Brownian Motion

brownian · 02-10-2011 08:10PM

Hit the park today for pyramid session orchestrated by ecoli. Plan was one mile easy one fast two easy two fast, 3&3,2&2,1&1. all went smoothly. Certainly it's a lot easier than last weeks 20@7:00 run; the cool weather and light rain were a help too. Very nice to runin a group -thanks chaps!

Big issue for me was the groin and calf injuries I'm carrying. Physio wasn't that bothered about them during the week, and jogged a bit yesterday without too muc trouble, but this was a bigger ask. Did get around ok, despite some calf discomfort and an increasing sense of "don't lift the legs too high" from the groin. however didn't feel as strong as I should have, or as I did last week. A few hours later the calf is well sore and the groins not too happy out either. Will stretch and neurofen them now and stay off the runners until at least tuesday; if things are still dodgy I'll stay off for a full week. If it's still dodgy I'll have to think serious thoughts about dropping out, which would not delight me!:eek:

digger2d2 · 02-10-2011 08:30PM

Hopefully you'll be ok!

liamo123 · 02-10-2011 08:59PM

Just catching up with ur log...........Jesus just when u appeared to b building up very nicely this sh!te happens... Rest up for a few days Brownian... U seem to have the knack of bouncing back quick so imo a few days off the roads wont do any harm....

brownian · 03-10-2011 06:41PM

Thanks a lot folks. Heartening to get the good wishes, when there's a temptation to throw the dummy out of the pram. I'm not really in the place I want to be in, but hopefully there's time to bounce back.

Still sore today, though less so than yesterday evening.

Plan is to rest until next weekend, with lots of stretches and TLC. It's not that I've gone all sensible, but I've to travel for work anyway Weds-Fri and then have a kayaking thing over the weekend, in Mayo. I'll bring the runners west, and if feeling better will get ten easy miles in. But I won't take them to Spain - might even help me avoid the "your carry on is too big" palaver...

then - it's heading into taper time, so I'll tread the fine line between resting, sharpening and keeping injury at bay for a couple of weeks.

Slogger Jogger · 03-10-2011 08:28PM

Good move to rest up. 4 weeks out, there is hopefully still time to work any niggles out of the system. The majority of the training has been done til now in any event. Fingers crossed for you mate.

drquirky · 03-10-2011 08:54PM

That sucks on the injuries...having the same problems myself!! Good luck!

brownian · 03-10-2011 08:57PM

drquirky wrote: »

That sucks on the injuries...having the same problems myself!! Good luck!

Sorry to hear that, DrQ. That tight calf still on at you? Any leg that takes ten miles to start to loosen out has to be a bit of an issue.

Almac06 · 04-10-2011 09:31AM

Lads, you were both flying on Sunday and looked very sharp. Less than 4 weeks left so take it easy and you will smash it. Good luck with it and hope those niggles go away..... Look forward to hearing how you both get on!!

brownian · 04-10-2011 11:17AM

Bah humbug - this sitting around crack is pretty tedious. Groin seems improved, but calf is still pretty poor. If I do any more stretches I'll end up taller; but apart from heel dips and calf stretches there seems to be very little I can do except rest.:(

ELFOYZER · 04-10-2011 12:01PM

Hey Brownian, sorry to hear about the injuries and niggles. You and Dr.Q were flying on Sundays run particularly in the last mile. Im sure that come raceday you'll be on form and raring to go!

shotgunmcos · 04-10-2011 12:04PM

brownian wrote: »

. If I do any more stretches I'll end up taller;

Have you got compression socks or calves brownian? Could speed up the recovery

brownian · 04-10-2011 09:23PM

Hi Shotgun

wearing em now. Didn't yesterday, which was a bit daft. Only have one pair of the socks - but am in meetings for the next three days, so can always blame the hum on someone else's feet

Gonna be 28 degrees in Madrid, so the socks are going to build up some fauna and flora.

This injury lark is like taper madness - I'm envying everyone else, and they're all heartlessly posting their happy running tales...bastids

Specially envious of Krusty - that buildup feeling is great, and he's in savage form.

brownian · 05-10-2011 11:11AM

Still resting. Calf still sore - foam rolling last night pretty painful. Stretching religiously.

Walked down the pier this morning - calf uncomfortable, rather than shooting pains...but not encouraging me to run.

Off to Madrid for next three days - will probably put on about half a stone.

Krusty_Clown · 05-10-2011 01:35PM

Look after yourself. Bring the foam roller with you!

tunguska · 05-10-2011 05:08PM

Brownian get that calf dry needled. Seriously dont waste anymore time waiting around for it to get better by itself. Dry needling is major league effective for calf issues.

drquirky · 06-10-2011 07:10PM

Maybe my good luck w/ the calf is contagious....hope the warm weather is doing you a world of good!

brownian · 10-10-2011 11:16AM

Hmm. A week of rest. A fair bit of stretching, with little pain apparent during the stretch. Strolling the streets of Madrid with no big issues. So headed to Mulranney in Mayo for a kayaking weekend, and hit the Greenway for eight handy miles on Saturday. The groin/stomach thing grumbled a little bit, but gave me no big problems. The right calf continues to niggle and annoy - after the run there was certainly some discomfort, and during the run I wasn't feeling the joy...but nor was I limping. Sadly, that's not really good enough, if I'm hoping to pull 40+ kms at 4:08 or so out of the bag in a couple of weeks.

Worse again, the left achilles picked up a bit of a tug on the same run. Able to run through it, but defo a bit of a pull happening. Didn't know what side to limp on for the evening...coupled with groin discomfort. I'm feeling like a walking car crash - able to run, but not convinced that I can put in a good performance on the day....feeling I should try to rest and heal, but looking at a crash taper, and arriving at the start line un-sharp and hoping to get around without doing myself damage.

Ok, that's the bad stuff. The upside (such as it is) is that I think that the left calf will settle in a few days. It feels like a routine achilles pull, nothing fancy. The right calf was a bit sore running, but no worse than the 18-miler ten days ago with DrQ, ecoli and company. Ditto the groin/stomach. So I may be able to hold it together for 26 miles and not do too much damage. Not exactly ideal marathon preparation though, and really I'd like to be knocking out 8-10 miles at 6:30 pace a couple of times this week.

If anyone's put up with all that whinging - thanks for reading this far! Hopefully more upbeat soon.

drquirky · 10-10-2011 07:22PM

Not whinging at all Ciaran...being injured sucks! Whats' your gut on DCM? Any thought to revising back the target a bit?

brownian · 10-10-2011 09:21PM

Not revising my target just yet...hoping for a miraculous turnaround in my fortunes over the next week.

So far, though, today has brought me a bit of a cold/sore throat to add to my physical implosion. Not a totally happy bunny about that, but whaddaygonnado?

Lined up for some dry needles tomorrow (not at B2R, as I didn't get that info before I'd already made an appt elsewhere)...interesting to see if it's as agonising (and effective!!) as some say....:eek:

Early night tonight, hopefully up to a bit of a run by Weds.

brownian · 11-10-2011 04:22PM

So, tried the old dry needle today. Wasn't as sore as expected. A bit tender/stiff now; will try a jog tomorrow, hopefully.

Krusty_Clown · 11-10-2011 07:48PM

Hopefully things will start looking up a little. With the reduced mileage you should be able to reduce the taper, and get a few extra days of training in the bag. Good luck..

brownian · 12-10-2011 11:03AM

It wasn't meant to be like this. Still, gotta wait and hope that the injuries heal and the head cold goes away. Got another dry needling tomorrow, this time with Darren at B2R, as recommended by Tunguska, so hopefully I'll be utterly traumatised tomorrow, but running like a demon by Saturday.

Definite feeling that time and fitness are slipping away...but maybe I'm just getting a good rest!:)

Starting to think about where there might be a marathon in November....

Slogger Jogger · 12-10-2011 08:27PM

Hope it has the desired impact.

Florence?

brownian · 12-10-2011 10:06PM

Florence - good thought.

Will definitely consider a fallback marathon if things don't settle down soon.

Thanks, SJ!

brownian · 13-10-2011 11:40AM

This isn't the world's most exciting training log just now - apologies to anyone spending valuable time reading it, and thanks for feedback and encouragement.

After Tuesday's needling, the legs do actually feel a bit better. It's always hard to know if that's due to time passing, or the actual needling. Anyway, going for the trauma session at Base2Race this afternoon, thanks to Tunguska (note where the blame will be aimed, Eoin!). Then going to GP to get drugged up for this head cold. If I'm not out getting at least ten miles @sub-7 in by Saturday, I'm close to deciding to drop DCM and think hard about Florence, which would give me three or four more weeks for training/getting back to fitness, and then a proper taper (assuming injuries and illnesses go away). Clonakilty is another option, but the course looks slow and tough...and Mrs B loves Florence!

Feeling more positive now that I'm taking more steps to do something about my various ailments.

Might even have a run to report, sometime soon....:rolleyes:

ddel · 13-10-2011 12:01PM

Tough going - I've been following your log and was hoping you'd bounce back quickly. Things might still click!

On the head cold - is it a head cold? I think the current weather has everyones sinus/hayfever/congestion all over the place. Even people without history of these problems seem to be out of sorts. Could you be in that boat?

brownian · 13-10-2011 12:27PM

Thanks, ddel.

Could be just congestion, as there's no achiness and no serious lung congestion or coughing going on yet.

Anyway, will get doc to suss it out this afternoon. Still hoping that I'll bounce back...must avoid tearing out and hurting myself again though:)

brownian · 13-10-2011 06:38PM

So, had dry-needling two - Dry Harder. Certainly a more comprehensive experience with Darren at Base2Race, including some pretty good warmup/deep tissue massage/pain, followed by two dozen needles linked up to a TENS machine. Also plenty of sound advice - all in all a professional product and well worth it. No running til Friday at the earliest.

Then on to the GP, who said "infected sinuses" and put me on Klacid, plus a cornucopia of inhalers, drops and other goodies. No running til Sunday at the earliest, he says. But he also signed the medical form for the Florence marathon, so the backup is still feasible.

Then back to Base2Race from Stillorgan, as I left my phone on the massage bench (idiot boy).

To steal from my betters "we can rebuild him"...hopefully sooner rather than later!

brownian · 14-10-2011 11:13AM

Right, by Sunday I'll decide for sure whether or not to go for DCM. Will stay off the legs (and sinuses) until then. Florence is a possible backup, as is Clon, or even leaving it all till the springtime, though that'd cost a lot of motivation, TBH.

Here's a sketchplan if Sunday goes well (PMP is 6:40/mile)
- Sunday 10 miles; target pace 7-7.15 (PMP+30 seconds)
- Wednesday 15 miles with 10 at PMP (last long run)
- Friday 21st 8 miles @ PMP+15-20 seconds

- Sunday 23rd 10 miles with last six @ PMP
- Tuesday 25th 6 miles with last four @PMP
- Thursday 27th 5 miles easy (7:30 to 8:00)
- Saturday 29th as per Thursday 27th
- Sunday 30th 3 miles easy
- Monday 31st 26.2 miles @ PMP or better!

Comments or suggestions are welcome.

drquirky · 14-10-2011 03:52PM

Like the plan. Dude, you are due some serious luck- hoping Sunday goes well!!