A Frozen Top Ten

 ‘Dick’, that’s what a colleague called me this week when I announced on Monday that I had to cut my long run short the day before due to the cold. ‘Dick’ he repeated when I mentioned I misjudged the temperature and went out for a run in shorts. – In 2°C.

To put this advice in context, my colleague is also a triathlete, and as he commonly reminds me ‘8^th Best age group 70.3 Aussie in Europe’. Unfortunately to support his claim, he also regularly smokes me out on the bike, weighs 20kg less than me and finished a half iron race TWO whole hours before me. 

Although i normally dispute his hate of training in cold weather, unfortunately this time I had to agree with him. Im not a fan of short loops, so when I go for a long run I try to go for a one large out and back loop, in particular there is a long route from my house to my work and back, which conveniently places a toilet stop half way.

Normally this route is good as it keeps the scenery changing and is not too demanding mentally. However, this last Saturday although the run started warmish (well not minus temperature), the wind picked up around halfway and as the old ladies would say ‘chilled me to the bone’.

Once cold, I struggled to warm up, even when increasing the pace, and after my legs became numb, they began to hurt. A lot. 6 miles from home.

Now was the time to delve back into the depths of the sport science knowledge and work on those mental techniques the lecturers talked about.

Firstly I tried focusing on form…which today, sucked, so then tempo…which again, sucked. So next came the distraction techniques; I tried picturing ending the run, finishing the marathon, the Champs d’Elysees, all the positive sporting scenarios i could muster. These didn’t work either. So like any red-blooded male, I distracted myself by rating things…in particular the top ten girls on TV.

Unfortunately this only lasted another couple of miles (For those wondering, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis drew top spot). And after momentarily being spurred on whilst focusing on pretty ladies, the pain returned.

In the end, every step involved a jolting pain in my knee and in reflection I wisely decided to pick up the phone and called to be rescued. Although I cut the run short, I still managed 14 miles in just over two hours so a fairly solid run. Once defrosted, i reflected that it was a decent run, in particular after a week off training. More upsettingly was the fact i was so cold i forgot about including Megan Fox in the list...nightmare! (food for thought for the next run)

To make me feel a bit more positive, I PB’d on the run to work this morning by 5 minutes, and it didn’t require a head torch or a jacket. Lovely. 

Injury!

Much like Lance’s defence my training came to a standstill this week. After playing a game of hockey on Saturday I found that my left leg didn’t want to work, specifically the ankle didn’t want to flex any more.

 It’s not unusual to have aches and pains the day after a hockey game but this time was very strange. I can’t remember pulling up at any point, and was still able to run at the end of the game. I was even fine in the clubhouse and driving home, but once I got home and sat down for five minutes when I tried to get up again it was like my leg had frozen.

Bizarrely it felt as it was just tight rather than pulled and after trying to (gently) stretch it with no results decided to rest it. The next morning it was still tight, and despite wanting to get on and run I thought better of it and give it a rest. This little break would also help my body absorb the last couple of weeks training and recover from another few niggles that had been developing.

So other than sporting some calf sleeves and walking like a gangster for the first half of the week, no training to report on this week. The good news is, I used the extra time not spent training to get on and finish my dissertation (due in the Friday before the marathon), which means that hopefully I can spend that week focussed on the run a bit more.

Its now Friday and I have had a full six days off sport and the leg is feeling better, although a hockey game this weekend will fully test it out. If all is well then back to training this week, The hiatus has recharged my mojo too, so im looking forward to getting the trainers back on!

On future plans, im still not sure if I will run a half marathon in this training cycle or just wait until the marathon. Im tempted as a good friends buzzing after smashing her half marathon PB by a whacking 17 minutes and her vibes have got my motivation buzzing again. My alternative is to visit the triathlon show, with the main aim of trying to get as many freebies as possible/ listen to some keynote speakers. Either way I will still run, but whether it is solo or as part of the organised half marathon.

Hopefully a more running based updates next week.

Foam Rolling

Foam rolling has achieved some degree of widespread success in recent years, although I have some suspicions it has been around for ages. Im also pretty sure that this is an instrument used by many of the less-than-kosher dictatorships around the world to gain ‘confessions’ out of their political subjects.

Simple yet lethal!

I was first introduced to this technique a number of years ago in a strength and conditioning class, Coach Flo (who was taking the session) assured that it was a good method of self massage and extremely useful to runners. What he failed to mention was the inexplicable amount of pain that is necessary to induce in order to achieve the benefits.

For those not familiar to foam rollers, they have become more widespread recently and despite some of the more expensive brightly coloured versions available in premium running stores, foam rollers can be picked up for about a tenner. (I’m all for supporting independent running stores, but at a ¼ of the price its no competition!).  Particularly, they are essentially a tube of foam, which you place under a different part of your body and then move that body part across the roller.

Although a very simple principle, with one bit of kit you can effectively massage almost every body part. As laying on top of the roller uses your own body weight it means that you can do this without any assistance; therefore allowing you to cry in peace! Its also pretty hard to do this wrong, and with loads of links on the internet easy to learn.

Clearly not me! Also no one smiles when using this!

The movement involved in running occurs predominantly in a single plane and can place stress on the muscles used to stabilize the major muscle groups, in particular, the ilio-tibial band (IT band) which runs from the outside of the hip to the inside of the knee. Massaging this band of tissue involves a motion similar to a side plank with the roller between the outside of the thigh and the floor and then using your arms you can pull yourself across the roller.

Since my visit to the massage therapist, I have been conscious of trying to stretch out all aspects of my upper leg and alongside introducing an assortment of stretches. Since the foam roller purchase, I now try to do a few movements on this every couple of days, specifically focusing on the IT band, quadriceps and hamstrings.

The wider athletic community has mixed opinions on stretching and massage as a whole, and although not everyone agrees to the physiological benefits (my physio friends with be rolling their eyes) there is quite likely a placebo effect.  A quick Google search on Brett Sutton, the multiple champion triathlon coach will provide you to some colourful views in particular! In my case, I do feel that my legs are a little looser and im not too bothered if this is just psychological!

With that Im off to do a little foam rolling!

Exploding Toilets

Following an easier week, it was time to jump back into training. If, like many in the world, your week starts on a Sunday, the week’s training didn’t start very well, despite my best intentions!

I had originally planned to get up and do a LSR of 17miles, but I woke up extremely sore after a particularly tasty hockey game on the Saturday. So instead of going out straight away it was decided we would pop out and grab some shopping – including a foam roller (more on that in a later post). After a bite of lunch, I got changed, had that last minute pee and flushed the toilet – which kept flushing!

Accompanying the sound of rushing water was a very loud noise coming from the cistern, although no water was coming out of the toilet bowl itself. However one look outside revealed that there was the equivalent of Niagara Falls flowing out of the overflow pipe and into the garden

It was clear that to stop it I had to get into the cistern, however the extremely thorough (read cowboy) builders had tiled the cistern INTO the wall, meaning I had to remove/smash a number of tiles off before getting into cistern. On finally gaining access, it was clear the float device thingy (technical term) was broken and a plumber was needed to replace it, in the mean time I just turned the water off Fortunately (it being Sunday) we rent so all we had to do was phone the landlord who sorted out the plumber to turn up in 40 minutes.

Instead of heading out for the run, I stayed in to explain to the plumber what was happened. 2 hours later it was all sorted, and as the sun started to set I finally departed for the intended run.

15 minutes later I was home. The combination of miserable weather, darkness, a still aching knee and prospect of missing my afternoon/evening’s scheduled entertainment of Country file, Top gear, Ripper Street and MOTD, I found myself considerably lacking in motivation and decided that maybe the fates were telling me to take a day off.

Come Monday, training was back on track with the weekly drowning session at Masters Swimming, Tuesday featured hockey training, Wednesday a ride to work.

Thursday is my designated tempo run and (roughly) takes in 8.3 miles, as I can lack motivation in the evenings, I do this run as a commute before having a shower and breakfast at work. There is no better way to start a day than bettering last weeks time, hopefully reflecting improving fitness (although more likely reflecting the increasing amount of daylight – helping pothole dodging) and being rewarded with a decent shower!

Friday is my designated rest day, and I received an email informing me that the next day’s hockey opposition was unable to field a team, thus giving us a walkover, a 5-0 victory, and my first goal of the season (benefit of being Captain!).

With the prospect of horrendous weather on the Sunday, I moved my long run to the Saturday and did a decent 19-mile run in a little over 3 hours. I normally run 6-mile laps, but for these longer runs I have decided to chuck on my camelback and run a loop – essentially my commute to work with gels/water with me. For those thinking off spending a longer amount of time exercising I recommend podcasts as a way to spend the time. My current favorites are Talk Ultra, IM talk and Marathon Talk, as they give a good insight into training, the running/triathlon communities and any new products available – lets face it who doesn’t want a new bike!  

With a successful amount of training this week, today (Sunday) I see no reason to force myself out into the winds and rain and will be ‘recovering’ – watching the rugby on the sofa.

Its not too long until the minimum sponsorship is due so I will be on a bit of a sponsorship drive now. Remember im putting myself through all of this to raise money for Demelza Children’s Hospice, and any donation is gratefully accepted!

Massage

Massage

It's about 4-5 weeks into the training program and time for an 'easier' week. This has coincided with a few aches and pains- notably mid back and left quad/knee. As a result I took three days off structured training (the weather helped this decision massively) and decided to treat myself to a sports massage. 

This was a first for me, other than a brief sessions with a couple of physio friends I have never had a massage, so I was entering into the relative unknown.

I rocked up in normal clothes (jeans, hoody) and was unsure as to the clothing protocol; ie trousers off/trousers on. i wasn't too worried as i work in a hospital where it is routine to be topless (patients not me - that would be wierd!) and been in enough sports changing rooms to not be shy about nudity! 

After being welcomed into the room and explaining my training volume and muscle tightnesses I was asked to take my shirt off and lay on the massage bed. The masseuse then proceeded to INFLICT PAIN for 45 minutes!! 

The brief mentioned deep tissue massage to smooth out any tight muscles but what it didn't say was that he would locate knots, place his thumb on said knots and put all of his body weight through his thumb in a sort of medieval torture. After about 5 minutes I think the masseuse realised he had a lot of work on his hands andante commenting on multiple areas of tightness got to work . He also assessed my knee with a number of manipulations, concluding that the pain I have recently felt whilst running - a brief tightness across the inside of the knee, was due to tightness in the quadriceps and not ligaments or tendons - to my relief!

45 minutes later I was remarkably still able to stand, advised to begin a stretching routine and allowed the escape the torture chamber. I must say now that evening i did feel better, although if this was due to placebo or reduced muscle tension is yet to be seen. I did run the following morning and probably undid all of the work, but will be booking another appointment in few weeks.

I have now started a daily stretching routine and although not exhaustive will hopefully allow me to stay injury free and keep my running consistency up. This weekends LSR increases to 17miles, totalling 26 miles this week, split over two runs. No cycling this week, and only one masters swim session and one hockey game, this combined with a few people leaving at work meant the easy week included a healthy amount of cake on the friday. The weight loss was continuing steadily and now just a whisker over 79 kg, but with plenty of time left. Training ramps back up on Monday for another block and with it the healthy eating is back on.