Brick

After my 8 mile 'triumph' of wednesday night, the legs were tired to start with, but by Thursday evening they felt ok... so I jumped on the turbo.... and wow!... I was flying.... I was holding a great pace, and after 40 mins, had average 17.4 mph.... I know I could have kept going and hit the 16.5 miles in a hour goal, but decided that the goal was there to help, not to hinder, and a better use of my time would be to jump off the turbo and go running... and so I ran for 30 mins...

There is no feeling like a brick run, which is the technical term for a run straight off a bike session..... your legs feel just plain wierd.... they don't work as you need them too... you feel like you are shuffling along rather than running for the first half mile....! It soon sorts itself out in the end though

But... Thursday evening.... I felt like my knee had been run over by an express train....

Here we go again I thought.....

Friday morning, it felt a good bit better, albeit a bit stiff.... but Friday evening as I write... my legs feel GREAT!... I am not going to run this evening... a break is needed... but my legs really really want to go running!.... anyone who runs regularly will know the feeling... its like your legs are full of too much energy!..

Its a great feeling.... the feeling of being fit....

Hoorah

I decided that my knee didn't feel too bad by Wednesday, so set off for a run... after just 1/2 mile, it felt perfectly OK... so I kept going.... despite the pouring rain, I kept going.... and banged out 8 miles... yeah!

In fact, I really enjoy running in the rain... sad I know... :)

I'm really chuffed with this month's running... its really come together...

The cycling hasn't done so well, and for the first time, I think i'm going to miss two monthly goals.. but i'm putting that down to missing much of the month due to snow... and not being able to face 85Km on the turbo!

Will set the same targets for March... and a bit more optimistic... time will tell!

fast and painful!

Having ridden on the turbo in the morning yesterday, due to heavy snow overnight, I didn't have time for a decent run, so decided that with only half an hour to spare, i'd try a short fast run instead... and ran 2.5 miles in 20 mins...

it did feel kind of good... but only in the context of feeling pleased with msyelf... otherwise it hurt like hell.... my lungs screaming abuse, and my legs crying in discomfort... lactic acid... you are not my friend!

Anyway... I am now taking a 2 day break... my knees are tender, and my legs ache... i've learn't from my experiences, and recognise the signs... I may well swim Wednesday, which means a 3 days break from running...

LSR

One other thing.... i've been told off!!!

LSR - it isn't a Long Slow Run....its a Long Steady Run...

Sorry Philip (that's Philip Shambrook - well respected ex pat Brit now offering Triathlon coaching services in New Zealand - who is a general all round good egg in offering tons of great free advice on runsaturday.com)

His argument is hard to disagree with... if its Slow, it'll always be slow... whereas if its Steady, then as your fitness improves, then so will your steady pace... he reminded me to think about heart rate training zones... and work my LSR in Zone 2, the Aerobic zone, which for me is a heart rate of between 156 and 167, which is about where I am anyway...

Thanks Philip... and from now on, its STEADY!

snowmen

Last night was fun.... only a very short run of 1.5 miles, but it was snowing very hard.... it makes it easy to run when there is fresh deep snow, as you can plant your foot confidently... its when its frozen/thawed/frozen that it becomes dangerous... the only problem is being able to see where you are going... it gets in your eyes, and sunglasses are problematic when its dark!

Tonight will be a long run... i'm aiming for 7.3 miles... that should see me through the 30 miles in a week mark, which pleases me no end, as I thought this would be the one tough target.... it also sets me up nicely for a push at the 8 mile target next week...

I've been enjoying the running so much in the last couple of weeks, that the smiling target has been a cinch!

when does it become an LSR?

How far do you have to run before it becomes a Long Slow Run exactly?

Last night I ran 6.5 miles..... yes, thats 6.5 miles!!!

It felt fantastic... so good that when I crossed my own path at about 5 miles, I had a momentary idea of running the loop again to log 10 miles... fortunately my head managed to overrule my heart!

The best bit of all is that I got back feeling stiff and tired, but not painful in any way, and this morning, I feel like I had a good run yesterday, not a round with Mike Tyson!

I'm more optimistic about getting some decent mileage in now than I have been in weeks... at least since late November... my one and only remaining concern is a slightly sore knee when cycling longer distances... but i'm going to take a good look at my cleat set ups on my shoes to see that they are lined up properly, and just keep steadily building the mileage like i've done with the running..

Light does indeed exist at the end of the tunnel!

better by miles

A few runs in... leg still achy, but nowhere near as much as it was....

A swim this afternoon, a ride tomorrow.. this keeps on giving the leg a rest...

I'm more optimistic now than I have been for weeks that its getting better..!

slowly but surely

Knee pain only lasted a couple of days.. and wasn't significant... leg STILL a bit tender in places...

Its now absolutely certain that its an adductor strain (a groin strain to those who care), which have a reputation for slow healing, and will explain why its taken so long... I think the other stuff is just the legs reaction to trying to protect the adductor...

Anyway... a gentle run possibly planned for this evening... nothing too serious... or I may swim instead... not decided yet!

building, building

After running 5 miles on Thursday, and finding my leg feeling a bit achy, or more accurately, a little painful... I decided to ride a bit instead.... Friday was a rest day, and so by Saturday, me being me couldn't take it easy.... 16 miles in the morning, 15 on the turbo in the evening, and then 29 miles on Sunday...

Good news is that my leg muscles feel OK... achey, but not painful.... bad news is that my left knee is a bit painful... but i've got that down to overuse, and reckon it'll be OK after a good night sleep...

Whoever said that all this training was good for you obviously hadn't reckoned on the legs of a 40 something year old after too many 'sofa' years!

monthly challenges

I just read a blog that really made me think.

I've added to my monthly challenges

I'm going to smile more while out training.... its good to let everyone know how much i'm enjoying this!

Feb - a fresh start!

Another month... phew... time marches on...

I failed yet again on the running target for Jan... for the same reason... my leg was just not capable of running properly...

Run 30 miles in one week
Done! - Swim 48 lengths front crawl
Done! - ride 45Km on a bike non stop at 90 cadence

I did however, meet both the other goalks, which eases the frustration somewhat....

On the positive side though, I am now running again... and have even managed to run two days in a row... only shortish distances so far, and the leg certainly isn't completely better... it still feels a bit 'heavy' and aches like heck after a run... but has definitely moved beyond the 'painful' stage, and I can see it just steadily getting better now.... so i've set myself some new goals for Feb.... challenging this time.... and dropping the swimming goals... I need to focus on the running and cycling for the next month or two... i'll still swim, but it won't be my main activity...