Compression

My current injury has been worrying me slightly after Sunday's long run and I have been working out ways to compensate and cure it. There are some very obvious issues at the moment such as my calves and thigh muscles are very tight and I have a definite pull somewhere it the buttock area.

I have taken a decision that the only way through this is to stretch my legs muscles in the hamstring, IT band and buttock area as much as possible and have also worked out that I need to support the area as best as possible.

So how do I support it? So I have looked at compression leggings.....very expensive compression leggings, leggings I cannot afford 2 weeks before Christmas! So why not utilise kit I already have?

Tonight I ran with my running tights as a base layer and my lycra running shorts over the top to support the main muscle groups....it worked. At first I had a few niggles but after a while and everything was warmed up I had very little problems so food for thought.

The things they say

I had just completed a 6 mile run with the slower group tonight, a nice evenly paced little number that I was using to settle my legs down after Sunday's monster run. We stopped at the club house and as per normal I went around and mingled with people saying hello to the new ones.

We have had a quite a few new people, a group I coin as "Zero to Heroes" who went from nothing to be able to run a 5 km race. Some are really keen, I mean really keen and I was chatting to one lady who asked "Are you training for a marathon?" I replied "Eeerrr no a little longer one" to which she exclaimed:

"OH MY GOD, you are Crazy Jerry, Emma told us all about you, you run all those miles"

I had to laugh at he outburst and then she said "You run at night with a torch in all those crazy places....you're mad"

I had to smile and did so as I ran all the way home after...I couldn't disagree with any of her points...the things they say :-)

Ghost Story

I picked this great anecdote from a web forum on RunningAhead.com from a UK runner called gary73 ...spooky.

One summer evening in the mid 80s I was jogging along, a few days after running my first marathon.

A guy starts jogging along at my side & we start chatting. I tell him I’d just ran my first marathon but no, I didn’t belong to any running club. He recommended his own running club, he’d been a member for one or two years, club nights were Tuesdays and Thursdays at the old library building and to just go along and give ‘em a try. I thanked him for the info and we went our separate ways.

So the following Tuesday I went along & introduced myself. I looked around for the guy I’d met the previous week but he obviously couldn’t make it that night. No problem. Over the next few weeks I really enjoy the club runs & became a full member.

The months & years ahead I never saw the mysterious guy & absolutely no one at the club recognised my description of him. "No sorry."

I reckon that fateful summer evening I must've been running along and talking to a ghost.

I love stories like this, not for the ghost part but because it just shows our minds do wander and play tricks on us. I have been so engrossed in a thought process that I thought I was actually there and have even thought I was at a computer programming XSLT !! Wow the power of the mind

What a difference a day makes

Wow, today has been an awesome time in my little running fraternity with so much happening and people doing some amazing things.

1. Today I officially started my Grand Union Canal Run training
2. Mike, who ran London to Brighton with George and me has entered the Winter Tanners 50 km run in January
3. Dave a fellow L2B and Ridgeway veteran has just got a PB marathon of 3:18 beating his last time by a staggering 26 minutes.

I am sure others have done some great things today, all I need you to do is tell me and when I wrote the title of this blog entry I thought of this:

How far do you want to run today?

There was a certain amount of demob fever today as George and I met up at our usual place at 7.00am ready for our Sunday run. The general concensus was that we would run on a known route so that we didn't get ouselves into problems as there were reports of black ice still on the country lanes.

We went off on our run, the break really showing in our legs as we strided through the local nature reserve to bypass the town and surburbia so that we could get out into the countryside as soon as possible. We were seen to attack every hill, take on every path with a new vigour both happy to be running properly again.

That is until much further into the run when we had to make a major detour to go around a flooded section of road (we didn't fancy running in -1 C with wet feet, not today) and found ourselves on a under used road that was just sheet ice, totally lethal and it soon came apparent that the comments, grunts and groans from the two of us were becoming quite comical making us sound like Laurel and Hardy as we slipped and slided on the ice.

At about 13 miles we decided to have a little walk after having run up a particularly steep and long hill and then refusing to stop until we got to the bottom of the other side and I turned to George and said "How far do you want to run today?" without a flinch George replied "Anything between 10 and 40 miles will do me!"

I decided to run off at this point as I was hoping he wasn't being serious as it was proving to be a really tough run what with the low temperatures, the black ice, snow, mud and the fact that this was a return to running after a 2 week forced break. It was only until we got to mile 20 that we decided that another 4 would be enough as that was almost the midpoint of 10 an 40 miles.

Today was a gutsy run, my injury is still grumbling and worrying me as it was quite painful to run up hill today...not the best thing when running the North Downs. However we are still mentally strong, George having the ability to cite positive comments when the going gets tough and I was able at some stages to get myself totally focussed and only to be able to concentrate on pace and speed.

This was a great run today....the first official long run of the GUCR training, we are going to anaerobic monsters very soon.

Why I drink cider

A little secret I have kept over recent weeks is that I have been carrying an injury that has been causing me concern which I first reported in August this year. The main issue has been a pain deep down in my left buttock which settled down during and after the Ridgeway Challenge.

The injury has returned and I have stiffness around the hip flexor, IT Band and now more worryingly down the front of my thigh. I couldn't even start to tell you the names of the muscles in that area as there are loads but it has been affecting the way I walk which has not been made easy with the recent weather conditions.

The drop in mileage has in part been a good thing as it has allowed me to recover and recuperate but the stiffness in my thigh has steadily got worse even with consistent stretching and manipulation. So tonight I pulled a fresh bottle of my favourite cider from the fridge, poured it into a glass and took the bottle aside and used it to roll my thigh like a rolling pin. Absolute AGONY as I rolled it over some enormous lumps and knots in my thigh muscle, amazingly once these were rolled out I could stretch my leg and I found another area was allowed to be pulled out.

I have just stepped away from my PC and now found that the pain in my inner knee has evaporated, now I know this is not a miracle cure but surely I can justify to Mrs S why I need to buy cider....it is cheaper than a Sport Physio. ;-)

Pounds per mile

Have you ever worked out how much it costs to run a mile? As I seem to have plenty of time on my hands in the evenings of late I decided to work out how much a mile costs.

It works out I have not bought any new kit this year apart from running shoes and my favourite shorts. Let's forget about the shorts for the moment and look at the statistics for all my running shoes and since my start of running I have had 13 pairs of shoes and have worked out that the average cost is 13.8 pence per mile.

Little bit of maths tells me that so far this year is 0.138 x 2029.6 miles = £280. 08

I could add up all the sports drinks, food, race entries, travel to and from and much more but my wife will probably read this and ban me from running!!!!!

One for the trail

This is awesome, ghostly music which starts slowly and builds to a phantasmagoric crescendo both in imagery and music. This will get you to the top of that hill...just play it loud

It is getting silly now

George sent me an email today which sums up his (and my) frustration:

It's unbelievable. I have just entered my 10th day of non running. My last few steps were finishing Gatliff. It's not funny anymore and the novelty has well and truly worn off.

He has a longer commute than me and has had some really horiffic journeys back to his family during the bad weather last week so hasn't had a good run where I have been a lot luckier and been out on only 3 runs all on trail as the roads are still extremely dangerous due to the ice. Let us hope that the weather warms up enough to get the remains of the ice off the tarmac so that training can recommence.

Cats and Shoes

What is it about running shoes and cats? After recovering my trail shoes from the garden on Sunday I had them drying out nicely by the radiator ready for tonight's run, no problem.

After I got back from my run I peeled off my shoes and was hit by this horrific smell of cat wee, little bugger obviously decided that it was easier to pee in my shoes than go out into the garden, oh well I suppose it is better than the usual smell of cow and horse poo after a Sunday long run:-)

PS This is not my cat in the picture

Paarlauf training in the snow

The temperature outside is still a chilly -2° centigrade the snow has melted and refrozen, conditions on the pavements are as slippery as hell. In a nutshell DANGEROUS.

A message was left on the club website:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tuesday 7th December - The BBC weather report which forecasts a maximum of 0° centigrade before Tuesday night, it will not be possible to undertake the usual group runs. Instead, we shall stay within the confines of the recreation ground, and with some additional artificial lighting, have a training run including relay paarluufs x 200 metres and some sprint sessions. Hot ribena and coffee/biscuits will also be available from the pavilion.

Who could refuse such an offer? I turned up at about 7.45 pm tonight to find the recreation ground still covered in about 6 inches of hardened snow that crunched underfoot where it had been thawed and frozen again....yuck. Not to be perturbed I went for a couple of laps gentle warm up and decided that I would feel happier just jogging around the edge by myself and not do paarlaufs a choice I glad I took.

Along with the others we went on circuits of a 400 metre lap (around the cricket pitch) for 40 minutes. I have to say my pace waivered here and there as my lungs were full to bursting point as every step I took was hampered by the snow causing me to slip about and mash my ankles. After 20 minutes I changed direction to rest my hip which was smarting a bit and continued to do so until time was up.

Afterwards, a hot blackcurrant drink and a laugh with the others....what a fun night, but tough.

Thames Trot Route

This was hard work but well worth the effort.

Here is the Thames Trot route mapped out on Map My Run

Thames Trot

I have mentioned this a few times of late but at last I can confirm I have my running number and maps through for the Thames Trot 50 mile run

These guys really know how to put on a good show when we ran in the Country to Capital in January this year with David, Rob and George. This run has equally good reports and one I am really looking forward to.

What makes it fun is I have friends who live near Checkpoint 1 of the run so hopefully they can bring some snacks along for us :-)

My race number is 45 and from experience the maps will have to be covered in plastic as last time we used them they turned to mush after 20 miles. I will map the run and publish it so you can have a look and give a view

Moonlight Challenge 2011

I am having trouble trying to make a decision about entering an event next year.

As you know the whole focus of 2011 is the Grand Union Canal Run and everything else is just noise to assist my training towards this massive goal. One run I really love though is the run in Chislet, Kent called the Moonlight Challenge.

Last time I ran the Moonlight Challenge I was very new to ultradistance and did not go the full distance of 32.75 miles (6 laps) instead only doing 26.2 miles (5 laps) preferring the warmth of the tent at the checkpoint.

I have now toughened up and got some good experience under my belt and want to take on this challenge yet again BUT it is two weeks after the Thames Trot 50 miler.

Am I asking for trouble or should I just go for it, afterall I have some monster mileage to complete before GUCR but have fallen foul of two long runs with such short turn around?

Should I run the Thames Trot and then just run the Moonlight Challenge very slowly and just enjoy the experience or not at all?

Day 8...

...and I have found my trail shoes.

It appears Mrs S moved them, bag and all, to outside the back door on Monday evening last week!!

The snow started to fall on Tuesday and it was only today that I looked out into the fast thawing garden to see the bag popping out of the top.

They are now drying out nicely in the back room...phew

Day 7...

... and still no sign.

Now I know I took them out of the car, afterall, I wasn't allowed to put them in the back of his car if they were not wrapped in a plastic bag (that he supplied). I took them to my house...I put them into my house...I am sure I did.

So where the Hell are my trail shoes?

One week later and I still can't find them!

The better part of valour is discretion

Shakespeare, in Henry IV, Part One, 1596:

Falstaff: 'The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.'

...and so with that wisdom from George, my training partner, it was decided that Sunday's long run should be put into abeyance. George is the sensible one of our training partnership where as I tend to be a tad impulsive and invariable go with the moment...within reason. Rob's news with his horrific leg injury, the melting ice (with a promise of a new freeze) has really put the wobbles on our usual confidence.

The great GUCR training plan states that we should be doing a 22 mile run somewhere but with I have learnt this week that a 10 mile run can in fact feel like 15 miles with all the resistance the snow and ice produces. However, after a late telephone call this evening we have called off the long run for Sunday , it is just not worth it....we are in the long game here and one run is not going to hurt us.

Sad message from Rob

I got a sad message by text tonight from out good ultrarunning friend Rob who left this message and picture:Ouch! Pinned and screwed metalwork in a twice snapped tib and once snapped fib. Might be on crutches for up to 6 months with this crazy set of fractures. Was doing a recovery run after a lovely snowy run the day b4.

Rob, by the grace of god go I. I am really saddened to hear this news, really saddened it is just not fair

Running on Empty

Day 3 of the great winter freeze and another day working from home, both my girls' schools are closed and my wife cannot get to her clinics. Food is getting scarce in the house and so the deal was that if I was to go for a run today I had to get provisions from the supermarket.

So at 2.00 pm I met up with some good friends from the running club and we went for a very steady snow run around the local woods and nature reserve. It is quite sad to find quite a few trees have crumpled under the weight of the snow taking power and telephone lines down with them. None of this will stop the intrepid runners that we are from not running as we scrambled over them onwards and forwards.

After exiting the nature reserve I chose to run to the supermarket for basic provisions and realised that I and the rest of Kent had descended on the place as we all scrambled around the shelves grabbing what we could. All I could get was:

1. Dozen eggs
2. 2 x Indian take away meals
3. Bottle of Lucozade
4. 2 x litres cartons of orange

So after eating the curry tonight it looks like we are going to have sports drink omelettes for the foreseeable future :-)

Dactyl despair

I find it infuriating that with all the miles I train why do I lose a toenail during a mainly innocuous run.

When I got back from my snowy run yesterday I pulled my shoes off to find that my toenail was a bit sore and tender. I did what you are advised not to do and popped it with a sterilised needle and taped so it could dry up in situ and grow out naturally.

I am assuming that I must have stubbed it whilst my feet were cold and I had not felt it, otherwise it must have been because I had run 40 miles in a matter of 3 days and it just had enough. Who knows what my feet will be like as the GUCR training mileage racks up!!