains relatively stiff for a while after waking up.  Taking care to warm up properly has been helping with that, and I find it more fun running at that time of day.  I've also been doing quite a bit more general flexibility work recently.

Still doing rehab exercises five times a day - eccentric achilles stretches, calf stretches and straight leg hamstring stretches.

Overall, progress is still being made and, as I've said before, I'm not interested in a quick fix.  I want a permanent solution.

end of this phase

Well, today I've finally reached the end of this section of rehab.  Since 24 January I've been running every second day which also means that every second day is a recovery day.

The next stage, beginning on Tuesday, repeats everything since 24 January except that every third day is a recovery day.  Which means running for two consecutive days - will the ankle be OK.

Of course it will ...

And when this stage ends I repeat everything again with the recovery days being every fourth day.  And then every fifth day.

I'm aiming for a long term solution, not a quick fix.

And for the Irish readers (Eoin, Thomas, Daniel, John, etc) ...

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona

bad race

This morning was a shambles.

The original plan was to run for an hour but include a local 5k race.  But with the slight recurrence of ankle pain a couple of days ago I decided to only run for 50 minutes but still include the 5k race.

But ... for reasons totally beyond my control [traffic problems and Fay being ill] I arrived late and missed the start by at least 20 minutes.  Never mind, I thought, I can still run a quicker than usual 5k which will be good training if nothing else.

And then, after about 1.8k I took a wrong turn.  Unbelievable.  Today was just getting worse.  I continued and eventually got back on the correct route.  Back at home, looking at a map, I can see that I probably ran about 60m short.

And so to the times.  I knew that my official time would be of no use whatsoever but I had set myself a tentative target of running the 5k in about 22:30.  Using my stopwatch I ran the first kilometre in a quick 4:11 - slightly downhill and chasing people.  I didn't time the next three kilometres (the wrong turn would have made the second and third km wrong anyway) but the final one was timed at 4:35.

I stopped my watch at 22:11 but have adjusted that to 22:27 which is my slowest ever timed 5k.

Officially my time was 45:17 which is my slowest ever time in a 10k race.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Anyway ... a fun exercise in fairly bad weather.  The time was OK too.  And the ankle held up better than expected so I've decided my next training runs should be:

Monday 11 March ... 50 minutes
Wednesday 13 March ...50 minutes
Friday 15 March ... 60 minutes
Sunday 17 March ... 60 minutes

and then, on 19 March, back to alternating running and walking (10 minutes at first) but on two consecutive days before a recovery day.  This is six days later than planned but I don't want to rush things - a proper, long term, recovery is needed.

now what ?

Today's run was not good.

Apart from it feeling unusually difficult to run for 50 minutes my ankle began hurting about 5 - 6 minutes before the end.  Now, it could be that the course was not as flat as my recent routes.  Or it could be that, at the moment, 50 minutes is my limit.

Or maybe it's just a blip.  After icing the area and taking some extra protein I got some advice from the physio.

The suggestion is that, for the moment, I should continue so long as it isn't debilitating.  The problem is that ultra distance runners have a different perception of pain to the rest of the population ...

Will listen extra carefully to my body for the next few days.

40 minutes ... and a UK team

On Friday, and today, I ran for 40 minutes.  Non stop.  I managed 7.6 km and 7.8 km respectively but the pace wasn't important in the slightest.

The important thing was that that 40 minutes was the longest time I've been able to run since last September. Although 24 hours is a bit longer than 40 minutes.

Feeling good at the moment though.  And next there's 50 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday and then 60 minutes on Saturday - which will incorporate a 5k race.

And now I can also begin strength training with the legs.  Very small weights at first though, but it is progress.

The UK team for the European Championships 100km has recently been announced and I was amazed to find that no men have been selected.  Four women but no men.  After thinking about this for a few days perhaps the reasons are:

- the Anglo Celtic Plate 100km is only weeks before the European Championships
- qualifying times are not easy to come by, especially as there are very few 100k races in this country
- few races partly because of the increased difficulty in staging road races (stringent licencing requirements, etc)
- few races also because ultra trail races seem to be ever more popular, more people enjoy those apparently
- many runners capable of achieving the required standard would rather run an enjoyable ultra trail race in the UK than a long road race abroad

I'm not sure what can be done to reverse this trend but I do believe we should be represented (men and women) in all championship events.  Congratulations to Emma Gooderham, Susan Harrison, Karen Rushton and Helen Taranowski.

what's going on here

The ten minutes I spent running yesterday proved to be quite strange.  After all the recent snow, rain and cold weather it turned out to be very sunny and quite warm.  But what was even more remarkable was that I lost some weight.

I know, I know ... losing weight whilst running isn't unusual, but losing 0.54 kg (1.2 lb) in ten minutes is very strange.

That's a sweat rate of almost 3 litres per hour.  In February.

So what's going on ?  I've no idea but at least I'm losing some of the small amount of extra weight I've accumulated in the past five months.

Also, between now and mid June, to help with motivation during rehab, I'm allowed to enter a few short races (no longer than an hour) on two conditions. 1) I don't overdo things ... 2) I don't run at all on the following day.

Expect the first race to be in March.  No personal bests though ... not even an attempt.

progression ... at last

Went back to the physio today and the good news is that the ankle is still improving and my running (!), cycling, etc has not made things worse.

Which means that I have permission to progress as follows:

when I can manage 60 minutes of alternating running and walking every other day ...
I can run continuously, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, every other day, then ...
I alternate running and walking, 2 days out of 3, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...
running continuously, 2 days out of 3, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...
alternating running and walking, 3 days out of 4, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...
running continuously, 3 days out of 4, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...

alternating running and walking, 4 days out of 5, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...
running continuously, 4 days out of 5, increasing from 10 minutes to 60 minutes, then ...

I can begin 'normal' training.

In the meantime I have to continue the rehab exercises for a few more months, at least.  But I can start again with the leg strength exercises ... squats, lunges, etc.  Obviously with light weights at first and not many reps.

Things are looking up now.  But there's still a long way to go.

Many thanks to James Sneath for all his help with understanding the injury and especially for teaching me how to manage it and which things will help and which will make it worse.

not much news here

Not a lot has been happening here in Wharfedale recently.  It must be true because yesterday a reporter from the local newspaper telephoned for a chat to find out about my future plans ... post injury.

He had been reading this blog and knew about the injury but we had a long chat anyway.  About possible plans for this year and next, and training, and the planning that goes into racing very long distances - nutrition, pacing, etc., and why ultra distance runners don't have such a high profile ...

And one or two other running related things.  Not sure when, and if, anything will appear in print.  Depends whether anything more important happens locally I suppose.

I know at the moment I'm only running every other day but using my usual percentage scoring system I reckon the worst run has been about 98% (where 0 is almost impossible to run and 100 is no pain whatsoever).  So I'm feeling really good at the moment.

But running on consecutive days is a different prospect and I'll wait until I've seen the physio again (12 February) before I try that.

Right now though I feel as if I'll be able to take part in an ultra race in the autumn.  No promises though ...

change here ... for recovery

Haven't posted for a while because nothing has happened here really.  Except that I've been reading an awful lot about weight training ... how heavy, how many, how frequent, etc.  More about that in a future post in the not too distant future.

In the meantime my gout medication was changed earlier this week and I was also prescribed a different rehab regime.  It seems I have been doing not enough passive stretching and far too many eccentric achilles stretches.  225 per day instead of the recommended 90 and that has probably been having a negative affect on my knee causing a patella tracking problem in the left leg.

So now I also have straight leg quadriceps stretches to do three times per day.  But I can also run ... every other day.  Starting at the beginning again with alternating 5 minutes running with the same amount of walking for a total of ten minutes.

Tomorrow morning.

As far as I'm concerned though there's no rush to get back to full fitness so long as it is FULL fitness.

recent happenings

Keir has now returned to University in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.  We were a bit worried about him travelling alone through Belfast when there is quite lot of trouble there at the moment.

He was due to arrive at about 9.00pm and we had asked him to text us when he arrived.  At 10.30pm we still hadn't had a message and we were, by now, starting to get concerned.  Half an hour later we sent him a text knowing that he almost always replies within a couple of minutes.  Another thirty minutes passed and we decided to not go to bed until we had heard from him ... or at least knew what had happened.

Within ten minutes of that decision he phoned to say that he had forgotten to send a text [teenager speak for 'stop worrying'].

Running continues to progress, and slowly improve, which is pleasing.  Running non-stop for half an hour is quite tiring though !!!  Even at 8:30 per mile (5:17 per km).  I know that will soon get better though.

In the meantime Here's something I've recently found which addresses the issue of whether or not to eat/drink during training.  Over the past few years I've read lots of evidence and anecdotes which have been contradictory and seem to be inconclusive as to which is the better protocol.  For me this article by Andy DuBois clarifies everything nicely.

To finish this post I found something on the BBC news yesterday about a man who had recently received a hand transplant - the first in the UK.  And the hospital where the surgery was performed is only 10 miles (16 km) from here.  What caught my attention was that he needed a new hand because of complications arising from gout.  I'll make sure I take my medication and be a good patient.

rehab notes

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas.

I spent a very enjoyable day with Fay and Keir.  Following our family tradition of alternating cooking responsibilities on 25 December it was Fay's turn this year.

While she was in the kitchen I went for a run, the last of this stage of my rehab.  I had been alternating 5 minutes running with 5 minutes walking, beginning with a total of 10 minutes and building up to a total of 70 minutes.  As many of you will know, I score these type of runs according to how 'injury free' I feel whilst running.  100% is perfect.

So far the training has gone:  90%, 92%, 90%, 98%, 90%, 95%, 90%, 97%, 97%, 98%, 97%, 96%, 97%, 97%

That's a small but definite improvement over the two weeks so I'm pleased with that.  Especially as most of the aches I'm feeling seem to be because I had such a long enforced lay off rather than because of the injury itself.  And illness.

Today's run was the first of the next stage which involves running without the walking breaks.  Starting at 10 minutes and building up to an hour.  Non stop.

In this morning's 10 minutes I ran 1.95 k (1.21 miles) but distance isn't in the least bit important at this stage - it's time on my feet that counts.  At 96% the run was perhaps better than I expected considering I hadn't run 10 minutes non stop for more than 15 weeks.

Day off tomorrow then 10 more minutes on Friday.

too busy recently

After work and training I seem to have had too many other things to do recently which has left no time to update this blog ... apologies for that but things should be back to normal now.

Visiting far flung relatives ... being a volunteer postman with the local scouts ... having the gas fire repaired ... meeting Keir at the airport ... a couple of Christmas parties ... and attending an awards ceremony at which Keir received a shield for best overall year 12 student from his old school.

The ankle seems to be holding up well to increasing training loads and I'm hopeful of being able to actually enter a race next month.

Still keeping up with the rehab exercises three times a day (which are not detailed in the 'training' tab above) and remembering to ice the area at least twice per day - although I suspect that is not really so important anymore.

Interesting to read about last weekend's Barcelona 24 hour race.  Fantastic result from Matthew Moroz who finished third with 234.893 km and Robbie Britton in third with 231.392 km ... both have now qualified for the UK team at next year's World Championships in Steenbergen.  WELL DONE TO THEM BOTH.

I suspect John Pares may have learned the hard way that he wasn't quite as fit as he thought he was, despite immense training in October and November.  He was sixth with 222.638 km.  I have no doubt he'll be ready for a good one next May.  Also well done to (not so) new mum Vicky Hart who ran 164.125 km which is a new pb.

I'd like to end this post by saying that typing this hasn't really been easy after injuring my index finger this afternoon.  Doing some DIY for my mother in law.  She wasn't impressed to have my blood dripping all over her new carpet.  I wasn't impressed by her worn out tools and lack of first aid knowledge.

so far so good

Training so far has been very good.  I know all the running is rehab stuff really but there's been no problems at all and that's encouraging.

It's a bit cold here at the moment though.  Sub zero temperatures when I've been outside ... and inside too !!!

The gas fire here is broken at the moment and won't be repaired until Monday afternoon.  Just in time for Keir coming home from university for a couple of weeks.

Brrrrrr ...

ready to go ...

Right, now that that's out of the way and the pain and discomfort has subsided (and the sprained ankle is better too) I now feel able to run ... tomorrow.

Two weeks of ibuprofen seems to have done the trick although for the next year or more I'll be having regular tests to assess the level of uric acid in my system.  This is normally excreted by the kidneys but for gout sufferers it isn't.

So the long term aim is to reduce uric acid levels by dietary changes which, in my case, will mean consuming less of the following:  turkey, mackeral, sardines, herrings, marmite and beer.

That really comes down to no poultry, oily fish, yeast extract or beer.  Which means I'll also have to be careful about where I get my B vitamins.  I'm sure I'll soon learn to manage all this but if not there are drugs available to help.

But tomorrow morning I'll be out running and I feel confident that it will be a pain free experience.  That's the first time I've been able to say that since early September.  I'll only be out for ten minutes or so but it's a good start and if all goes well (which I expect it will) I'll be able to begin training properly by mid to late January.  And racing next summer.

Over the past few months I have been doing an increasing amount of cycling and strength work.  The cycling appears to have paid off in terms of my aerobic fitness. During August my average waking heart rate was 44, by mid November that had risen to 53 but over the last couple of weeks it is noticeably falling again.

One last thing ... I'm going to post all my training on this blog and you'll be able to find out what I do by clicking on the 'training' tab at the top of the page.  It won't be in great detail though [I wouldn't want to give away all my secrets  :)  ].

still progressing slowly ... too slowly

After a week of being able to run (only when interspersed with walking though) I've found that progress is still exceptionally slow.  So much so that I've been told by the medical guys to stop for a fortnight so they can do some more tests to find out why I'm taking an unfathomably long time to recover from a badly sprained ankle. [eleven weeks and counting]

The theory is that I have some kind of illness or condition which is effecting things.  Something like calcium deficiency or not being able to fully utilise proteins.

Or maybe something more serious and sinister.  Much blood and urine has been taken away for analysis, different parts of my body have had x-rays and CT scans taken of them and all the results should be back next week.

In the meantime there is no way I'll be anywhere near fit enough for the World 24 hr Championships next May so I've reluctantly sent an email to the team management letting them know that I don't wish to be considered.

A sad but necessary decision.  I'll just have to run well in the second half of 2013 to get back into the team  :)