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Turning a mule into a race horse.
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In my continuing quest to beat this injury I visited an osteopath on Tuesday. Different discipline - same diagnosis.
Them calves are incredibly tight. :pac: Interestingly enough she was able to tell me about an operation I had when I was 9 or 10 that had me a little out of align leading to said tight calves and more painfully than interestingly really dug in deep to the calves loosening them up quite a bit. Left armed with more stretching excercises to help. I was warned not to run for a couple of days if at all possible to allow things to settle a bit.
Decided to go out tonight for a bit of a make or break run. I set a target of 6 miles - being the current mid week longer run distance on most of the plans for DCM in October. At this point if I can't do that it would be prudent to call it off for this year. I also wanted to see if the "improved" easy pace would hold up over a slightly longer run.
6 miles done at easy effort and avg pace 9:40
Speed improvement does seem to be there alright over longer distances - mile 4 and 5 just under 10 min so perhaps a sign of tiredness creeping in. That said though this was fatigue from running in the new style more than anything and slow down I would put down more to falling back into bad habits than tiredness itself. Back is aching now from new posture! Heel held up quite well too and am cautiously optimistic there won't be any major fallout in the morning.
For the moment it's still on.
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If I were you I would honestly give up the idea of running DCM this year.
You were making really good progress earlier this year but with the breaks you don't have any kind of base to run marathon properly.
Get a good period of training behind you before considering a marathon IMO.
Yeah Meno. Appreciate your thoughts as always. It has been a damned if do damned if don't scenario with the heel injury. The interruption to training has been with an eye on running it. Wanted to address the niggle before stepping up the training. However addressing it has cost me preparation wise. It's being strongly considered (giving up on the idea for this year) Last nights run being an example of a marker or two I have set out in my head. If I get to any of these and are behind on the fitness I will be pulling the plug. What I won't be doing for sure is heading into it under trained like the first time round. 0 -
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Not a great start to the day. A wooden stool fell on my foot in work today. Landed across the top of my foot and hurt like a proverbial. Was afraid I wouldn't be able to run this evening but as it turned out the pain of that took my mind off the calves and heel. Clouds and silver linings
3 miles avg 9:21 - not quite the easy pace envisaged but it was a gorgeous day for a run in St Catherine's Park and I let loose a little out of sheer enjoyment.0 -
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Ha - I'd say the ar5e will recover well enough. Think you're selling yourself a little short with HHN1, even with the extra bits from N2 and the Boards plan. Look after injuries first, I'd say, then commit to one plan or the other. FWIW.
Hi Murph.
The hybrid plan is just getting myself back on track and balancing off increasing mileage with the legs. Feel a bit like Paul McGrath and his dodgy knees Will make a call in a couple of weeks which plan to settle into for the long haul. 0 -
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Ok so with an eye on a possible crack at the 10k on Monday I decided to do my marathon plan miles at a bit of pace this week and to see how things went.
Tuesday
4 miles @ 9:35 average pace. Comfortably fast. No major ill effects.
Today
5 miles in total.
9:32, 8:41, 8:31, 8:22, 10:47 warmdown.
Felt very much in control of the middle 3 miles - and the new running form made these miles feel a lot easier than the pace would normally have suggested. Heel held up quite well too as did the rest of the legs. Finally I think they are used to the chi style.
I am therefore going to run the DLR 10k but willl aim for a conservative 54/55 minute time. This will still be a PB even if it is a bit soft - current is over 57. Plan is to take first half around 9 min pace, get to the top of the hill and push on a bit if I feel up to it. I believe my fitness would have me closer to 50 but don't want to push too far too soon. DCM prep is the main prize here but I am looking forward to giving this a go and to exorcise the ghosts of the 2012 failed attempt to break 1 hour.0 -
Tough couple of days on the personal front. 3 handy miles on Friday @ 10:00 pace. Yesterday was a complete write off as I only got back home at 10pm from a family emergency. Had planned a LSR of 12 miles and couldn't do it today with the race tomorrow. I won't be chasing the miles though and will let it go and get back on plan later this week.
10k race tomorrow. Fighting the urge to go out and hammer it. The urge not helped by finding out my sister in law is running it and aiming for 55 min. I might have to aim 53/54 instead 0 -
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That's the thing though lads. Had originally pulled out of this so I wouldn't go out and hammer myself whilst trying to get back on track for want of a better phrase ! Figured there was no point running a race if not racing for my best time. Then it was pointed out to me that I could still take out a PB without going mad at it so I entered. Now though temptation sets in
Still - with no LSR done this weekend perhaps I could stretch it a bit more than planned 0 -
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Previous 10k PB 57:52
Previous DLR 10k route PB 01:02:xx
As anyone who reads my log on a regular basis knows I was caught in two minds on this due to recent injuries, changing of running style after the chi running course I attended and overall eye on the DCM prize. Even entering it was a last minute change of mind. So late that they only had medium t shirts left but as it turned out I can actually fit in one these days. A great start ! I knew a PB was on the cards even without racing it 100% - the old PB time set back in March was already looking soft considering the recent progress. Indeed prior to the layoff and reduced training I would have had a reasonable chance at sub 50. A sub 40 5 mile being evidence of this. If I had of gone out to try and get this I'd have wrecked myself but there was still a decent PB to be had. Set off roughly aiming at 54 minutes but was open to suggestion on the day depending on how I felt. Main thing for me was not to push myself too much on the hills as this had a great injury risk.
Lined up this morning on what was a glorious day. I love the DLR 10k - It's a local race to my hometown, the organisation is top notch. Little things like a water station at the start to hydrate beforehand (which also doubles as a late in race water station on the way back round) really go a long way. Off we went on time and straight away I was penned in by the usual crowd of slower runners who seemed to be forming a line right across the road. Wasn't too bothered as I wasn't chasing a set time as such but if I was trying to hit a sub 50 I'd have been crying :pac: Got some space after half a mile and after that it was all my own running. I knew the first half was hilly but had for some reason remembered the first mile as being flatter than it actually was.
Mile 1 8:13
Not too bad. Felt good and more importantly felt fresh enough not having gone all out. So began continued the drag up to the halfway point. 2 miles here of fairly consistent climbing. The occasional flat stretch but overall an energy sapping climb that the first time I ran this race reduced me to a walk. Today it reduced many others to a walk too but I was ok. Reduced the speed slightly on all of the actual climb parts, dug in but didn't really push them as was the plan.
Mile 2,3 8:29, 8:44
Hit the halfway mark in bang on 27 minutes. Was quite happy at that point. The worst of the hills was over and a negative split would see me creep in under 54. I felt at that stage that this would be easy. I was wrong. Took a strategic walk through the water station costing myself a few seconds but again wasn't chasing a hard target time so could afford this. Approx 3.5 miles into the race you hit the peak as such and from there it's net downhill. There is approx 120ft of a difference from start elevation to here and strava tells me there was a total of 210ft of climbing done today all round.
Mile 4 8:47
The walk through the water station had cost me the bit of time there and I realised at that point I needed to up my game a bit if I wanted to achieve a sub 54 minute time. Concentrated on the chi running style which when I successfully pulled off increased my speed for sure with the same effort level but I was getting tired - more tired than expected. The hills had taken a bit of a toll as did the heat. And I was falling out of the style on a regular basis. Unexpectedly Mrs Mule and the kids were here having been unable to gain access to the finish area with road closures so it was great timing to see them. I also saw Mr Stew during this mile and the man looked very healthy. Was delighted for him - big high five and hearty congratulations for his return to health. Later on there was a few minutes where I thought I had accosted a random stranger after Marthastew mentioned he was at the rock n roll half marathon supporting her. The man though managed to fit in two events today Fair play to him and to all those who came out and supported.
Mile 5 8:24
Slightly surprised by that split - thought I had upped it a bit and this was a predominately downhill section. Realised then that this wasn't going to be the walk in the park I thought my earlier holding back would set me up for. From then on in it got tough. Heat was taking its toll. Passed a man down on elton park with first aid around him. Actually felt a bit woosy myself at this point and began to wonder should I abandon the sub 54 and crawl home safely. Eased off a little and silently counted down the distance. Left turn onto the sea front and I was into the last 1k. Needed to speed up a little to get under 54.
Mile 6 8:33
Cruel feckers the route planners here. a) Another hill to sap your strenght and then b) a gantry that looked like the finish from a distance (was probably a backup chip reader) but you then realise the actual finish is further up the road as you approach it.
Avg Pace 8:02
New PB 53:20
Crossed the line having given it a bit more than I planned with a new PB of 53:20. All things considered am quite happy with that. I left a little time out there and it's still a soft PB in the greater scheme of things but there was no way I could have hit sub 50 today. Still a bit to go to regain fitness that would put me in with a shout. The course as well is certainly not a PB course either.
Superbly run event. Will be back next year.0 -
Pacing Mule wrote: »a gantry that looked like the finish from a distance (was probably a backup chip reader) but you then realise the actual finish is further up the road as you approach it.
Yes, this caught me too. Painful mistake to make Nice run and report. 0 -
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Bad one today.
Recipe: not in mood, backed into a timing corner, unplanned time to run, too soon after lunch, stir for a while and add in a hard run as last run. Simmer for a while and you have yourself a **** run
Having to grind out the last mile of a 3 mile 10:30 recovery pace run is not fun at all ! Obviously Mondays race took out a bit more than I thought. Won't dwell on it though.0 -
6 miles at all over the place pace
Plan called for 6 miles at marathon pace. This being up in the air ! Ever the optimist I went out at the top end of the spectrum 4 hour pace / 9 min miles. However I over shot this and came in at 8:40 for mile 2 and 3. Was feeling it at that stage and figured slowing down a bit to somewhere around 4:15 pace would be sensible. 4th mile came in a little slower at 9:59 but the slight rest done the trick and picked it back up to 9:00 pace for 5th. I had planned on easing back as a cool down for mile 6 anyway and that came in at a very comfortable 9:50 which was in itself close enough to 4:15 pace. Quite happy with that. 0 -
12 mile LSR today at 11:00 avg pace.
Left in good weather. Ran into the worst weather I've ever ran in. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain. Got that wet I ended up on side of road wringing out my socks !!!
Was a little disappointed with how I felt for last few miles. Aerobically fine but the legs were falling apart. Copped then that it was the highest mileage week in quite a while, the 4th run in 6 days with the other 3 including a race on Monday and a pace session on Thursday so all in all it's no great surprise the legs felt it.
Will take it quite easy this coming week and do a similar LSR next weekend off fresher legs. Will worry then if there is no improvement. 0 -
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