Diary of a middle-age runner

gerard65

Had to try a little jog yesterday evening on the grass in bushy park. Got to 18 mins when the calf played up again. Still sore today. This healing process is taking too long:(. I'll take another week off and see how its then. Looks like the Irish runner 5 mile is out the window. Will have to set my sights on the 10miler in aug.

gerard65

MONDAY 15th Jun

20mins of 1min jog - 1min walk.
May not seem much but its great to be able to do something without pain. I've been advised it'll will take another 3 weeks for the calf to heal 100% but I can start taking small steps. I've been warned in no uncertain terms to start back very easy, but at least I can see a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. Might even make the adidas 5mile next month. Its good to be back:D

SUNGOD

welcome back , im just back as well.
even though its only short distances its just good to be back running.
slowly but surely we will get back to where we were

gerard65

TUESDAY 16th july

28mins of 2min jog - 1min walk.
No problems with the calf. Killed two birds with the one stone, dropped my BAC application form into Woddle on way.

Woddle

gerard65 wrote: »

TUESDAY 16th july

28mins of 2min jog - 1min walk.
No problems with the calf. Killed two birds with the one stone, dropped my BAC application form into Woddle on way.

Yep I got that, thanks, best of luck with the comeback and don't rush back like the last time and would you consider knocking the 5 miler on the head. I know you've paid and all but I would love to see you back a 100% fit and I don't know if racing so soon will help that cause.
But great to see you back

stmochtas

Great to see you back Gerard.

gerard65

Woddle wrote: »

don't rush back like the last time and would you consider knocking the 5 miler on the head. I know you've paid and all but I would love to see you back a 100% fit and I don't know if racing so soon will help that cause.
But great to see you back

I'm being very careful this time. Tonight I'll take off and just go for a long walk. I'll only do the 5 miler if I'm up to 40mins running with no problems, and then only run it as a training session.

gerard65

THURS 18th Jun

30mins of 2min easy running - 1 min walk. Calf still holding up. That completes phase one of 30mins activity. Phase 2 is to build up to 30mins continous running over the next 2 weeks. Still not 100% confident with the leg but thats good as it'll stop me from doing too much too soon.

gerard65

FRI 19th Jun

34mins of 4min easy - 1 min walk.
The rehab continues. This was the first night since hurting my calf on the 24th April to use my forerunner. For what its worth the total milage for this run was 3.3 with an average pace of 10.2.

gerard65

SAT 20 Jun

33mins of 5min easy - 2min walk.

Getting the odd pain in my calf. Don't think its the injury, just normal DOMS type pain -I hope. I'll rest tomorrow.

gerard65

Mon 22nd Jun

30mins of 5min easy - 1min walk
Very humid out there tonight. The extra layer of blubber does'nt help:(

shels4ever

gerard65 wrote: »

Mon 22nd Jun

30mins of 5min easy - 1min walk
Very humid out there tonight. The extra layer of blubber does'nt help:(

Tell me about it, I felt like i was running in a sauna last night.

gerard65

Tues 23rd June

35mins of 6min easy - 1min walk.
Nice run tonight in bushy. Kept to the outside of the field in the shade. Felt more pleasent than last night.
Sportsworld were doing quarters tonight. Would have thought the park was a bit to packed at that hour for fast running but they seem to get around fine, maybe its their numbers - people tend to get out of the way of a big crowd of runners barrelling towards them. They must have the largest active participating membership in the country and thats without a juve section.

gerard65

Wed 24th June

27mins of 8min run - 1min walk.
Increased the running time but reduced the overall time. Calf still holding up but its still not 100%.

gerard65

Fri 26th Jun

32 mins of 10min run - 1min walk. In my new kayano's tonight. I had a falling out with kayano a few months back, accusing them of been too heavy and chunky, but we've made up and are now bestist buddies.
A bit wrecked today. Course finished yesterday and was out for the mandatory numberous pints till the early morning.
Jebus, if I hear anymore about Micky bloody Jackson I'll scream!!!

gerard65

Sat 27th Jun

32mins of 10min easy running - 1min walk. Calf is still ok, the plan is to reach 30mins running by this time next week.
Got my email confirming I'm now a official, paid up member of Boards AC. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm fit enough to race as a BAC member.:)

TheRoadRunner

gerard65 wrote: »

Sat 27th Jun

32mins of 10min easy running - 1min walk. Calf is still ok, the plan is to reach 30mins running by this time next week.
Got my email confirming I'm now a official, paid up member of Boards AC. Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm fit enough to race as a BAC member.:)

welcome back (again ) fingers crossed you have a bit of luck this time. The approach you are on now seems sensible. It's corny to say but listen to your body and more importantly your calf. Have you been doing any strengthening exercise for your calf/achilles, if not I can recommend a few.

gerard65

Thanks Roadrunner. I got a couple of calf exercises which I'm using.
Noticed an odd pain in my calf today (maybe in my head) so I just went for a walk this evening.

gerard65

Mon 29th June.

39mins of 12min run - 1min walk. Very happy with this session, cover 4.4mls in total without any problems. The plan is still on track:).

RacoonQueen

Good stuff, good to see you getting back. On track for the 5 miler now?

gerard65

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Good stuff, good to see you getting back. On track for the 5 miler now?

Touch wood!! But I'll only run it as a training session, would be happy with 40mins. Most likely set my main sights on the half marathon in September and theres a 10k in Firhouse in September I really want to do, I actually set it as my main target at the start of the year.

gerard65

Tues 30th Jun.

31mins - 15min easy, 1min walk, 15min easy. Hot and sticky this evening.

Good to see you are back Gerard

You have been through a lot with injuries, fair play to you

gerard65

Wed 1st Jul

32min of 20min run - 1min walk - 11min run. Should'nt complain about the heat after the winter we had, but its was very hot and sticky out there.

Thanks ND. Much of my injuries were due to my own impatience. I've learned a few painful lessions.
How's the shins?

Shins not bad.

Am going to take the recovery slowly, and not jump straight back to my pre-injury pace.

So no races for a while. I would rather run 3-4 nights a week at 8-9 minute pace, than try to push it too quickly and be out of action for even longer.

Like yourself, impatience to get back out there is my biggest problem!

dna_leri

gerard65 wrote: »

Wed 1st Jul

Thanks ND. Much of my injuries were due to my own impatience. I've learned a few painful lessions.
How's the shins?

Gerard65 - good to see your log back up and you active. Any lessons to share with the rest of us on injury prevention or recovery?

gerard65

Fri 3rd July

30mins nonstop - wahay!! Another small mile-stone reached.
Took lastnight off. Was wrecked after little sleep the night before due to the rain and thunder storm.

Thanks dna_leri. Can only relate my own experience to you. After catching the flu last January (the REAL flu) I tried to jump back into training way to soon and too much. I now believe this lead to a type of Over Training Syndrom which I tried to train through. Eventually something had to give - my calf. Then to pile stupidity upon stupidity twice I pushed the injury resulting in another two ruptures of the calf. Eventually the glaringly obvious dawned on me - I had to go back to basics.
By starting on a basic beginners program - 1min run - 1min walk for 20min a slowly building up I could start strenghting the sight of the rupture but without putting too much pressure on the weak area.
It took alot of patience but so far (fingers crossed) its worked. I'm not out of the woods yet - by a long shot and I know I've got to continue to take it easy but so far the plan is working.

Krusty_Clown

Great news Gerard65. The relief when you can finally run without feeling the injuries is almost the same euphoria as crossing the finish line.

dna_leri

gerard65 wrote: »

Fri 3rd July


Thanks dna_leri. Can only relate my own experience to you. After catching the flu last January (the REAL flu) I tried to jump back into training way to soon and too much. I now believe this lead to a type of Over Training Syndrom which I tried to train through. Eventually something had to give - my calf. Then to pile stupidity upon stupidity twice I pushed the injury resulting in another two ruptures of the calf. Eventually the glaringly obvious dawned on me - I had to go back to basics.
By starting on a basic beginners program - 1min run - 1min walk for 20min a slowly building up I could start strenghting the sight of the rupture but without putting too much pressure on the weak area.
It took alot of patience but so far (fingers crossed) its worked. I'm not out of the woods yet - by a long shot and I know I've got to continue to take it easy but so far the plan is working.

good stuff. Its a fine line between overtraining and not pushing yourself hard enough - probably finer for us vets (middle-age runners). Good luck with the rest of the recovery. Have you an overall plan in mind or are you making it up as you go along based on how you feel?

gerard65

Sun 5th July

31mins easy run. Stomach not great today after a few bulmers pears last night - never again:(

dna_leri, I'm using a modified training schedual I got off the web. Its a 2 week 'off-training' program which brings you up to a 1 hour easy run and then another 'build-up' program which conditions you for harder training. They appear to be fairly safe and based on common sense.
I agree that the older we get the more careful we've got to be. Our bodies just don't repair themselves as quickly. Its OK for these youngsters banging out the miles, but from your late thirties on, rest and recovery becomes more important. We have to grow old gracefully;)

gerard65

Mon 6th July

35mins easy. Most enjoyable run. Weather has cooled down - makes life much easier.

gerard65

THUR 9th July

5.1mls in 43mins. Missed the last two days. Got my number for the 5 mile in the park next week in the post today, so had to get in a 5 this evening.
Going well.

shels4ever

gerard65 wrote: »

THUR 9th July

5.1mls in 43mins. Missed the last two days. Got my number for the 5 mile in the park next week in the post today, so had to get in a 5 this evening.
Going well.

Well done , fairly qucik for the 5 m training run too, you mustn't have lost too much, Do you have a target for next week or just to enjoy the run?

gerard65

Just out to enjoy it. maybe 40mins but I'm not pushed. Dying to get back racing, I've really missed the buzz.

gerard65

Fri 10th July.
4.9 mls in 40mins.
Very surprised at this. Legs were sore and tired starting off but the engine starting purring. The last 2 miles were in the 7:40s. Big confidence booster.
Woddle, we'll have to stop meeting like that;)

Woddle

Great to see you and you looked good, have no doubts you'll make a good comeback, both times I saw you my 400m fast started, so no doubt I too looked deadly

gerard65

Ah, I was thinking "hell I'll avoid racing him for some time".

gerard65

Sun 12th July

3.3mls in 27mins. Out last night so not feeling the may west today.

gerard65

Mon 13th July

6.1mls in 49mins. Tired over the last couple of miles but very happy with this run. The last 3 miles were sub 8min/mile.
Bloody dogs in Bushy Park. What is it with morons who put their 'rats' on a 10m lead and think the mutt is under control. Triped over one of these leads tonight, luckly I did'nt do a serious damage but it was enough to break the skin on my shin. Bushy's become a dog hell, its really annoying me I'm going to have to avoid it from now on and train on the roads. F****** Gob***** dog owners. I'm writing a letter to the council to complain the law of the land is not been inforced on public land their responsible for. By law a dog must be under the owners full control when out in a public space, either at heal or on a lead.

gerard65

TUES 14th July

30mins very easy.

WED 15th July

5.4mls in 43:30mins
Still building fitness.
I'll take in easy tomorrow night, rest Friday and then the 5 miler on Saturday.

gerard65

THURS 16th July
3.3mls easy

Fri 17th July
Rest.

Sat 18th July
5mile Irish Runner 5mile Phoenix Park.
39:32 watch time.
Great to be back racing. I get a real buzz out off races. Knew I had no form going into this so decided to turn it into a training session. Met a few boardies before and after the race. Started with RacoonQueen in what turned out to be a very conjested start. Placed myself way to far back even for a planned 40min run. Ran with RacoonQueen till the kyper but she got a good run on the outside and I lost her. Shortly after I got a pinched nerve in my foot and had to stop to loosen my laces. The first two miles were 8:31 and 8:50. Finally caught RacoonQueen at about halfway, picked up the pace till the end. Last three miles were 7:04, 7:33, 7:01. Happy with this considering the amount of time out and still about a stone over weight. I can now set my sights on the 10mile in August.
From tds-live website:
POS.-1411, POS.CAT M40-118 Time- 41:24 RealTime- 39:34.

RacoonQueen

Nice to meet you today...lost you on that second hill and could see you up ahead, was still quite congested at that point and I didn't get any sort of a clear run until I hit the final mile which was my fastest mile in 7:45, now I'm wondering how much better I could have done if it hadn't been so stop start. Better not place ourselves that far back in the 10 especially if they use the Kyber for that too.

aero2k

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Better not place ourselves that far back in the 10 especially if they use the Kyber for that too.

Route from the website http://dublinmarathon.ie/map08_10mile.pdf - not sure if they'll change it before the 15th. If I remember from last year the extra distance on Chesterfield avenue was a big help in getting a free run, and the downhill bit past the Wellington monument is a lot wider than the Kyber. Level of difficulty would be similar to today's race - x2:)

Gerard65, well done on your time.

BeepBeep67

Great running for the sub 40, you nailed your last 3 miles.

Munster_Gal

Well done

littlebug

Well done Gerard,

I read through your log (the title is misleading by the way- you've at least 6-7 years to go before you're middle aged! ) 39 seems like the age to turn it all around- loose weight/ get fit etc and you've done a mighty good job of it. Best of luck with your continued recovery !

From another not quite middle aged runner.

gerard65

Sun 19th July

30mins very easy. Legs a bit sore after yesterday as expected. I've also got a dirty bruse on the top of my foot where I pinched the nerve yesterday but its not giving me any problems.
The idea of running the DCM popped into my head while running this evening, something to ponder over the next few days.

shels4ever

gerard65 wrote: »

Sun 19th July

30mins very easy. Legs a bit sore after yesterday as expected. I've also got a dirty bruse on the top of my foot where I pinched the nerve yesterday but its not giving me any problems.
The idea of running the DCM popped into my head while running this evening, something to ponder over the next few days.

Would be anice goal for you to aim for, your mileage a few months ago wasnt far off marathon mileage at all... But then again it's a Marathon... lots of XC to run during the Autumn.. and a nice local 5k for you in october, will you run the Dublin Novice XC?

kevinbirchall

Good Luck Gerard,

I had decided to run the dublin Marathon again this year after a 3:19 last year, but tore a tendon in my foot this morning. My good friend chris cassidy has a great training blog (http://gitser.blogspot.com) Do you have a blog?

gerard65

Mon 20th July

1 hour easy. This was'nt about pace or distance but just getting the 'time on feet'. Another little milestone passed.

Hi Kevin, Real p***er about the injury. Look after it and don't do what I did and force a comeback. Take your time and respect it. As for a blog, I can just about keep up with events around here, but I've put your friends blog in my favorites folder so I drop in now and again.

Hi Shels, remember last year and all the excitement on boards in the run up to the DCM? Imagine what it'll be like this year with so many more boardies? I think I want to be part of it! My problem was always with the long runs, but with these meet and train groups springing up among the boardies I think I could commit to the long runs with company. But I'm still not 100% sure - the pain of hitting that wall a few years ago is still fresh.
Am I doing the novice xc?? You tell me- I have to do what my club captain tells me;) Seriously, would it be a good idea for all boards AC members to send you a list of races they would like to do/are doing between now and xmas so you can start working out teams? Otherwise everyone will start doing their own thing and may not be available for team selection, afterall the team comes first- no i in team(sic).