The 'come back' continues...

Almost 2 months in and still injury free.

The back is still giving me some trouble but I'll talk more about that another time.  Its manageable.  I really must get around to doing some core work and booking some physiotherapy as recommended by the specialist.

However, putting that completely to one side, I'm getting on with things as best I can and am slowly (with emphasis on the word slowly) getting back to fitness and I feel encouraged by my progress.

My mileage is back on an upward trend.  Averaging just shy of 24 miles a week over the last 2 months.  Not a huge amount but its a lot more than I managed between April and June.

As you'll see from the 5k, 10k and 10mile indicators above, I have cut my distances right back in order to come back slowly.  No point in rushing back to run major distances until I've got a race booked and then training can start in ernest.  That isnt likely to be until later this year.  The legs are getting stronger though.  The recovery is getting easier.

Now I'm beginning to run pain free again, its time to start mixing things up and scheduling in some dedicated sessions.  I've already done one speed interval session which I will start to increase my reps and I'm about to start regular hill reps to build my strength and power.

Most importantly, I seem to have found my self-resolve with the intake of calories...

Not a single day over my calorie limit of 1,770 calories a day since 12th July, just over a month or so ago.

As a result, I'm now within 4lb of my race weight.  Not far off at all, after feeling like I was miles away from that target only 6 weeks ago.  As the weight comes off, the legs get quicker and the strength and power comes back.  With some dedicated intervals thrown into the mix, I'll be maximising the progress curve.

...(cont 16/08/2015)... since writing the above, I've actually done my first set of hill reps.  It wasn't fun and it hurt a lot but you know it will make all the difference...

Watling St near my parents house makes for the ideal hill.  Not steep by any stretch of the imagination but its a lung buster.  I've ran it many a time over the years and know the bits that hurt.

The first three reps were consistent but my legs had pretty much had it by the 4th rep.  Then I managed to find a tiny little bit more for the last one.  Working some hill reps into the schedule once a week will pay huge dividends.

I'm also starting to work on some speed reps...

Much nearer to home, I'm now running the local block, concentrating on some short bursts heading down Sutherland Avenue, Northbound.  Only just less than 1/4 of a mile.  As you'll see above, I ran the loop anti-clockwise, so the 1st rep is part of the warm up.  The plan is to do this at least once a week and to increase the number of reps each time.

Since coming back, I seem to have lost what speed I had so its imperative I do something about it.

So all in all, things are most definitely looking up right now.

I will be heading to Spain for a week in 10 days time, so I'll need to take my running kit with me just to make sure I can keep things ticking over.  I'm not prepared to let things start slipping again.

Progress

I popped in to see my parents last night and my Mum greeted me at the door...

"Hello.  Blimey, are you feeling ok?  you've lost a lot of weight?"...

Now that was music to my ears quite frankly.  Well at least its beginning to notice then.  As I blogged a few weeks ago, the plan has been to concentrate on what I'm eating, cut out as much crap as possible and get myself back on the straight and narrow, meanwhile attempting to up the training efforts where I can injury permitting.

First, lets look at the diet...

43 days in, I'm doing more than ok.

37 days under the 1,770 net calorie target and 6 days where I've crept over.  There was one weekend away in that at the beginning of July which meant no training, otherwise my progress has been more than acceptable.

I'm averaging around 1,202 calories a day and have run up a total calorie deficit of 24,411 calories.  The weight loss is now kicking in and my running is benefitting hugely.

Of course, what with injuries, running has been very difficult in the last few months but I've managed to get back into some sort of routine over the last 6 weeks and it shows...

With the possibility of two more runs left in July, I will have racked up more than 90 miles this month.  A huge improvement given the disappointments of May and June.  Hopefully, August will see further improvement.

At this point, I'm still 100% certain that I made the correct decision in pulling out of the Berlin Marathon as early as I did.  In terms of marathon training, I'd have two months left now and would have been running up in the high teens now in terms of distance so I dont think there is any doubt the decision was correct.

The fact that I've managed to get the miles in this month is testament to the fact that my back is getting better.  It is nowhere near being 100% but its manageable at this current time.

Thanks to Alison's BUPA cover, I booked myself into see a specialist, Mr Colin Natali at the London Independent Hospital, just around the corner from my office in Whitechapel.  Mr Natali sent me for a MRI and this is the result...

Now that you can see there is a cross section of my spine.  Lets take a look at the more common view of a spine which will allow me to explain what is going on here.

As you can see from the diagram on the left, the spine is split into different areas, C1-C7, T1-T12 then L1-L5 and S1-S5.  The vertebrae are most made up of water.  Did you know that?  No, I didnt either!  Anyway, the MRI scan show that I have 'dehydration' of the L4/L5 and S1 vertebrae.  That means that instead of the usual 90% water content, my lower back is around 78% and this causes the fluid sack to bulge against the nerves.  I've got a small right-sided bulge why I get a lot of discomfort in my right groin and right bum cheek and down my right hamstring, the common sign of sciatica as it presses on the sciatic nerve.

So thats the diagnosis.  Cure?  Hmm.  90% of people respond to physiotherapy and pain management through pain killers.  A small percentage of people end up having surgery.  Fingers crossed the physiotherapy works for me.  As yet, I havent booked the physio but I need to get a move on.  Although I'm not suffering from discomfort, I am experiencing a lot of stiffness (ooooh er missus, someone call the innuendo police!)  I feel ok when I'm moving about but first thing in the morning and whilst sitting down for long periods at work, it takes me a long while to get upright (oh for goodness sake, do stop it!)

So, all in all, things are definitely moving in the right direction.  I'm feeling much better in myself, both physically and mentally.  Running like a non-runner (pardon the expression) for the last few months has been exhausting mentally.  When you've run 26.2 miles and then struggle to run 5k only 2 months later, you'll know what I mean but I'm most definitely on the way back up to where I should be.  Happy Days!

It's not the chest...its actually the back...

I told you yesterday that the discomfort in my chest had transferred into a pain between the shoulder blades.

As yesterday afternoon went on, the pain got progressively worse and I was really uncomfortable on the train going home last night, so much so that I decided to take a rest night.  Those of you that know me well and have followed the story know that I dont do unscheduled rest.

The doctor in the hospital suggested it was either a muscle pull somewhere in my chest wall or a trapped nerve issue.  The doctor's diagnosis seems pretty much spot on right now.  As I breathe in and my chest expands front and back, I'm in pain.  Its pretty much smack bang in between my shoulder blades.

Can I put any ibuprofen gel or Voltarol on it?  Not a bloody hope.  One of the small disadvantages of being single.  I would have done anything for someone just to rub a small amount on me last night.  My Mum offered but that would have meant a two bus trip to Bexleyheath, so I opted for a scalding hot bath and some Nurofen Plus tablets in the end.  I felt a lot better as I went to bed and slept pretty well but its really sore again this morning.

I will see how I feel later but as it stands, I dont know whether I will run with the Plums tonight or even hit the Gym.  I'll just have to play it by ear.