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.

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...

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. 

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.

80k EcoTrail de Paris 2013

OK, let's get this out of the way right at the start:  I didn't finish.  In some ways, it wasn't a surprise but it wasn't for any of the reasons that I had expected.

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. 

5x50 Day 4

Well, that could have been better.  My plan was to do the same cycling as yesterday:  15k with the first 5k hilly.

Started OK and then I got one of those little reminders that I need a running repairs toolkit on my bike.  A puncture at 8.5k.  So, that was followed by about 5k walk as I pushed the bike back home.

On the bright side, I don't have a blister any more.  Yeah.  Hmm.

Anyway, After repairing the puncture, I did a bit of Googling for How-To videos on adjusting Shimano Derailleur gears.  Thanks to Evans Cycles of the UK and to my iPhone, I have also learned how to tune both front and rear so they actually change when I want them to and don't periodically throw the chain off.  Result.

Bottom of my foot is throbbing now where there used to be a big, fat blister, though.  Drat...

5x50 Day 0 - Marathon du Médoc

Well, it's exactly a year since my first ever marathon and I went back to the Marathon du Médoc for a second go.  It's been a busy year and this was the 12th marathon event I have entered, finishing all but one. Unlike previous races, I decided to take the festive runner approach to this one, making the most of the entertainments, atmosphere, food and wine that make this such an unusual event.

Fancy dress is a major part of the Médoc and all participants are encouraged to enter into the spirit.  Last year, I didn't and felt a little bit out of place, so this year I went a bit mad.

Yes, the armour is metal and, although it's relatively lightweight, it doesn't weigh nothing.  Nor do those swords.  And under it all is a large foam pad between a couple of shirts to keep it all from chafing.

We'd had a slightly frantic morning already by this point packing up our tents, getting the kids breakfasted and driving to Pauillac.  I was a bit concerned about getting there in time and managed to forget to eat breakfast.  And to tape my feet.  Oops.

The pre-race entertainments were great with acrobats performing on ropes hanging from a crane and multiple fly pasts by jet fighters.  And then we were off...

After experiencing the choke points of the narrow streets last year, I got near the front and didn't take any of the stops until we were a few km outside Pauillac itself.  The first 15k went really well as the temperatures rose from 22C (71F) rapidly to around 32C (90F) which was the predicted max.  And then they continued to rise (I am told) to 36C (97F).  I've run in that kind of temperature before but in very minimal gear.  Not heavy fancy dress.

One really unexpected thing that happened was other runners going past me and slowing down so that I passed them again. Then they would go past and touch the armour.  Almost every one of them said something to me, mostly along the lines of "What?  It's real!?  You're a crazy person.  Good luck!"  This happened literally dozens and dozens of times and people were really encouraging me to, er, soldier on.


On the way past a water spray at Beychevelle, I somehow managed to get my shoes soaked.  This was a bad thing as I had no spare socks and no tape on my feet. 

My new friend: Emmy

Oysters.  Mmmm...

I slogged on to the halfway mark at Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste where I dumped the swords on my long-suffering family and friends.  They did try very hard to get me to lose the armour as well but I was determined to press on.  Duh.

And Ice Cream!

My supporters told me that the heat was being especially hard on the kids so they were going to head straight to the finish and meet me there.  In addition, there was the start of some proper foot pain as my feet were blistering inside the damp shoes and sock.  I went through a real low for a few km when I had a real piece of luck.  Mistakenly thinking I recognised a costume from a web post, I struck up a conversation with another runner.  She was a little taken aback at first I think but soon we were chatting away and it turned out that we were both on the Marathon Talk website where I had replied to a comment of hers.  (Hello Emmy!)

We carried on with some run-walk as we battled with nausea, fatigue, blisters and hydration but kept going forwards.  Her relentless optimism was a fantastic boost for me and we both managed to run across the line.  For me, it was a shockingly bad time (over six and a half hours) but, even more than usual, the triumph was in finishing in spite of the heat and without discarding the fancy dress.  It was great to see my family cheering at me in the stands at the finish and I even managed a wave.

I've felt better...

Then, for the first time ever, I went to the medical tents to have my feet fixed up.  It was suggested to me that I should start with getting my head examined but hey-ho.  The two guys there took one look at my feet, then each other and then there was a drawing in of breath over teeth.  Lotions, potions, unguents and bandages were applied followed by a foot massage and I left that tent in much better shape than I went in.  I was so, so grateful.

Next steps are some recovery, making contact with Emmy and getting on with the actual 5x50 challenge...

Claire Lomas - A truly determined woman.

On Monday, after the London Marathon, we had planned to wander around the City being tourists.  The week before, we heard about a rather unusual participant in the marathon and asked the kids if they'd prefer to join her for a while or go sightseeing.  You can probably guess which choice they made as, otherwise, it wouldn't make for much of a blog entry, right?

The great recovery plan was, er, well not so great as it happens.  I spent another few days with no motivation and even less energy.  And the wet, dreary weather hasn't helped.  I just spent a few years in Belgium and I've had my fill of yomping through the rain. And the snow.  And the ice...

Back on my feet

After four days with an upset stomach, I'm starting to feel normal again.  Yes, my wife and kids got over it much quicker and the accusations of malingering and laziness have been hanging over me like a cloud of shame.  So, with all that behind me (hopefully), I now have a bit of a situation.

Dwars door Hasselt

Almost forgot I had booked onto this 15k course but decided I should go along as a fitness test for the Amsterdam marathon next week.

What I can tell you about Hasselt is that it rains.  A lot.  In fact it rained the whole time I was there which made the event somewhat like jogging through a waterfall.  Plenty of the locals were out to cheer us on which was nice and I got out to about 12k before my hip started to burn again.  I'll take it easy the rest of the week and have a try at the marathon next weekend.

Gently does it...

Slowly getting over the damage from the 24 Uur van Welle.  Too much, too soon after my first marathon.  I am such an idiot.  I'm only going to do short runs between now and Amsterdam no matter whether I feel fully recovered or not.

Hip implosion

Following the excesses of the weekend during which I jogged over 70k, I was feeling a stiff everywhere so I just went for a gentle 3k run last night.  Didn't help so I thought I'd try to run through it tonight.  10k later I realise that this was a mistake.  I have enormous discomfort from one of my hips and I will be doing, er, nothing for the foreseeable future.  I really hope this clears up before the Amsterdam Marathon...

Back to it

Two weeks on and the worst of the damage to my feet is healed.  Went back to jogging round the park and was pleased to get to almost 10 km straight off.

After shocks...

Tried to go for a run last night and barely struggled round two laps of the park.  Feet hurt, legs hurt, back hurts.  I will take a break, I think.

Got a couple of pics from the Semi de Paris:

How I would like to remember it

How I actually remember it

Haven't seen pictures of me running before and, as I suspected, it isn't a particularly elegant sight.  I really do look like I am in my pyjamas, don't I?  :)

In other news, I have also had the official results from the Semi de Paris and they were both better and worse than expected.  Let me explain...

There are two times.  The Official and Real times.  The "Official" time was 2 hours and 48 minutes from the moment the race began.  But my "Real" time was 2 hours and 31 minutes.  Yes, it really did take over quarter of an hour to reach the start.

Consequences...

After the Semi de Paris, I have enormous blisters on my right foot.  This is not (just) because of the distance run, the furthest I have ever done.  And it certainly isn't because of my shoes.  No, I blame myself.  And here's why:  I didn't take advice I was given.

Yup.  Plain and simple.  But I didn't just ignore one bit of advice, I ignored three.

1. Make a training plan and stick to it.  Yes, I know that sometimes things happen that make this impossible but, honestly, nothing did.  I just slacked off.  And that meant that rather than enjoying the whole thing, the last quarter of the race was very unpleasant.
2. Change nothing on race day.  You'd think this would be simple, no?  Part of the blistering may have been due to me wearing some brand new sports socks which, now I come to look at them, are not all that soft until they get washed.  Duh.
3. Calluses are your friends as long as they are under control.  And now we go back to my fabulous dawn run on a Thai beach.  And all that fine sand.  That wiped away the calluses from my feet and left them soft.  And tender.  Oops.

 Silly boy...

Tried a little walking over the last two days.  Still not good.  I can feel the progress I made bleeding away and it's enormously frustrating. 

Patience, grasshopper...