Slowly does it.
The whole plan for January was to get the consistency back into exercising. Actually the real plan was just to start exercising again. I think I've managed this quite well. I'm not fit enough to follow anything structured at the moment and to be honest, I don't really want to. So, all I've done is a bit of this, and a bit of that. It's worked well and I'm happy to be 'doing' again.
I've managed to run a couple of times a week for around 35-40mins. Nothing fast, and mostly done to HR to make sure I don't rush things. I've been listening to my body for the first time ever, and accepting that when I'm tired, I need to sleep and rest. However, despite of taking many precautions, last Monday I came down with a bit of a cold. I usually suffer at this time of year so it's nothing new. I just have to ride it out and wait until it's gone before I resume anything strenuous.
I've managed to include other forms of exercise like hacky sack, skipping, strength and resistance band stuff. A few twitter pals and I are doing a February challenge of skipping every day for a month. That should be good fun and kick start the metabolism. I used to do a heck of a lot of skipping during my competitive track days and it really does improve co-ordination, strength, speed, and agility. Must be one of the cheapest forms of exercise ever.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
Monday, 17 January 2011
On My Way Back
I'm Back with a vengeance
I had planned and had looked forward to, doing an outdoors run yesterday. On Friday night it looked as though we'd broken the back of the sheet/black ice which has covered our village for the last 8 weeks. I was quite excited at the prospect of getting out there, feeling the fresh air fill my lungs, and have the cool crisp air stinging my cheeks. However, Saturday morning brought torrential rain, and though this has never bothered me in the past, it did look pretty dark out and I was slightly concerned about lightening.
Blew off the run, and prepared for an effort today. The wind had picked up through the night to around 25-30mph but so what - a bit of wind never hurt anyone.
I knew it was going to be tough. I was going to have to stick in and accept that I'd be nowhere near the level I was last summer. Saying that, I wasn't really prepared for just how much fitness I have lost.
I planned to run to HR. This plan was binned off after only half a mile. The wind was far too strong for even a conditioned runner to control their HR, let alone one who hasn't ran for the best part of 3 months. I ran to feel, and I felt bad.
I did struggle, I did wheeze, I did cough and splutter, I plodded rather than ran, and my calves hurt. I even stopped a couple of times to catch my breath (note to self to restock my inhalers next week) and to stretch out a bit. But, I loved it. In the eye of the wind, my pace dropped to around 11 min/miling, elsewhere I was clipping along at around 9.30. Overall, my average was 10:03. It wasn't comfortable, but it will get better if I stick with it and increase frequency and distances gradually, and sensibly. I intend to do just this. I want to be healthy again. Races and results aren't my priority this year. I'm not sure they will be ever again. I just want to feel healthy, and this morning was step one on that rope ladder of running. I've no doubt I'll fall off more times than I'll enjoy, I'll swing on the same rung occasionally, even sliding down a few every now and then, but I will make it to the top - that is, my top, and nobody else's.
It's whetted my appetite again - I feel alive - I feel in love
I had planned and had looked forward to, doing an outdoors run yesterday. On Friday night it looked as though we'd broken the back of the sheet/black ice which has covered our village for the last 8 weeks. I was quite excited at the prospect of getting out there, feeling the fresh air fill my lungs, and have the cool crisp air stinging my cheeks. However, Saturday morning brought torrential rain, and though this has never bothered me in the past, it did look pretty dark out and I was slightly concerned about lightening.
Blew off the run, and prepared for an effort today. The wind had picked up through the night to around 25-30mph but so what - a bit of wind never hurt anyone.
I knew it was going to be tough. I was going to have to stick in and accept that I'd be nowhere near the level I was last summer. Saying that, I wasn't really prepared for just how much fitness I have lost.
I planned to run to HR. This plan was binned off after only half a mile. The wind was far too strong for even a conditioned runner to control their HR, let alone one who hasn't ran for the best part of 3 months. I ran to feel, and I felt bad.
I did struggle, I did wheeze, I did cough and splutter, I plodded rather than ran, and my calves hurt. I even stopped a couple of times to catch my breath (note to self to restock my inhalers next week) and to stretch out a bit. But, I loved it. In the eye of the wind, my pace dropped to around 11 min/miling, elsewhere I was clipping along at around 9.30. Overall, my average was 10:03. It wasn't comfortable, but it will get better if I stick with it and increase frequency and distances gradually, and sensibly. I intend to do just this. I want to be healthy again. Races and results aren't my priority this year. I'm not sure they will be ever again. I just want to feel healthy, and this morning was step one on that rope ladder of running. I've no doubt I'll fall off more times than I'll enjoy, I'll swing on the same rung occasionally, even sliding down a few every now and then, but I will make it to the top - that is, my top, and nobody else's.
It's whetted my appetite again - I feel alive - I feel in love
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Welcome
After running the Kielder Marathon in October, I decided to take a long break to get myself sorted.
It's a long story. I have a long term hip injury/condition which first surfaced in the guise of some general tightness way back in March of last year. As the miles increased, so did the pain to the point where some days it was just too difficult to even walk.
Then, as the Summer progressed, so did my general tiredness and lethargy - mainly brought about by many sleepless nights due to the painful hip - until eventually my body suffered one big burnout. Ten weeks before the marathon it was assumed I had adrenal exhaustion, not helped by the fact that I'd trained through the increasing fatigue for weeks making it worse. I say 'assumed' because apparently there is no definitive test which confirms this condition, just a series of elimination tests to say that it's not something else. Bit embarrassed by this and can't help thinking I should just pull myself together and push on.
Not the greatest preparation in the world a few weeks away from my A race of the season. I immediately reduced the mileage and went into a 6 week taper, clocking around 2 runs per week of no more than 45mins each.
Against all advice (nearly culminating in divorce) and with the odds stacked massively against me, I lined up on the shores of a very cold (minus 4) Kielder Water on the 17th of October to tackle 26.2 miles of off road madness with 5000ft of ascent.
The race went as well as can be expected, better in fact. I started very slowly and capped the pace so that I was running well within myself. The course was a rude awakening - not only for me either who had done no training let alone specific hill training, but for my 1600 fellow nutters as well - and frustratingly one where it was impossible to hit a constant pace as there were numerous uphills which went up, and up, and up....and many very steep descents with acutely sharp bends at the bottom.
Despite this, I felt surprisingly great. However, my lack of mileage/training showed itself at just over 20 miles. Up until then I was on for a comfortable 4:10 but the last 10k took us over the open moors and with a tremendous cold headwind - which had oddly been present since the gun despite the route being of a circular nature - my 'race' was effectively over. There was no point pushing on, and to be quite honest I was completely frozen to the core, totally bored, and just not interested anymore. I slowed to an even more comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery whilst eating a packet of sweets.
I ended up with 4:27, no sore legs, and no DOMS....result. I had no right to be running that sort of time given the illness, injury, and route, but I'm not complaining and was very pleased with the outcome.
So, I've had the last 3 months off any exercise completely. Nothing has changed. My hip is still incredibly sore, even after a stroll around town, and any type of exercise which raises my heart rate into zone 2 leaves me exhausted. I have been told that adrenal fatigue can take up to, if not more than, a year to recover from.
It all sounds downbeat but it's not. Running is something that I've done for the last 30 years so naturally I feel a bit sad that it's come down to the one thing I love doing which is making me fall to bits. However, I'm not just a runner, I'm me, and there's a whole other world out there for me to explore. I just have to re-evaluate and find something else to do which won't leave me so tired to function, or in so much pain that I can't move.
This year is going to be about 'Zen' and mindfulness. I will take things slowly and I'm determined to get healthy again as opposed to fit. The last year has taught me that there is a big difference between the two and just because you're fit, doesn't necessarily mean that you're healthy.
In summary, it's back to basics, and starting from scratch, but it's all good and I'm looking forward to the new challenges which may or may not come my way :-)
It's a long story. I have a long term hip injury/condition which first surfaced in the guise of some general tightness way back in March of last year. As the miles increased, so did the pain to the point where some days it was just too difficult to even walk.
Then, as the Summer progressed, so did my general tiredness and lethargy - mainly brought about by many sleepless nights due to the painful hip - until eventually my body suffered one big burnout. Ten weeks before the marathon it was assumed I had adrenal exhaustion, not helped by the fact that I'd trained through the increasing fatigue for weeks making it worse. I say 'assumed' because apparently there is no definitive test which confirms this condition, just a series of elimination tests to say that it's not something else. Bit embarrassed by this and can't help thinking I should just pull myself together and push on.
Not the greatest preparation in the world a few weeks away from my A race of the season. I immediately reduced the mileage and went into a 6 week taper, clocking around 2 runs per week of no more than 45mins each.
Against all advice (nearly culminating in divorce) and with the odds stacked massively against me, I lined up on the shores of a very cold (minus 4) Kielder Water on the 17th of October to tackle 26.2 miles of off road madness with 5000ft of ascent.
The race went as well as can be expected, better in fact. I started very slowly and capped the pace so that I was running well within myself. The course was a rude awakening - not only for me either who had done no training let alone specific hill training, but for my 1600 fellow nutters as well - and frustratingly one where it was impossible to hit a constant pace as there were numerous uphills which went up, and up, and up....and many very steep descents with acutely sharp bends at the bottom.
Despite this, I felt surprisingly great. However, my lack of mileage/training showed itself at just over 20 miles. Up until then I was on for a comfortable 4:10 but the last 10k took us over the open moors and with a tremendous cold headwind - which had oddly been present since the gun despite the route being of a circular nature - my 'race' was effectively over. There was no point pushing on, and to be quite honest I was completely frozen to the core, totally bored, and just not interested anymore. I slowed to an even more comfortable pace and enjoyed the scenery whilst eating a packet of sweets.
I ended up with 4:27, no sore legs, and no DOMS....result. I had no right to be running that sort of time given the illness, injury, and route, but I'm not complaining and was very pleased with the outcome.
So, I've had the last 3 months off any exercise completely. Nothing has changed. My hip is still incredibly sore, even after a stroll around town, and any type of exercise which raises my heart rate into zone 2 leaves me exhausted. I have been told that adrenal fatigue can take up to, if not more than, a year to recover from.
It all sounds downbeat but it's not. Running is something that I've done for the last 30 years so naturally I feel a bit sad that it's come down to the one thing I love doing which is making me fall to bits. However, I'm not just a runner, I'm me, and there's a whole other world out there for me to explore. I just have to re-evaluate and find something else to do which won't leave me so tired to function, or in so much pain that I can't move.
This year is going to be about 'Zen' and mindfulness. I will take things slowly and I'm determined to get healthy again as opposed to fit. The last year has taught me that there is a big difference between the two and just because you're fit, doesn't necessarily mean that you're healthy.
In summary, it's back to basics, and starting from scratch, but it's all good and I'm looking forward to the new challenges which may or may not come my way :-)
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