Posts Tagged ‘injury’
October 26, 2009
After Ally had massaged my hamstring on Sunday it was really sore and painful to the touch, though didn’t really hurt to stretch and so by Tuesday afternoon I assumed I’d be OK to run on it. Unfortunately the weather decided otherwise, with rain, wind and a temperature that refused to break 10 degrees.
Fitting new nocks
Instead I decided to spend some time maintaining my archery gear. I thought it was about time to actually fix some of the damaged arrows, put my string back in one piece and replace the old pressure button with the new one I’ve had for the last 10 months. I’d hoped this would help me break 540 on Saturday.
Wednesday: Basketball in the evening started slow but built up to a pretty fast-paced 2 on 3 game (or maybe it was just fast-paced for me as I was one of the 2!)
Friday: Quite disappointed that this was the first time I’ve managed a run this week, but the thermometer read 13 degrees and the sun was trying to break through the clouds so I thought I might try a 14k run. Unfortunately it didn’t really go as planned. While it wasn’t especially cold I was having trouble breathing and despite slowing down, I couldn’t seem to get enough air into my lungs. In the end I decided that trying the full 14k would be a miserable experience. Luckily, 5k into the 14k route takes me to within a km of home so I did a detour and ended it at 5.8km (38:35). Went to archery in the evening and had a few practice shots before Saturday’s Portsmouth. The new pressure button didn’t behave so took the old one on Saturday.
Saturday: After a rather long meeting at archery I finally got to shoot my Portsmouth and scored a rather disappointing 532. I wasn’t really feeling it today so I’ll just be glad I broke 530 and try again next week.
Sunday: Basketball was pretty quiet today, just Ally and Jamie (the coach) for the first half an hour. We did some dribbling, some shooting, and then when Paul arrived we played some full court 2-on-2. Was a really good game and it’s made me feel a bit more positive about the upcoming one against Bury Bombers.
Total Run: 5.8km
Not a great week for running – I really wanted to do that 14km run at some point but it never happened. Hopefully there’ll be any opportunity for it next week some time.
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, EIA, injury, outdoors | Leave a Comment »
October 19, 2009
Capris out this week…not a fan of the whole figure hugging look but it’s getting pretty cold out.
Tuesday: I got up and the thermometer said 7 degrees. No matter how committed to running I might be, there was no way I could run in that. By 10.30 it had reached 11 degrees and so I decided to give it a go. Asthma didn’t like it and so I couldn’t go as fast as I would have liked. 6km in 37:31.
Wednesday: A really good basketball practice in the evening. We concentrated on shooting, which was something I needed. Our next game was supposed to be on Sunday but it’s been pushed back.
Friday: Somewhat spurred on by what I posted in the morning (more in the sense of “well I’ve posted it now, I have to run”) I went out for a 6km, which turned into a 7.6km in 46:30. I decided to spend the evening at archery to get some practice in before Saturday’s round.
Saturday: Archery in the morning. 7 of us shot a Portsmouth this time and, even thought I was on for a new PB, I only managed to match last week’s score of 537. Slightly disappointing but still a good score. About 6pm I decided to go for a run and did the same 7.6km route I did on Friday. Even though it felt like a better run I clocked 47:47. Happy with it considering the temperature out there.
Sunday: I was contemplating running in the morning but had an ache in my left hamstring and so asked Ally to give it a massage. I don’t know what was in there but it was the most painful sports massage I have ever had, and it still hurts today. In the afternoon we went to basketball and had a good few hours doing a few new drills and a game of 3 on 4.
Total Run: 21.2km
Congrats to my brother, Neil, who started running not too long ago and recently made 5km in about 32 minutes on a training run. We’ll have you racing in no time :-)
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, EIA, injury, outdoors, training | 1 Comment »
September 21, 2009
Decided to take a bit of an easy week this last week, for the sake of my battered toe (in an attempt to keep my nail) and my motivation.
Tuesday: I took Monday off after the Great Capital Run. Partly because I was tired from a very long day and hadn’t yet caught up on sleep and partly because my ankle was sore from the race (I have left over scar tissue from a bad sprain 7 years ago). It was overcast and windy outside, though the thermometer insisted it was 15 degrees, so I decided to just do an easy run and not worry about pace or times. I did 6km in 37:54.
Wednesday: No running today, but I did go to basketball in the evening. Layups, shooting, some maneuvering stuff and a game. Good session but I’ve yet again managed to pull my thumb back when missing a pass. Not the same hand I hurt last season either. Hoping it heals up pretty quick.
Friday: Another easy 6k, just to tide me over. I did the same route as Tuesday and came back in 37:26.
Saturday: Archery in the morning. Spent most of the time shooting at 50m and then a few ends at 70m. While I was there I signed up for the last of the postal league competitions next Saturday morning. 70m was a bit of a struggle so might have to increase the poundage on my bow.
Sunday: Basketball today. Got there half an hour early to do a bit of shooting practice. As it turned out, there were only 5 of us there today so we did less in the way of drills and more game playing, as well as talking through some picks.
Total Run: 12km
Both Matt and Scribs have posted their versions of a race report from the Great Capital Run. Go check them out.
Posted in Progress | Tagged archery, basketball, great capital run, injury, race, training | Leave a Comment »
September 18, 2009
Running shoes are supposed to last a good 500 miles and then need changing. My Nike Motos have done at least 600-700 miles in the last couple of years and, while the soles are still intact, they’re as flat as pancakes. Earlier this year I told myself that I would buy new shoes when I had a full time job, but unfortunately that didn’t happen as quickly as I would have hoped. Luckily, my dad took pity on me and gave me some cash for new shoes.
After the battering my toes got from the Lichfield 10k, and then the sliding about my feet were doing last Tuesday on the track, I decided enough was enough, and on that Tuesday afternoon I drove over to Sutton Runner. I’ve always had neutral shoes and, even though I haven’t had massive problems, I decided to have a look at the video gait analysis to make sure they were right. As it turns out, my right foot was a little bit off (I suspected I was kicking off at a funny angle, but the video showed I was landing at one as well) and so I tried on a couple of pairs of asics before deciding on the Nimbus 11s.
asics Gel Nimbus 11
They’re a neutral shoe but with a really stable base. I tried them on and got back on the treadmill. The stability in the sole made a huge difference and I could see from 20 seconds of video that my foot was landing straighter.
I had also decided to go up half a size due to my aforementioned battered toes, but they didn’t have them in stock. I was just about to pull out of the car park when the sales guy came running out to tell me he’d found a pair, so back in I went, tried these new ones on and I was sold (or rather, the shoes were). I also picked up another pair of the X-Socks, since I’ve decided I quite like them.
I was going to wait until after the Great Capital Run but decided there was no reason to put my toes through more torture (one of my toenails was looking rather bad) and so started wearing them from last Wednesday, when I did a 4.3km run to break them in. The cushioning around the heel is immense, and very comfortable. My next run was significantly longer and I managed to get a blister and make my toenail even worse. I was slightly worried that, having worn them for less than 20kms I was going to have to get something else, but I’ve since worn them in a bit more and they seem to be getting better. They did fine for the Great Capital Run at the weekend and I’m hoping that taking a few extra days off this week will help my toe get a bit better.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with them. I must give a mention to the staff at Sutton Runner. The guy I spoke to definitely knew his stuff, was very helpful, and even gave me 10% off! If anyone in the West Midlands needs shoes I’d recommend them.
Posted in Discussion | Tagged great capital run, injury, kit, running safety | Leave a Comment »
September 11, 2009
I haven’t really talked about this event much on the blog as it’s been largely overshadowed by last week’s Lichfield 10k.
The original plan for this was to get as many people involved as I could. Ally and I signed up quite early, and I managed to convince my running convert friend Matt to join us. I asked Scribs on a whim, knowing that he could run the 5k reasonably easily but wasn’t a big fan of running (and I quote “Like walking…but shit”), and he surprised me by signing up as well. I attempted to convince Baines too but that didn’t last long, and last I heard she couldn’t make it.
We then found out that Ally couldn’t do the race, even though the entry form asks whether you’re a wheelchair entrant. This annoyed me a little bit, particularly as he’d already paid and it wasn’t until Ally contacted the race organisers to confirm he was OK to take part that they told him he couldn’t. /rant
The gimmick of the event is that it’s based on The Ashes, whereby you either run for England, Australia or ‘the rest of the world’. My complete and utter lack of knowledge or interest in cricket didn’t really matter as I chose to run for England. Everyone that crosses the finish line in under 40 minutes gets included and (as I understand it) the fastest average chip time of all these people denotes the winning team. This will be my first event that uses chips for all competitors, and also a first for staggered starts. I put my estimated finish time as 25:01-28:00. I think Scribs is in the pen behind me, and Matt is behind him. I quite like the idea of a staggered start as people dodging was one of the things that annoyed me about the asics British 10k.
As I’ve been running in excess of 5k for some time, finishing is pretty much guaranteed, short of getting lost on the way or horrific mid-race accident. The only problems here are logistical ones. I recently found out that there are no trains to London on Sunday morning, which means that I’ll have to drive and find somewhere to park. Bleh.
I’m not sure about my time. When I entered the race I hadn’t predicted that I would have to take time off because of injury. On Wednesday I ran 4.3km at something close to race pace. It turned out to be 5:47/km, which would give me a finish time of 28:55. Not quite what I was hoping for, but much quicker and my asthma gets in the way. As such I think I’ll be happy with breaking 28 minutes but not too upset if it’s between 28 and 29 minutes.
Anyway, Scribs is coming round tomorrow for pasta, and then an early start to drive into London to meet Matt. I’m very much looking forward to it, and I just hope the weather is good!
Posted in Discussion | Tagged EIA, great capital run, injury, lichfield 10k, outdoors, race, training | 4 Comments »
September 7, 2009
Tuesday: I’d been planning to run all day and it just wasn’t happening. By 5.30pm the facts that I had a race in 5 days and that I hadn’t run the day before could no longer be ignored and I set out for a short run, concentrating on maintaining some sort of decent pace. I ran 4.3km in 25:06 (a 5:50/km pace).
Wednesday: Rain for most of the day put me off running. I know I should have gone out anyway with this race coming up, but chickened out. In the evening I did alternating 5 x 10 hammer curls, shoulder presses and bent over rows, then alternating 5 x 15 bicep curls and 5 x 10 shoulder presses with Ally’s 5kg dumbbells.
Thursday: I knew I needed to do a longer run before the weekend so went out for something I hoped would be close to 10k (yeah, I was too lazy to check the distance on the map first). As it turned out it was 9.85km but it took me 1:03:00 to finish it.
Friday: Decided to run to Wall – a run I’d only done once before – for a bit of change of scenery. And a change I certainly got :-) Far too much roadkill for my liking, freshly manured farmland (not really the smell you need when running), a few close encounters with speeding cars and an overly enthusiastic passenger in a car passing me. All good fun, and it kept me entertained as I was trying to keep to my 6 minute/km splits. In the end I managed it – 11.5km in 1:09:07 – and was very happy. This was the first run since my knee injury that I’ve felt went particularly well. Definitely the boost I needed for Sunday.
Sunday: The Lichfield 10k today. Well organised and good fun. Managed to finish in 59:26 despite the walls that someone left on the course the hills. Race report on Wednesday. I had about 90 minutes at home in which to shower, change, eat and get my stuff for basketball. We then spent a good 2 and a half hours there, as Ally and I stuck around to shoot and play a little one on one.
Total Run: 35.65km
Not much time to bask in post-race satisfaction as we have the Great Capital Run on Sunday. I need to do a quick recalculation of pace for this one, so I’ll be doing some intervals either on the streets or on the track.
Posted in Progress | Tagged basketball, great capital run, injury, intervals, lichfield 10k, race, track, training, weights | 2 Comments »
September 4, 2009
Sunday is the Lichfield 10k. I’ve been looking forward to this one, though not wth the same enthusiasm as the asics British 10k – being a big event, staying in London, and trying to raise money for charity etc. This race is considerably smaller, with a limit of 1,000 competitors, and is only a short distance from where I’m living now so it won’t take long to get to.
I was slightly aprehensive about entering a small race – ie one organised by a local running club as opposed to a big events company. I think it was just because I’m not part of a running or athletics club and somehow felt that I didn’t really belong there…a bit like when I first went to the track. So back in July I went looking for some reassurance and, being a fan of stats and figures, found it in last year’s results.
While it appears that the 2008 event had 860 entrants, I assume a fair few DNFd as there were results for only 753 on the UKResults website. Removing all the male runners leaves only 238 female finishers. Slightly daunting as this means there’s a smaller crowd for me to get lost in, but almost 2 thirds of them were listed as unattached (not part of a club), which made me feel better. Looking at the times, they ranged from 38:26 to 1:39:42, with a median of 59:09, which means I should finish pretty much in the middle of the pack.
I was feeling better about the whole thing, particularly as we were having a bit of sun, and running in my new city was sounding pretty good. Though what with my knee injury taking longer to heal than I thought I was getting slightly worried. I let my fitness slip quite a bit and began feeling less confident. It’s one thing to run a bad 10k around the block but another to actually go to an event and get a bad time. I found out Ally has other plans as well, so I’ll be going on my own. Not a massive issue but it would have been nice to have someone else there with me. I’ve also been keeping an eye on the weather forecast and it’s not looking great, which might mean my asthma slows me down, especially up the hills. Of course, I’m still going to go and give it my all. I’m determined to enjoy it, even if I don’t break the hour mark.
Unfortunately Sunday is also the day of the team photo for basketball, which I’m pretty gutted about missing, but I intend to get to practice in the afternoon.
Posted in Discussion | Tagged basketball, EIA, injury, lichfield 10k, outdoors, race | 4 Comments »
August 21, 2009
As I said in Monday’s post, I joined Ally‘s gym for a 2 weeks as part of some promotion they’re doing. I’ve been there for the past 4 days (today is a day off) and liking it so far. My fitness levels obviously suffered when I stopped running and I’ve tried to ease myself back into it at the gym with short treadmill sessions, time on the exercise bike and swimming. My knee seems to be a lot better and hasn’t hurt – even during the 5k I did on the treadmill a few days ago.
The gym itself (a Bannatyne’s) is really nice. Having only ever been part of a leisure centre gym and the uni gym, I don’t have a whole lot to compare it to, but it’s clean and well maintained, the staff are friendly, and it seems to have everything you could want from a gym. I’ve yet to try out any of the classes, but there’s plenty on, and I hope to get a spinning class in next week.
So things are looking good. I’m still dubious about how well I’ll do at the Lichfield 10k, which is in just 16 days, but I’m still determined to finish it. Sunday morning I hope to go for a 7-8km run on the roads around home and hope that will kick start thing back to the way they were.
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged gym, injury, lichfield 10k, swimming | 5 Comments »
August 17, 2009
I went back home to visit my parents for a few days this week and so didn’t have a whole lot of time to cross train even if I wanted to (except for my press ups, obviously!). While my knee is feeling a lot better, it’s still not completely healed and I’m wary of starting to run too soon (again).
Sunday: Archery in the morning. I attempted to shoot 70m outdoors but the wind was so bad I was lucky to hit the target. Moved inside for the last half an hour just to hit some golds! Basketball in the afternoon was a really good session. We did layups, picks, some shooting practice and then a game. I got some good shooting tips from Luke, and the game was much faster than usual because of Luke and Jamie played and none of the kids were there.
Total Run: 0km
17 days of no running now, and less than 3 weeks until the Lichfield 10k. I’ve had my number through the post and the page of information for runners. I’d heard the hills were hard but there was a chart of elevation for the course, which freaked me out slightly. I’ll be going to Ally‘s gym for the next 10 days to try and get my fitness level back up so I’m at least half way prepared for the run.
Posted in Progress | Tagged 100 push ups, archery, basketball, injury, lichfield 10k | Leave a Comment »
August 5, 2009
As I’m sure you picked up from Monday’s post, my knee is still dictating my exercise, and at the moment it has me sitting on the bench. I seem to be doing a lot of non-running at the moment, with my injury-enforced rest for the past couple of weeks and the time off I took when I was ill at the start of June.
I’m still planning on doing 2 weeks at Ally‘s gym, but I’m going home for a few days next week so won’t join until I get back so I can make the most of it. In the mean time, I’m doing my press ups 3 times a week and playing basketball on Sundays. Yesterday, Ally and I found an outdoor court attached to a community centre so hopefully we’ll be able to play basketball outside of the weekly training sessions.
Other than that, I don’t have a whole lot to tell you. Not running is pretty frustrating (especially when I see runners go past the window) but even though my knee is starting to feel better I know I have a while before I can get back out on it. In the mean time I’ll be entertaining myself by reading the latest Runners World and looking forward to a swim at the gym in a few weeks.
Posted in Discussion, Progress | Tagged 100 push ups, basketball, gym, injury, swimming | 1 Comment »
