Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon

AuldManKing wrote: »

you've just had a baby recently, haven't you







good to see you back.

Ha Yes. I've been viewing it as preventative maintenance.....

tang1

Good to see you back Dave.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote:

Good to see you back Dave.

Cheers B. Well done on the pb at the weekend

davemcmahon

Mon 30/11 PM 25 mins Easy Runmute home

Tues 1/12 60 mins Easy inc runmute to work

Wed 2/12 50 mins with Strides

Thurs 3/12 60 mins Easy

Fri 4/12 60 mins Easy

Sat Rest

Sun 95 mins LSR

Happy with the week. I had planned on running another double on Friday but the energy levels weren't great so I left it at one run. Was determined to get Sundays run in as I'd opted out last weekend. Was out the door by 7:10 and enjoyed the peace and quiet.

The next few weeks will be pretty much the same with an increase in the frequency of runs with strides in them and then I'll start to add in more speed work.

davemcmahon

Mon 7/12 60 mins Easy
Tues 8/12 AM 60 mins Easy
Tues 8/12 PM 35 mins Easy
Weds 9/12 AM 60 mins Easy
Weds 9/12 PM 25 mins Easy
Thurs 10/12 45 mins Easy
Fri 11/12 60 mins Easy
Sun 13/12 1:45 LSR

Another grand week with a couple of sets of strides thrown into some of the runs. Was out nice and early on Sunday for the LSR which was ok with the exception of the HR strap acting up for the first half of the run. Once it was sorted i was able to get the correct feedback for my pace and effort.

Mon 14/12 45 mins Easy
Legs feeling a little tired this morning so kept it short with one eye on running the Kildare open 5k on Sunday.

davemcmahon

Tues 15/12 60 mins Easy
Wed 16/12 60 mins Easy
Thurs 17/12 60 mins Easy
Fri 18/12 45 mins Easy

Easy enough week with a slightly reduced mileage with Sundays race in mind. Threw a few sets of strides into a couple of the midweek runs.

Sunday 20/12 Kildare Open 5k
Finished in 18:50. Was happy enough, felt I could have pushed harder as I felt pretty controlled throughout.

Monday 21/12 60 mins Easy

davemcmahon

A quick and overdue update.

Dec '15 finished with me plugging away the miles and feeling good but since then its been downhill.

Jan '16 spent 11 days sidelined by an infection in a cyst on my back. Courses of antibiotics and regular visits to the ER to get it drain left me in no mood to run. Got back running in the second half of the month and was building back up.

Feb '16 ended up straining the soleus in my right leg. Stayed off my feet (but in the gym) for a week and tried it out but it was still causing me a problem. Went to the physio on Friday evening and have been given some exercises to stretch it out and help it recover. Still no running until at least Wednesday and even then it will be carefully supervised.

So no plan for the immediate future bar getting running again and shifting the couple of kilos I've put on in the last while. A little annoyed at thing at the moment as I've spend approximately 6 weeks off since the start of November, so feels like I've done very little for the last while.

davemcmahon

Soleus is slowly getting better. I was given the go ahead to ease back into it by the physio. In the 12 days since my last physio visit I've built backup to 40 mins easy with little to no issues. During the assessment with the physio we diagnosed the source of this (and other) issues as being due to increased posterior rotation of my right hip. Basically my right leg twists at the hip as I run meaning my knee twist inwards when I land putting stress on my lower leg. I was very aware of this going into it so was good to get confirmation. We are slowly working on a plan to improve the hip mobility and strength while building up the strength of the soleus to prevent any reappearance of the issue.

As a result I'm in the gym most mornings working on mobility and strength and then running at lunch or in the evenings. This seems to be working well.

Spent the last couple of days off my feet as I had the cyst which gave me a problem in January surgically remove on Thursday evening. Seems to be healing well and will be back out for a run at lunch today.

The plan going forward is to keep building back up and dip my feet back into the club stuff at the start of April. At this stage I'll pick a few races to aim for.

davemcmahon

Lots of the same for the last month. Have slowly built back up to 40 miles for last week. This included an 80 min run on Sunday morning. The soleus feels alright, a bit stiff after a run but once its stretched out it loosens up. I'm sticking to my current routine which is gym in the AM to work on hip mobility and the exercises the physio gave me. This is followed by 25-30 mins on the stationary bike. I'm finding this loosening the muscles up nicely for the day. At lunch I'm going for a 40-60 minute run depending on my schedule for the day, switching between Easy and very Easy depending if I have company or not. This seems to be working.

I was back with the physio today and we repeated the drills and testing we did a month ago and there is some improvement in the hips, while there is still some excess rotation of the hips the difference between my right and left side is a lot less noticeable that last time. I was given some more exercises using a resistance band to further strengthen the hips. The plan now is to keep building the mileage back up, reintroduce some sessions and race in about 4 weeks, then we'll review the situation again. Long term the goal is to work on the hips issues and make some small changes to my running style/form to prevent further injury.

All that aside I'm finding that my enthusiasm for running is improving and I'm chomping at the bit to race. I've agreed to stick to the above plan provided the club aren't short numbers for the county race at the weekend. If they are I'll plod around at a tempo pace as I know I'm not ready for an all out effort.

davemcmahon

Since the last up date I've had a step back week (hadn't actually planned it in but energy levels were low that weekend). I've gotten the long run up to 90 mins and reintroduced some speed work.

Under the physios advice I stuck with some longer reps for the few session I've done (4 x 2000m and 5 X 1200m). I also threw in 3 x 10 mins into one of the long runs. I'm keeping up the gym work but have reduced it down to 3 days to free up a little more time to get the sessions done first thing in the morning. The paces/times on the reps for the sessions aren't what I would want but its all a work in progress so hopefully they'll start moving in the right direction.

I'll probably race a 5k next weekend (16th/17th) just to get a gauge of where I am and how the body is feeling under some more stress before I sit down with the physio again. If I'm happy enough with were I am I'll think about doing the 3000m on the track as part of the Kildare senior championships.

davemcmahon

Figured I may as well throw in an update.

Since my last update in April, I've raced only the once (in April 5k-18:59) which I was happy enough with as it confirmed where I thought I was. Since then I have been building up the miles, pushed out the weekly mileage to 60mpw and the long run to 2 hrs+ for May/June. Missed a couple of days in July with a swollen foot but it didn't affect the mileage to much. During this time I'd had a thorough checkup through work and everything given the ok.

At the moment I'm getting lots of miles in but don't have the motivation for any sessions. My lack of motivation to push myself hasn't been helped by my dad having a heart attack 3 weeks ago. That and the resulting bypass have left me with no desire at the moment to push myself. That said I'm enjoying my running and have taken up climbing to help build the core strength.

The plan at the moment is to continue on the clubs marathon plan minus the sessions and hopefully just take it easy around the marathon course on the day. I know I won't be the shape I could be but I'm not really bothered by that.

With all that said I had a really nice 18 miler on Sunday morning. Ran from the house through Celbridge, into Leixlip, through Lucan and Palmerstown down to the Phoenix Park. A couple of miles in the park before heading along the quays and back up to the Mater to visit my dad. I thoroughly enjoyed this run more than most recently.

Hopefully it won't be another 4 months before my next update.

davemcmahon

Since the last update I've had a few decent weeks. The first week was grand but the long run never really got started. I'd gone out with the intention of doing 19-20 miles. 3 miles into the run and I was stung on the ankle by a wasp. I took this as a sign and when the pain subsided I hobbled home. Thankfully I've no allergies and after a day or 2 rest the ankle was fine.

The following week everything went ok with the exception of the Tuesday morning and taking a tumble on tarmac towards the end of my run with the car in sight. Some bruises/cuts on my elbow, knee and hip but not enough to have an effect on my running for the week. The Long Run this week saw me hit the 20 miles for the first time in 3 years. The last time I ran 20 miles I ended up hurting my hip which has caused me nagging problems since. Was very happy with it. Went before breakfast and only brought water, kept the pace very easy with the later stages on the softer surface along the canal.

Last week was far less dramatic thankfully. Lots of easy running finished off with 21 miles on Sunday morning, again with some of the later miles along the canal. As with last weeks did it before breakfast with just water to keep me going. Again was happy with this as the legs feel ok today and I've gotten through the first couple of 20 milers without issue.

dazza21ie

Hi Dave, that's a few handy long runs in the bank already, I am presuming you are going for DCM?

How is your dad keeping?

davemcmahon

dazza21ie wrote: »

Hi Dave, that's a few handy long runs in the bank already, I am presuming you are going for DCM?

How is your dad keeping?

Hi Dazza, welcome back!!

Yeah Dublin is the target, I've no real time in mind but would like to get around in one piece.

My dad's doing ok the recovery is slow but its progressing and the doctors are happy enough with how its going. He's back home and getting lost of pressure to follow the exercises he's been recommended. I'm taking great pleasure on this since he tends to give out to me about my running (including lecturing me after my 18 mile run into the hospital to see him). Now they've fixed the heart there's a few blood issues they are working to fix so hopefully he'll have a good few more years ahead of him.

tang1

Glad to see your Dad is on the mend Dave, training is going well to by looks of things.

davemcmahon

tang1 wrote: »

Glad to see your Dad is on the mend Dave, training is going well to by looks of things.

Cheers B. Training going OK. The endurance is definitely there but I've no idea where I am speed or speed endurance wise. That said I'd be chuffed to get through a marathon cycle unharmed

dazza21ie

Any races planned before the marathon Dave?

davemcmahon

dazza21ie wrote: »

Any races planned before the marathon Dave?

At the moment I've nothing planned but that may change if I suddenly find myself regaining the motivation to race

davemcmahon

Time for the update.

Background:
I ran my first marathon in 2012 and had a god awful time in doing so. Since then I've a bit of an issue with wanting to complete another and just generally have a better experience. Between a year off marathons, a hip injury and a new baby this is the first time I've actually been in a position to get to the start line. Training went grand, the intensity wasn't there but the miles were so I was in an ok place. The only real hiccup was I realised my runners were coming to the end of life a little too late to replace them in time. This meant I would be running in shoes that were probably a little too worn. After the issues with my Dad and his heart attack I'd no desire to push hard but that suited and fell in line with the training.

DCM 2016:
Arrive nice and early at the start line and just soaked up the atmosphere (a repeat of what i did in 2012). Bumped into plenty from the club and kept myself busy waiting for the start. Originally I had planned to stay with the 3:30 pacers at the start but found myself infront of them with some lads from Lucan Harriers that I knew so was happy to stick with them for a while. That said, they went off a little faster than I would have wanted so I hung back a little.

The first few miles flew by and before I knew it we were in the park. Skipped the first water station and picked some up at the 5 mile mark. Decided here I'd carry the water with me as I was weary of the predicted heat for the day. As we approached Castleknock the wall of noise was brilliant. One of the things I didn't appreciate on my last marathon was the crowds so this time I was always going to just soak it up. When we turned at the top of Castleknock I was very surprised to see some people putting the foot down on the downhill. At this point I got chatting to a runner from Limerick and we were both happy to ease off and let the downhill do some of the work.

We stuck together for a few miles which help the downhill and the miles when we re-entered the park fly by. At this stage all was feeling good and I was controlling the pace well enough. I was staying conscious of running my own race. Got a shout out from Vanderlyle as I passed the water station at Donore. I was looking forward to the stretch through Chapelizard as i knew this was were a good chunk of the support from the club would be. At this stage the pace was picking up slightly but I was feeling good and just went with it.

As I crossed the bridge at Dolphins Barn I caught the lads from Lucan again and passed a couple of them out. At this stage I was very aware of just getting past the 16 mile mark as that was were it all went to **** in 2012. The section through Crumlin and up into Walkinstown was grand as I'd run it plenty of times over the years and was as close to home territory I was going to get today. Just past Walkinstown I was beginning to get some knee pain. I was expecting this due to the runners. It wasn't too bad but I changed sides of the road to account for the camber and after a while it faded away.

Past 17 miles and onto 18 and I was beginning to feel the heat. I still had water with me so wasn't too bothered. At this stage I was counting the miles down in my head. The next couple of miles dragged a little and the pace dropped a little. I wasn't worried, but was aware the 3:30 pacers were gaining ground on me. The sections in Terenure were mentally tough due to that being the 16 mile mark in 2012 so I was happy to keep going. I was finding that each time I passed through a large crowd of supporters I was getting a little boost so was still in an ok place.

The section through Milltown was grand but I was fading a little as we approach Roebuck. I eased off a little and was passed by the pacers. Opted to ignore them and continue to keep running my own race. Passed a couple of clubmates here who were fading bad and struggling to hold on. I didn't stay long to chat as I moved past. Mentally I just wanted to keep going forward get to the finish.

The next couple of miles were a struggle as the legs were beginning to hurt all over and my feet were sore. The climb up the overpass at the N11 was a challenge but I recovered a little on the downhill. At this stage I really needed a bathroom break but didn't really want to stop, at least it took my mind off the pain in my legs. Eventually I took the break at just after the 25 mile mark. Was happy to get going again but found the legs very heavy.

The next mile was me basically struggling to keep the legs moving. There were definitely screaming to stop but I've become a much more stubborn runner over the last 4 years. As I approached the end and the wall of noise I somehow found another gear and was able to up the pace for the last mile or so.

Delighted to cross the line and finally get the monkey off my back. Time: 3:35:41.

Overall I was happy how it went. Could I have done more on the day? I don't think so but what does it matter. I got out of today what I put in and its not every day you get a 70 min PB.

Paranoid Mandroid

Fair play to you Dave, that's great stuff. Recover well.

RedRunner

Nice one Dave. Well done!