Insectember

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I've started a new thread under General Running for 2013 P2P arrangements...

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Edit by EG -- Good idea for a separate thread, but I've put it under "Race Arrangements".

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

After three rest and recovery days, it was time to return to ... The Training Schedule. It was great to run a marathon, but there's no getting away from the fact that the Point To Pinnacle is fast approaching, and I still have a lot of hills to run before I can confidently tackle the beast once again. It's been an odd three day rest period, to be honest. Not unlike tapering, there was an element of frustration about it. Clearly, I needed to recuperate, and yet I was feeling pretty damn fabulous and wanting to get back into it as soon as poss.

Unusually then, I did the sensible thing and dealt with the frustration by walking a fair bit and avoiding the perils of running at all whilst my legs recovered from the hammering last Sunday. A day off from work today however was the perfect opportunity to don the running gear and tentatively set off to see what my legs would allow me to do. I took it easy, to be sure, and avoided all hills for the moment. I expected the run to go tolerably well for a while, but decided to be sensible and pack it in at the first sign of annoyance from the body. If it wasn't quite yet recovered from the mara, then I didn't want to risk delaying the P2P training any longer by doing too much too soon.

So a reasonably pleasant and gentle plod was had of no great note. I jogged through 12 reasonably good kilometres before the marathon fatigue returned, whereupon I packed it in. Hopefully those 12km will have done some good and I'll be ready for a tougher workout next Saturday. I haven't decided yet whether that will be hills or intervals ... maybe a long run, but I think a shorter, harder workout might be wiser. I'll see how I feel on the day.

But hey, I'm feeling just great guys, and absolutely primed to get going again. Try and stop me!

12.12km, 1h18m

YTD: 1,123.8km

[marathondan]

Huge respect that you're back out there again already. I normally can't bring myself to run for a month after a marathon.

Then again, psychology is everything. If you know that P2P is looming, you know that needs must.

But you have got to ramp it up slowly - too much too soon and you could easily tweak something. Be careful out there.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Huge respect that you're back out there again already. I normally can't bring myself to run for a month after a marathon.

Then again, psychology is everything. If you know that P2P is looming, you know that needs must.

But you have got to ramp it up slowly - too much too soon and you could easily tweak something. Be careful out there.

Roger that. Message received and understood. Running off a hangover doesn't count, right?

[Sweder]

But you have got to ramp it up slowly - too much too soon and you could easily tweak something. Be careful out there.

Wise counsel Mr Dan. The ole body takes quite a while to recover from such a fearful beating. Think it was EG who posted you need a day for every mile after a biggun. I can see you can't afford a month off, so that's out the window. But tune that injury radar carefully OM. You can ramp it up in mid October to add to the astonishing well of fitness you've amassed over this year.

[El Gordo]

But you have got to ramp it up slowly - too much too soon and you could easily tweak something. Be careful out there.

Wise counsel Mr Dan. The ole body takes quite a while to recover from such a fearful beating. Think it was EG who posted you need a day for every mile after a biggun. I can see you can't afford a month off, so that's out the window. But tune that injury radar carefully OM. You can ramp it up in mid October to add to the astonishing well of fitness you've amassed over this year.

Probably was me who mentioned it (a long time ago, I suspect) though the origin of the axiom is Hal Higdon. It was aimed at novice runners I think, as I can't see most decent runners taking 2 weeks off after a half, for instance. If I remember rightly, he recommends continuing to exercise and cross-train and stretch post-marathon, but suggests leaving the real hard yards for at least 3 weeks. His view, endorsed by most here I would think, is that a marathon and beyond does things to your body that aren't always immediately obvious, so it's an appeal for caution more than a cast iron rule. But as always, the 'listen to your body' thing is best. As Dan says, ramp up slowly and just be doubly aware of the messages being transmitted from your poor, busted legs....

Good luck!

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Have a look at this bloke...



You won't know him, but here in Oz he's an Australian Rules Football legend by the name of Tom Hafey. Now 81, he's of course long retired.

However.

He still, every day, runs 6km, then does 250 push-ups and 700 sit-ups ... every day.

His message? Core strength!

Just thought you'd like to know.

[Seafront Plodder]

For a minute there I thought I was looking at that fat guy who resides near Zurich.

But then upon reading your post I see you've used the word 'legend', so I knew I was mistaken.

[El Gordo]

For a minute there I thought I was looking at that fat guy who resides near Zurich.

But then upon reading your post I see you've used the word 'legend', so I knew I was mistaken.

Below the neck, there are perhaps some similarities. But that expression? Reminds me of a man who's just spotted the Jagermeister.....

[marathondan]

The disturbing thing is that, if you look closely, he's wearing a pair of budgie smugglers.

But then again, I guess we'll all be happy with anything less than incontinence pants by that age.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

A new course today, with a bastard of a hill. In fact this sod had everything from off-road muddy creek crossings to motorways.

I ventured into the Lane Cove National Park, just a 4km jog from home, but a place I've avoided because that's where my brother drowned way back in 1977. A fairly severe type I diabetic, he'd fallen from a canoe into the Lane Cove River at the end of winter and according to the coroner, most likely had a seizure, as he was a good swimmer and the river not dangerous.

Anyway, it's all rather too long ago to let bad memories get in the way, so I paid tribute to him with a circuit around the park, half of it rough bush trail and the other half paved road. Parts of it were very hard, very slow going, while other sections were pure joy. The park doesn't open to vehicular traffic until 9 a.m., so my early morning run was shared with dozens of other runners, walkers, cyclists and a few kayakers on the river alongside which the road and trails run. On a beautiful morning, this was very pleasant, despite the hard graft on the non-road side of the park.

The hardest section however came when I left the park - a 2.5km climb from the park back up to the Pacific Highway ... unrelenting, and an unwelcome taste of what's to come in November.

Despite the toughness of the run I finished this one feeling fantastic. My recovery rates are phenomenal (for me) and even if I haven't built up much in the way of pace this year thus far, my aerobic fitness is improving dramatically, and I'm well pleased.

19.15km, 2h13:47

YTD: 1,143.0km

[Sweder]

A brave run in more ways than one.
I'm off out myself, a staggeringly beautiful autumn morning calling me hillward.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

OK so I over-did it. You all told me to be careful but I still pushed the envelope. Luckily, with your words ringing loudly in my ears I limited the damage...

Yesterday I headed off for my early morning 10km belt down the Pacific Highway and back. I did indeed feel somewhat lethargic and heavy-of-leg and so took it at a careful pace. Even so, after 6km I developed what I call "EG's calf" ... a small plug of pain deep inside the calf muscle which slowly spread in area and intensity over the next three kilometres. By 9km I had to stop and walk the rest of the way home, and the remainder of the day was spent limping slightly and yep, my right calf was definitely, but mildly strained.

Now, 24 hours later it is much better, and I'm confident I'll be running again by, say, Friday at the latest. But I'll take it easy. For sure. No, really I will. Honestly!

9.05km, 52:43

YTD: 1,152.05km

[Antonio247]

It's a pity you¡ve got injured,MLCMM. Hope you get better soon. Take it easy!

Saludos desde Almería.

[El Gordo]

OK so I over-did it. You all told me to be careful but I still pushed the envelope. Luckily, with your words ringing loudly in my ears I limited the damage...

Yesterday I headed off for my early morning 10km belt down the Pacific Highway and back. I did indeed feel somewhat lethargic and heavy-of-leg and so took it at a careful pace. Even so, after 6km I developed what I call "EG's calf" ... a small plug of pain deep inside the calf muscle which slowly spread in area and intensity over the next three kilometres. By 9km I had to stop and walk the rest of the way home, and the remainder of the day was spent limping slightly and yep, my right calf was definitely, but mildly strained.

Now, 24 hours later it is much better, and I'm confident I'll be running again by, say, Friday at the latest. But I'll take it easy. For sure. No, really I will. Honestly!

9.05km, 52:43

YTD: 1,152.05km

Can't comment on whether it's "EG's calf" but I would urge massive caution over when to return after any calf injury. Once you get even a mild strain it can very quickly get worse and turn into a proper pull or even a tear which could keep you out for months, and leave you permanently in fear of a repeat. Watch out!

[Sweder]

I know P2P looms large, both on the horizon and in your mind, but it's seven weeks away. You'll lose nothing taking a whole week off, and you might give yourself a chance to heal properly. Unless you're made of different matter to the rest of us, your body will need it.

[El Gordo]

I know P2P looms large, both on the horizon and in your mind, but it's seven weeks away. You'll lose nothing taking a whole week off, and you might give yourself a chance to heal properly. Unless you're made of different matter to the rest of us, your body will need it.

+1

In fact, you could take 2 weeks or even more off running without major consequences for a race 7 weeks away -- as long as you don't abandon all exercise and healthy eating. The classic recommendation for people in your position i.e. need to maintain cardiovascular fitness but reduce lower-body impact is to swim. Cycling, rowing and elliptical are also available though there is more calf use involved in those choices. But given that you haven't (yet) got a serious calf problem, you could probably get away with any of these, or even better, a combination.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The only way to learn the knowledge is by climbing onto your bike and doing the sod.
Mr.Burgess, The Knowledge

EG's comments brought to the mind the 1979 telemovie 'The Knowledge' starring Nigel Hawthorn, amongst others, as the slightly hateful inspector of Knowledge trainees - those poor bastards trying to learn 'all the streets, lanes, theatres, clubs, public amenities and official buildings within a 6 mile radius of Charing Cross' in order to earn their green badge and thus become an official London cabbie. In particular, Mr. Burgess's comment that the only way to learn it, was to 'do the sodding thing' rings true.

So it is with the P2P. Unfortunately, all the swimming, cycling and calisthenics in the world is not going to prepare you for the unrelenting 21.4km of constant uphill that is the Point 2 Pinnacle. So I need to get back into the hill training as quickly as possible, for there is much work yet to do.

My calf was 90% better within 24 hours. Unfortunately the last 10% (which was probably the initial tear) is taking much longer to heal. So, for the moment my battered legs are getting a well-earned rest, apart from a little walking and some core strength work. Four long, intense days of work luckily precluded any chance of risking a run, and now, under the watchful eye of nurse MLCMM, only light leg duties are being undertaken at home.

It's a pity, because I'd organised to do the same 19km Lane Cove run as last weekend this coming Sunday with Next-Door-Andy who thought it sounded a tremendous idea. Sadly I'll have to disappoint him. Never mind, some other time no doubt.

Following all the dire warnings and good advice given here, I won't attempt even a short, slow run until the calf is at least nearing 100%. When that will be, I don't know. Hopefully a day or two of careful stretching will help. At least there's no need to panic yet, and after my 'broken back' experience last year, I know terrible things can happen even at the last minute and yet you can still complete the task at hand.

In the meantime, I might just faff around here for a bit.

Cheers, RCers.

[glaconman]

All very relevant to my own position MLCMM. As I came into the last 100 of last nights club tempo run I got a dense, hot pain deep in my calf. Luckily I wasn't really pushing it and slowed down immediately to a walk and then stretched. I reckon it's relatively minor.

And I'd just put my name down for the local winter cross-country league.

I'm not going to run for 7-10 days certainly. But I will go hard on the bike if I get a chance. And when it's healed I'll ask the Mrs to try and break-down any scar tissue in the muscle as build-up of this can cause weakness and recurrance.

Have you thought about a turbo-trainer for your bike? Intervals on this can really help to maintain cardio fitness.

You should get back-on-track; just make sure you throw all the usual recovery stuff at it: ice, massage, compression.