Fat and flabby January

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Crikey, it's 2016 already.

So then, it must be said that 2015 was a pretty crap year for running in the MLCMM casa, with only one race completed and a modest number of entries in the spreadsheet running log. 

But what of this year? Um .... I dunno, but something needs to happen. Let's see what the new year brings, for starters. Maybe a little enthusiasm wouldn't go astray? But I'm kicking off the year with the dreaded night shifts, so that puts paid to a resurgence of running motivation, but they'll pass soon enough and I'll hit the streets soon enough.

See you on the streets soon. Meanwhile, have a great New Year.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Since New Year's Day I've had considerable foot pain which has severely curtailed running aspirations, but I was feeling sufficiently pain-free to hit the streets this morning for a brief twenty minute jog around the block to see how things were. Considering the amount of pain I'd been in for the previous three days, the run went surprisingly well, with little to no discomfort and only mild, tolerable pain afterward.

I'm seeing a podiatrist next Wednesday about all this, as something is not right. Whilst the orthotics have been brilliant and enabled me to run pretty much injury-free for the last five or six years, I'm now having days where the pain in my feet only goes when I walk bare foot, although that of course just presents a whole bunch of other pains and strains. So it needs to be looked at, and I have the requisite appointment.

I shall report back afterwards.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Another half decade, another podiatrist.

I don't know why it is, but podiatry brings out the punster in me...

Q: What's the worst thing about seeing a podiatrist?
A: Footing the bill.

Sorry. That was corny, I know. Sorry, so doubly sorry... I shouldn't crack jokes about my podiatrist as he really nailed my problem. Soooooorrry.

OK I've run out of podiatry puns now.

The long and the short of today's visit to the foot doctor is simple: new and slightly different orthotics, new and rather different shoes and (of course) an entirely new stretching regime.

What has happened in recent months is that because of the arthritic pain in my toes, I have reverted to a heel-strike running style, which has actually only aggravated the problem and created a whole raft of other issues as well. So essentially, it's back to basics and start again. He's switching me from Brooks back to Asics shoes, building fabulous new carbon fibre insoles for them and threatening to charge me double if I don't do the prescribed calf and hamstring stretches twice a day for the next two weeks.

It's a little scary (especially his bill), but damned if it isn't exciting as well. Suddenly I feel a little better for not being able to find my running mojo in recent times - I actually have something of a legitimate excuse for once. Now I get to begin again with fancy new artificial soles to my feet and the promise of joyous, pain-free running well into my latter years. Well, that's the general principle, anyhow.

So, drained of bank balance, but filled with motivation, I head out into the wild blue yonder once again. Well, actually, just out the door and around the block a few times. Followed, of course, by some serious stretching. 

Got to love it!

Stay tuned, MLCMM watchers. There are more races in the old boy yet.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Post Script

On a hot and muggy night I have just followed my podiatrist's instructions and completed a warm up jaunt around the block before undertaking my first stretching session in accordance with his demands wishes, viz, that said stretching sessions be completed "twice per day following a proper warm up".

I have to tell you, an early morning 4 a.m. 5km run is easier and far less painful  to complete than this wretched stretching I have to do. But then, I guess that only vindicates what he was saying - my hamstrings and calf muscles are clearly and obviously woefully* inadequate and require "much" work.

I am sorry to say that during the prescribed stretching session Mrs MLCMM was completely unsympathetic to my screams of anguish. Doubtless RC readers will be rather less callous.

Please.


*As usual, multitudinous apologies to haters of the adverb. I seemingly can't help myself.

[Charliecat5]

Post Script

On a hot and muggy night I have just followed my podiatrist's instructions and completed a warm up jaunt around the block before undertaking my first stretching session in accordance with his demands wishes, viz, that said stretching sessions be completed "twice per day following a proper warm up".

I have to tell you, an early morning 4 a.m. 5km run is easier and far less painful  to complete than this wretched stretching I have to do. But then, I guess that only vindicates what he was saying - my hamstrings and calf muscles are clearly and obviously woefully* inadequate and require "much" work.

I am sorry to say that during the prescribed stretching session Mrs MLCMM was completely unsympathetic to my screams of anguish. Doubtless RC readers will be rather less callous.

Please.


*As usual, multitudinous apologies to haters of the adverb. I seemingly can't help myself.

I visited queen Boudicca over Christmas (aka a masseur), who, during the course of my 'treatment', enquired about the kind of stretching I did, before and after a run.  When I stopped laughing, which was some feat given the pain she was inflicting on my calf muscles, I explained that proper runners don't stretch.  At this point she started laughing... which really didn't do anything to ease the torture she was now dishing out on my shoulder.  

You should warm up properly before a run, she said (which apparently doesn't mean just running slowly for a while) and do some stretches afterwards.  She then pointed me towards a website that has a good 10 minute routine for runners.

I crawled home and the next day loaded it up.  There was a very nice and quite scantily clad lady firing instructions from my iPad screen.  So I followed them... you would wouldn't you... she was nice and scantily... ...  Anyway, to cut a long and painful story short, I managed to pull a muscle in my shoulder doing those bloody stretches, which was agony for a few days.  I guess you need to do stretches before your stretches.

[Bierzo Baggie]

I''m another one who never stretches. Always used to before playing football though. Have had a few problems with calves and hamstrings recently so maybe it's time to start...

[Charliecat5]

I''m another one who never stretches. Always used to before playing football though. Have had a few problems with calves and hamstrings recently so maybe it's time to start...

I'll send you the link to my scantily clad friend (and no, I don't mean Sweder). 

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The weather here has been hot and very, very humid, so running as a result has been difficult but I am at least getting out there for some short outings to remind my head and legs what this running business is all about and that I am still something of a runner, laughable that declaration may currently be in light of my recent outings.

There is progress of a kind, with the new, leaner, meaner, fitter 2016 version of me about to spark into life with a three-pronged attack designed to relaunch me into serious running once again. These three prongs are new shoes, new orthotics and a brand spanking new treadmill. Although I know all too well the attitude of many of this forum toward the endless beast that is treadmill running, I seriously miss the pre-programmed approach the machine gives in the way of interval training, hill climbs and the like. I've purchased one which can simulate specific terrain too, so I can plug in the Point To Pinnacle route and have it simulate the entire climb with a fair degree of accuracy. Which, erm, doesn't exactly mean I have scheduled another P2P into my running just yet, but I'd like to think there will be another one sometime.

Anyway, none of these three things have yet been fulfilled. I have the shoes, but am under orders not to use them until I've been to the podiatrist and had them properly evaluated along with the new orthotics which are still a week and a half away from being lovingly hand-crafted by the poor sod who somehow thought creating insoles for shoes was a pretty neat career move. Even the treadmill, purchased this morning, will not arrive for a few days yet, so running life here is in a kind of limbo, although given the sticky weather that was pretty much the situation anyhow.

All of it however is a very positive step forward, and I'm keen as mustard to overcome my niggling toe pain and start some serious training again.

Onwards, then!

[Bierzo Baggie]

Love the cartoon!