Pins and Needles

I decided to forego my run this evening to replace it with a walk to the shop and back to get some supplies so with that and my usual walk to and from the station I have walked about 5 miles today so that will do nicely.

As is usual during this period of pre-race preparartion and wind down I have had various aches and pains in my legs but this time it is slightly different as I have had pins and needles in my calf and in my foot. You would normally put this down to say, sitting awkwardly, or a temporary loss of blood supply but I have a feeling this is me just settling down from exercise and also the beginnings of the carb-loading.

One little worry was this afternoon when I had been sitting at my desk for a little and got up to get something when I got a shooting pain in my thigh, calf and foot together! This was almost certainly my piriformis problem surfacing but I sneaked out of sight and stretched it out, that seemed to do the trick.

Interesting enough I haven't had my usual twitchy, fidgety legs that I get but have a feeling they are going to surface tomorrow.

Deja Vu

Here we go again, it is two days before a challenge and the Race Box and kit are being layed out ready for inspection. In the background is the sound of the washing machine rinsing off my spare shorts, a favourite running top and a comfortable pair of socks. I even have a survey on Facebook asking friends whether I should wear my white or red long sleeve top...currently they all suggest pink, so I better put the white shirt in with some red socks :-)

Mrs S has the car tonight so I will be zooming off to the shops tomorrow evening to get my sweets, banana milkshake, cakes and a nice meaty snack for my lunch...my plans are coming together, more later...

They're here

I promise I will not be wearing then until after Saturday!!!

Clive asked an interesting question in Countdown Begins

A serious question - is there any point in doing the 3 miles on the Thursday. The reason why I ask is I have very busy week this week and I said to my wife I need to get in a couple of short runs before my planned 20 mile on Saturday and she said why bother why not just have a rest and do the 20 mile run on Saturday. I could not think of a sensible answer?

About 6 days before a long race I will go for a reasonably long run, last Sunday being an example where I ran 19 miles without any supplements, food or gels and felt very strong from it. The purpose of this run is to deplete my body of my natural glycogen stores, this was obvious as I was ravenous after the run but I ate normally but with a reduced carbohydrate intake.

Then tonight I went for a mixed Easy/Tempo run which was supposed to be 10 miles (ended at 13.6 miles) to just burn off the last bits so that I can start "carbing up" for real when I can eat buns and really get the stores working....this is where the issue begins.

The misery starts
During this period of the carb loading I can get the full set of side effects:

• Muscle stiffness
• Gut aches/constipation
• Depression

I also get the classic problem of the fidgets as my body is not used to the inactivity and wants to "be busy". Apart from the depressive stuff I find the fidgets the most frustrating so if it gets too much I vector in a little, very easy paced run that also reminds the legs what they are supposed to do with glycogen and also allows the guts to get "in the rhythm"

If the Thursday is not for running then a nice walk to the shop and back will do some good, as always, this works for me, but as always is down to the individual. I would love to hear from others as to what they do just before the big run.

Countdown begins

Only 5 days to go before the Crawley 12 hour race around the K2 400 metre track and I am winding down my runs this week as a preparation for the run. Running has been tough for me of recent times and I think I deserve a small taper to get everything ship shape and ready.

The plan for the week is:

Monday	0 miles
Tuesday	11 miles
Wednesday	0 miles
Thursday	3 miles
Friday	0 miles
Saturday	62+ miles
Sunday	0 miles

Thursday's run is open for choice but there as an option if my legs are twitchy but I am feeling pretty strong at the moment.

The power of Visa

When will I ever learn the dangers of booze and online shopping? Last night I was tucking into my second pint of cider for the evening and happened to look in on Twitter to see that one of my feeds had a tweet from a local sports clothing emporium and was offering 20% discount on shoes if I got in before midnight.

I had my debit card within reach by my office bag and within seconds had ordered myself a new pair of Mizuno Waverider 14 shoes. Don't panic they are my shoe of choice at the moment so I know they will do the job. They will arrive in a few days but I won't be wearing them for a little while but it is good to get a bargain when you can :-)

Worn out shoes

I can't believe how fast I am going through my shoes at the moment, I have a feeling it is to do with the fact I run trail and road in them. I took them off after my 19 mile jaunt this morning and have found that one of the heels has worn down to a point where I can see the foam cushioning through it!

I also note that the current pair have run 4 ultradistance events and training miles ranging from 28.2 miles to 50 miles totalling 142.2 miles. I will be running in them next week to get them over 200 miles hopefully. Some facts so far about my shoes:

Purchased : 29/01/2011
Age : 57 days
Mileage : 424 miles
Av. Miles/Day : 7.44 miles
Price per mile : 18 pence

I will certainly keep using them for a good few miles yet but I just can't believe how fast they deteriorate, I think I will have to get Mizuno to sponsor....I am off to wait for the cows to come home

Mystery Tour

Looking forward to tomorrow as it is a run with a difference as I won't be doing a Long run but a nice steady shorter than normal Sunday run as this week is an "official" Cycle Down week. Tomorrow I will be running with my two pals George and Michael, it appears Michael is the organiser and has arranged that he and George run to my house and I join them for a loop of some sort.

Michael rang earlier and I heard him rattle off a list of places around the surrounding area which blurred in to just words as all I want to get out of it is 14-16 miles....so tomorrow is a magical mystery tour, I wonder where we will be going?

Spring In The Bronx

Spring is sprung, the grass is ris.
I wonders where the birdies is.
They say the birds is on the wing.
Ain't that absurd?
I always thought the wing was on the bird.

Anonymous

Maintenance Miles

The miles may have dropped off this week but it doesn't mean the quality hasn't, tonight for example proved that point when I went out for an 8 mile run and found myself doing~ 8 min/miles with very little effort, this was similar for Tuesday's run.

I feel a little naughty when I saw another runner ahead in the distance and I felt the need to hunt him down so picked up my pace and soon found myself sailing past him with a cheery "Good evening" to whizz off to the next junction and turn off ( I love it when that happens)

I am happy with this outcome for this week, lower mileage, increased speed feels really good for a change and to tell you the truth is doing me a real favour as I prepare for next Saturday's 12 hour run at Crawley in which I have high hopes to increase my mileage from last year. So another run tomorrow evening and then a 20-24 miler on Sunday will make up the week nicely

Drainage in the lower field

Yet again whilst out running tonight I had serious gut issues which saw me drop into wooded areas to go to the loo a couple of times and even when I got home I had to go again as soon as I got in.

As some of my regular readers will know I have had this problem quite a lot recently and it is beginning to worry me a little. Some people advise me to take imodium as a way to stop this from happening but in my opinion this just masks the issue and does not identify the reason and I can't live on imodium!

I have however decided to use a more natural method and use an old favourite of mine of peppermint oil in the form of Colpermin. This method delivers the peppermint oil to the lower gut as it is not dissolved in the stomach, I will try this method for a few days and see if this helps me

Two is company

Tonight was a rest day from running and so I thought I better get my stretches over and done with. Finding a quiet moment I went into the living room found a nice empty space to lie down in and then went about my IT Band torturing stretching, I had just started when I smelt the over powering smell of fish and looked around to see my best mate Angus getting in on the action. It just so happened the camera was in reach to get this snapshot...needless to say the stretching was postponed for a little longer :-)

The day after

I awoke this morning feeling pretty good and as is usual the day after a long run was absolutely ravenous as my batteries were a bit low. Having said that my legs are quite tired and achy today which is to be expected noting my feet are a little battered and bruised from the tough under foot conditions.

As the day went on though I could feel myself getting more tired and made a point of trying to be active in the office in fear that I may drop off at my desk!!!

So, in all, I am a tired little bunny proved by me falling asleep on the sofa tonight for an hour and feeling no better when I awoke, time to feed and rest I feel.

Sevenoaks Circular 2011 - Race Report

The Sevenoaks Circular is probably one of the toughest in the local area along with the Gatliff Marathon and Winter Tanners

The important thing to remember is that the run is not a race but a challenge for walkers to undertake but it is in recent years that runners have started to enter and it always amuses me that it is the same old faces...sadly we are now becoming one of those as people approach us and welcome us.

The started a little chilly but the weather report said it was going to be dry all day so I chose to wear Thin Skin top (sadly I don't quite look like the model quite yet), a short sleeved top over it and a pair of lycra shorts. I was really pleased that this was our clothing of choice as the temperature was changeable depending if we were at the top or bottom of a hill, I promise you there are a lot in this run.

George and my pace can best be described as practiced and consistent these days and we have learnt that in runs of this type it is about 6.2 mph (10 kph) which is more than enough for a leisurely training run and when there are walking breaks and stops at check points this averages to about 5 mph (8 kph)

The event followed a very similar route to the 2009 event we went to and was still very well stocked with food and drinks.

As time went on we noted that are running time was very consistent and that we were well onto a personal best and I was pleased to see that George was ready to take on the challenge of trying to beat his time from last year which was faster than our joint 2009 time so both of us could celebrate if we succeeded. This were looking a little worrying when at the last checkpoint with 5 miles to go I was feeling a tad hungry so gobbled down two Marmite sandwiches and some rice pudding and fruit salad which hit my stomach like a brick and I was crippled with indigestion which was made worse when I ran. Luckily this was cured after about 3 miles when I was able to burp resoundly a few times and all was well.

The last mile was tough, really tough as we had to navigate the paths of Knowle Park and dodge cars and day visitors but we dug in. Getting back on the roads again we ran the last section at some ridiculous pace overtaking a bunch of runners to arrive back at the start again to a well deserved cup of tea and a plate of beans on toast for George both of us very pleased of beating our 2009 times by 14 minutes, George by 6 minutes from his 2010 run.

One moment in time

I was on my way to the Sevenoaks Circular this morning and as we were about to arrive I saw a photo opportunity that I had to take. Parking the car in the middle of the road I jumped out to snap this image in the morning frost.(click to enlarge)

The Sevenoaks War Memorial at the Vines, Sevenoaks, Kent

Sevenoaks Circular Run

Due to some changes of plan on the domestic front Mrs S has released me to run the 30 mile Sevenoaks Circular in Kent on Sunday.

The Sevenoaks Circular is a 30, 20 or 15 mile walk with a time limit of 10 or 8 hours. Even though it is organised by the Long Distance Walkers Association (Kent) runners and walkers start and finish at the Sevenoaks Rugby Club near Sevenoaks.

The event's route changes on a yearly basis but will feature Knole Park and take in sections of the Greensand Ridge on the North Downs. The Ridge being a tough nut to crack and I just know it will feature highly in the latter section of the event....gulp.

But little Mouse, you are not alone

In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

With that poetic start so the story; My plan last night was to run about 20 miles today but on waking I realised that I honestly could not be bothered, the weather was awful with the rain pouring down and the realistic view that I just need to have a rest from running, afterall, I have been running against a training plan continually for the last 3 years and today and yesterday I just wanted to have a rest.

I don't think it will make a tiny difference in my master plan for the coming weeks, infact I think it will do me a favour to get these knots out of my legs and recover a little, in fact come back stronger.

So tomorrow I work at College and will return to have a nice long run on Sunday.

Back to Track

I have just realised it is just 16 days to go before the A.I.M 12 hour track race at the K2 sports track in Crawley, Surrey!

I chose to take an evening off running today as my thighs are still a little tight and to be honest I am quite tired mentally so it was all about TLC this evening which is not a bad thing considering that I have to work all day Saturday.

Back to Crawley, wow has been a year since I ran it, I think I deserve a little taper for this one as I definitely want to beat last years distance of 100,405 metres. I am not sure what I am aiming for but I feel confident it will be a good one.

Streeeeeetch

...and that is what it has been this evening, stretching!

I have to say I was a little worried after being checked out by Mike on Tuesday so wanted to get to the bottom of this tightness as quickly as possible. I have tried a number of stretches and they do seem to being doing something positive but I don't want to overdo it at the moment as there is still a long way to go.

Good run planned for Thursday evening but I want to keep it as flat as possible which is not easy around here, I am hoping this will take some of the pressure off my IT Bands if all goes well I may even think about going to the track on Friday

Tight as a gnat's chuff

Yes dear reader that is the description of my tired and run weary body....tight as a gnat's chuff!

To tell you the truth I am not surprised of the description as the weekly mileage continually increases, plateaus and increases but I have to admit that I have been silently worried about various aches and pains that have surfaced of late.

Let's look at the pain in my knee and my skinny legs or why I feel nervous on long runs of late. Let's look at tonight when we had (the absolutely BRILLIANT) Mike the Sport Physio visit the club to have a look at any ailments we had.

To tell you the truth , it felt like a confessional as I had a feeling he was going to identify that I had tight, over-used muscle groups in the upper legs that needed stretching out. I still think Mike has practiced some form of Dark Art because within under a minute he had me lying back one leg in the air and the other dangling in a completely unnatural angle. Professional as ever Mike explained that I was tight in the iliotibial band and/or hip flexors and I had to stretch them out and things should improve.

Isn't it strange that as soon as we are diagnosed by an expert of a condition that we knew that we may have we feel happy even though it is a problem.

I left the couch to run home and then "suddenly" everything started to hurt, my quads, IT Band, my knee and my hip flexor!!!