reasons i've come up with for why i'm so slow

1. I'm coming back from injury
2. I'm carrying too much body fat and my legs aren’t used to the extra 5-8lbs
3. I've put on some muscle mass on my legs which makes them heavier each step
4. I've not adjusted to the heat increase that is summer in dc
5. I've not adjusted to the humidity increase that is summer in dc
6. The cycling is taking a lot more out of me than I realise or will admit to
7. The mileage I'm running is taking a lot more out of me than it would have done pre-injury
8. After cycling around loads running just feels slower
9. I've lost all efficiency in my stride and form
10. My body has lost the ability to recover quickly from workouts so I'm still not recovered from last nights 6mile run or this mornings 4mile run

there might be more... or some above might be rubbish (the first one doesn't really make sense as the rest all all products of the first point... stupid hugh)

Fact and science? Stuff made up in my head? Just ran 10mile outside at noon in 85F and it just felt much tougher than it should. I can only hope that i get some speed back in my legs and long runs in the next three weeks (the amount of time I've scheduled ahead and given myself to get in shape before I start hitting the track and doing quality workouts again and using a stopwatch properly again).

plod plod plod

6 last night with also-coming-back-from-injury-Mike... we went for a 6mile run around arlington bike paths and streets and avoided the washington-lee track. The track last night was packed with people, and the school reconstruction - whatever that is - has taken over four of the outside lanes of one bend of the track and it makes for a horrible mess of a people/runner/jogger traffic jam. Almost to the point where I'm not keen at working out there unless it's first thing in the morning. I think I need to find another track until that mess is cleared up.

4 miles this morning just to wake up along the rock creek park north of home. It's in a bit of a mess... couple of trees across the trail, really muddy sections, really eroded sections where there's just loads of big stones and rivets big enough for your foot to get trapped or ankle get sprained.

Right knee hurt this morning, but not last night. can't work that one out. hopefully it'll pass in a week or so’s time.

And... exhausted. Forgot how much running once or twice a day - plus cycling to work, can tire me out. Need to get more sleep and i can see the cycling to work getting curtailed. Might even go to my car for lunchtime naps to get some mid-afternoon sleep in. Tired. Yawning. 10 this lunchtime and then very easy day tomorrow (4am).

ship shape

biked home last night along the closed off rock creek park - if only rock creek could be completely closed off to cars everyday. gorgeous running along it this morning, and pretty damn great biking along it last night and this morning. The entire park just full of people running and jogging along the road. Pretty damn great. Felt wierd... felt like saying something to every runner i passed just to highlight that we were out there sharing something different from normal. Running down the middle of a road does feel a little powerful when there's traffic about, but it feels strange when there's no traffic whatsoever... I suppose it's like a race when the road has been closed off.

Anyway... 10 this morning. Again - slow. Again - sluggish. Again - a little depressing... but great to be able to put in a couple days of running without any reaction in the shin area. Both ankles feel a little creaky but thats probably the fat ass they have impacting down on them on every stride. Will stick to the dirt trails for the rest of the week. Right knee hurt a bit last night going up hill when I went out to do some hill work so I cut my losses and just rested for the evening. I think the right knee might be related to the cycling… feels like an old school runners knee type thing – something I’ve not had or felt for at least 2 or 3 years… like a bolt being hammered into the bottom left corner of the knee up through the joint. However, it’s something I can run or stretch through and the pain goes away after a couple of miles or if I’m not going up hill. It’s one of those things that’ll pass. Right achilles was also a little sore this morning… too much rock creek tarmac, not enough rock creek trails – cause the trails are all covered in water after the heavy rain and storms that’s why. I wonder how damaged the trails are north of pierce mill? Will find out tomorrow morning as I have a gentle 6 followed by strides pencilled in the plan. 6 with strides tonight after biking from work to track, and then biking home after track. I’m enjoying the ability to focus on training again. Friday (4miles easy am) is a rest day not far away so I’m looking forward to putting in solid runs tonight (6), tomorrow am (6) and pm (10) before earning the Friday rest.

slow and heavy but ran 12ish and felt alright

12miles this am - fairly slow and easy - felt heavy and sluggish
biked the 20miles to work

weights tonight... 10 tomorrow morning and then 6 in the evening with strides... i have a nice three week schedule worked out and i feel confident as of today that i can stick to it and get the miles in and run some quality as of next week and stick to the easy days being very easy and the days off being days off. mileage starts to creep up slowly but if I can get good food in me, and lose a bit of weight, and get good rest night after night and naps on the weekend, and ice anything that hurts, i'll get through this three weeks through to sunday 16th july and be in decent shape. right? right.

discipline / commitment / determination / sacrifice.

it's all beginning to start again after this strange 3 months away.

things feel like they are on the up (again)

thursday
- off
friday
- off (physical therapy)
saturday
- 10m (hilly trails in rock creek park)
- 35mile bike (with hill repeats)
sunday
- 12m (rock creek south and gtown and north up through glover)
- 35mile bike

lots of rain and thunderstorms and it's just great to be outside when the world and the weather is that active all around you. oh, and COME ON ENGLAND. tactically i thought they played well on sunday against Ecuador, but will need to go through a couple of extra gears against Portugal to win... a couple of gears they definitely have because they haven't played anywhere near their potential yet.

Writing down the next 20 weeks of training today. There are some tender bits around the right shin where PT Barb has worked on my leg, and i think I might start using a masseuse she recommended once my mileage gets over 100 miles again. Took this morning off, and will put in a gentle 4 miles tonight of jogging just to warm up for some stretching and the like. Weights and cycling at the gym as well. 12 tomorrow morning. Looking forward to it. Things are coming back together. Slowly. If I can run well this week, will take friday completely off and run the club slr this saturday morning. Ice ice ice. Also try to get as much sleep as possible this week. Got 10 hours last night. Motivation starting to creep up too - i feel ready to start working hard at the running again and the discipline and put in a shed load of hard work...

what is wrong with my right leg?

this morning - ran 6 miles. biked 20miles. will go out for 10mile bike ride to bike shop at lunchtime (once the mexico game is done). 30mile bike ride long way home tonight.

my right leg continues to be a problem... right knee now hurts going up hill... but only going up hill. everything else just feels off. there is some specific localised pain that feels like bruising on top of the shin at the very bottom of the right leg (where the tear was previously), pain on the outside of the leg around from the tear spot just mentioned. tightness becoming pain in the ankle toward the inside back of the ankle joint. knot in the right calf. i wonder if i ahve some sort of vain ro artery blockage which is cutting off the supply of red blood cells and thus causing all these problems. it's really taking far too long. everything else in/on my body just heals really quickly. why is this so much different?

thunderstorm! crash! bang! wallop! 10miles this am.

had a whole day off running yesterday. rode bike home the long way... rain was so hard i could feel it pelting against my bike helmet. the creek overflowed alongside the bike path and i saw it too late (or was going too fast) and spun out; landed on my ipod...screen busted completely through the protective case i bought, both hands torn up (no bike gloves on), left elbow torn up, left knee torn up... blood dripping down left arm and left shin. soaked completely through and cycled the remaining 8 miles home. Rear gears had some problems after the crash but i think that was just the dirt (at least i hope).

ran 10 miles this morning. felt slow and shin felt a bit tight at times but no pain. stomach wasn't happy at all. running hasn't gotten back to feeling good yet. need to lose 5lbs quickly to help it along. right shin does feel strange at times, but not painful. I'm overly concerned about it, and hopefully I'll get through training this week and next and will stop thinking about it. I was a little tight this morning all over but that might be because of falling off my bike. i think i'm too old to be falling off my bike and scrapping my knees and needing plasters. and they don't sell smarties over here to make it all better. damn them.
england sweeden this afternoon. COME ON ENGLAND.

running again. no pain so far and feel fairly good about the shin (finally)

running, since starting up again last wednesday, has been going well so far. shin feels strong and put in some strides after my run on sunday. also went out and went for long 30 - 35mile bike rides on thursday and saturday and sunday to add to the amount of training I'm doing. shin feels slightly bruised when i rest the left leg (ankle bone) on the shin area that previously hurt - ice ice ice today... but no pain when i run or manipulate the muscle myself.

wed pm - 4m run
thu am - 8m run
thu pm - 30m bike
fri am - 6m run
sat am - 11m run
sat pm - 37m bike
sun am - 8m run + 6X80yrd strides
sun pm - 35m bike

bought loads of salad from farmers market in mt. pleasant - while eating it last night picked a big green caterpillar off my fork - noticed it at the last moment. put him on a leaf and let him go outside. i wonder if I ate any others that I just didn't notice?

biked to work this morning. taking a full day off running. will do a bunch of callisthenics this evening after biking home the long way to get some extra mileage in.

bike ride from home or big big ride over in MD on the eastern shore?

decisions decisions. do I

a) get up at 5am sunday morning and cycle for about 4 hours and try and cover 70miles or so on my bike... but leave from my house and cycle around northern MD and then get back home around 9am and be able to watch the footy all day sunday. and sleep and make breakfast at home. and it would cost me nothing but the food i eat while I'm out there. and better for the environment cause it doesn't involve 5 hours or so of driving.

or

b) get up at 4am and drive two and a half hours to Betterton, MD to ride 104miles in the Bay to Bay ride which starts at 7am and costs about $30 (plus petrol costs getting to and from Betterton) and will rule me out of watching most of the footy on sunday (including Brazil Australia, Japan Croatia, and France South Korea). World cup only happens once every four years... this option costs more money... but there is support in food stops and people to help if I have bike issues and the like... hmmm. and a century bike ride would be a nice thing to have done of a morning and early afternoon.


I'm leaning towards a right now just cause i get an extra hour in bed and it would be cheaper.

fat and heavy and slow but running

felt terribly out of shape running this morning, but put in 4 miles last night and then 8 this morning on the trails. Need to focus now on all the extras - stretching; cross training; sleep; diet; weights; plyometics; calisthenics

need to drop the extra fat I've put on quickly so my joints don't have to put up with the extra impact, and then will be able to put in more miles without the stress of carrying around my fat arse.

might even try a golds gym yoga class, or core exercise class (like pilates or something like that)... but then again i might just do a bunch of exercises while watching the first half of one footy game, and then do stretching for the second 45minutes.

Still thinking of doing the 104 mile bike ride on sunday just to get outside exercising for 6 hours or so... it'll make me not run, but then again, if I could run I'd probably prefer to be doing that... but 6 hours will kick in some serious long distance endurance advantages.

and COME ON ENGLAND

carragher should start as Neville is out.


stevie g is a legend.

just saw this:

Today independent medical experts gave their evaluation on the fitness of Wayne Rooney.

Joint Statement From Professor Angus Wallace and Professor Chris Moran

[...] We have carried out a full risk assessment related to returning him to play at this stage and that assessment has indicated that he is at no more risk than any other player who has recovered from an injury and is returning to competitive sport.

It is our professional medical opinion that Wayne Rooney is now available to play in the World Cup.

[...]

EFFING AND GEOFFING GENIUS.

GENIUS.

he might play for man u, but when he's got an england shirt on, I'll excuse him that mistake.

red red red red red GREEN

as murray walker would say - and they're off - i'm given the go ahead to start running again... after 8 days off. Leg feels fine. will give it a little go on the treadmill this evening, and have a gander at the trails tomorrow morning. I can't wait.

I expect the next weeo or two of running to feel fat and heavy and slow, and so might just leave the watch at home and go out on routes i know and love. then another couple of weeks of building up to normal training, and should be clicking along, any further injury mishap withstanding, in a months time... perfect.

I can't wait until my alarm clock goes off tomorrow morning at 5am and I get to get up and see sunrise while plodding along the trails of rock creek park. it's like a birthday. i'm gonna sleep in my running shorts, thats what i'm gonna do.

72 miles on bike yesterday - running by end of week? no pain in shin at all, but waiting for PT Barb's permission to start up running again

72 miles on bike yesterday. one puncture caused by brake pad rubbing on tire wall... changed the tire in under 10minutes (lots of practice on tire changes now) and used a GU wrapper as a tire wall; rode the rest of the way using brake and left shoe for braking. i heart my bike. biked to work this morning in the rain. got soaked. loved it.


and the world cup looks better when you watch it on this. oh yes.


and listened to through this

right shin actually feels fine now, and going to continuing icing and biking (loads) through this week and maybe get permsision from PT Barb to run towards the end of the week. Cycling is giving me a great workout so I don't feel so bad missing out on the running, and maybe everything'll be fixed once I've given it this extra time off. I'm looking forward to be running again, but I wonder whether I'll be able to run my age in mileage on my birthday this year. Thats a really long run in only about 5 weeks time. Maybe.

Might do a 106mile bike race/ride on the weekend as a bit of a challenge just to keep the system ticking over so I don't get too fat and slothlike.

picture crazy

not only am i biking to work instead of driving (healthy running lifestyle change) i'm growing veg and herbs in my small dc garden (healthy running lifestyle change).

no great running news - i heart my bike

PT still wants no running from me so I'm almost at the point of quiting the kenya trip cause it wouldn't make much sense if I wasn't in good shape. why push for that 3% improvement when you could improve 15% just by running regularly at home?

Went out for an early morning 2hr hilly bike ride before the england game.


come on england... got the result but terrible performance by the boys. we always start tournaments slow anyway.

rest day today

right foot and ankle and shin starting to complain after 10 days without a single day off running. shin starting to tighten up again under, and ankle not feeling great. hopefully PT today will help it, in addition to taking the day off running. Did 45minutes exercise bike followed by half an hour of weights and 15minutes stretching this morning. gym again this evening... planning 60minutes exercise bike followed by 30minutes of core/stability work. right ankle feels tight and hurts when I get up from sitting. Right shin feels tight when pushing out on the right leg while stretching my left groin. running doesn't hurt but i can feel the tightness building across the bottom of the right shin. The achilles is still a little sore/enflamed but the ankle pain hits in the left handside of the ankle and across the top of the ankle as well... ice and rest today then (if cycling is causing this i'll be more than a little miffed).

i miss 20mile days. i miss 12 mile runs through the trails before breakfast.

doubles both sat and sun and a high amount of confidence

managed doubles both sat and sun, but right ankle still feels like it's very weak. shin a little weird when running... tight... achilles still sore. 64 mile bike ride on sunday. good to get out and exercise for hours rather than just an hour.

bought new shoes too - wilson fitted me... great to catch up with him. got Asics Landreth II... lightweight with no motion control/stability but lots of cushioning. trying to stick to trails too for the next couple of weeks. and getting back close to a weight I can run with. Right now I feel like I'm carrying a tire on my back whenever I try to run intervals. need to lose about 10-12lbs in the next month so I don't have to think about weight anymore. nice and slim before I get fit and fast and healthy to go to kenya and make the most of that month's training.

going to disappear to a coffee shop tonight with a training book and pages of a diary and work out a training schedule for the next 4 months through to New York... If I can see it all on paper then I'll be more disciplined about the rest days and down weeks.

glad to have got in 60miles plus last week. looking forward to more of the same this week. taking tomorrow morning off. going to gym to exercise bike and seeing the PT lady in the afternoon to hopefully work her magic on my right ankle/achilles/shin.

according to this personality test, I have a high amount of confidence.

Respectful Architect

out of shape... focus on training from now through middle of July.

track last night... i'm terribly out of shape. weigh too much, too slow, too tight and my lungs and heart and all that just aren't close to what I thought was half-decent 3 months ago. I have no innate talent whatsoever, and therefore any fitness i had developed was hard won through hard work (130+ mile weeks, doubles everyday, disciplined diet and rest, etc.) and now I've got to go through it all again to get fit again. Running some terrible interval times and then my shin got a bit tight after only 3X500's so slowed up and just did easy jogging.

But, on the upside, I heart my bike.


Biked to track last night. Biked home. Biked to work this morning after my 6 mile easy morning run. It feels great to get up out of the saddle and really push the pace up hills or sprint along a straight in a fast gear... and if I can sort out my life enough to do this everyday, I think it'll really help my running - the added workouts that don't cause impact injuries. It amazes me how good the bike feels... the ease of going up hills - the transfer of power... just all so much damn fun.

Might try tomorrow to see if I can listen to my mp3 player while biking to work... cause then I could download my Swahili lessons to my nano and learn Swahili while biking to work... right now it might be better me having my ears free to listen out for things that might cause me to crash off my bike. Oh, and biking compared to running is damn expensive... costs keep adding up... i think i might need bike gloves... and biking in running shorts is a little more painful than I'd like, so I might need a couple of bike shorts to rotate every so often.

My right shin doesn't feel too bad (a bit bruised where the PT lady worked on the muscle - as she said it would be) but the ankle feels very weak and the achilles continues to be sore. I might try and get some quality time at a running store for somebody who knows what they are looking out for to check me in a bunch of different shoes. The PT lady told me that I probably need a shoe with slightly less motion control for pronators, and slightly more support through the entire shoe... I saw a couple of pairs of Brooks that I like.

And... more spending of money potentially... i think I'm using my phone enough now to justify a phone plan rather than a pay by the minute thing... and if I do get a phone plan then that means a new phone and I'd like to get one which takes good pictures. Then I'd be able to carry it around with me in the small bag under the bike seat and take pictures of the world as I travel through it. Then I could keep track of pictures which come out alright and have a record of what my world looks like - and i'd come back to those images in 40 years time and drown in nostalgia.