Remember when I used to give training updates?
No, nor do I.
Here is almost another one.
Little to report. And anyway, I’ve never been convinced that the training regime of a rotund, indolent, middle-aged plodder can be of interest to anyone outside the psychiatric profession. Some say they find encouragement in this sort of thing, but I suspect that any comfort or motivation to be found here is more a case of “There but for the grace of god go I”.
The latest revival began in November, when I pulled my running shoes on 7 times in a 12 days. The spreadsheet looks good — three or four miles each time, but as always after a lay-off, the first couple of outings were painful and depressing, barely able to plod more than 2 or 3 minutes without a walk break. Persistence paid off, and the run:walk ratio quickly altered in favour of the antecedent. On the Eighth Day I managed 4.8 miles of near-continuous non-walking. Things were looking up, but then December came knocking, waving an inexhaustible bottle of wine and a bottomless bag of speciality cheese and chocolate. One has to be polite, even to total bastards.
Yes, Christmas 2011 was badly scheduled. I did my best, but in keeping with the permanent RunningCommentary theme, my best isn’t usually that good. The raucous festive guffawing soon gave way to a silent rictus grin. Sometimes the season of excess just seems to keep pouring long after one’s thirst for it has been well and truly slaked. You end up feeling like one of those foie gras ducks with a pipe pushed down your throat into which, twice daily, some well-meaning fucker empties a bucket or two of saturated fat and bogus bonhomie.
I got so used to it that I ended up force-feeding myself. Until one Saturday evening, when I’d absorbed so much exquisite Barolo that I found myself watching not Match of the Day, but Matches of the Days. I was finally pissed off enough, and the rest is history.
The Silversterlauf and its aftermath was the ideal chance to examine my navel, once I’d managed to locate it among the folds of rubbery blubber dangling earthwards from my midriff. The indelible shenanigans of December 11 perked me up, but there was also the faintest sniff of a spring marathon.
Much to the chagrin of my skiing colleagues, there had been no Swiss snow where it mattered during November, and hardly any in the first half of December. It arrived in Horgen on the very day – Monday December 19 that marathon training was due to kick off. That morning at 7 a.m., I did what I always do, summer or winter, and opened the door onto the balcony and stepped out in my dressing gown, gulping alternate mouthfuls of coffee and oxygen. The scene is always different — one of the many reasons to love this adopted nation. Today it was yet more different. More wedding cake than the usual old Middle Earth. Three floors below, yomping through the snow, a grinning nachbar shouted up at me: “Today! Christmas has arrived today!”
That evening, I revisited the posh gym down by the lake , and put in around 20 minutes on each of the elliptical, static bike and treadmill. I did the same the following evening. Two days later, I left work early and returned for a third session. These were all cheap Groupon sessions — and the final three of the ten I’d bought. Decision time. So after the third, I loitered outside the office waiting to have a word with one of the willowy operatives, like some red-faced schoolboy lingering outside the matron’s room. An incredulous Austrian catwalk type eventually challenged me. Within minutes I’d confessed everything, and given her my credit card. She didn’t hesitate, handing down a two year sentence. They at least agreed to give me bail over Christmas., and three hours later, my 24-month gym subscription incinerating some inner pocket, I was on a plane bound for London to enjoy my final ten days as a free man.
Compared with the bleaker post-Hyde Park perspective (ibid), I was full of running optimism during that period. The day after getting back to the UK, I enjoyed a damp leafy plod along the Worth Way in Crawley. Two days later, on Christmas morning, another 4 miles around the perimeter Pinner golf course, near my Dad’s place. I was back in marathon training, and luxuriating in warm-bath complacency.
Boxing Day was time off, but I still managed a testing 4 mile walk before driving over to Reading to watch Brighton succumb 3-0 at the Madejski. This impressive stadium is where the Reading Half Marathon finishes every year, though I couldn’t recall if it was operational in 2005, when the event was saturated with representatives of this website: Antonio d’Almeria, the irrepressible Sweder and even the majestic Seafront Plodder. Here is the report of that memorable occasion.
Later, I met a couple of mates in the truly tremendous Nag’s Head, a reminder of one of the few genuinely inimitable elements of English life. Later, I stumbled back to my hotel in the centre of town, stopping off only to confront the most wretched curry I’ve witnessed since 1981.
[WARNING – NOSTALGIA APPROACHING]
1981, you say? In 1981, I was a student in Manchester. There is no realistic possibility of a curry — even this dreadful Reading plateful — sinking lower than anything on the menu of the fabled Plaza Café in Manchester — and it was never absolutely clear what was on the menu at the Plaza, even though the choice might have seemed simple enough. On a blackboard behind the greasy, cluttered counter was scrawled the five available items: “MILD, MEDIUM, HOT, SUICIDE, KILLER”. It was only after I’d been staggering to the Plaza most Sunday mornings at 3 a.m., totally drunk, for a year or more, that Charlie, the mountainous Somali owner, revealed to us that there was an undocumented sixth item: “The Charlie Special” that he was too nervous to publicise. I never got close to it. I never progressed beyond the execrable Medium, apart from one unspeakable dalliance with a “Hot” — an experience whose antidote included a fire extinguisher and a visit to A & E at the Whittington Hospital.
Hmm. Curiously, the comments below the above link reveal a fascinating photograph of a proper Plaza menu. This must have been a later introduction. Perhaps it was an attempt to go up-market, or a chance to rebuild their reputation [I just burst into involuntary laughter while trying to type those words] after the notorious dog-in-the-freezer story, but I see that they had begun to tempt their clientele with some tantalising additional items. The menu reads: “Mild, Medium, Hot, Suicide, Killer, Charlie’s Special, Cremation, and Goodbye You Have Been Warned”. The Plaza Cafe closed 20 years ago, but from the briefest of Google searches, I see that it is fondly remembered by a generation of middle-aged survivors.
[NOSTALGIA – ALL CLEAR]
On a healthier note, there’s been no alcohol since the New Year. That’s 15 beer-free days, and 27 since my last glass of wine. In the boot of the car is a case of 1994 Gran Reserva Rioja, ordered some months ago but picked up only a day or two before Christmas. I have no idea when it, or I, will finally get drunk.
As mentioned in the Hyde Park report, I’m staying positive about the prospects of running a decent distance again, but it might be a long project. Everyone is advising me what to do. Sweder says I need a deep tissue massage; MLCM insists on glucosamine, magnesium and potassium; Glaconman proposes ankle exercises; Dan urges barefoot running. A couple of days ago I had a chat with the affable Doctor Müller who confidently advised me to “Buy new shoes with a bigger heel. One extra centimetre will be enough.” Other recommendations have included stretching, core strengthening, orthotics and shoes with rocker soles like MBTs or Fitflops.
Anymore for anymore? I would consider celibacy if I was in the luxurious position of having a choice.
Tomorrow, it’s an early trip to the gym before returning to confront another desperate cause — QPR’s visit to Newcastle. I remain enthusiastic about my team, but I seem to be becoming more relaxed about their task. After more than half a century, I’m finally learning not to get too emotionally engaged with problems I can have no power over, and instead to concentrate on things I can influence, like the condition and performance of my own wretched body.
|
w/c |
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thurs |
Fri |
Sat |
Sun |
Total |
|
14/11/2011 |
3.6 run |
3.6 |
||||||
|
21/11/2011 |
3.2 run |
3.5 run |
3.5 run |
4.8 run |
15 |
|||
|
28/11/2011 |
3.4 run |
3.2 run |
Festive depravity |
6.6 |
||||
|
05/12/2011 |
Festive depravity (continued) |
3 run / race |
3 |
|||||
|
12/12/2011 |
3.4 run |
4.7 run |
Final wine |
8.1 |
||||
|
19/12/2011 |
gym 65m cardio |
gym 70m cardio |
rest |
gym 60m cardio |
3.8 run |
rest |
4.0 run |
7.8 |
|
26/12/2011 |
4 walk |
rest |
rest |
3.1 run |
5.1 run + Final beer |
rest |
6.2 run / race injury |
14.4 |
|
02/01/2012 |
rest |
stretch/exercise |
gym 65m cardio |
stretch/exercise |
gym 63m cardio |
rest |
gym 72m cardio |
6.5 |
|
09/01/2012 |
2 mile hill walk |
gym 65m cardio |
stretch/exercise |
rest |
gym 50m cardio |
3 run |
3 |
|
13 comments On Another round
Oh My God -The Plaza, I remember it well in the 70’s, eating a Killer was a truly memorable experience!
Re Almeria 9K – yeah, had pretty much made that decision. I need to take part in something or it isn’t worth going, and I can’t see any way that I would get round 21K at present, unless they had a long cut off like Reading — which they don’t. Am literally just about to leave for the gym where I’ll have a gentle plod on the treadmill and see where I am.
Re shoes — who knows? The more advice I get, the more confused the picture. There are so many variables, and I’m not sure whether what works for others will work for me. About the only things I’m totally certain will help include weight loss, sensible nutrition and regular stretching and exercise. Most of the other stuff seems capable of causing wars if you look on other running forums. That isn’t to say people are wrong about these other things, in fact they are right in that they have worked for them. But they are more nuanced, and are individual-related. I’m not sure they can be classed as general truths. As the police would say, it’s an ongoing inquiry.
For what it’s worth (and IF you are going to line up at the start in Almeria) I’d do the 9k on a run/ walk basis. There’s nothing to lose. If you still get the warning siren, pull out and don’t run again until you’ve a) has that deep tissue massage or a scan and b) made a major change to your running style.
I hooted like an owl when I read that your Doc advised a thicker heel. This is anathema to the barefoot tribe, some say that kind of thinking os why so many ‘fun runners’ end up with chronic injuries. Barefoot will help you but only after you’ve identified the root cause of the problem and lost some weight. As has been well documented by Dan and others this should be a careful, gradual process. I have no doubt whatsoever BF running will help prolong your running career. I don’t do nearly enough of it myself at the moment. Must and will do more.
Back to Almeria. Line up for the 9k. Think of it as a freebie. Put no pressure on yourself to finish, and certainly not in a ‘time’. Run a k, walk a minute. Take in the views, smell the roses, grin at the pretty girls lining the route and see what fate has in store.
@marathondan “I was astounded by the multi-point fix-it programme posted by MLCM recently; he’s systematically addressed all the possible issues and one way or another it’s worked. It sounds to me like you need to be headed down a similar route.”
Agreed, and apart from a blip in mid-December that is what I’ve been doing for 8 weeks. I’m looking at everything. Some things can be easily addressed in the short to medium term – different shoes, weight loss, nutrition, stretching, core strength etc (check marks against all of those) while other things are a bit more exotic (orthotics) or longer term (changing running style). I’m waiting to hear my insurance position but if I can swing it, I’ll visit the Sports Clinic in Zurich for a fresh diagnosis. They look after the Swiss Olympic team, and are said to be amazingly thorough and advanced. I bet they have some excellent spreadsheets.
@suzieq @marathondan — I knew the answer really, but was being irrationally hopeful. I know Suzie has been doing run-walk for a long time, and that it’s effective. But I guess it’s a defensive strategy for when I think I might be back to ‘normal’ (whatever that is) and not wanting to overdo it. I’ll definitely give this a go though, once I’ve been repaired / repaired myself – so thanks for the reminder. As I’ve often quoted, Hal Higdon says his son ran a 2:28 marathon using run-walk — though I think that was walking through the water stations rather than a minute a mile. But still.
At the moment I can’t quite see how I’ll get round 9km at Almeria without a recurrence. No decision made yet. I won’t be voluntarily doing 1/1, but may end up that way. I was thinking of home-made orthotics, based on a conversation I had with a podiatrist in 2010. Which leads me to Dan’s question about when I last had gait analysis. Just had a quick scan —
September 2010 (Theale podiatrist), then there was March 2010 (gym), Feb 2010 (Drummond specialist foot clinic, Maidenhead), December 2008 (Asics store) and July 2002 (another local podiatrist). There was also Phil the sports therapist, and… oh yeah, there was that bloke who used to coach Bristol Rovers or something who told me to soak my feet in a bucket of urine. Plus the running shop in Bristol back in early 2002, and a Sweatshop or two somewhere along the line. Perhaps it’s time for another….
EG, since you feel pain after only 3 km. you need to give yourself a break before that happens. I would suggest after every 1 km. you take a walk break, then slowly build from that, but the key word is ‘slowly’. I’m thinking you better aim for the 9 km. race in Almeria rather than the half, that would be a killer.
It doesn’t sound like a 10/1 run/walk would help you at the moment, or even a 6/1, if the calf is going after only 3km. I wondered if a 1/1 or 2/1 would enable you to enjoy an event without the calf going again – it’s not where you want to be, but you would get some of the emotional benefit of racing.
I was astounded by the multi-point fix-it programme posted by MLCM recently; he’s systematically addressed all the possible issues and one way or another it’s worked. It sounds to me like you need to be headed down a similar route.
When did you last have gait analysis?
BTW, I too was there in 2005 (predating my membership of this club), on the way to my first marathon: http://marathondan.blogspot.com/2005/03/reading-half-marathon-feeling-quite.html
Suzie has been telling me this for 7 years. I remember exactly when she first recommended it — it was during the first mile of the Almeria Half in 2005. Did I listen? Well yes, it would have been impolite not to have done — but I didn’t take the advice.
Thing is, unless I’m missing something, this isn’t going to help me right now, is it? Or is it? I’m presuming this is advice for when everything is OK? Would it have prevented the problem yesterday for instance? Or NYD? Would I have have got to the end without having to pull up? If you think I might have done, I could give it a go in Almeria in 2 weeks time.
Thanks.
Very sensible advice from Suzieq. Sensible and simple. I knacker my calves when running faster than i should be (usually on the road) or when i don’t give myself enough time to recover. Mix running and walking … find some more of those wonderful Swiss trails… try to enjoy it and maybe you won’t even have to take your shoes off. And write about it. Lots. Please.
Andy, I highly recommend you doing the run/walk method on every run. It really does make a difference. Run for 10 min., then walk one minute. You might even start with running 6 or 8 min., then a 1 min. walk break. Don’t push it or try to run faster, speed can cause more injuries than distance. Good luck!
@glaconman – Sounds like good, measured advice, and thanks for posting — but I still think there is more to it in this case. This is a problem I’ve had on and off for 3 or 4 years now, rather than an identifiable injury like a hamstring or calf muscle being pulled or torn.
For most of the last 2 years, I’ve hardly run at all, which is a pretty good break. And recent activity was necessarily gradual. Initially I couldn’t run for more than a minute or two even if I’d wanted to. In fact, my recent training has pretty much matched your suggestions – gradual extra intensity, the odd hill added, not (usually) running on consecutive days, stretching/exercise, roller for massage (The Stick rather than foam roller, but same principle). Plus losing weight (around 15 pounds in the last 5 weeks), plus nutritious eating, no alcohol, dietary supplements. MLCM even has me adding parsley to everything, despite me hating the stuff. Different shoes.
The problem IMO has to be linked to an underlying weakness in my biomechanics. As for why this didn’t used to be a problem, well it might be age-related decreasing flexibility, or it could be shoe-related. For years I wore New Balance 854s. They discontinued them and these problems began not long after. I’ve always had a weird running gait, and perhaps the strain has has just very gradually weakened my calf’s ability to hold it all together. If so, it may be that sustained exercise/stretching plus some sort of orthotics is the answer.
We do agree it’s not a short term fix, though I hope it’s not a 3 year task either! I’m being as positive and as determined as I can, which is more important than anything else — but I can’t guarantee I could keep it up for 3 years. So I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing at the moment, as it is doing me good. If I don’t feel that real progress has been made within a few weeks, I’ll consider seeking professional help again. There’s a good sports injury clinic in Zurich.
Thanks again for the input.
Keeping a case of wine in your boot? Reminds me of the Dave Allen story.
Having discussed ankle injuries with a few people it’s generally accepted that 4-6 weeks is a necessary break from running after the acute injury.
Then it’s a question of very gently introducing some running on flat ground. This is what a physio recommended to me:
(3 minutes running @ 65% then 30 sec walk)x5 is a good starter.
Increase the running sections by 1 minute each session until you’re running 10 min at a time. Then start to think about reducing the walk breaks. Then start to think about increasing the intensity. Then adding hills.
Don’t run on consecutive days. Do calf stretches, ankle flex and foot strengthing exercises 3 times a day. Get a foam roller for self massage.
You seem to have a good mental approach to getting back running; but it’s worth saying (just to remind myself more than anything as I’m just as prone to boom-and-bust cycles) that it’s about very gradual adaptation and consistency. Not breakthrough runs or turning corners. With step-back periods along the way.
I would say, forget 18 week Higdons. Get yourself a 3 year plan.
Best of luck with it all Andy. It’s a fascinating, complex and puzzling sport, if very frustrating at times. And, as MLCM says, keep up with the posts.
Well mate, stick with the gym, lose some weight, increase your strength and run when you can. It’ll all come good soon enough. And bloody well keep writing will you?! And for Christ’ sake get that Rioja into a cellar. Keep bouncing it around in the boot of your car and it’ll not be fit for cooking with. Jeez!