Micilín's Mucky Miles

belcarra wrote: »

Has the solpadeine been masking the issue instead?

So that will be a pint of cold lager with the hot whiskey chaser?:)

I don't think so as I took my last Solpadeine yesterday afternoon. Unless it's still having an effect on me! I swear by that contrast therapy though - it's great for reducing inflammation.

I think I've had my fill of medicinal substances, despite really wanting a cold lager since you posted that :mad:

Pre-'race'

Arrived at 9.30pm with my mate Henry and registered before all the crowds came. I spent most of that time chatting to people like grahamor and a few other IMRA runners. They all seemed to be very relaxed about the whole thing! I prepared some of my food and re-packed my bags about 3 times.

Midnight Start - Stage 1
We headed outside with about 10 minutes to go and realised it was raining. Time for the waterproof trousers already!

The start had a good atmosphere and I got chatting to a former student before I had to push on to re-find Henry. Most of the route out to my first milestone - Templeogue Bridge - was spent passing people out with a slow jog and then a fast walk once we got past them. By Templeogue I was already feeling a tightness in my hamstring.

From here to Bohernabreena the field started thinning out more. I think by the M50 that there around 15 walkers ahead of us. The headtorches were donned just after the end of the streetlights at Bohernabreena. The first proper climb of the day was to my second milestone - Stone Cross. This was a tough climb but I was well used to it from all my hill running. The first early-starting hybrid passed us out here.

Stone Cross to Kilbride Army Camp was a b!tch - The Neverending Hill. It didn't seem that hard when we drove it downhill 2 months ago Still I wasn't suffering as much as Henry was. More and more hybrids started passing us out on this hill. It wasn't until the first downhill that I started feeling any real pain. My plantar fasciitis was very painful and it slowed us down a lot. A few walkers started passing us out here and I was seriously considering dropping out because of the pain. I took a banana and a mandarin here. The next uphill from the bridge over the Shankill River was fine, so clearly it was the downhill that was inflaming the PF.

Between here and the turnoff at Ashdown is where Eoin Keith, the Ultra leader and eventual winner, passed us out at a very decent pace. We gave him an appreciated shout out. It was only a minute or two until the next runner went by at a similar pace to Eoin's. At Ballysmuttan Bridge, the bridge over the Liffey to the "Northsoide", we had a good look up at the field of participants in front of us and their height on the road was very ominous. Looking back at the rest of the field was special, seeing a big long line of headtorches and hi-viz jackets!

The last section to Checkpoint 1 at Ballinagee Woods was hard enough, but by now I was so sore all over that I couldn't really feel the PF any more. I felt like I had blisters on the soles of my feet and expected it as I had never worn that brand of socks before. Nerraw passed us out just before the checkpoint. I was surprised to see him, in particular in such a good mood, as I didn't see him in Dublin Castle and presumed his calf caused him to do a no-show.

At Checkpoint 1, (about 4:55am) I found my bag quick enough. With my feet off the ground and socks off, I found no blisters! It took me an age to do the necessities here - change into hiking socks, boots and gaiters, scarf and hat, fill up the Camelbak, change the headtorch batteries and go for a pee. I had a cold wrap and a few squares of chocolate but nothing the organisers provided, nothing warm. I got cold very quickly, which was surprising because I hadn't even worn any hat or gloves all the way from Dublin Castle.

Stage 2
We headed off before the second Guided Group left and with my good gloves on, I warmed up nicely quickly enough. Henry was a few paces ahead of me most of the time which was a change. Usually we caught up with each other after a few seconds, but this time I was really lacking in energy and he had to keep stopping to let me catch up. This was really getting to me and started playing on my mind.

Henry asked me if I wanted to sit and down and rest and I said not until there was somewhere like a rock or somewhere to sit down on. I forgot about it and when Henry spotted a rock about 10 minutes late near the end of the forest track and I went over and sat. My heart was racing and pounding despite the snail's pace we were walking at.

Having sore muscles and joints is something I'm willing to endure, but with my heartrate so high, I knew it was a bad idea to continue past the track and on to the mountainous section on to Checkpoint 2. I didn't want the embarassment of a Mountain Rescue either so I made the right decision and bailed out when the second Guided Group arrived. I felt very bad about leaving Henry with a group but I think he may have benefitted from the company.

It was a long, slow walk back to Checkpoint 1, especially having to stop at each group and tell the Guides what I was doing going the other way! The lads at Checkpoint 1 looked after me (everybody had left by now) and offered me a lift back home, or to Glenmalure. I chose Glenmalure, not wanting to miss out on any more of the AON action!

About 15 Ultras had finished by the time I got there, so I knew it was going to be a while (hours) until anyone I knew was going to arrive. I saw Grahamor and an IMRA friend arrive and was delighted to see Henry sprinting across the ford at 12.59 having done Stage 3 mostly on his own and jogged 5km down Table Track to the finish. What a legend!

I'm not majorly disappointed and I'm glad I bailed out when I did. In hindsight, aside from the immediate danger of feeling ill and needing Mountain Rescue in the middle of the mountains, my decision may have been a trade-off between either finishing it and feeling like a legend, or bailing out and acknowledging that I'm not a legend and that I have a few things I need to deal with before I can take on something as challenging as the Art O'Neill.

Edit:

Stage 1: 4:54:58
Checkpoint 1: 0:48:48
Placing at CP1: 35/126

All I have done exercise-wise in the two weeks since AON is a hike up Diamond Hill in Connemara National Park. Those mountains are just incredible!

Health-wise I'm feeling a lot better. It was a case of getting worse before I got better as I got cold sores and felt weak. The Connemara air must have done me good as I feel ten times better now.

I had my final wisdom tooth removed too so it's probably good that I have no immediate plan to return to running. I would have thought that my Plantar Fasciitis would have improved by now but it still feels sore while walking. I need to have a chat with my physio about it as I don't feel comfortable running again until the PF feels better.

I still really want to run though!

Thanks for the support!

My physio is booking an X-ray for me with Cappagh Hospital (National Orthopaedic Hospital) for my bad (left) leg. It appears to be shorter than the other, but apparently only an x-ray can verify that with precision. Steps after that may include orthotics.

He has also ordered one of the dorsal night splints which will keep my foot in a 90-degree position to stretch the fascia while I sleep. It's effective in the majority of cases of plantar fasciitis. If that doesn't work I may need to get a corticosteroid injection into my foot :eek:

Meanwhile, I'm back to cycling to work for the first time in 6 weeks I'm going to start core strengthening this week, including yoga on Thursday night.

Cycling

I hit my target of 120km for the week - cycled to work and back all 5 days. Same target for next week

I woke up to a flat tyre this morning because of a slow puncture. I pumped it up again at the local garage, cycled to the nearest bike shop to work (Mike's Bikes in Dún Laoghaire) and left it in for new tyres and tubes. They fitted these tyres for me and I got to cycle it back to the office at lunch time. They are as slick as they look in the photos - the bike is like a rocket again!

Core Work

I also hit my target of 3 core work sessions, but did no yoga due to to work. Next week's target - 3 core work sessions and 2 stretching sessions, plus 1 yoga session.

Running
I think I may try out a few short runs next week as my foot and hamstring feel a lot better. It has been about 9 weeks since my hamstring flared up so I don't expect any speed at all. Also, I've gained about a stone :)

So far this week:

Monday

Cycling: 30km

Attended a bike maintenance class in Rothar on Fade Street. Best €50 I ever spent on my bike! I fixed my gears problem myself (with a little guidance).

Tuesday

Cycling: 28km

A journey into town and out to Dún Laoghaire before work made up the extra distance.

I did a good bit of stretching in the evening.

Wednesday

Cycling: 24km

To and from work.

Running: 5km along parts of the Rathfarnham 5km route. My quads were sore, most likely residual soreness after Sunday's run. Not a cause for concern. I had no plantar fasciitis pain, and wasn't out of breath

Did a good bit of stretching afterwards.

Thursday

Cycling: 12km to work.

I have yoga again tonight. Going to Galway for the weekend so the plan is a hike on Saturday and another short run on Sunday.

I don't want to get carried away with my progress, but I would like to have a concrete goal to work towards, as well as the more subjective goal of returning to a state where I feel comfortable to push myself again.

I was out of action for about 10 weeks, so according to Jack Daniels my VDOT should now be between 38 and 42, whereas it was around 47 for my marathon.

Based on that I am going to follow JD's plan in Chapter 4:

• 3 weeks of easy steady running @ 33% of my pre-setback weekly mileage, in other words something like 25km
• 3 weeks @ 50%, ie 40km
• 3 weeks @ 70%, ie 55km, introducing strides.
• 3 weeks @ 85%, ie 70km, introducing VO2 Max.
• 3 weeks @ 100%, ie 80km, introducing Lactate Threshold training.

belcarra wrote: »

Looks like a good plan in terms of building things back up again. My only thought would be why not introduce LT before VO2Max? It's less intense and would be better for you to go long when back at 100%.

That's exactly what I thought, but that's what JD recommends Well, he recommends 'Repetitions', not specifically VO2 Max. But that's the same thing, right?!

belcarra wrote: »

You can do reps of LT also...cruise intervals. They would be useful for getting back up to pace before doing longer tempo runs.

Forget JD and stick with JC!;)

That sounds interesting, I've heard of them before. It would be nice to try a new form of training too.

I do believe in the power of JC - but the last time I saw Him was in a vision on the night of my injury in Glencullen a few months back. He had some sort of halo around His head. We're still talking about the Mayoman with his headtorch on, yeah?

Thursday

Cycling:17km in total

Yoga: another good class

Friday

Cycling: 12km to work

Weekly total:
Running: 5km
Cycling: 111km

Monday

Cycling: 12km commuting

Tuesday

Cycling: 24km commuting

Wednesday

Cycling: 24km commuting
Running: 6km

Thursday

Cycling: 28km commuting

Haven't done any stretching or core work in over a week .

Plan is a 6km run Friday morning and an 8km run Sunday evening, to bring me up to 20km for my first proper week back.

Thursday

Yoga: Lots of work on the back and core.

Friday

Running: 6km easy at lunch time. My first time running in Dún Laoghaire in a long time

Cycling: 24km commuting

Saturday

Hiking: 8km around Three Rock/Fairy Castle.

Sunday

I thought I felt my hamstring a little bit tight during yesterday's hike, which was confirmed Sunday morning when I went to do the first of hamstring stretches in a week or two I actually didn't continue as it felt so tight.

I was also supposed to run today but I'm still stiff this evening. My first run of this week was on Wednesday, so technically I can count my week as Wednesday - Tuesday

Now to catch up on some logs

RunningKing wrote: »

How are the hamstrings now?

For the most part I think it just turned out that I was doing the hamstring stretch too soon after waking up on Sunday, but it's definitely still not 100% now on Tuesday.

I'm a little confused about how my legs have been feeling in general in the past few weeks. The soreness I've felt in the days after each of my runs has been equivalent to the soreness after doing 20 milers a few months ago. I know a little soreness is to be expected after a 10-week lay-off, but it has taken nearly 3 days for me to recover from my 8km hike on Saturday

Also, I did something bad last week in my inpatience with getting an x-ray on my leg - I bought over-the-counter orthotics and have been wearing them in my office shoes and in my hiking boots on Saturday. It does seem to have a positive effect on my plantar fasciitis though

Thursday

Cycling: 32.5km commuting

Yoga


Friday

Cycling: 24km commuting


Saturday

Running: 6km at recovery pace.

Yoga:2-hour class


Sunday
Rest


Monday

Running: 7km at recovery pace. Glute is a bit sore again.

Cycling: Was supposed to cycle to Cappagh Hospital for my x-ray. Unfortunately the headset is completely fecked now. I think it may be slightly too complicated for me to replace myself. No cycling for at least a few days now. It seems to be the story of my life at the moment - run a bit > get injured > cycle a bit > break bike.

Got the x-ray anyway (€80). I have it on CD so I can view it myself It's strange the way it was set up - the radiographer asked which leg was suspected to be shorter and he put a 0.5cm wedge under it. Even with the wedge, it actually appears to me to be longer Anyway, it's up to my physio now

Thanks for the words of encouragement They must have helped because the last time I felt pain in my glute was Wednesday morning which is a big change.

It might have been that I didn't give The Stick enough time - I have been using it a few times every night since Sunday. Or else that I started focusing more on my posture at work. Either way it has been a long time since I had 60+ hours without a pain in the ass.

I had a good week exercise-wise.

Monday
Cycling: 24km to and from work.
Yoga: Light stretching at home.

Tuesday
Cycling: 24km to and from work.

Wednesday
Cycling: 24km to and from work.
Yoga: Light stretching again.

Thursday
Cycling: 15.3km to work via Portobello. 38km home from work via Enniskerry and Glencree 2 minutes before I left work for the evening I said feck it and planned a nice route over the mountains. Could see the top of Djouce covered in snow and more remnants up around the Military Road.

53km for the day. (10km was downhill, does that still count?!)

Came home and had a Chinese take-away and a few beers

Friday
Cycling: 24km to and from work.
Yoga: Light stretching.

Saturday
Cycling to physio in Maynooth and back tomorrow morning, which will be53km again for the day. 53 must be my special number for the bike!

Monday

Cycling: 24km to and from work.

Tuesday

Cycling: 24km to and from work.

Running: 5.75km at lunchtime
Running at lunchtime is handy, except there's no time or place to stretch properly afterwards. Will have to do a good bit of yoga tonight.

Hopefully I'll manage this distance a few times a week for the next while. Easy does it!

Wednesday

Cycling: 24km to and from work.

Yoga: Did a few stretches for my back - the long cycle took its toll on my lower back.

Rolling: Used The Stick on my thighs and calves.


Thursday

Cycling: 28km to and from work.

Still a bit sore from Tuesday's heavy day of cycling and my first run back.

Went shopping in the evening and got a few supplies - yoga mat, fitness ball, wobble board and pilates band. No excuses now.

Friday

Running: 5.75km at lunchtime. Lovely run along the West Pier in good weather.

Saturday

Yoga: About an hour's worth of stretching and strengthening. Feeling the benefit of it all

Sunday

Running: 6.3km at night. I tried breathing nasally to improve my breathing, I lasted about 4km without opening my mouth which wasn't too bad! I could have gone a lot longer but common sense prevailed.

Yoga: A good bit of stretching after the run.

General Outlook
So that's my first week back running - 18km in total and I don't feel too bad. I've had a lot of time over the past four and half months for doing research on running and fitness and have changed my approach to my running plans.

From Jack Daniels' book I reckon I would benefit more from the 24-week approach, take a month or two off, and then another 24 weeks of training etc.

Having started yoga and reading The Runner's Guide to Yoga (link to Kindle version on Amazon), I want to make yoga a part of my daily life. I'm already doing it about 5 times a week and can feel the benefits.

I have also read a good bit of Chi Running by Danny Dreyer. A workshop would be in order as I find the book a bit hard to follow. As he said himself, it's a reference book so maybe a few reads of it and it will sink in.

Lastly, I'm still not decided on cycling. No doubts about it I loved heading up the mountains after work the past two weeks, but I really need a decent bike and I can't really afford it at the moment. Even if I get a bike, it's an expensive game as there's always something new to buy. Maybe a second job part-time is in order (seriously!).

Anyway, happy days with running

Monday

Cycling: 24km commuting.
Yoga: 1 hour focusing on injuries.

Tuesday

Cycling: 24km commuting.
Running: 6km in Bushy Park

Wednesday

Cycling: 24km commuting
Hiking: 3km of hiking. Rather than racing given I'm only back running, I volunteered to be a marshal for the first race in the IMRA Summer League in Bray. My job involved hiking up to the cross at Bray Head in the rain and directing runners. It was great to be a part of it and to see the top half of the field in full flight. Spotted and cheered lots of Boardsies - Enduro, Belcarra, SloggerJogger, nerraw, Thisregard and someone in a Boards top.
Unfortunately the climb up to the cross (which involved some rock climbing) must have been tough on my calf-achilles-plantar fascia as I felt the old familiar pain return in the heel of my foot :mad:

Thursday
Cycling: 15km commuting. My bike died - again. The chain snapped this time. I'm getting closer to that brand new shiny bike
Running: 6km around the trails of Bushy Park. Lovely evening and felt good.
Yoga: 1 hour, including loads of work on hamstring, calf and foot.

Friday
More pains today. A sore right hamstring - my supposedly 'good' leg. Plantar Fasciitis at me again. Won't run tomorrow, maybe Sunday. Talk about frustration :mad:

Sunday
Yoga: About 30 minutes. Lower back getting stronger now.

Monday
Running: 6km at lunchtime

Tuesday
Cycling: 24km commuting. Borrowing a spare bike for the time being. It weighs a ton!

Wednesday
Cycling: 37km commuting and to IMRA Scalp race. Found some lovely quiet roads!

Running: 6km at lunchtime.

Hiking: Did a few miles of fast hiking/running doing marshalling at the IMRA Scalp race. Great views from Carrickgollogan.

Thursday
Cycling: 28km commuting

Friday
Cycling: 24km commuting.

Running: 6.5km at lunchtime. Knowing I would be working late into the evening, I took 90 minutes for lunch so I could get some yoga stretches in immediately after the run. Despite having a bad back all morning, and a run that felt crap, 15 minutes of yoga totally transformed me for the afternoon

Saturday
Drinking

Sunday
More drinking

Monday
Running: 8km around Bushy Park. First run longer than 6km in a long time.

Tuesday
Cycling: 25km commuting

Yoga: 20 minutes

Wednesday
Cycling: 27km commuting and to IMRA race.

Hiking/Running: More volunteering at IMRA Tibradden. Took the camera up to the top of Tibradden and enjoyed the scenery. 2.3km uphill fast hiking, 2.3km downhill running :pac:I've never seen so much blood at a running race, at least 20 people fell and cut themselves. This was the trail I used to hate on my long runs over the Dublin mountains - turns out it wasn't just me who found it tricky!

Yoga: 15 minutes when I came home. Plantar Fasciitis the next morning was much better as a result.

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Sunday
Mountain Biking: 1 hour around the trails of Ticknock and Three Rock. I had an opportunity to take my brother's MTB out on the trails with him - it's not what I expected it to be like, in a way. A lot of it is about balance and following a good line. Most of the soreness the following day was in the back and core muscles. Good fun but I'm not sure if it's my sport!

I lied I feckin' love it. I may have a decent MTB before the week is out. Spent 2 hours in Ballinastoe tonight - great fun!