Today, after more than a week of rest, i test-ran my shins. A slow, steady 4k, in my older trainers and i had a slight tug on my shins whilst i warmed up, but all was good. I am going to leave them another week, but I reckon, I am back on track. I just need to slow down, warm up, stretch out, and not push it too much for next couple of months, building gradually.
Happy Days!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
First Race of the year
I have found my first race of the year…. There is a 15km road race in KL on 16th May which I think is long enough away for my shin splints to be rested and for me to get back to doing some middle distance runs. Our wedding is on the 25th June and we will be in the UK for a few days at the start of June so I wont get another in until July if I don’t do this one, so I might as well get registered
I still can't run, but then my plan was to rest up this week so I wont complain.
I still can't run, but then my plan was to rest up this week so I wont complain.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
More Bore
It has not been a good week for my training.
I had a good swim and have been continuing with my push ups – (I have passed the 100 mark!) but I cannot run. I have terrible shin splints in my left leg that are causing me all sorts of grief.
My plan is to rest a couple of weeks - I can continue to swim for an aerobic workout and will keep up the upper body and core strength workouts. This should buy me some time to let my leg start to heal. I have been doing a lot of reading about shin splints and see that there is not much else I can do at this point other than ice it and rest it.
Part ii of my plan is to buy new trainers. I don’t think that ones that I have are doing me any good and are probably past their best anyway. I really want to get some expert advice on the shoes, but it is very difficult to find in Malaysia. I went into two or three generic shoes stores in KL this week, including the addidas and Nike stores and both were staffed by retail assistants who knew nothing about their products or the different shoe types in stock. The third store was a large sports department store with all of the good brands – the above two as well as New Balance, Mizuno and Asics. The guy in store who asked me if I wanted help, responded to my question about stability versus cushioning with a question about what colors I liked…. Not much use to anyone.
The other thing that set me back was a skin-full of margaritas on Saturday night which meant that Sunday, normally a good long-workout day was a complete write-off. I doubt that had any real impact on the shin splints, but I am off the booze now for a couple of weeks and see if it all comes together
I had a good swim and have been continuing with my push ups – (I have passed the 100 mark!) but I cannot run. I have terrible shin splints in my left leg that are causing me all sorts of grief.
My plan is to rest a couple of weeks - I can continue to swim for an aerobic workout and will keep up the upper body and core strength workouts. This should buy me some time to let my leg start to heal. I have been doing a lot of reading about shin splints and see that there is not much else I can do at this point other than ice it and rest it.
Part ii of my plan is to buy new trainers. I don’t think that ones that I have are doing me any good and are probably past their best anyway. I really want to get some expert advice on the shoes, but it is very difficult to find in Malaysia. I went into two or three generic shoes stores in KL this week, including the addidas and Nike stores and both were staffed by retail assistants who knew nothing about their products or the different shoe types in stock. The third store was a large sports department store with all of the good brands – the above two as well as New Balance, Mizuno and Asics. The guy in store who asked me if I wanted help, responded to my question about stability versus cushioning with a question about what colors I liked…. Not much use to anyone.
The other thing that set me back was a skin-full of margaritas on Saturday night which meant that Sunday, normally a good long-workout day was a complete write-off. I doubt that had any real impact on the shin splints, but I am off the booze now for a couple of weeks and see if it all comes together
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Running to the beat
Last night after work i headed down to the gym for a run. I was, as normal, in a running vest and shorts and had a polar heart monitor/chest strap snugly fitted beneath my shirt.
I jumped on the treadmill next to a fairly healthy looking guy clipping along at 15kph. I trotted out my normal 1500m at a steady pace and then got off to stretch out my limbs and prepare for a faster 5k. Mr. 15kph was now mr 17kph.
Anyway, I jumped back on and decided that the momentum of my neighbour was enough motivation to try a fast run and I whacked up the speed and set off. Within a couple of minutes I could see my heart rate on the treadmill was slowly but steadily climbing (as you would expect at sub 5-minute 5km's). I kept plodding along until I noticed that my heart rate was ALSO climbing slowly and steadily on my nieghbour's treadmill screen.
Now, the reason that I am doing these faster 5's is that my heart rate is low and constant at anywhere below 10.5km's per hour. I need to get to a point where my heart is sitting at 150bpm at a pace of 12kph (or slightly less) if I want to reduce my marathon time by 15 minutes. This is, after all is the simple economics of fitness.
At the moment though, as i am still building base fitness, anything above 12kph drives my heart rate super high, (especially on my neighbours treadmill screen). When I hit the high 80's and was closing in on 90% maximum bpm, all I could think about was my neighbour. What would I do if i was running along (and he had slowed down a lot by now) and i looked down at my screen and saw a heart rate that was clearly too high for my pace... would it cause me (him) to panic and fall off the treadmill? Would i realise that it wasnt my heart?
All of this nonsense going on in my head made my bpm edge even a little higher. Ignoring it was not an option so, mid-stride, cool-as-a-cucumber, I hoisted my shirt, unshackled my strap and chucked it on the floor, mumbling something about an itch. Did he notice? I have no idea. Did my bpm settle a little? Absolutely. Did i run a 23:35? Yes i did. Did I feel good at the end? Absolutely. Can I go faster next time? Without a doubt. Will I take 15 minutes off my marathon time? No question. Will I wear a heart monitor to the gym next time? Not so sure...
I jumped on the treadmill next to a fairly healthy looking guy clipping along at 15kph. I trotted out my normal 1500m at a steady pace and then got off to stretch out my limbs and prepare for a faster 5k. Mr. 15kph was now mr 17kph.
Anyway, I jumped back on and decided that the momentum of my neighbour was enough motivation to try a fast run and I whacked up the speed and set off. Within a couple of minutes I could see my heart rate on the treadmill was slowly but steadily climbing (as you would expect at sub 5-minute 5km's). I kept plodding along until I noticed that my heart rate was ALSO climbing slowly and steadily on my nieghbour's treadmill screen.
Now, the reason that I am doing these faster 5's is that my heart rate is low and constant at anywhere below 10.5km's per hour. I need to get to a point where my heart is sitting at 150bpm at a pace of 12kph (or slightly less) if I want to reduce my marathon time by 15 minutes. This is, after all is the simple economics of fitness.
At the moment though, as i am still building base fitness, anything above 12kph drives my heart rate super high, (especially on my neighbours treadmill screen). When I hit the high 80's and was closing in on 90% maximum bpm, all I could think about was my neighbour. What would I do if i was running along (and he had slowed down a lot by now) and i looked down at my screen and saw a heart rate that was clearly too high for my pace... would it cause me (him) to panic and fall off the treadmill? Would i realise that it wasnt my heart?
All of this nonsense going on in my head made my bpm edge even a little higher. Ignoring it was not an option so, mid-stride, cool-as-a-cucumber, I hoisted my shirt, unshackled my strap and chucked it on the floor, mumbling something about an itch. Did he notice? I have no idea. Did my bpm settle a little? Absolutely. Did i run a 23:35? Yes i did. Did I feel good at the end? Absolutely. Can I go faster next time? Without a doubt. Will I take 15 minutes off my marathon time? No question. Will I wear a heart monitor to the gym next time? Not so sure...
Monday, April 5, 2010
those were the days...
I have referred a couple of times on this blog to the days when i was "a little heavier" than I am now. I recently found some pictures of those days. The chins appear to have been a particular favorite at the time!
My whole life has changed so much since then. I eat [a little] better, I defintely dont drink as much, I love to workout, to walk to swim (although swimming has its limits for me!) and I am all round a lot healthier. I am also 10 kilos lighter and 6 inches slimmer in the trouser!. All I need to do when I need a little extra motivation to go to the gym is to look at photos like these!
Friday, April 2, 2010
Holidays!
In a couple of hours we are off to the Beautiful isalnd of Bali for the weekend. It is where Lauren and I have chosen to get married later this summer. The "day" is coming fast and as if we needed an excuse to get down there before the big day, our wedding planner said she would organise a food tasting and another tour of the venue so we were booked like a shot.
This is now the end of March and when I look back at my posting from the end of February, I see that I was promising myself to up-the-ante with the training. Being sick for the best part of a week didn't help, but I had a couple of good hikes this month, some good runs, have kept up the push ups and have been doing a swim at least once a week. My miles (even with the sick week) have increased as well, although I didn't get on the bike again this month.
**Something NEW** I jumped onto the eliptical one evening this week and did 20 minutes of steady pace. Having never used one before, I was really quite impressed with the workout and will try to include some more of that in my routine. My calves and quads certainly took notice of it. I am not sure why, but i have always been a bit dismissive of it in the past, so I need to apologise to all those people I have gently mocked (in my head) in the gym all those times.
After the eliptical, I got off and straight onto the treadmill for a 27 minute 5k with a relatively low hear rate which is good stuff. It is all strating ot come back a bit easier now and my legs are coping well. My biggest worry as I start to increase my miles was a repeat of the shin splints i suffered from early in last years training, but so far so good. Not going to get too complacent though - so it is probably time for a new pair of trainers!
I figured out my plan at work today for the next woupld of weeks and realised that there is no travel involved for the first two weeks of April, so I am going to GET-ON-IT!
This is now the end of March and when I look back at my posting from the end of February, I see that I was promising myself to up-the-ante with the training. Being sick for the best part of a week didn't help, but I had a couple of good hikes this month, some good runs, have kept up the push ups and have been doing a swim at least once a week. My miles (even with the sick week) have increased as well, although I didn't get on the bike again this month.
**Something NEW** I jumped onto the eliptical one evening this week and did 20 minutes of steady pace. Having never used one before, I was really quite impressed with the workout and will try to include some more of that in my routine. My calves and quads certainly took notice of it. I am not sure why, but i have always been a bit dismissive of it in the past, so I need to apologise to all those people I have gently mocked (in my head) in the gym all those times.
After the eliptical, I got off and straight onto the treadmill for a 27 minute 5k with a relatively low hear rate which is good stuff. It is all strating ot come back a bit easier now and my legs are coping well. My biggest worry as I start to increase my miles was a repeat of the shin splints i suffered from early in last years training, but so far so good. Not going to get too complacent though - so it is probably time for a new pair of trainers!
I figured out my plan at work today for the next woupld of weeks and realised that there is no travel involved for the first two weeks of April, so I am going to GET-ON-IT!
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