Haven't we been here before?

 It certainly feels like déja vu but I'm pretty sure I've felt that way before...

The tendon injury stubbornly refused to heal up so here I am yet another two years down the line and starting over yet again.

So what's different this time?

Well, basically: Nothing.  I'm older.  I'm fatter. (138.9kg to be precise.)  I'll be a bit more cautious in ramping up effort/distance/time-on-feet.  I'll make sure I don't carry on in a pair of  shoes beyond their useful lifetime.  Beyond that. it'll be a case of trying stuff and seeing how I cope.

Almost none of my shirts/shorts still fit so I have two of each to use while I get a bit of weight off and unlock the next set of stuff.  Several of my accessories (running belts, water bottles etc have perished and are no longer usable.  I've trown out all the unused gels, bars and other out-of-date foodstuffs.  (That was quite cathartic, actually.)

So:  The  Plan.  Take it slowly and head for a 37:30 5k as a start.  No particular time scale in mind so I'll set the pace nice and easy.  Once that's done, I can hopefully ease up the "race" distance to 10k and a slightly quicker pace.  Ive no end game in mind and I'll pause when I'm feeling comfortable.

We shall see...

First activity of the New Year.

After the disappointment of my last run on New Year's Eve, this one went much better...

Ten miles

It's been an eventful few days,

I was walking in to work on Wednesday after the intervals and, to be honest, my calves were  sore but not in an unpleasant way.  Suddenly, something felt like it dropped in my right calf and it became very painful to extend the leg.  I wasn't doing anything, didn't step in a hole or move awkwardly.  And, yes, I did some decent stretching after the intervals.

Starting again. Again.

Well, here we go.  After six months of stuff preventing me from running, I finally got out to run today.

I'm broken as a runner so I have a lot of work to do.

Just jogged out a couple of miles and it was awful.  Cold, wet, painful and slow.  But I didn't stop or slow to a walk.  If I'm sensible about progression, I can get back to where I was in just a couple of months.

I have really missed running.  A lot.

Spanners in the works

There's been a hiatus as I recovered from a not-quite-fall a few weeks ago. 

I was running down a trail and stood on a loose rock that moved under my foot.  Recovering from that without actually going over, I pulled something behind my right knee.  This has seen me on only commuter cycling. 

I was pretty much ready to get started on running again but had to have a minor operation.  This means another few weeks with no strenuous exercise as spikes in bllod pressures/heart rate would be "Bad."

Lots of walking to do then for the time being.

Taking it carefully.

A week after I pulled something in the back of the knee, things are improving but I'm not going to aggravate matters.

A little cycling and walking is all that's on the cards for the moment.  And it's driving me mad...

Second session with Stroud AC

Another interval session like last week but upping the effort a little.  I worked pretty hard (for me) and dropped 10 seconds off my best time from the previous week.

I was without a watch (following my misadventures on Tuesday this week) but was able to take advantage of someone else's misfortune.

When a watch goes bang!

I'm staying in digs at the moment and the power went off.  When it came back on, it must have surged.  Unfortunately, my trusty Garmin Forerunner 620 was plugged in to a charger, gave off a weird little noise and then died.

There's a nasty smell coming from the device and I suspect that it's properly broken.

First session with Stroud AC

So this was the first time I have trained with a club since the six months I spent with AC Kortenberg in Belgium way back in 2011. I know I'm very unfit and way of anything resembling pace so I was a bit nervous when I pitched up there tonight.

I needn't have been, though, as they were extremely welcoming and encouraging.

Breaking the rhythm

For the last few weeks, I've been in a pretty steady four-days-on, three-days-off cycle for running.  I want to shake things up a bit as I mentioned before so this week, I will be going along to Stroud AC for the first time.

Longer but not faster

Pushed on to 12k today at the end of a good week of running.  So time for a few days off again as I'm in danger of ramping up the volume too quickly.

I'm finding the distance isn't proving too problematic and the old running machinery is still there.  I'm seeing precious little improvement in pace, though, and I'm finding the constant solo running to be a bit lonely.

Solution:  Find a running club.

The cupboard is bare.

I pushed out my longest distance since the reboot to 10k yesterday and today I followed up with a very gentle 8k.  Things are going OK as long as I remember to keep myself in check.  Which means that I'll be taking a few days off now.

It's a useful time to address my wardrobe malfunction...

A few days off

Ran 5k on each of the first three days and I'm properly sore now.  Time to rest for a few days.  Back soon...

Cleared for take off.

Doc says everything is good and so it's time to break out the running kit...

Back at the beginning

It's been about 4 years since I did any serious running now and I'm almost back where I started back in 2010.  Way back here.  It seems so long ago, now.

My weight is well over 120kg again, my gout medication is pretty much maxed out and my blood pressure isn't looking too good.

So it's time to start over.  Properly this time.

That First Kilometre.

So, when your injured, how fast do you lose your running fitness?  Well, in my case, it seems that you lose it all in about 12 weeks. 

Dreams of Running

So, no updates here for about two and a half months.  Largely because there has been no running for me.

The foot injury I mentioned refused to get better and, being a bloke, I chose to wait it out and so it was another month and more before I sought medical attention.  During this time, I hardly ran at all but had a few other bumps along the way. 

Paying it forwards.

I've heard this phrase before but didn't really understand it until just recently...

Back on the trails

After falling at the Ecotrail de Paris, I've been a good boy and rested up.  After a few days, I was able to walk comfortably but any attempt to descend (slopes or sitars) quickly reminded me that all was not yet well.

Uh oh...

This could go horribly wrong.
 

After the last update , things continued well for a couple of weeks.  In spite of some fairly horrible weather, I kept the sessions going regularly and the distance of the weekly long run increasing to plan.