Not Much Happening

I havent been blogging as i havent been doing a great deal.

Mileage isnt where i want it to be as i've been dealing with a niggling ITB injury. Having the patience to not run is the biggest struggle. I've been working on core strength and lots of leg exercises and stretching diligently.

70kms last week and nothing this week. Leg is feeling heaps better so i hope to slowly build up.

My plans for a debut 2.49 road marathon now looks seriously optimistic. I think im going to need to re-evaluate this based on my current level of training. I'll probably be lucky to break 3hrs. The next couple of weeks will be telling..

Weekly Total

This week has not been great in terms of running and this is to do with my persistant itb injury.



I've cranked down the mileage, run totally barefoot a couple of times, ran in my 5 fingers and now seem to be improving.



Today I moved back in temporarily with my girlfriends parents. The site of where my running first began exactly a year ago. The trails in this area are fantastic and you cant help but want to go running.



So i slipped on my 5 fingers and went out for a hilly and rocky trail run. The temperature was great and my legs were feeling good. I was running carefully, scared to trigger off my itb.

The sandy stony trail felt great under foot , always careful about where i was placing my next step which made me feel rather fleet footed today. The overall elevation of the run isnt huge by any means but there are some really good climbs. In fact, today was the first day that i have run the entire course. Last year when i first started out I really struggled with the hills but today it all came together. This is clearly a result of my improving fitness over the year and also the lightness of the 5 fingers, really makes a HUGE difference on the climbs. Elevation gain 255m total.

12.73km = 1hr 06min 57secs
I made it to the half way mark in 33 mins 30 secs so i made a negative split by 3 seconds!
Very happy with this run.

Weekly total = 5 runs, 31.27km in 2:52:41
Summary - Very low mileage but easing back into it. Sunday was my highlight so if i can build on that i'll be pleased.

For the next month i've decided to cut out all alcohol and sugar from my diet. For no main reason but to just give it a go. Alcohol will be fine, sugar is my biggest demon!

Happy running

My First Barefoot Run

Today i finally decided to lose the shoes and run free.

The reason being my itb is irritating me so i wanted to try something different.

Like most runners im highly impatient when recovering from an injury and i want to be back running asap! However each time i run i always have to push the distance just that little bit more than i know i should. This is especially so with an itb injury. As the fitness is there, who wants to stop running after 8km!?!?! Only just getting warmed up!

So i decided the only way to limit my running is my going barefoot. I headed out my front door and onto the road. Nice and cool underfoot. This is a totally different experience than running in vibram 5 fingers. I really had to watch every foot fall and avoid the glass and hard stones. This instantly slows you down and makes you cautious. There was one part of really rough road but the rest was relatively smooth pavement.

I ran 4.20km in 24.21 mins. It was always going to be extremely slow but thats part of the reason for doing it. More than anything I really enjoyed it and hope to be out there again tomorrow!

Weekly Mileage

Just finished my Sunday run. First run of any reasonable length that i have been able to do in well over a month.

Was a lovely little run on a scenic route following the coast on an out and back trail. Slippery underfoot at times but good fun. Weather was strange. A nice sunny 20 degrees to start with and by the end i was freezing having run in a hailstorm for 20 minutes. All part of the fun though.

I managed20.22km in 1hr 45min. Reasonably pleased. I had to take my orthotics out of my shoes at 14km as they were rubbing on my arch. Also my feet were aching. Ive never suffered from this before.

At 16km i felt my itb tightening up. So i probably pushed it a little too much today as im still in recovery mode.

Monday 9th August - Sunday 15th August

5 runs = 54.65km in 4hrs 38mins

Summary: First real week of running. Still taking it easy as itb is threatening to kick in. Will look to build on this next week.

Road to Recovery

Its been a long time since my last post. The reason being is my lack of running!

The ITB seemed to be worsening and it got to the stage where i couldnt go further than 4km. This was after a months rest.

Last Wednesday I saw chiropracter who first told me my pelvis was out of alignment along with my upper back. He said this would definitely contribute to the pain i was having and suggested orthotics if i want to run silly distances - which i do :)

He performed some acupuncture on me which was an interesting experience and left me for 20 minutes whilst it worked its magic. The acupuncture really hits the spot. I felt totally worked after that and felt like I had received a beating. I then had my pelvis put back into place along with my back and knees. He suggested I try running again 2 days later...

Apprehensively I went for a run on saturday in my 5 fingers. I wasnt overly confident of being able to run my usual 8km loop but off i went slightly cautiously. About 4 km in i felt some twinges, the itb was threatening to kick in. So i slowed down and turned around and ran another 4 km to home. So 8km in under 40 mins wasnt too bad. I was pleased with the result and it was a marked improvement. However not quite perfect as i felt it was going to give in at any moment.

On sunday i tried my luck again. This time i wanted to run a hilly 8.7km loop in my 5 fingers. I felt great from the get go. Again some slight discomfort around the 4km mark but much less than the previous day. This time i was charging up and down hills so really testing my itb. I arrived home again in under 40mins averaging 4.29min/km which i was really pleased with.

I will be running home tonight then with any luck going for a run with Phill. This should take my distance to around 10 or so kms tonight. A great test for me.

On Wednesday i am seeing the chiropractor who is fitting me with orthotics. Im happy to go with his advice on the evidence of my previous 2 runs. He really assured me the longer distances require good bio-mechanics.

I shall keep you posted!

Taking a long break

Well its been well over a week since my last post. The reason being I havent had much to say.

On Sunday 27th June I went out for a 45km road run in my vibram five fingers. Knee feeling a little dodgy but managed to pull through. I lasted 30km in my vibrams which was fairly incredible as I havent done much running in them and my feet didnt have any blisters at all. Then I changed into my runners and went home. In the end my knees were in a lot of pain and I didnt run for the next week.

I went out yesterday for a 12km run and my knee packed in. So i jumped on a train and went home.

Today I cancelled my 100miler at The Glasshouse 100. There is no way I would be able to complete it or enjoy the run feeling this way. I can walk freely without any pain so I dont want to do major damage.

The plan is to take a complete break from running for 6 weeks. Let me knees and ITB completely heel and when i start back i will start back slow and short distances only. In much the same way as i started out in August 2009. Hopefully I will be fit and I can enjoy my running again.

In the meantime, I will be spending the next 6 weeks doing weights and cardio in the gym. I have a stack of protein powder to get through and i plan on putting on some of the muscle i have lost.

I'll be itching to run after a week but i have to be sensible and stick out the rest period.

First Injury Since Ultrarunning

Since I completed The North Face 100 on the 15th May 2010 I have not been able to run more than 8km without aggravating my ITB. I belive this is due to the dramatic increase in time runnning during the race (13hrs 28mins) compared to my longest training run (6.5hrs). I took a week off to recover and tried to start running again only to find my knees wouldnt allow it. So another week off and I started running but still it was painful.

Its now week 3 and I went for a 8km run on saturday and had a little ITB pain towards the end. I think im possibly running too fast (4.30min/km) and should perhaps cut down to 5.30min/km and see how my knee feels then.

Extremely keen to build up my mileage again as I signed up for The Glasshouse 100 in September. This will be my first 100 miler attempt and a dramatic increase from 100km. I certainly wont be able to bluff my way through this race so need to make sure im in top condition.

I have 3 months to prepare and get in shape and I shall detail my journey here...