Brownian Motion

brownian · 20-02-2012 02:51PM

Headed down to Galway for the weekend - nice weather, beautiful location, all was well with the world. A sick daughter took the wind out of the sails a bit, but it was still good to be out of town.

Got a run in on Sunday - 14 miles up the Doolough and Sheefry pass roads (between Leenane and Louisburgh) - beautful location, not too hilly, and just for a change not too windy. Last four miles or so, though, the OP and the left calf twinge really got going, and while the actual running (4:40 per km or so) was very easy, the injuries are really doing my head in. :mad:Time to head over to B2R for a bit of serious discomfort from Dr DryNeedles? :eek:

Happy new week everyone

brownian · 24-02-2012 03:21PM

Still struggling with injury. Decided to get some dry needling from Darren in Base2Race, to address at least the calves.

Had a pretty sore massage, followed by a relatively mild dry needling. Took it home, iced it and went back to work.

This morning, the calf injury is astonishingly better. Really a great improvement.

Now - time to get a scan for the osteitis pubis and start getting some cortisone injections - it's just wrecking my head.

brownian · 06-03-2012 11:17AM

I've had quite enough of the osteitis pubis thing. Off to see a new groin specialist in the Mater tomorrow, so after a couple of weeks rest I reckoned I'd at least better have some OP symptoms to show him. So a quick 10k around Kilgobbet park - taking it easy for the opening five, then a bit of fartlek and a fastish mile or so on the way back. Feeling quite loose and injury free (especially the calves), but there's a lack of sharpness there, especially when I go to accelerate. Going much below a 40min 10k would be an issue, but since my Conn Ultra plans have degenerated to jogging around the Half course, I'm not that bothered.

All in all not a bad jog, considering I've been sitting on my H for the last several weeks with just a bit of hillwalking to liven things up.

kennyb3 · 27-03-2012 02:09PM

brownian wrote: »

Still struggling with injury. Decided to get some dry needling from Darren in Base2Race, to address at least the calves.

Had a pretty sore massage, followed by a relatively mild dry needling. Took it home, iced it and went back to work.

This morning, the calf injury is astonishingly better. Really a great improvement.

Now - time to get a scan for the osteitis pubis and start getting some cortisone injections - it's just wrecking my head.

Hi Brownian, on the osteitis pubis have you thought about getting laser? I dont have that injury myself but it came up on my search for information on laser with excellent results reported. I pulled a tendon partially off the bone and went to Dr Pat Leahy in the laser centre in Hume Street. Had been getting physio for months with no improvement. 2 lots of laser and a month later and the tendon is fine. Unfortunately i have another problem now.

Anyway thought i'd share that with you.

brownian · 27-03-2012 03:34PM

Thanks, Kenny. The man in the Mater, who is apparently "da man" in the groin area (yeah, I know

) is very negative and says three to six months off. So I might give the laser guys a go.

Much appreciated - thank you.

smartbodydublin · 10-04-2012 09:50PM

My own experience with laser treatment to speed up tissue repair. To start with a few years ago when trying to move a very heavy object my left bicep tendon tore fully. This is rare but not untypical injury for my age it seems, especially when heavy training is part of wear and tear. Through years of heavy weight training I'd apparently worn my tendons down I was told by the attending surgeon.

I was very lucky to have it fixed well within the time clinically recommended which I think was 6-8 weeks. If left beyond this point it slowly atrophies to a point where it's not doable. It's as good as before. I no longer lift heavy or take anything to increase my strength as tendons and ligaments don't get stronger, just the muscles. You can end up with very strong muscles putting massive stresses on tendons and ligaments way beyond their functional capacity which can have them slowly tear and scar up to a point were they can rip. Apart from my age, the attending surgeon made it very clear that I had likely worn all my tendons based on the overall state of my tendon as it was very scarred up.

That was one injury, mostly to show that I train for long periods with..passion. Another was when I had crushed/destroyed a nerve bundle and lost innervation to a few muscles but primarily the serratus anterior was affected, a finger like sheet of muscle that is obvious when you lift your arm above your head. It stuck out when I'd try lift my arm. Called winging as it looks like a wing.

I regained nerve response to this muscle over about a years time but I was left with a functional muscle imbalance due to the nerve damage which over time had my right side rotator cuff musculature become bigger then my left and also begin and then continue to pull my right collar bone out from it's sternum clavicular joint at the breast bone. It seemed and still does that some of the stabilizing functions during rotator cuff motion are not working right due to lower or negated nerve stimulation, making or allowing the active muscles used during eg. bench press to work out of harmony with each other and on the the clavicle causing it abnormal pulling stresses. Over years this caused the clavicle to be pulled out slowly from it's natural plane of motion during a giving movement. This is a guess based on living with it over a decade and seeing it lift up and rotate outward.

Over years of trying to strengthen all the other back muscles I never managed to balance this out and would see a very lop sided development on my right side if I went heavy lifting for few weeks, again showing along with the clavicle pull out that there is a functional fault in the rotator cuff musculature. Over a few years of suffering point tenderness at the sternoclavicular joint I could see and feel the clavicle stick out far more then the it's twin where it joins the sternum.

I presented this to a sport physio and was told it was fine and that I was imagining it sticking out so much and that it was likely always like that...this is really what I was told..bizarr. I went to her after this protrusion had slowly got worse with occasional pain during movement at the sternoclavicular joint. This was my condition over a decade later from the original winging/nerve damage episode which I also told her about in detail. Three visits later I'd giving up on physio and was told there was nothing that could be done anyway. When I kept pressing I was told it could be wired as that was the treatment you'd get if in a severe accident resulting in clavicle displacement. I was told it was very painful treatment.

I'd been going to the Laser Center in Hume street, Dublin for a skin condition for a few years and although I knew they dealt with many medical issue I didn't present this as my skin was big issue for me and I didn't want to pursue other treatments, as I'd no idea how serious an undertaking they might be. I'd gotten use to coping with the shoulder.

I did eventually present with what was at the time a sudden and ongoing injury which I'd read was near futile to address. I'm assuming from decades of very heavy leg pressing and sudden direction changes in jujutsu training I'd developed a Bakers cyst in the back of my right knee. So called as it was coined by a Doctor Baker.

It's a failure of capsular tissue at the back of the knee that allows fluid to push out and cause a lump like a hernia. As you walk or move your leg the tendons then roll over/snap during contractions, in a sickening bumpy way. It would go/resolve its self after a few days but was getting golf ball big and more frequently popping out within a months of it first appearing.

I read several articles on the net that explained it could be drained by a doctor but that it always comes back.

I asked the doctor at the clinic the next time I was there for my skin treatment as the knee was getting me down a lot by this time. He told me that it could be resolved fully which surprised me as this was at odds with what I'd read was normal treatment results. After three sessions of the doctor using a different laser treatment it has fully resolved and not returned.

After that result I then presented with my old clavicle problem with again little expectation as I thought it was likely too damaged. It was immediately recognised as a very real condition which was a relief to start. I was told that the cartilage disc between the sternum and clavicle was almost gone but that there was a good chance it would regenerate to a fair degree with treatment. Three sessions in and the clavicle is moving back in and is feeling better with no sensation of rubbing or soreness. This was very unexpected indeed...

That muscle imbalance caused by the original loss of nerve function and ensuing loss of muscle function to the scapula has not been addressed and I've yet to discuss it with the doctor. It never fully resolved so muscle wise my right side gets bigger and stronger then my left if I life heavy.. so I don't. Have tried many different permutations of routines and methods. The cost effect been to just drop down in the weight I push. I'm still in fair shape and train every 2nd to 3rd day. Am 45, have been training since I was 17 so am content to still be able to indulge a passion for exercise that I've always had. Have got big boost knowing that I can be repaired to a degree. Am back lifting a little more, not poundage but missed movements. Had stopped lateral raises which I always enjoyed as I was getting a disturbing rubbing sensation at sternoclavicular joint which is now absent.

I told a friend with painful knees and elbows from years of heavy weight lifting, he's 40 now, to go and he was so positively affected with the treatment that he got back to heavy lifting. He also took up battle reenactments. Curious, sure better then skittles and it looks fun. He's doing what he loves so he's content. I'm just more wary having had severe training related injuries.

I'm putting this out there as in my searching I did not find any real help for my clavicle rubbing/pain or bakers cyst conditions. So if you have problems like mine or painful joints from training I'd say try this clinic or try find a very similar service using the same treatments.

I know that some of what they do is cutting edge stuff and that Mr Pat Leachy, the surgeon who treats me usually, told me that many new treatments take up to 10 years to become widely available. So don't be fobbed off by someone telling you to go with invasive surgery or that you'll have to live with a problem. I was told both.

Try find gluscoscomine and condritine combo tablets at a good price. Tesco I suggest.. Apart from all the marketing blurb on this it seems to mainly increase the thickness/viscosity of the fluid in your joints. In effect it reduces wear and tear from friction and reduces pain where there may have been some grinding. I havn't read any solid evidence that it helps repair connective tissues which I've had many a person tell me, but I've seen it work wonders on my old dad and several people with joint issues. So that's something else to use if your problem is not too bad. That and the lasers treatments have been huge boosts to myself.

Pat, Dublin. retired martial artist of 11 years, weight training 26 years, just started running and liking it.

brownian · 08-10-2012 05:22PM

So, six months off. It's not been pretty. Watching runners jog past, spotting hill runners off on the ridges, catching coverage of marathons and halves... definitely missing it. Done the bike thing, doing the kayak thing, but missing it.

Anyway, went back to the man in the Mater today. Ran 5K yesterday so I'd be suitably sore (22 mins, which isn't great, but as a first jog after six months off it's not too bad). He poked around my groin in that rubber glove way that isn't any sort of fun, and confirmed that progress was poor to disappointing.

So it's off for steroid injections next, plus more exercises. If that doesn't work out, there's really only the knife or no more running. The knife is apparently only available in Philadelphia, and is a multi-thousand-euro experience... so for now it's the injections!

Best of luck to all you taperers - it's a magic time:). Missing it.

Marthastew · 08-10-2012 09:02PM

I'm so very sorry to see you are still out with injury, I really hope the injections make a difference. Not sure what else to say... I could list off a load of platitudes but I'm sure you've heard enough of them over the last six months:(
Good luck

ciaran_kdc · 14-02-2013 04:17PM

Aha, I see I'm logged in as an old old id - I'm all Brownian these days 8-)

OK, we might be seeing some sign of life here. As my daughter describes her preferred steak - a skilled vet could still save this one.

Been around the medical houses, and for the last several weeks have been enjoying the rehab-focused ministrations of Liam Heavin at the high performance gym (no, I don't belong there) in UCD. We've had gym balls, sponge balls, ball squeezing, rubber bands and a range of odd gym machinery, plus a bit of jogging here and there.

I'm now (at least in theory) aiming at running every couple of days, and pushing the distance (but not the speed). There have been excesses of enthusiasm (sub-4 kms) and resulting pain, but there's also been a pretty good lack of mid-groin/lower-ab pain...which is where the OP tended to bite.

Today being lovely, I went for broke and the first 10km in many months. The run was handy, pace-wise, though there was a brisk head-wind on the second leg. No doubt will be stiff this evening and sore tomorrow, but hopefully nothing too serious, so can get another spin in, come the weekend.

Really looking forward to hitting hills and trails again - but Liam says that's not for a while yet.

This could be a flash (ok, a spark) in the pan, but there's some sign of life.

Party on.

BeepBeep67 · 14-02-2013 04:20PM

It lives - nice to have you back!

Sounds painful, what's the theory behind the treatment

ciaran_kdc wrote: »

ball squeezing

ecoli · 14-02-2013 05:32PM

Good to see you back on your feet though if your into ball squeezing these days I think I may pass on meeting up with ya for a while until you are finished with your "rehab":D

brownian · 27-02-2013 11:15PM

Still ticking away at the rehab. Couple of 10s, couple of 5s, even a 4km trail run in Deputy's Pass. A bit sore after each run, but so far nothing alarming in the OP injury site. You'll all be glad to hear that the ball squeezing is on hold (as it were), as I was finding it a bit uncomfortable (yes, yes

)

Secret is to go long and slow - why is slow running so hard to do?

Picking up training logs and updates again as Boards sees that I'm still alive. Great to see the progress that some have made, and to see many of the hard core still being as hard as ever:)

Target run - Conn half, taken slow. Will need to up the distances a bit, but it's not impossible.

brownian · 28-02-2013 11:15AM

Nice gentle run this morning. Dropped the Little B's at school, back for a quick coffee, on with the tights - here I come neighbours, ready or not!

Down to the crossroads, through the kilbogget park to Ballybrack/Wyatville, back again. Listening to Steven Freakonomics Dubner and his assessment of management consulting - the world's newest profession. Recommended, as is much of the Freakonomics podcast base and (especially) the two books. Lots of people do popular economics (Tim Harford - good, Malcolm Gladwell - not so good, but ok...), but Dubner (and Levitt, his co-author) do it best.

Anyway, nice still morning, grass dry enough to run on most of the time. Not feeling super strong, but chugging away.

Better do some work now.:rolleyes:

brownian · 07-03-2013 04:47PM

Been overseas in lovely Israel for a few days so no exercise except of the beer muscles.

Got back to rain and mist, and out first thing this morning for a handy 10k around the park. Took it pretty easy, listening to the legs. Had a decent podcast on the history of teh world in 100 objects, which held my attention.

Was also out on Friday, but had serious calf niggle issue which got worse as I got running, so turned tail and went home, did core stuff instead. Fairly sure would have done a little damage if had carried on.

Lots of walking around Jerusalem, so that loosened things out. Cut my foot in the Dead Sea (me, name-dropping?

) but Compeed is magic stuff.

Conn Half coming soon - had hoped to be up to ten miles by now....try at the weekend.

That's all folks.

brownian · 11-03-2013 09:08PM

The slowest ten miles on record, on Saturday. Spent most of the day in bed, being lazy, and then buying one of the little B's a new phone - never an instant experience. Tho fair play to the lads in Vodafone Blackrock - the most positive phone buying experience ever, so far. Usually it's fiercely tedious. Anyway, got to four o'clock and it was cold and wet. My plan to head down to Amphibian in Bray and get some new shoes suddenly seemed very urgent, when compared to actually getting off my behind and covering some ground. A little niggle in the right calf was also encouraging sloth.

Sadly, Amphibian shuts at five on a Saturday, so my excuse was taken from me. Got my act together and did ten slow and steady miles over Kilbogget park, Ballybrack, Dalkey, Fortyfoot, Dun Laoghaire and back to Deansgrange. Really taking it slow, especially on the hills. Didn't feel strong, but didn't feel fragile either. The evil demon of osteitis made itself felt a little bit for the rest of the day, but seems to have settled since - the short 5K walk that I did yesterday with the kids certainly caused no issues.

So, I'm a bit more confident of chugging around the Conn half in a few weeks time....but 80 minutes for ten miles is waaaay the slowest time ever. A PW by about 15 minutes

Not quite the superhuman exploits of the Ballycotton Clown (nice going, KC).

Physio again tomorrow. This convalescence is slow.....8-|

brownian · 13-03-2013 02:15PM

Another ploddy run around the usual parks. For a change, it's a beautiful day, cold and crisp. Several other runners about, from the trim and rapid to the just-off-the-couch. Fair play to all of them!

Good podcast from freakonomics on the Cobra Effect and unintended consequences.

While I chugged along ok, I didn't really feel the love today. This slow running will no doubt help in the rehab and please the physio, but it's not very exhilarating

The thought of going sub-40 for the same distance any time soon seems rather a fantasy. For a start, I could do with leaving a stone of blubber behind. What a shame I love chocolate. Beer's pretty good, too. And big fancy meals...mmmm....

Anyway, enough rambling. Bit foam rolling later. At least I got out and did a wee bit!

Krusty_Clown · 13-03-2013 06:56PM

I was doing loops around the cinder track in Kilbogget this afternoon. Did you get out that far? Hard to feel the love in these crazy weather conditions. One minute glorious sunshine, next you have to keep your eyes closed from the stinging hailstones. Good to see you back up and running.

brownian · 13-03-2013 07:49PM

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I was doing loops around the cinder track in Kilbogget this afternoon. Did you get out that far? Hard to feel the love in these crazy weather conditions. One minute glorious sunshine, next you have to keep your eyes closed from the stinging hailstones. Good to see you back up and running.

Was indeed out that way - the usual 10k is from Springhill Ave (where the new road to Stillorgan joins the Deansgrange road) to end of the park (at Ballybrack Tesco) and back. But it was early (10am) this morning, so it was a mix of sunshine and sunshine - not so shabby. The good weather is making me think of running in the hills and trails - but the ground is still manky and the physio says not for a while...

You're in savage form these days - if you don't do a massive time in your upcoming 26.2 there's no justice.

brownian · 15-03-2013 12:47PM

The Garmin had that "battery low" message it gets when I didn't plug it in properly, so I did this run by feel. God knows I know the route and the distance, so it was exactly 10k, out to Ballybrack Tesco and back. While it's nice that this run is (a) flat and (b) largely zero-traffic, it's getting a bit monotonous. And a lot of the ground is still sopping, so running on the grass is hit and miss.

The good: nice weather, hardly any wind, chugged along pretty cheerfully, occasional short fartleks.
The bad: need a new pair of runners, these are short on bounce. The fartleks left me breathless, even though they were short and slow. Brownian's not in the full of his fitness.

Overall, a pleasant way to start the day, even if it cuts 90 minutes out of the work day. I'll pay it back this evening.

drquirky · 15-03-2013 04:33PM

brownian wrote: »

The Garmin had that "battery low" message it gets when I didn't plug it in properly, so I did this run by feel. God knows I know the route and the distance, so it was exactly 10k, out to Ballybrack Tesco and back. While it's nice that this run is (a) flat and (b) largely zero-traffic, it's getting a bit monotonous. And a lot of the ground is still sopping, so running on the grass is hit and miss.

The good: nice weather, hardly any wind, chugged along pretty cheerfully, occasional short fartleks.
The bad: need a new pair of runners, these are short on bounce. The fartleks left me breathless, even though they were short and slow. Brownian's not in the full of his fitness.

Overall, a pleasant way to start the day, even if it cuts 90 minutes out of the work day. I'll pay it back this evening.

Good to see you back man! I wouldn't worry about anything right now- just get out there and run. The speed and endurance will come back and probably quicker than you think!

brownian · 18-03-2013 04:36PM

Broken my PW for 10 miles again - a super achievement :eek:

After a happy hour in Amphibian King, with the usual patient staff and half a dozen laps of the local footpaths, I'm all kitted out in a shiny new pair of New Balances. Haven't had NBs for a few years, but these felt a LOT better than the default Nimbuses or the hollow-heel Mizunos.

So the next day it's off to Djouce for a nice run in the forest, down the Earls Road (if that's what it's called) into Powerscourt, and back. Just under ten miles, with the missing bit completed on the road outside, up and down the trac k and so on. Muddy. Muddy. Slippy. Muddy. My lovely new shoes. TBH, trail shoes might have been better, but if it had been just a little dryer then that wouldn't have been such an issue. But it wasn't.

Anyway, felt fairly ok for the run, despite slipping and sliding quite a bit. Not STRONG, but chugging along, so Liam de Physio should be content enough with my progress. Got a couple of fast k's at the end, running back from the Paddock lakes to the car park. Always a lovely bit of running, gently downhill, reasonably dry underfoot.

What with it being Paddy's day and all, it was pretty quiet in Djouce, and the post-run stretching in the misty car park, with just fog and trees for company, was pretty cool.

Stiff and sore today, though.I knew I would be, and I am. Nothing that feels damaged, but yesterway was pushing the envelope a bit and I can feel it. Tomorrow has 10k easy (they're all easy, these days) pencilled in. As I try to grind my way back to some sort of fitness, I will head out, unless still really sore. Few stretches and core things later.

brownian · 20-03-2013 04:53PM

My first run at any decent pace in months and months. Nothing earth-shattering, but a good step up from the 45-48s I've been doing the last couple of weeks. No doubt I'll hurt tomorrow or indeed later today!! [an hour later...still not too bad]

Good day for it - cool, calm. Tarmac a little slick in spots in the park, but otherwise pretty much ideal.

Gotta run (not literally) through the shower and out to a meeting. Hope the sweat stops dripping off me first!!

Worth noting for own records - very sore the evening of the ten-miler on 17th, both top of groin and right-hand side. Still sore next day, esp lifting feet (e.g. to put socks on). Discomfort easing in the afternoon/evening of the 18th. By the 19th, pretty much back to normal, though the usual small niggles in calves etc. Doing plenty of the inclined-plane calf stretches and the neuro hamstring stretches, which seem efficacious. A few side-planks and bum lifts and foam rolls.

brownian · 23-03-2013 11:36PM

I was meant to run yesterday, but no way was I emulating the Clown and going out in that stuff. So I stayed up late watching 24 (jeepers, it's rubbish. Scripted by some adolescent creative writing student from Alabama, if last night's fare is anything to go on) and slept in until nearly noon today. Normally I'd be kayaking on Saturday morning, but the forecast was pretty poor, and strong winds from the east spell ugly weather on the Dublin coast, so I had an excuse.

Anyway, got my sad ass out of bed and abandoned one child with a cold, another child with a temperature and a wife with two sick kids.They went to EastDoc, I went to Glendalough. Had a very pleasant 10-mile run on the greeen road from the interpretative centre up to the Miners' Village, back to the waterfall, up to the top of the waterfall (using the track just W of the falls, not the path right beside them, which is much steeper) and then along the Wicklow Way to the Old Mill at Derrybawn House (scandalous, that cutting down of those fabulous trees last year):mad:. Then back along the green road to the car, where it turns out that was only 12km, so on to the upper lake again (took the boardwalk, but after 100m it disappeared under water - mucho floodo, so went back to the trail), and finally back to the car.

Great to be out of town, though there's no sign of spring at all in the oak forests yet. Lovely quiet trails, smashing views. A somewhat tedious history of the fall of Rome (think 460AD) on the podcast, but ditched it for the silence after a while. Despite the rain, the actual trails were grand, I hardly go t wet feet at all - it certainly wasn't the mud fest and downpour I was expecting. Bonus! I also got to run steeply downhill for the first time in many months - there is certainly an extra impact there. Tomorrow will tell if there's any damage done, but so far there's nothing stirring.

Fitness seems to be building - it's been a pretty good week, progress wise.I'm increasingly confident I'll get around the Conn Half in one piece. Mrs B is convinced that I'll race it, aiming for 1:25 or so - my current plan is more like 1:45 or more. Today's 5-minute kms were reasonable for the sort of terrain; I'd expect to be able to match that in Conn without too much pain.

brownian · 29-03-2013 11:43PM

So, the run in Glendalough was good and felt ok afterwards. The plum-size knot in my calf that appeared over the following day or so was less cool and groovy. Several days of stretching and foam rolling (ow:eek:) followed, with only slow and painful progress towards normality. No way was I going out running on that.

Saw the physio in the usual fix-my-groin rehab way on Tuesday, he told me to keep doing what I'm doing and it'll get sorted. Bleh.

So I decided to give it a quick spin out yesterday just to see how it goes. Knocked out a gentle enough 10k, but could feel myself minding and favouring the sore side. Expected bad things, to be honest, to be waiting next day.

But overall it's no worse than pre-run, and maybe even a little better as I keep up the rolling and stretching. So maybe (maybe) it'll settle properly by the Conn Half, even if I keep tipping along doing a few flat 10ks here and there.

Failing that, I feel the dry needles calling me with their spiky little voices....:)

brownian · 02-04-2013 02:09PM

So the calf is still at me, but with regular rolling it's not getting any worse. Still, physio Liam has me off to be dry needled on Friday - that's been good for me in the past, so hopefully it'll set me up for the Conn half.

Between treatments, am still jogging along. After the calf issue, I left it til Thusday to knock out a nice slow 10k (45 or thereabouts), and then until Sunday to jog out 10 miles around the windy piers of Dun Laoghaire... ended up doing about 11 miles, at about 5min/km pace. That's roughly what I'm looking at next week in Conn, all going well.

brownian · 12-04-2013 12:01PM

Funny how, when you don't race a race, you care less and you don't post about it. Still, the Conn half was my goal race this spring, where 'goal' means that I hoped to get around it in one piece, as a clear indicator of recovery from the osteitis pubis I got 18 months or so ago.

So...
- hit Killadoon, outside Louisburgh in Mayo, late on Friday night, having given the Doctor a lift down.
- chilled on Saturday - short walk on the utterly beautiful headland between white and silver strands, while some of the others took a hike up Mweelrea, and ran back down - serious quads training. Then a quick cycle (5K), an hour of stop-start-sprint frisbee on the beach, a quick cycle home, and into the beers and ****e talking.
- sunday woke up with roaring sore throat (strep throat, it turned out when I saw the GP on Tuesday), feeling a bit crook but not too bad. Down to Leenane, little jog, onto the start line. Usual palaver from our beloved race director.
- ran the whole race at 5-6-6.20 per km, with the Doctor. My aim - to get him over the line (he'd DNFed the last time, been injured other times...) and to not hurt myself. Easy steady pace pretty much the whole way, with hardly a sweat broken or any sort of serious panting. Bit of a headwind. Easy running really is easy. Bit of a novelty to be passed by so many people:o
- over the line in 1:58 or so, something like 600th (!!). Certain amount of sore groin and calf, but nothing too savage. Into Hamilton's for a couple of pints, then home for grub.

So, not much to tell. Really a glorified 70-euro training run, but goal achieved. Another lovely blue t-shirt.

Strep throat really took hold this week - penicillin jabs, ABs, the whole hog. Man-flu, she says

. So haven't jogged a mile since. Need a new focal point now - DCM the obvious target, but the way I feel right now, breaking 2:58 would be a serious challenge.

brownian · 07-10-2013 02:58PM

But it might be alive. Following a summer of cycling (tho not hard), walking (tho not far) and kayaking (but in the sun), I'm going to try to get back at the running...maybe with a spring marathon in view, maybe just the annual Conn Half.

So, went for 10K two weekends ago, after a nice 40k cycle in Wickla. All went grand, in a 48-minutes-y kind of way, but came down with a fierce dose of man-flu the next day. A full course of antibiotics later there's no improvement, so it's back to the doc for a second round. Now on double-dose Klacid - tasty.

Anyway, feeling a bit chirpier after three days on the double-dose, so out for 10 easy ks today. Deliberately keeping it relaxed, but not actively going slow (you know what I mean, like!). 46 minutes for the ten, which I'm pleased enough with. A few more of those and I might start looking at doing a bit of pace work.

Is it a resurrection, or is the corpse just settling?Is that groan, or just a creak? Time will tell

drquirky · 07-10-2013 03:33PM

brownian wrote: »

But it might be alive. Following a summer of cycling (tho not hard), walking (tho not far) and kayaking (but in the sun), I'm going to try to get back at the running...maybe with a spring marathon in view, maybe just the annual Conn Half.

So, went for 10K two weekends ago, after a nice 40k cycle in Wickla. All went grand, in a 48-minutes-y kind of way, but came down with a fierce dose of man-flu the next day. A full course of antibiotics later there's no improvement, so it's back to the doc for a second round. Now on double-dose Klacid - tasty.

Anyway, feeling a bit chirpier after three days on the double-dose, so out for 10 easy ks today. Deliberately keeping it relaxed, but not actively going slow (you know what I mean, like!). 46 minutes for the ten, which I'm pleased enough with. A few more of those and I might start looking at doing a bit of pace work.

Is it a resurrection, or is the corpse just settling?Is that groan, or just a creak? Time will tell

Good to see you back, man. I'd build real slow just get the miles in, nice and easy and build the strength. You'll get back to where you were...

brownian · 10-10-2013 12:29PM

While usually I run at lunchtime, I've tried running in the evening this week - but it just doesn't happen. By the time the dinner is dined and the washing is upped, the darkness is coming in...getting out the door doesn't happen. Which is pretty bad, really, as I think I'm loosest in the evening.

So, today we tried the early morning run approach - drop the sprogs to torture-land, get home, get changed, get out. Usual 10km down through Kilbogget (really, it's great to have this park...even if I get bored with it, it's on grass, it's free of cars, there's only one road crossing between Deansgrange and Wyattville). Feeling a bit sluggy, feeling bits of niggle creep up and then go away again, feeling a bit stiff and tight. So while the run went ok, and I kept the pace well under control, I certainly didn't feel the love.

But... these trying-to-get-back-to-it runs aren't really expected to be love-fests. It's about getting the body in some sense used to the running process again...if I get through these weeks without injury, I can be happy enough.

To add to my joy, went for the annual NCT with the doc today, and he tells me to eat less chocolate and to lose some weight - hurray, just what I want to hear as the winter looms.

Anyway, enough cheery stuff.

brownian · 15-10-2013 08:23PM

Should really have run over the weekend, but went to the irish sea kayaking association's annual symposium instead, outside Belmullet. Really unusual to get such calm weather and easterly breezes out there on the edge of the continent, so got out to (and landed on) the Stags of Broadhaven (fantastic), then out around, and onto, Eagle Island, plus a really good spin around Duvillaun More, Inishglora and more. Smashing weekend, but no running.

Anyway, back to it this evening after dinner, with the usual 10k in Kilgobbet Park. Getting good and dark, but it's well enough lit if you stick to the main path, and there's a white line to follow and no major pot-holes. Tried out my new Sportful Hotpack jacket, which is YELLOW, and really for biking, but fine fo running too. The size Large is bet onto me - time to cut back on the chocko.

Defo a few small niggles floating around, but nothing that got worse over time. If I get out more regularly I suspect that some of these would smooth out - more stretching might also be a good idea. Then there's foam rolling - a whole world of discomfort to play in!

Still just working on getting comfortable - it's feeling more like 10k is a handy spin, but I'm not yet gumming to push it to 10 miles, or to run off up Lugnaquilla...time enough. Great to get decent weather at least.

Brownian Motion

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