Still trying to figure it all out.

Swashbuckler

As long as you peak for Charleville all will be ok

hot buttered scones

Monday 23/04

Rest

Tuesday 24/04

6@8:23 Local route. Felt ok, but a bit tired towards the end

Wednesday 25/04

Session - 4x4mins@7:00, 90s recovery

Rep Paces: 7:00; 6:52; 6:58; 6:53

This should have been handy enough, but the wind though otherwise. The first two reps were done into a fairly strong headwind, and I was working hard by the end of the 2nd rep - this ended up being the hardest of the 4. The last 2 were done with a strong tailwind and the effort was very noticeably less.

Daily total: 7 miles

Thursday 26/04

6@8:25. Again felt ok starting out, but during the last mile or so I tired a bit. Breathing wasn't great this week, which I;m putting down to either pollen or the fact that the council has cut every blade of grass within a 10 mile radius of my house. Today especially - the chest just felt a little bit tight and there was a bit of wheezing there when I stopped running. Had a physio session later that day. No real issues, but got a sports massage and a bit of dry needling in a few spots - calves, quads and glutes all on the left side. I was fairly sore afterwards, and fairly tired too later on in the day - surprisingly so.

Friday 27/04

One of those days. Neither the body or the mind were willing to get up this morning, so the planned 6 miles easy was ditched in favour of some extra time in the bed. I suppose the cold, dark, wet weather might have had something to do with it. Stuck in work until late so there's no chance I'll get out today. So unscheduled rest.

I'm feeling fairly tired at the moment tbh, which I'm putting down to fatigue from racing at the weekend. At least I hope it's that. Lads at work here talking about a 24 hour bug that's going around, so maybe that's it. Maybe I'm just having a crap day ("Monday" morning blues, but on a Friday), but I'm definitely less driven than normal. I can't remember the last time I bailed out on going for a run, and didn't even feel to smallest bit guilty. It'll pass, I know, but it's just annoying all the same.

Damo 2k9

Sometimes them days are needed, especially after a weekend of racing. Mine lasted from October 29th - March, so count yourself lucky :pac:

It was obviously needed, the legs and body will thank you for it!

hot buttered scones

Saturday 28/04

Lazy lump - didn't get out of bed again until 7. No running in the morning and work all day. I've hit a bit of a speed bump it seems. Bad race hangover I reckon. And a bit of a crisis of confidence too. Lots of doubts.

Sunday 29/04

The plan had a session on Saturday and a 13 miler today. I was on domestic duties, and short on time so I opted to do the session instead of rushing the long run. It went way better than expected. I was still feeling very tired all day (but maybe just sluggish from a lack of running), and wasn't looking forward to flogging myself through a long hard session, but it didn't work out that way. Anyway the session was 4 x (3,2,1 mins, 90s recovery) with 3 minutes between sets. Goal pace 6:15.

Set|Time|Pace| |Time|Pace| |Time|Pace|
1|3mins|6:12||2mins|6:09||1min|6:06
2|3mins|6:07||2mins|6:09||1min|5:58
3|3mins|6:14||2mins|6:14||1min|5:58


Wore a new pair of Adidas tempo boost for this - my first pair of these and I think the worked out well. Overall the session went well. Each set was progressively harder. I was working hard for the 3 minute reps, but not straining (well I was a bit towards the end of the last one). Unfortunately about halfway through the 3rd set my dinner decided to reappear a bit, and a few more times afterwards, but thankfully only during the recovery section. Should probably have eaten a bit earlier. The clouds opened after the 3rd set and the rain was hopping off the ground, so I was like a drowned rat by the end of it - exhilarating though. And it put a spring back in my step.

Total for the day: 10 miles
Weekly total: A measly 29 miles off 4 days running. A funny old week, and maybe I was expecting a bit too much after the race last Sunday. I was definitely more tired than usual, and probably need the two days rest.

hot buttered scones

Monday 30/04

7@8:21. Evening run, pre-work. I don't remember much if anything about this.

April total: 184.6 miles - happy enough with that.

Tuesday 01/05

6@8:34. Local route, so a bit hilly with lots of long drags. Conditions were fairly humid and I was fairly tired doing this, although I was just off nights. Legs were feeling a bit sore as well - I seem to have a picked up an niggle on the inside of my right shin.

Wednesday 02/05

Session: 1200m@6:15, 3 min rec; 4x300@6:05, 1 min rec; 1000m@6:15, 3 min rec; 3x400@6:05, 1 min rec; 800m@6:15.

I managed to avoid the heavy showers and get this done during a sunny part of the day. It was a bit windy, but I think the headwind/tailwind effect balanced out overall. Headed out to Ballincollig Regional Park for this - it's definitley one of my favourite places to run, but I don;t make enough time to get out there more often.
The first 1200 was fine, although I was under pressure a bit over the last 300m or 400m or so running into the breeze. I was able to jog the 3 minute recovery.
The 300s got my heart rate going, and I was fairly flogging myself for the last one alright, but they were enjoyable all the same. I started walking the recoveries (maybe a light jog towards the end) after the 2nd 300 but more out of concern that I wouldn't be able to finish out the session. Other than that all good so far, except the 300s were a bit fast. I reigned it back a bit after a fast first rep, but not enough - but I keep good form and breathing etc.
Then the fun started. 1 minute felt very short as I launched into the 1000m. The last 300m were into the wind again and my HR hit close to max by the end. Again though, I didn't run too fast or fall apart, but was definitely pushing hard. Took a short walk after this and then jogged for the rest of the 3 minutes.
The 400s took a lot out of me, especially the last rep and the recoveries were now just walking/standing. Again just a tad on the fast side though, but focussed on form, although I probably fell apart a bit over the last 100m of the 3rd 400.
The 800m rep was a killer and after about 400m I was behind target pace, put a small push over the last 200m or so got me back on target. I stopped dead after this and just panned out on the grass for a few minutes to get myself together. This definitely felt like the last 800m of a race.

Splits/Paces:
1200m: 4:38 (6:13 min/mile)

4x300: 1:05, 1:07, 1:06, 1:06 (5:49; 5:59; 5:54; 5:54)

1000m: 3:53 (6:15)

3x400: 1:29, 1:30, 1:28 (5:58; 6:02; 5:54)

800m: 3:06 (6:14)

I don;t know if I should have been that bate after this session - but I was. I was however a thoroughly enjoyable kind of wrecked and felt like a good job done.

With warm up and cool down miles daily total came to 8.4 miles.

Thursday 03/05

13.2@8:17

With work on Saturday and Sunday I decided to do the long run today and get it done and out of the way. As expected it was tough enough, with the legs still carrying yesterdays workout. A bit stiff and creaky starting out. and it took a while to loosen out. I could definitely feel the lack of strength after 10 miles or so, but over all again I was happy with this. A nice warm day. My legs weer fairly sore and stiff for the day after this, so I broke out the foam roller that evening. I could have done with running this a bit slower, but I just kind of went with the flow. I sped up a bit towards the end (not by much) - just naturally, and not planned. Sometimes that happens because I loosen out a bit, but I think a lot of the time it happens because I get a bit bored and just want to finish.
Anyway it was the legs that were tired by the end and not the lungs and heart, so I think that's a good sign - the fitness is there, I just need to work on the strength (the dreaded s+c)

Splits:
8:26; 8:22; 8:30; 8:28; 8:21; 8:18; 8:19; 8:20; 8:17; 8:12; 8:08; 8:04; 8:02; 7:49 for the bit (about 400m to get back to the car).

Friday 04/05

7@8:30. A nice run around Blackrock/Mahon and Pairc Ui Caoimh where the setup for Ed Sheeran was in full swing.
What a mental day - Mrs HBS and the two teenagers had tickets for Friday night. I was never going, but checked late Thursday evening for tickets and was able to get one for myself - curiosity and FOMO winning out here. The lads wanted to queue early for a good spot - off with them says I! Dropped them off, parked up by the Castle, did my 7 miles with a quick stop by the Pairc to see how they were getting on(there was no one else there!!), flew home, quick wash and food, bus to town, walked down to the Pairc, front row of the gig on teenage minding duty, standing for hours and hours and hours (feeling really old and out of place) and then the 3 mile or so walk back home up the hills to the northside. Up early then this morning for work with legs on me like I raced a half yesterday (I may have succumbed to the atmosphere and did a bit of jumping up and down )
Good craic though, to be fair. Meself and the daughter even made it on the 6 one news!
I've the gear in work with me with some vague notion of doing a hill session this evening afterwards - that may be getting pushed out until tomorrow though!

hot buttered scones

Saturday 05/05

Took a rest day in the end. By 8pm I just wanted to go home and chill out, so thats what happened. I generally take one after 6 days running anyway, so I was due one.

Sunday 06/05

Pre work run - 12x45s hills, 90s recovery.

Total miles: 6 (2.2 warm up, 1 cool down)

I should have gone last night. I felt really tired this morning and probably should have canned the session to be honest. I felt ok on the warm up, but not great. The hills were hard, but I didn't push as hard as the last time I did them. On the other hand, I paced them more evenly. I just couldn't get the system going. Looking back over my training log, I have surprisingly few early morning runs over the last few weeks, and its been a month since I did an early morning session, so I;m just not used to it again. Each hill was between 0.10 and 0.12 miles, around 6% gradient, paces from 6:49 to 7:30. Last one was the slowest, the rest around 7s. A very slow mile back to work to finish off. I was never in the red zone, and the effort was less than the last time I did these, but I felt much more tired afterwards - maybe the early morning or just a busy weekend, idk.
Also felt a bit niggly - inside my right shin has been annoying me all week. My hamstring on the left leg is very tight and the upper part was pinching a but during the warm up this morning, but felt ok on the hills. It's been sore and tight all day though afterwards and if I feel in past the belly of the muscle I can feel some very tight tender fibres. Luckily, I'm on my own in the lab today, so I got down on the office floor during break and did a few stretches and a bit of s+c - clams, leg raises, single leg bridges. Did some eccentric calf raises as well. The calf/shin seems to be a bit better, but the upper hamstring is still niggling away. I've a race on Wednesday night which I'm going to have to think about now if this hamstring doesn't settle down.

hot buttered scones

Monday 07/05

2@8:47. Right lower leg in bits, left upper hamstring biting. A very sharp pain on the inside of my left shin and very sore from the first step. I decided to run a small bit to see if it would ease out. It didn't.

I had to skip to 6 miler on Wednesday evening as the leg was sore to even walk on.

Physio on Thursday - she reckons the left calf/post tib etc. is all just overloaded, glutes aren't firing, core is weak - the usual. Lots of dry needling and massage work on the calf. Felt a bit looser afterwards, with a return of some power. Shin still sore though.

Sunday 13/05

3.11@8:45. A few days after a trip to the physio and after the pain from the dry needling had subsided. Definitely an improvement. The whole thing loosened out after 15 minutes or so. Still painful, but I had power in my left leg which was lacking on Monday.

Tuesday 15/05

5.1@9:01. Leisurely effort on mostly grass and gravel/dirt paths. Leg getting better but still sore. I wouldn't like to go much further or faster on it. Worst is going downhill. I need to run very easy for the first 15 or 20 minutes, then it all loosens out a bit.

Wednesday 16/05

4.61@8:35. Just a trot about before work. I had company for this, so the pace ended up being a bit faster than I would have liked. A noticeable increase in effort for the pace, but it was also very warm. Still, a bit less pain though and having company was a distraction.

More physio on Thursday, with more dry needling - but right into the area running along the bone on the inside. I'm still tender today after it, but the whole area feels a lot looser. I was having pain on the outside of my lower leg as well (anterior tibialis) which has subsided. As and from last week the routine has been lots of clams, side leg raises, single leg bridges and calf stretches. Plenty of foam rolling too and getting into the tighter areas with a hard ball. The advice was not to run today because of the needling, which I'm taking. I can go back to just do a few easy miles tomorrow, but only if the leg feels right and nothing too hard.

So I was highly p1ssed off last week. The warning signs were there I suppose - I either didn't see them or ignored them. I haven't really been looking after myself in terms of s+c, nutrition, hydration, sleep and recovery so it was probably inevitable I'd get injured. The was a bit of messing around with my prescription insoles as well which didn't help. What I want to do now is to regroup. I need to sort out this leg and cop on with the s+c, nutrition etc. There's no chance of my doing the last 2 races I had planned - a 5k on Tuesday night and the Cork Half, so I may as well put them out of mind and just get myself back ready for marathon training (hopefully).
I was definitely in the horrors last week though - disillusioned and disappointed. I was not looking forward to a long recovery period doing loads of exercises I hate doing. This week I'm happy enough to get out and just do the few easy mile here and there in the sunshine. I sort of enjoying the break a bit too. Life's just been busy the last few months and I'd been stressing a bit about fitting everything in (not just running etc.), so it's kinda nice to have a bit of mental downtime too. It's only now I'm noticing that I was quite fatigued and had a good bit of sleep debt. I'm debating with myself about what's the best course of action. By that I mean do I get myself right to get back into training ASAP, or do I scrap my plans for the rest of the year and take it easy for few months? Just focus on building a decent base, getting strong and forming good habits nutrition and sleep wise. A compromise would be to take my time getting back to full training and to do Frankfurt with a less aggressive target - it's all paid for after all. For now anyway, I just going to try and sort this leg out - it all depends on how long that takes I suppose.

OOnegative

Talk to Coach, he’ll not point you wrong. Let the niggles calm down and keep the S&C going. Frankfurt isn’t till 28th of October, plenty of time to get back into before then.

hot buttered scones

OOnegative wrote: »

Talk to Coach, he’ll not point you wrong. Let the niggles calm down and keep the S&C going. Frankfurt isn’t till 28th of October, plenty of time to get back into before then.

Yeah, I was on to him and got good advice. I'm just using boards to have a bit of a moan and through out some random thoughts. I'm also bored coz I can't run lots!

Kellygirl

Sorry to hear about the injury and that you are missing out on John Buckley and Cork. Hope the physio works and you get sorted soon.

hot buttered scones

4 miles on May 25th, which felt good starting off but the right shin started to hurt by the end. 3 miles on May 26th (Saturday) and to be honest I was sore from the start. I decided to leave off the running for a bit. Another trip to the physio on Monday 28th - the last two times I saw someone else in the practice, this time I managed to get to see my usual physio. She examined me and sent me off to get a scan. So I had to get a GP appointment for a referral letter, then phone the hospital the next day, ring the GP back to find out why the letter hadn't been emailed (GDPR!!!) and managed to get them to send it over by fax. I jumped on an exercise bike at home for an hour that evening the which was a bit soul destroyingly boring, although I mixed it up a bit with the efforts. That was the last bit I did. Had the scan this morning (which the shaggin' VHI didn't cover - wrong body part :mad: ). I'm looking at the images here - I don't know why I bothered - I might as well be looking up a cows hole, although it is fairly cool to be able to see the inside of your leg to be fair. I just have to wait 3-5 days for the results now.

So I've gone from being frustrated and a bit p'd off, to just accepting I needed a bit of a break to actually sort of enjoying the break a bit. For some reason I'm far less tired than I was a few weeks ago :rolleyes:. I should probably be taking advantage of this down time to improve my strength etc. and doing some non load bearing aerobic stuff like swimming and cycling (no cross trainer for the moment), but my motivation to do so is zilch. I really don't like doing that kind of thing when I'm motivated, so you can see why I might not be too keen at the minute. I've spent most of my new found spare time at work - taking advantage and getting the overtime in! I needed the distraction over the weekend anyway. I'm on holidays in a couple of weeks and I'm a bit annoyed that I probably won't be running when I'm away - I've been looking forward to that for ages now. On the upside, I can probably have a few more beers now! I may need a new wardrobe soon - the jeans are getting a bit snug around the waist already .

OOnegative

Sorry to hear that, sucks!! Hopefully it’s not serious and some R&R will sort it for you.

Kellygirl

Hope it doesn’t turn out to be too serious and the rest sorts you out. Enjoy the holidays.

Swashbuckler

Keep us posted. Hope it's good news.

aquinn

I hope you're ok.

3-5 days to wait on results is a complete PITA. Do they now have to go back via GP to the physio?

hot buttered scones

aquinn wrote: »

I hope you're ok.

3-5 days to wait on results is a complete PITA. Do they now have to go back via GP to the physio?

Yeah, they have go back via the GP. I have the disk at home with all the images on it, but I cant make head nor tail of it really. I downloaded a demo version of the software for looking at it and had some fun messing around with last night, but I could have been looking in a butchers shop window for all the sense they made to me. I'm hoping the physio has over-reacted a bit and that it will all sort itself out with a bit of rest and a few exercises. Of course this couldn't have happened during the long horrible winter - I was barely out of gloves, jacket and long sleeves!

hot buttered scones

So the scan came back clear, the pain has eased a bit and I've been able to extend a run as far as 10k. So 5ish Friday, 4 Saturday and 10kish today. HR is drifting upwards fairly early into each run and if I put a bit of effort in - like today for example I had to run up a fairly short, but steep hill together out of the park - my HR rises as expected, but doesn't easily go back into into easy range - that's always a sign of being a bit short on fitness with me. Of course these are also my first few runs in the heat and humidity and that always has a shocking effect on me too until I get used to it. I have no real plan other than run easy miles and build it back up a bit again until the leg feels better. I'm off on holidays for a bit next week so at least I'll be able to enjoy a few holiday runs.

Swashbuckler

I know its tough and hopefully all goes well over the next while but don't underestimate the benefits of the mental break from hard training. You'll hopefully come back completely refreshed mentally anyway.

hot buttered scones

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I know its tough and hopefully all goes well over the next while but don't underestimate the benefits of the mental break from hard training. You'll hopefully come back completely refreshed mentally anyway.

Your 100% right there. Looking back I can see my head was a bit mashed tbh trying to squeeze everything in, and I didn't or couldn't see it at the time. I'm sort of enjoying the current relaxed approach. I'm not thinking ahead at all and just getting to back to getting fit and enjoying myself.

Swashbuckler

Exactly. Kinda like hitting the reset button.

Singer

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Exactly. Kinda like hitting the reset button.

Yeh - enjoy the break and appreciate the pressure free runs while you can

hot buttered scones

Singer wrote:

Yeh - enjoy the break and appreciate the pressure free runs while you can

Had a follow up with the physio today. No more running for me again for a bit. Apparently having a very sore leg from running two days in a row isn't a good sign. Maybe a few pressure free cycles. Ah me head is wrecked from all this. I ran 10k yesterday and felt ok - a bit sore but better and really enjoyed it. But it was fairly sore afterwards. I pottered around for 4 miles today and wasn't feeling great from the start and basically all the muscles in my left calf were sore and, while it wasn't as bad as when it first happened it was still sore and definitely worse than the day before. So I've got a negative scan and no real diagnosis. I've to take anti inflammatories for a few days, and just cross train and s+c until I get back from holidays. If there's still no real improvement then I'll have to look at other options. Plus there's no way I'll not run for 3 weeks. Maybe if I just a did a few miles every 2nd or 3rd day or something. So yeah, basically at the moment it's a toss up between cycling and beer and I've a feeling beer might win. Although if anyone fancies a crack at a 3 legged half marathon, that might work. Maybe?

Singer

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Had a follow up with the physio today. No more running for me again for a bit. Apparently having a very sore leg from running two days in a row isn't a good sign. Maybe a few pressure free cycles. Ah me head is wrecked from all this. I ran 10k yesterday and felt ok - a bit sore but better and really enjoyed it. But it was fairly sore afterwards. I pottered around for 4 miles today and wasn't feeling great from the start and basically all the muscles in my left calf were sore and, while it wasn't as bad as when it first happened it was still sore and definitely worse than the day before. So I've got a negative scan and no real diagnosis. I've to take anti inflammatories for a few days, and just cross train and s+c until I get back from holidays. If there's still no real improvement then I'll have to look at other options. Plus there's no way I'll not run for 3 weeks. Maybe if I just a did a few miles every 2nd or 3rd day or something. So yeah, basically at the moment it's a toss up between cycling and beer and I've a feeling beer might win. Although if anyone fancies a crack at a 3 legged half marathon, that might work. Maybe?

Consider forgetting about the few miles every other day, go all in on doing fsck all and letting your body heal. Drink some beers and watch the world cup / read Ulysses / learn to knit / catch up with friends and family. Come out the other side healed and happy

hot buttered scones

Singer wrote:

Consider forgetting about the few miles every other day, go all in on doing fsck all and letting your body heal. Drink some beers and watch the world cup / read Ulysses / learn to knit / catch up with friends and family. Come out the other side healed and happy

I'm gonna get meself decked out in lycra from head to toe. And possibly shave my legs.

hot buttered scones

hot buttered scones wrote: »

I'm gonna get meself decked out in lycra from head to toe. And possibly shave my legs.

Just to read Ulysses? Seems a bit strange to me...

hot buttered scones

Deleted User wrote:

Just to read Ulysses? Seems a bit strange to me...

No, for the knitting.

aquinn

Why don't you go on holidays, take the drugs (as perscribed), enjoy the beer as above. Relax and enjoy the break.

Come back and see how you feel. If not then get a second opinion.

I'm sure my legs are furrier than yours and I cycle daily so shaving isn't a requirement, or lycra, for enjoying the bike.

OOnegative

aquinn wrote: »

Why don't you go on holidays, take the drugs (as perscribed), enjoy the beer as above.

I'm sure my legs are furrier than yours

Promoting taking drugs & alcohol!!!
And TMI!!!

aquinn

OOnegative wrote: »

Promoting taking drugs & alcohol!!!
And TMI!!!

You're welcome.

hot buttered scones

I really wasn't happy with the outcome of my last physio appointment so I went and got a second opinion. Yes, I'm injured but it's not serious and I can still run as long as I'm sensible. Coach agrees, so happy days. 3 days of running then, 30 mins, 40mins, 30 mins. First 2 runs were ok with some pain and the last one a bit uncomfortable, although I'd had no sleep. I was travelling all day yesterday so nothing. Today I was doing holiday stuff until the afternoon. Then it was a choice between an easy run in 30 degrees or beer. So I'm having a cold one waiting for the world cup to come on!