The end of the road (are we there yet?)

pgmcpq

Sunday: 10 miles 2+5 rec+3

There were a bunch of races we would have liked to do this weekend. Saturday was the annual Gay Pride 5m race - which I kinda regretted missing especially as with gay marriage having been legalized in NY the night before would have been a party. But we had already signed up for this race the day after. This race is focused on runners with a range of disabilities. It begins with a wheelchair race, a walkers race and then the open race.

When the race began we were warned that we would see slow moving wheelchairs and walkers. The would stay to the left and the faster moving runners stay to the right. I figured that it would be at least 10 minutes before we would see the back of the earlier start. I was wrong. Within a few hundred yards to the start we passed the first walker and his aide - talking a breather as he adjusted his crutches. Next was the frail man in a wheel chair who with his chair facing backwards propelled the chair forwards by pushing with his legs ... and so it went on. The loop is continuous rolling hills - these people were going to be out there for many hour. It struck me that for some of these people the effort - physical and mental - to complete this event would make running a marathon look relatively easy. Some really stuck in the mind. A small girl (10-12?) I passed at mile 3 powering away on two prosthetic legs. You really wanted to stop and talk to some of these people - cheer them on - whatever.

Mrs P had done this race before and told me it was inspirational. Boy was she right.

My race ? Well, the legs were still heavy ( I really cannot quite believe that Thursday took so much out of the legs) and it is over a minute down on my PB. But it is tough course - the last two miles are a net down hill (I think) but there are climbs and very steep descents which make it very hard to get any recovery periods. Still 53rd overall and 4th in the AG so not unhappy with that for a B race for which I did not taper. Lots of food for thought.

Nice warm down miles around the reservoir again - one of my favorite runs.

Splits:

6.22, 6.31 (Cat Hill), 6.14, 6.27, 6.12, 0.27 (@6.00)

pgmcpq

Time to start thinking about the NY marathon. I'm pretty happy with the way the post Barcelona months have gone. The races where I have tapered at all have gone well and been PBs, and races I have treated as hard tempo sessions have still been respectable - though my 5k times are a fair bit off my best which seems a little strange.

So time to refocus ....

Taking a week of easy running. I'm undecided between launching into a P&D 18 week program or taking several weeks of easy base building where I focus on long runs before starting a P&D 12 week program. Not sure what would work better coming off the 10k training. Lots of late nights at work have left me feeling a bit run down this week but I'm not sure that is a good basis for a decision.

I am going to pay more attention to training to HR. In part I think this might smooth out variations in training due to weather and partly because I suspect I am prone to over training. So:

... from records and measuring Max HR = 172 (the highest I hit during track sessions), Min HR = 45. I had 178 down as my max HR last year but I have not seen this recently and 171/2 has been pretty consistent running 400ms intervals.

As per P&D this gives target HR ranges of (calculated off Max HR and HR reserve).

Run Type| Off Max HR | Off HR Reserve
LR | (74%-84%) 127-144 | (65%-78%) 127-144
MP | (79%-88%) 135-151 | (73%-84%) 137-151
GA | (70%-81%) 120-139 | (62%-75%) 124-140
LT | (82%-91%) 141-156 | (77%-88%) 142-157
Recovery | (<76%) <130 | (<70%) <134


Monday: 6 miles recovery, Pace : 8.55 HR: 128/177

Aim was to keep the HR below 130.

Wednesday: 11 miles, pace: Pace 7.48 HR 137/162 - Temp/Humidity 84F/48%

Aim was to keep the HR about 135 - in the GA range but also bottom of the MP range. I am trying to find out what these HR ranges mean in practice. Nice run but I am feeling tired which I think is just general fatigue - it's been a busy week at the day job and I am a little short on sleep.

Thursday: 7 miles recovery, grass Pace: HR 8.28 HR 124/140 Temp 74F/45%

Felt pretty good this morning but there is still a heaviness to the legs - a lack of zip. Noticeable increase in the number of runners appearing each morning.

pgmcpq

Friday: 15 miles, Pace: 8.03, HR: 136/151

Decided to keep the HR at or below 135 today - LR range but bottom of MP range too. With the NY marathon now firmly in view I decided to get in the spirit by running the nearest bridge - namely the Bayonne bridge which links NJ with Staten Island. So did my usual route for 6 miles then jogged the steps up to the pedestrian walkway on the bridge. I have walked this before but ...it looks different and a lot steeper as a runner. Definitely tougher than I had expected. It is I think about a mile long so it's a half mile steady climb - just the sort of run that tends to knock the stuffing out of me. Guess I need this regularly .

Saturday: 13 miles, Pace 8.01 HR 135/155

...and now I discovered exactly how much the Friday run had taken out of me ! Warm and sticky. After mistakenly setting my alarm for PM not AM, I only got in 2 miles solo before linking up with with the club run - who that day decided to be punctual and so I was chasing them for the next 3 miles.

Sunday: 6 miles recovery, Pace: 8.23 HR: 124/134

A nice run - humidity down after a morning storm that put the playing fields out of bounds. Steady rain also kept everyone home and so with the park to myself I was amazed to see a rabbit in the wetlands preservation area. It does not seem like hospitable territory for rabbits.

pgmcpq

Monday: 5.5 miles (1.5 + 4m race) Race: HR 160/172

Bit of a ho hum race. A PB but on a very soft target. I signed because Mrs P wanted to do it. A 1.5 miles warmup in the morning confirmed that there was little zip left in the legs. Unfortunately by start time the temperature had climbed in the 80s with humidity at 50%. The start was rather funny. No warning, no speeches - just the horn sounding, lots of surprised faces and we were off. By mile 2 I was was feeling the strain, by mile 3 I was looking for the end. Still it is a nice run and a good tempo session. 53rd place, 6th in AG which for this race is ... ok.

Splits: 6.12, 6.25, 6.30, 6.26 (and 4.57 for the .05 extra!) Just ran out of gas after the first mile.

Tuesday: 10 miles, Pace: 8.30, HR: 123/134

Really nice morning. I had decided to postpone starting a formal training plan in favor of a few weeks of base building - getting as many miles in as I can at low pace/HR. Was trying to keep the HR < 130 while cautiously adding in a few short hills - and for once I was able to maintain discipline and pull it off..

pgmcpq

Wednesday: 10 miles, Pace 8.09: HR 129/143

Trying to keep hitting the double digit runs consistently. Decided to push a little harder today still keeping the HR <135 on the flat. Threw in a few short hill repeats - at roughly 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 way through the 10 miles. The hill work went pretty well and the HR returned to normal quickly on recovery. Legs are a bit stiff and tired but basically feel pretty good. A little worryingly my left knee is starting to give me some signs that it is not happy again. Not sure why but I have the sense that I am back to my old habit of "tucking" my left leg in under my body when I run. Don't know if I am imagining this. Todd Rundgren tonight and guests over the weekend mean this is going to be a week where getting the volume up will be a problem.

pgmcpq

Thursday: 6 miles recovery grass, pace 9:07 HR 121/132

Late night on Wednesday meant this session was started as at dusk with the last two miles spent hoping not to turn an ankle !

Friday: 10 miles, Pace 8.05 HR 131/144

Ucky sticky morning. By the end of mile I was a (slow) moving puddle of sweat.

pgmcpq

Saturday: 9 miles, Pace: 7.55 HR 136/147

Visitors over the weekend meant that Mrs P and I both had to cover each other to get runs in. I skipped an elaborate breakfast (ok we bought some bagels and coffee). Cut it at 9 miles as I had run out of time.

Sunday: 17+ miles, Pace: 8.01 HR: 135/149

While our guests went visiting I with Mrs P blessing took off for my LSR. Back to the Bayonne bridge which I am going to be intimately acquainted by marathon time in November. Bridge is a little over a mile long - but the best part is there is a playground with a water sprinkler at the end which makes a very pleasant way to cool off - well if not surrounded by scowling parents. Bridge seemed a bit less intimidating this time - and was happy to see the HR stay below 150. Intended about 16 miles but a small miscalculation saw me arrive late back

Monday: 6 miles recovery, grass, Pace: 8.47, HR 124/137

By the end of this run the HR was creeping up into the 130s - presumably as the effects of Sunday's run were still in the legs.

Tuesday AM: 5 miles, recovery, grass, Pace 8.45, HR 123/135

With a 5k race this evening short and easy.

pgmcpq

Tuesday PM: 4 miles, 1 mile + 5k race.

Based on this result my new race day routine is :

1) Pick the hottest day of the year (90F+/40% at 7pm)
1) Have wretched day at work
2) Run late - and have no safety pins for the bib.
3) Run the mile from office to start, leaving no time for strides or indeed any other warmup - not that warm is needed.
4) Line up behind in the 6 minute/mile section - behind a large team sponsored by a restaurant - several of whom looked like they could do serious damage at the all you can eat buffet (ok, ok, I was feeling a little cranky)
5) Stand in the sun melting into a puddle while the race announcer who is - according to himself - a celebrity DJ from a radio station - told jokes about he was not going to run himself.
6) Have it confirmed that I am old - having never heard to the artists whose concert tickets were going to be spot prizes.
7) From nowhere run a negative split, controlled race and come in with a 21 second PB .

Absolutely no idea where that came from. 30th place, 6th in AG (damn those 10 year age groups). Winner came home in 14.xx and it seems to have been generally a fast evening despite the weather.

Splits: 6.10, 6.09, 6.03, 5.40

Got to love that finish. I'm pretty much at the end of racing the shorter stuff. I have the HM series resuming and possibly the NY team championship in August. But essentially the focus is now fully on the marathon in early November and this was a nice confidence boost as my 5k times had been a little weak this year.

pgmcpq

Wednesday: 9 miles easy. Pace: 8.14

A fairly easy (but not recovery pace) run. Forgot the HRM which is pity as the readings would have been interesting post the 5k the night before. Got hearty greetings from the prisoner team that were at work clearing the river front.

Thursday AM: 8 miles, recovery, grass. Pace 8.54 HR 120/133

Recovery run.

Thursday PM: 9 miles(?) in about about an 1hr 15m.

Went around to a local running store near the office with the the plan to join up with a short (3 mile) slow group run. Forgot the Garmin - but that did not matter for three easy miles which were just about stretching the legs and meeting a few new people and logging a few more miles. As things turned out I met a guy I knew who was is also training for NY and using P&D on my advice ( poor guy if he's relying on me). He was off to do a ten mile GA run ...so I ran with him and then ... well the evening was nice - warm but with the humidity lifted ... so inevitably I felt I could not just peel off so we had a very pleasant run down the Hudson and past the Statue of Liberty looping around and returning to the office. In the first few miles I was thinking - "this is too much" - but by then I was committed.

Friday: 6 miles, recovery, grass. Pace: 8.54 HR 126/139

Another great morning. Long may this last (one more day is what they tell us and then a return to humidity). HR is a little high probably reflecting 17 miles yesterday.

pgmcpq

Saturday: 17 miles, Pace: 8.05 HR: 138/163

Tough run. Weather was warm not not terribly humid. Did the first 5 solo before joining up with club run. The first 12 miles things were ok but the last five were an increasing struggle. After the group (of four) collected again at the 6 mile mark (11 for me) I joined ran the rest of the way with the guy who had run lead the pack. Whether it was the effect of talking, or just keeping to a pace too rich for me this proved to be a tough last five miles with the HR breaking 150 while the pace slowly faded, and the heat really started to get to me. The last two miles solo were simply - grim and no water fountain as passed.

Sunday: 12 miles, Pace 8.13 HR 136/146

A real effort to keep this in the easy range. But still a tough run. And the HR broke 140 =in the last two miles at a pace fractionally above 8m/m. Legs definitely feel out of gas. Feeling very dehydrated and having to constantly stop for water.

I am feeling a persistent strain in the the left groin area. Not enough to slow me down but I need to keep an eye on it.

The coming week will be ... interesting ....as we are heading into a heat wave, I am spending Friday as a volunteer at Habitat for Humanity, and Saturday is a organized 20 mile training run (with a heat forecast in the 90s:eek:). There are four loops with is a choice of 7m/m, 7.300m/m or maybe 8m/m pace group. I'd like to go the the 7.30 group and then join the 7m/m for the last the last loop. If the weather is bad this plan will need to be revised .... downward !

pgmcpq

Monday AM: 6 miles, recovery, grass, Pace: 9.10, HR: 116/134

Hot !

Monday PM: 3 miles, Pace: 9.20

Hotter ! A very slow 3 miles with the group that runs out of a running store near work. The store has a signed pictures of Paula Radcliff, Sonia ( mid 90s I suspect), and Paul Tergat on the walls. Temperature was in the 90s. I ended up accompanying a runner who fell off the pace and got dropped by the group.

Tuesday: 10 miles, Pace: 8.23 HR: 129/151

Hot! At 7am it was about 80F with 74% humidity. Slow was not a problem !

Wednesday: 10 miles, Pace: 8.07 HR: 131/142

Very cautiously tried a few hills this morning. Conditions are still poor. I need to try to get out earlier in the morning. As Mrs P pointed out : I can be followed very easily on my return home by the trail of sweat I am leaving on the floor.

Trying to convince myself that all this is helping my aerobic base. It certainly the case that I would not fancy trying tempo runs in these conditions (did I mention it was hot?).
Forecast suggests the rest of the week will be hotter still ... hitting 98F on Friday with the real feel well into the 100s.:( Time for the gym ?

pgmcpq

Thursday: 6 miles, grass. Pace: 8.49 HR: 123/136

Woke up feeling a stain in my butt (left cheek to be precise). About 3 miles this became a pain. Stupidly I said .... "Ah sure, just one of the usual aches and pains ... three miles to go - it's nothing". Sadly it was something. Once I had cooled off I could barely walk. As the day wore on it got worse it anything.

Bottom (geddit ... "bottom" ...:D) line is I am out of action. I had to pull out of a day of work at a charity today. Tomorrow is the first of two organized 20 mile training runs for the NY marathon which I found very useful last year and I am resigned to missing this also. Fingers crossed for a minor miracle. Problem is actually just above my butt so it really effects everything I do - even driving. It feels better today but not good enough to run on.

I'm a bit deflated. I've been on a good, consistent training run and I just did not see this coming at all. I have been pushing the mileage up but still below where I maxed out in the run up to Barcelona, and I have done no hard sessions in over a week. Went home last night and ate a bunch of comfort food which it precisely the wrong thing to do ! Ce la vie, I guess.

Heat is due to break 100F/38C for the next few days (real feel upto 112F/44C) so I guess it could have happened at a worse time.

Killerz

How is the injury holding up? What was the diagnosis? Hopefully things are improving?

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

How is the injury holding up? What was the diagnosis? Hopefully things are improving?

Yes, it is improving. Diagnosis is .. a little unclear. Chiro has found a twist between my 3rd and 4th vertebrae and a resulting muscle pull in the glutimus maximus (sp?). But I developed an ache radiating down the leg which is a bit of mystery. Still no idea what happened - though uneven terrain has been suggested.

TBH, originally I fully expected to be back in training after a few days. No such luck. It's a lot better now (I can walk!) but I have am still not back yet - going down stairs is not fun ... based on feel I'm hoping another week will see me back running.

Original plan for NY is blown out of the water. if I can get back next week and get into P&D for NY I might be able to retrieve things. But jumping into P&D with no training for three weeks (no bike, no swimming either, no walking) might not be realistic - fingers crossed.

Killerz

pgmcpq wrote: »

Yes, it is improving. Diagnosis is .. a little unclear. Chiro has found a twist between my 3rd and 4th vertebrae and a resulting muscle pull in the glutimus maximus (sp?). But I developed an ache radiating down the leg which is a bit of mystery. Still no idea what happened - though uneven terrain has been suggested.

TBH, originally I fully expected to be back in training after a few days. No such luck. It's a lot better now (I can walk!) but I have am still not back yet - going down stairs is not fun ... based on feel I'm hoping another week will see me back running.

Original plan for NY is blown out of the water. if I can get back next week and get into P&D for NY I might be able to retrieve things. But jumping into P&D with no training for three weeks (no bike, no swimming either, no walking) might not be realistic - fingers crossed.

Sounds like a real pain indeed.
Fingers crossed for you. Take the recovery slowly-dont risk anything.

pgmcpq

Well .... that was a bit of a disaster. The injury came out of nowhere. I was taking in pretty easy at the time. Six weeks out. Two failed comebacks - neither lasted longer than 10 feet. The nature of the problem meant that cross training was impossible - even swimming was out - in the early weeks even walking more than a half mile was a problem.
Missed two organized training runs, the Queens HM, the NY team chamionpionship (where my club was one runner short of a very good performance:() and would have missed the Bronx HM (tomrrow) but it was cancelled with Irene on the way.

So finally - finished PT.

Saturday: 5 miles, Pace: 8.35 HR Avg: 153 Max: 170 :eek::eek::eek::eek:

Pre hurricane run. (very dramatic eh?:D). Very muggy horrible conditions. Still not 100% so I need to be careful. My groin is pretty sore - the after effect of PT I hope. After six weeks of inactivity it can hardly be strained. All in all an ugly five miles and the HR is sky high. Really shocked by this. Not a fun run at all.

So where am I: Well 10 weeks to the NY marathon, at least 10lbs over race weight and today's run certainly was not encouraging. I am hoping that two weeks of ramp up, seven weeks of training and one week of taper might see me make some decent effort. If I don't see a sub 3.20 as realistic I will probably not run. Trying to stay positive. So it is a balance between trying to make a decent effort in NY without risking a serious set back.

Fingers crossed that I can be back to fitness quickly ( and that Irene causes no damage).

Killerz

Keep positive. Hope irene steers well clear.

Krusty_Clown

pgmcpq wrote: »

So where am I: Well 10 weeks to the NY marathon, at least 10lbs over race weight and today's run certainly was not encouraging. I am hoping that two weeks of ramp up, seven weeks of training and one week of taper might see me make some decent effort. If I don't see a sub 3.20 as realistic I will probably not run.

Not a great state of affairs. Did you say that you hadn't previously run the NYC marathon? If not, I'd certainly do it for the experience, even if you're not going to hit the target that you richly deserve. If nothing else, it'll mean that you'll be much better prepared for it next year, as you'll know all the challenging spots in the race. I presume as an NYC runner, you get priority entry every year, and you don't have to go via the lottery?

Hope Irene skips you by too. Stay well.

pgmcpq

Killerz wrote: »

Keep positive. Hope irene steers well clear.

Well ... happy to be back on the road ... but I'm a bit shocked at how much fitness I have lost. Hoping it is in there somewhere ....? Just push on and try to gradually push the mileage up and see where it leads.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Not a great state of affairs. Did you say that you hadn't previously run the NYC marathon? If not, I'd certainly do it for the experience, even if you're not going to hit the target that you richly deserve. If nothing else, it'll mean that you'll be much better prepared for it next year, as you'll know all the challenging spots in the race.

Well I have a qualifying time for it next year ... but we plan to run Berlin next year ( yeah - I know. Planning a year away is a bit sad!) so this was the serious effort. 3.20 is well off the original goal but as a BQ-5 would be worth getting in the bag. I was looking forward to running a marathon after sleeping in my own bed !! I'll make the decision as late as possible. There's also the issue that the NY marathon is a scoring race in the NY club championship and not having all registered runners show up could cost the team points. (Not that we are competitive - we are the "Wigan" of local clubs).

I know it be a bit of a downer either way but this stage the focus is Boston 2012. It's a tough call. Mrs P is running the Philly marathon two weeks later ...but I doubt that two weeks will make a big difference.

Either way I'll see how I feel in a week. It might be that I get back to speed reasonably quickly. MY legs are fine but my overall fitness is a shocker. I'm hoping that cross training/swimming might fix this without risking over training.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I presume as an NYC runner, you get priority entry every year, and you don't have to go via the lottery?

Hope Irene skips you by too. Stay well.

Oooooh - touchy subject locally !! There is a widespread belief that the lottery is skewed heavily against local runners as part of the deal with the city which want to generate tourist dollars. All I can say is that the only people I know who run get by other means than the lottery. Every year the lottery is followed by angry debate about this. I have learned not to talk about religion, politics and the NY marathon lottery in public.

Irene proved to be not so bad. We were very lucky - never even lost power. Saturday/Sunday night we got up at 4/5 am and mopped up the basement, same at 7/8am (when we took a quick walk) but nothing serious. Certainly I have seen worse (1992).

Monday: 6 miles w4*100m, Pace: 8.47 HR: 145/170

Beautiful morning post Irene. Calm, sunny, low humidity. Six mile. Very much trying to run by feel. Still feels very tough work and I wanted to quit after a mile. Got a little better later on and finished with 4 3/4 effort strides just to see what was there. Still too much like work but I plough on in hope.

shazkea

Good to see you're back running - take her handy!

pgmcpq

shazkea wrote: »

Good to see you're back running - take her handy!

Thanks ....and you too after the Kilimanjaro trip - great report btw.

Monday PM: 3+ miles, about 30 mins.

Gentle run with a running group based near work. Left leg felt terrible until I got going. Decent run - no watch to depress me ! Making my usual low profile, sweaty re-entry to the office a security guard came over. Turns out he used to be a runner and had noticed me slipping in and out for later runs and had wondered where I had vanished to over the last few weeks.

Tuesday: 7 miles, Pace 9.00, HR 141/155

Leg felt terrible again this morning. Seriously considered packing it in. Hard to describe - the leg just feels like there is a strain from the hip to the knee. The original injury also made it presence felt. *Sigh*. Still both problems settled down somewhat after a few miles so I continued on to my target (yesterdays high+1).

The leg feels very tight in stretching ... not sure if this will work out or if a return to the physio is called for. It seems the original injury was in a muscle that it hard to access so it is really hard to get to or to assess progress.

ronanmac

This sounds like a pretty sh*te state of affairs, pgmcpq, especially when there isn't any obvious solution. Maybe a change of physio just to see if it makes a difference?

pgmcpq

Wednesday: Tried some new stretches program with a focus on the sciatic nerve. Some swimming during lunch time. This felt pretty good and I had the luxury of an empty pool. Eliptical in the evening.

Thursday: 0.5 miles.

The head is gone. Felt pretty optimistic going out this morning. A few minutes into this mornings run I threw in the towel. A combination of feeling like I was really labouring and the immediate return of pain and I just decided to pack it in. I could - maybe should - have continued but running in discomfort is just not fun. I've sent off a mail to pass up the "local competitive start" ( good coral position and extra port-o-loos!) in the NY marathon as this might allow someone else to get in. I've not cancelled my entry ... but I can no longer see it happening.

ronanmac wrote: »

This sounds like a pretty sh*te state of affairs, pgmcpq, especially when there isn't any obvious solution. Maybe a change of physio just to see if it makes a difference?

Yes, considering seeing someone else but I'm not sure. NY is probably out, and the other races I would consider doing before winter arrives are too soon for me to race. So I'm not sure I want to put more time and money into something that may just need time. The PT sessions are hard to manage with the day job - and I am tired of sitting on ice packs all day .

pgmcpq

Ok ... Well after the last debacle I finally REALLY accepted that I was hurt. The original inury seemed to be a glutimus strain, but I ended up with a touch of sciatica, hip problems and a return of my old knee injury - all on the left side. My previous comebacks were probably doomed as, whether I admitted it or not, they were based on a last ditch attempt to get back for NY. So this time I just aim to get back running again - it will be slow - and there will be a lot os swiming involved. After more than two months out my aim is to get back to where I was by the end of the year.

Saturday 10th: 4 miles, Pace: 8.56, HR: 138/154

Took a long weekend away in Pennsylvania, down in Amish country. Brought running gear ... just in case. And of course broke down and went out for four slow miles. Interesting running alongside head high corn fields.

Sunday 11th: 4 miles, Pace: 8.36 HR: 142/166

Another four miles. Running by feel alone, it felt a little better than yesterday. Sunday morning in Amish country runs the serious risk of getting run over by a horse buggy. As I looked at the famers gathering cows for milking, they were looking at some crazy "English" (everyone outside the Amish community is considered "English" ) nut running along the road.

Tuesday: 4 miles ?

Garmin objected to returning home and refused to function. ~ 4 miles

Friday: 5 miles, Pace 8.19 HR: 144/171

Beatiful morning tempted me to a few more miles ... but coming to the end of mile 5 I felt the butt muscle twinge. Getting wiser and shut it down immediately. Returned home; checked email and there was my Boston 2012 confirmation - yipee .

Saturday: 9 miles, Pace 8.49, HR: 143/161

Joined up with the club for the weekend run. This was a bit of a gamble and I was prepared to drop out at the first sign of trouble. Great morning for a run. Really, really, really :):):) pleased to be able to complete this run. Bit of a struggle in the last few miles but better than expected.

Tormmow is the 5k I won last year. *Sigh* - I'll go along and see a few folks.

First step on the road back ... and yes I am taking tomorrow off.

ronanmac

pgmcpq wrote: »

Tormmow is the 5k I won last year. *Sigh* - I'll go along and see a few folks.

Ah, the memories!
Good to see you back, and that you're keeping it in check until you start getting stronger. Enjoy the road to Boston, hopefully, it won't be too long before you're flying again.

Killerz

Congrats on getting into Boston! Nice to have something to aim at in the medium term so as not to put too much pressure on you to step up the training too quickly.

I was sorely tempted to enter boston again- unbelievable experience!

pgmcpq

ronanmac wrote: »

Ah, the memories!
Good to see you back, and that you're keeping it in check until you start getting stronger. Enjoy the road to Boston, hopefully, it won't be too long before you're flying again.

Yes ... memories of keeping a sub 8 pace ! Swimming most days and finding it very tough! No idea how you tri guys do it.

Killerz wrote: »

Congrats on getting into Boston! Nice to have something to aim at in the medium term so as not to put too much pressure on you to step up the training too quickly.

I was sorely tempted to enter boston again- unbelievable experience!

Yes, Boston lifted the spirits. Talking to a guy who told me it took him three months to recover from injury which sounds about right to me. So three months to recover, followed by three months to train for Boston. I'd really like more time - but that what I have. Hope the winter is mild enough to allow me train through it.

You are looking good for Chicago - keep away from the hobnobs

Monday am: 3.5 miles, Pace: 8.12, HR 148/?
Monday pm: 3 miles, Pace: 7.59, HR 149/?
Group run

Tuesday: 4.5 miles, Pace: 8.30 ?, HR 147/?
Thurs am: 5 miles, Pace 7.48, HR 154/176
Thurs pm: 3.5 miles, Pace 7.58, HR 137/150

Short run with a 2.30 marathoner. For a brief mile I felt like a runner again.

Friday: 4 miles, Pace 7.41, HR 145/155
Saturday: 12 miles, Pace 10+, HR 132/159

Club run. We were joined by a guy from out of town training for a marathon in the mid west. As I am not training for anything I dropped off to keep him company but did not realise that he planned on a 10.30 pace and needed a few walk breaks. Not really what I had in mind and I am not sure how much use it was. But to be perfectly honest even at that pace I found it tough after the 10 mile mark.

35 miles for the week. Not pretty but I'll take it ...

Later in the day I came across some new neighbours sturggling with a sofa. After some wrestling with my conscience I offered to help. Got the sofa in .... but of course I tweaked my problem hip. Hopefully it just my imagination. Com'on karma - I deserve a break here !

Also on the injury front. I have invested in a) an e-stim machine and b) compression shorts. Hopefully both of these will speed recovery along. On positive note the chiro has managed to really improve my knee which had started to act up again.

pgmcpq

Terrible week.

In brief ... ran Monday, Tuesday. Took Wednesday off. Broke down Thursday morning with my hip problem. It became appearent that my swimming was causing/worsening my hip problem.
Finally cancelled my NY marathon entry and emailed the Roxbury RD to cancel out of that race too.

Resumed swimming on Friday trying to take it easy, and it seemed ok. Was iceing the hip all week.

Joined the club run today fof the first run since Tuesday. Two miles in my club mates - several of whom I should be able ot keep pace with - were forced to wait for me as I struggled to top of a hill. My heart rate was near the max, and I had no and with no realistic prospect that I could complete the run, for the first time ever I dropped out. Long walk back home ... where I totaled my Garmin in frustration.:o . Butt muscle was sore again.

Really don't know where to go from here. Boston is 6 months away but it might as well be on Mars.

This simply is not fun anymore. With no clear path forward this may indeed be "the end of the road". The prospect of dealing with the complete collapse of my left leg from hip to knee, (the need to buy a new Garmin!), but most of all missing Boston having finally qualified has really sucked my motivation to start on comeback #5. Johnny Giles made less attempts at a comback than this !

ronanmac

pgmcpq wrote: »

Terrible week.

In brief ... ran Monday, Tuesday. Took Wednesday off. Broke down Thursday morning with my hip problem. It became appearent that my swimming was causing/worsening my hip problem.
Finally cancelled my NY marathon entry and emailed the Roxbury RD to cancel out of that race too.

Resumed swimming on Friday trying to take it easy, and it seemed ok. Was iceing the hip all week.

Joined the club run today fof the first run since Tuesday. Two miles in my club mates - several of whom I should be able ot keep pace with - were forced to wait for me as I struggled to top of a hill. My heart rate was near the max, and I had no and with no realistic prospect that I could complete the run, for the first time ever I dropped out. Long walk back home ... where I totaled my Garmin in frustration.:o . Butt muscle was sore again.

Really don't know where to go from here. Boston is 6 months away but it might as well be on Mars.

This simply is not fun anymore. With no clear path forward this may indeed be "the end of the road". The prospect of dealing with the complete collapse of my left leg from hip to knee, (the need to buy a new Garmin!), but most of all missing Boston having finally qualified has really sucked my motivation to start on comeback #5. Johnny Giles made less attempts at a comback than this !

That's one depressing post!
I don't know what to say to that, pgmcpq, other than Get Well Soon, but that doesn't seem to be happening either. Surely, from the injury point of view, if things were ok before, and crap now, that things can be brought back to a state of ok? It's just a case of finding out how to bring it back to that state

Get Well Soon

pgmcpq

ronanmac wrote: »

Get Well Soon

Cheers, Ronan. Appreciate the thoughts. Not my finest hour. But better to vent here than in real life where Mrs P is preparing for Philly. The realization that Boston is likely gone, as it the chance to requalify for 2013 ... Anger is one of the stages of grieving IIRC !
Anyway ... I did try run again this week after a few days layoff. Lasted two days and the knee went again today.

I'm going back to start the medical route from the start, and hopefully persuade someone to order an MRI of the leg and maybe identify the root problem rather than treating the symptoms.