A date with Hayley

With the realisation that my running seems to be getting worse, I made a decision to vary things with some serious cross-training.

Since the garden revamp, Hayley, my carbon-frame steed, had been standing in my bedroom, literally begging me to ride her, so it would have been rude not to really.

I'd had a broken up week at work.  Monday was spent in the office and then I didnt return until Friday as I was doing my St John Ambulance First Aid at Work training course.  The good news is that I'm now a fully trained First Aider but the bad news is that I almost passed out when the trainer was describing the symptoms of a broken pelvis.  My stomach just churns at the thought.

So with the training course being held locally, I was home by 4pm every night, which gave me the extra time to get off my backside and out on Hayley.

Tuesday was great.  A quick(ish) 20+ mile of my old training loop, averaging just over 17mph.

It was great to be back out on Hayley. I'll be honest, the legs were hurting big time. My HR was all over the shop but the feeling of flying down Birchwood Road at over 30mph came flooding back and the adrenaline was buzzing big time. Two laps of the training loop and I was done.

Got home, had a quick stretch and then put on my running shoes and went out for a 5km run. No effort, no pace, just a plod. I was determined to enjoy it. It was seriously slow but my legs felt like jelly after the ride.

I was spent by the time I got back but thats exactly what I was looking for. I need to start pushing myself through the pain barrier and then the fitness will start coming back.

On to Wednesday. I enjoyed the Tuesday night ride so much that I wanted to get back out on the road again. So thats what I did. I was planning to do the same again pretty much but as I pulled up to the traffic lights at Avery Hill Park, I realised my old buddy Richard Williams was just ahead. A quick sprint and I was on his back wheel. When he realised I was there, he was happy to see me and delighted to see me back out on the bike again. I'd been thinking of phoning him about going out for a ride one night but I thought he would have been doing some proper training so I resisted.

Rich asked what I was up to and I said I was going for a potter. He said I was more than welcome to join him. When I asked where he was off to, he casually replied oh, just a 50 mile loop out to Toys Hill and back via Cudham Lane. 

Now in the old cycling days, this wouldnt have been a problem for me. Cudham Lane is a long 4 mile upward drag averaging out at 4% gradient and most Kent riders will know Toys Hill at Westerham. Not particularly steep but its long. I thought to myself, ok my legs are still sore from Tuesday but I'll give it a go. If I struggle, I'll just turn back and cut the ride short. I know my way back so it shouldnt be a problem.

Well I need not have worried.

Seriously, what a great ride. 50 miles in just over 3 hours at an average speed of 15.5mph. Ok, it wasnt my fastest ride of all time and I did sit in Rich's tow for 80% of the ride but I dug in and got it done. The hills hurt a lot as I'm not bike fit these days. Having only ridden 150 miles this year so far, its little wonder. The only riding I have done has been on flatish loops but this was much more like it. My HR was much more stable and lower than the previous day (understandibly because of being in Rich's tow) and I felt great. My legs did feel drained for 24 hours after the ride but that was to be expected. 

It was by pure chance I bumped into Rich but I'm so glad I did. I've got the bike confidence back now and thats exactly what I needed. I think it may well be time to step away from running for a while and cycle some more miles instead. 

Cheers Rich, a much needed break from the norm and it really was like the good old days :)

Like father (not) like daughter...

Another week gone by with more ups and downs than a Nun doing press-ups in a cucumber field.

The week started ok.  I ran 10k on Monday and Wednesday (with the Plums, which I'll come on to later).  I then ran a shorter but lumpy 5.5m on Saturday, followed by an easy 5 on Sunday which for the best part was off road over Oxleas Woods.

As it stands, I'm not enjoying my running at the moment.  I have to be honest with myself and say I'm not enjoying much at the moment.  I feel depressed and one of the telltale signs I look for is losing interest in things that I previously loved.  Ok, my fitness levels have deserted me since the marathon and a little weight has gone on but I'm just hating every minute that I'm running at the moment.

Both Chandra and Rich have said I should try something different.  Get back in the Gym, get back out on the bike, do some walking, swimming, anything else that counts as exercise, like getting back out in the garden and doing some more digging.  Anything counts.

It feels very difficult to believe I ran a marathon just over 2 months ago now.  Running 10k is a struggle for me at present.

I made a conscious effort to dig in last week and do four additional upper body and core work outs on top of my four runs for the week.  Only 40 minutes-worth apeace but at 400 sit ups/crunches a time, more than worthwhile.

Depression is not a word I have a fond affection for.  In the days before I took my training seriously, I suffered greatly from depression.  It has never been fully diagnosed by a doctor but I can tell you that I've suffered with depression for years.  Most readers will know my brother is Bipolar and my Dad suffers from depression too.  It runs in the family, unfortunately.

Last week, the depression took hold again.  Not majorly but it feels like it had caught up with me.  I'd had an incredible run of 2 years without an attack of any kind.  It just so happens I was feeling down, I'd had an issue with the Plums on Wednesday night, I'd had a god damn awful first date on Thursday night and on top of my drastic drop in fitness, it all came to a head and I found myself questioning myself late on Thursday evening.

Sadly, Friday morning, I felt like I was 6ft under.  Its was a huge shame as I was supposed to be on a second date on Friday evening with a very nice young lady who I'd met the week before but I just didnt feel well enough to go.  I text my date and explained and she took the news very well that I was blowing her out with minimum notice.  I told her the truth rather than give some feeble excuse.  I was having a real bad time and my self-confidence was at an all-time low.

I'd like to say a big thanks to my brother at this point because I ended up going out with Steve on that Friday evening and he attemtped successfully to put a smile back on my face and talking things through with him made a massive difference.  Dont get me wrong, the black cloud hasnt just upped and disappeared, it has been given a huge dose of salt and had been put into perspective, so I'm back looking at the world in the right way.  Hopefully, as I put more time into my training and my fitness gets better, the cloud should lift.

Sunday was fun.  Up at the crack of dawn to go to Maidstone to see Izzy compete in the Kent Gymnastics Floor and Vault Competition.  Welling, to Gravesend to pick up Izzy and the ex-wife, then on to Maidstone.  We arrived around 8:15am.  I spent most of the morning yawning my head off having stayed up to watch England v Honduras the night before.

However, it was well worth the early start.

Izzy had to perform a floor routine followed by performing two vaults...

 

  

As you can see from the two videos grabbed on my iPhone, Izzy done great. It takes a lot to get up and do that in front of a crowd of a good 500 people, let alone the other 100 or so competing Gymnasts.

But we didnt quite know how well she done... 

Excuse the poor iPhone photography but thats Izzy on the podium in Bronze medal position.  Third.  Oh god, I was choked.  Eyes welling up.  Sunglasses went back on.  I cant even describe how proud I felt.

After finishing 6th and a bucket full of tears last time round, can you tell how Izzy was from this photo?

I was sooo pleased for her.  She works bloody hard at her Gymnastics and she's reaping the benefits.  After her disappointment last time around, it was fantastic to see her with that big smile on her face again.

She taught me a very valuable lesson though.  Sport must be performed with a smile on your face.  You need to be enjoying what you're doing.  If you're not enjoying it, there's very little point in continuing.

There is another positive to take from this weekend.  A pretty major one.  My chance of a second date isnt quite over just yet. 

Half-term adventures, some more gardening and back to training...

Hey readers, its been a while.  Over a week and a half in fact.  As you've probably guessed, I've been quite busy.

First it was the bank holiday weekend, which rolled into half-term, so as it turns out I've only actually been in the office for one day over the last week and a bit, which has been great from my perspective as I've had a nice extended break away from the office.

With it being half-term, I also had the pleasure of Izzy's company from Wednesday lunchtime through to Saturday evening so we had some quality time together.  The best bit of all was that her long awaited Birthday trip to see Katy Perry at the O2 was finally upon us.  Now by pure chance, our tickets had been upgraded...to VIP.  So rather than watching from down the front, we'd been given seats in one of the best boxes of the lot.  Check out the view below...

Izzy at the front of the box...

So what shall we do while we're waiting for Katy Perry to come on Izzy?  Shall we watch the football???

Katy Perry suspended above the crowd on a zip wire...

Now, I'm normally more into more rock, indie, metal and dance/house music rather than pop, so my pop concern experience is more limited to the likes of X Factor but I knew a fair few of KPs songs because of Izzy listening to them in the car over the years.  I came away from the O2 being wowed by the show KP put on and was amazed how good her voice actually is.  I'd read a few reviews of the opening night and it didnt go down too well but I'm pretty sure that most of the people at the O2 went home very happy indeed.  Izzy absolutely loved it.  The good thing about living in South East London is that I'm only a 20 min bus ride away from home and we were climbing into bed just after midnight.

Thursday and Friday saw us back out in the garden.  We had a fence to finish off.

As you can see, the garden is beginning to look like a proper garden now.  Just the new gate to be fitted and the garden will be secure for the first time in the four years I've lived there.  Woo hoo.

Izzy loved being outside and was a dab hand with the shovel and fork.  I was more amazed by the fact she was quite comfortable with the snails.  I'm not sure I'm as brave as her...

The good news is that I've resumed training but am being very sensible about it.

On Sunday, I ran 7.5 miles.  Bank Holiday Monday I ran 10k just less than 24 hrs later.

Rest Day Tuesday.

I ran a lumpy 5 miler on Wednesday morning before Izzy arrived.

Gardening Thursday and Friday, which included some heavy digging.

Back running 8 miles on Sunday after a somewhat heavy night at my parents drinking Stella whilst watching the Froch v Groves fight.  Followed it up with a good upper body and abs workout for the first time since the marathon.  

Now the Sunday 8 miler was a good run but I was beginning to flake by the end and my legs felt very heavy indeed. I'm going to put that down to the alcohol which was drank on Saturday.  For the first time in a very long while, I felt my legs begin to cramp up after 5 miles and my pace drastically dropped off as you'll be able to see from the mile splits.  Not a bad thing but is to be expected after a session on the sauce.  I'd only drank half a glass of water than morning and I would have been dehydrated, I have no doubts about that.

Its really time to start watching what I put into the body to ensure I'm getting the very best out.

 

Resting is hard...

As I sit here typing at lunchtime on Thursday, I've spent the last three evenings doing very little.

On a normal week, I would have ran twice and I would have visited the Gym at the bare minimum.  This week has been different.  I needed a distraction.

I've tried to avoid watching TV box sets over the years as I never wanted to devote large chunks of my time to just sitting in front of the TV.  It just doesnt rest easy with me.  However, given the circumstances with trying to rest as much as possible this week, it seems to be exactly the right thing to do.

Get home from work, make dinner, eat dinner, wash up.  Sit on the sofa.  All done by 6:30pm.  So what to watch?

A long time ago, many many years ago, I watched the first season of 24.  I loved it.  That was when Izzy was a baby and sitting about was the thing I done in them days.  I went to watch the new series based in London but a couple of friends suggested I should watch the others first.  So I've started on season 2.  As of bedtime last night, I've managed to watch to the end of episode 18 last night, so not many more left.

I'm not feeling tired now.  I think I've managed to catch up on some sleep.  My legs still feel like they dont belong to me though which is a concern to be honest.  My hamstrings seem to be permanently aching.  I can "feel" the outside of my knees.  I can also feel my hips.  I just seem to be all out of line.  I just dont feel right.  I've vowed to have the whole week off doing nothing and thats exactly what I'm going to do.  Friday and Saturday will be easier as I've got the nice distraction of Izzy being with me.

Apparently, I'm not alone.  My friend Kelsey (my old boss from KCL) runs the Ashford Run England group and she's got a few of her runners that are struggling with overtraining since the spring marathons.  I think its a case of getting some rest, getting back up to speed slowly, shift a little weight, only about 4-5 lbs then I'll be right as rain again.  Well lets hope, eh?

 

Operation Green Fingers and overtraining...

Regular readers of the blog will know I've been struggling for any kind of form since completing the Paris Marathon.

It just so happens that I've been spending a significant amount of time out in the garden, starting a complete revamp of my urban jungle.

After the club run last week, I really wasnt feeling great.  I had a relatively easy Thursday, albeit spending the evening in the pub with Chandra and his mate Pete.  Friday and Saturday, I'd spent 14 hours in the Garden, digging fence post holes, lugging around 20kg postcrete bags and generally putting myself through the ringer.

Saturday evening, after the disappointment of Ars*nal winning the FA Cup Final, I decided I'd go out for a plod.  It wasnt going to be fast as I was feeling quite tired and my legs were still feeling the run from Wednesday, obviously one day of alcohol-fueled recovery followed by 14 hours in the garden wasnt ideal preparation.

So off I went...

A slow, ploddy and very painful 5 miles in 47:11. 9:25 min/mile pace. It was not going to be fast but I never dreamt it would be as slow as that, not at 154bpm. The fact my HR peaked at 162bpm is testament to the fact I was trying to run within myself but even so, even with being deliberately careful, I was still seriously struggling. 

The worst thing is, as I write this on Tuesday lunchtime, my legs are still feeling the effects of that run right now, approaching 3 days later. Ok, I'd done another 6 hours in the garden on Sunday but even so. After the marathon, I was able to run 5k the next day. My legs ache more now than they did after the marathon.

• I have felt constantly tired for weeks now.
• I seem to be taking much longer to recover from efforts. 
• I seem to be sleeping much heavier than I usually do.
• My average HR seems higher for similar efforts.
• I feel unable to complete workouts (although I battle manfully through to the end).

All 5 points listed are key signs that I'm suffering from over training.  Check it out on Google, there's plenty of information on it.  Although other key signs of loss of appetite and sex drive, haha, dont think that would ever happen!!!

I'm going to have a rest again.  Well, when I say rest, I'm still going to have to work in the garden.  I've got to get it finished.

I guess that although I've recently cut my miles, when you look at my training breakdown graph, including the gardening hours as strength training, its little wonder I'm feeling frazzled right now.

 
I'm going to be sensible.  I'm at a point now where my lack of performance is killing any sort of enjoyment I'm getting from running.  I didnt work my backside off to get to a point like this.  I dont want to slip back, I dont want to put weight on.  Asking me to not put weight on when not training is a massive ask quite frankly.  I'm always hungry whether I'm training or not.  I'm already the wrong side of 13st and got help me if I ever get back to 13 and a half as it'll be a slippery slope then.

Trying to get back in the groove...

After Sunday's Hill Reps session, I was keen to up the ante with the training stakes this week.  However, trying to stay sensible, I decided that after my first hill session, I'd give the legs a bit of a rest before going again.

Well, when I said rest, I had gardening to do.  The turf was all dug up but it had to go on the skip.  So I spent 2.5 hours lifting, carrying and filling.

As you can see, plenty of turf too.  The whole digging process really has given my hamstrings a proper working over...but the good news is that at least the garden is now back to the blank canvas, next stop the new fence going up this weekend, now all the fence post holes have been dug.

Anyway, back to the running...

So on Tuesday night, I was all raring to go.  I wanted to test my fitness and see actually how far it had dropped off, so I decided to run a 10k at 85-90% effort...

52:48. 8:31 min/mile pace. Compared to my 51:42 10k PB. Not bad at all really. I havent run any short runs at pace for several months so this would be around where I expected it to be. The legs felt reasonably good and I still felt like I had some left in the tank to do a bit more. I only ran with water and didnt touch the High 5 at all, so I was running on only my in-built fuel reserves. The average HR of 163bpm was a little higher than the 161bpm of my PB but that is to be expected given I'm carrying a couple of extra pounds right now (13st 3lb as opposed to 12st 10lbs). 

I woke up fine the next day. Then I tried to run with the Plums that evening.

OMG. I cant tell you how bad I felt. My legs totally deserted me after 2 miles. I was having second thoughts about turning back. Its like I'd gone back a few weeks to the last 20 miles of the 50 mile ride with Rich after the marathon. I felt awful. I battled on but the 8.25 mile run was a big struggle. Ok, my average HR says it was around the level I should be expecting to see but its still a little high compared to runs of similar distance and pace from earlier this year and last.

I'm assuming that because I'd trained with just water the night before, my glycogen stores had taken a hit and they hadnt really been replenished before running again, despite eating sensibly all day Wednesday, including a porridge pot at 3pm for extra fueling. Its either than or there's something very badly wrong with me at the moment.

It was always going to be the case that I wasnt running on Thursday (as out with Chandra), Fri or Sat (gardening awaits) so Sunday will be my next chance but I now need to factor in how hard I'm working in some sessions, so that I have a rest day directly after running my energy levels right down. Frustrating but needs must. 

However, I'm pleased to say that my Garmin indicates I'm going back in the right direction, as my VO2max reading has gone back to its pre-marathon state of 47. It'll be interesting to see where it pans out to after my next run. 

Back after a "rest"...

After the last disasterous run, I decided I needed a break.  I felt fatigued more than I had ever felt before.

So thats exactly what I done.

As you can see from the May 2014 calendar, my last run was on 29th April then I didnt actually run again until 7th May.

I didnt feel great in the immediate 4 days and my legs didnt stop aching properly until Saturday morning.  Yes, thats right, I'd ran a 10k in not a particularly quick time and here I was taking almost 4 days to recover.  A month ago, I was running a marathon and then running a gentle 5k cool down the next day and then getting on a bike and cycling almost 50 miles...although I realise that was probably my downfall.

So anyway, back to the present.

4 days off from everything you can imagine in the aftermath of the 10k disaster then I made a start on the gardening.  When I say gardening, there's an awful lot of gardening to do over the next couple of months and I'm counting it as my strength training.

Operation Green Fingers 2014 is my new DIY project.  Now I've got the inside of my home sorted out, its about time I got the garden and garage sorted.  That means a full back to basics job.  Replace the garden fence and add a gate to make the garden secure from the main road, install a long overdue garage door after clearing the garage of all my decorating junk over the last four years.  Then of course digging up the lawn so it can be relaid and then I'll have a blank canvas to work with.

Its has been absolutely back breaking work so far which has seen my hamstrings ache for England as when digging and shoveling, your body is stuck in a squatting position...and trust me, after digging up a complete lawn (even though its only a 36ft x 20ft garden), its enough to make your hamstrings feel alien.

Check out the Operation Greenfingers photos here

So 4 days of complete rest then an hour in the garden, followed by a 6hr day in the garden (an absolute killer) then another 90 minutes the day after led me into my first run since the rest, the Wednesday night club run.

I cant say I felt particularly great...

 

It was my first time "leading" the medium pace group. I have to say, I found it a lot harder than I usually would have done. My legs felt heavy and my HR was still higher than I felt it would have been usually. I got through it though but felt very tired at the end.

Then I ran again on Saturday morning. The plan was to go and do my first ever Park Run on Saturday but despite setting the alarm for 7:30, I didnt wake up until gone 9:00 so I'd missed the start. Knowing my parents were heading to mine for 11am to help in the Garden while I went to watch Izzy compete in the Meapa Gymnastics club Invitational competition, I knew I didnt have a big window so got changed and set off on a 10k. Out up Welling Way, a quick loop round Eltham Park before cutting back down the A2 and then back past Danson Park and looped back home.

Again, I didnt feel great. However, I didnt have breakfast before the run and I also had another 2 odd hours of digging in my hamstrings from the night before. Not ideal preparation and the legs felt stiff before I hit the road. Not too much to panic about but the HR was still higher than I expected for a run of that pace.

Almost 36 hours later, after Izzy had gone home for the weekend, I decided enough was enough and it was time to take the training up a level again. I'm happiest when I'm working my socks off.

Not ideal preparation for this though. From 9am through to 12noon, I'd been carrying heavy garden and garage rubbish and was filling a 6 yard skip. Plenty of effort on the body, including smashing up the old fibreglass bath with a Sledge Hammer. Not for the feint hearted

I felt reasonably good going out the front door. The plan was to run around 2 laps of the local block (somewhere between 10-15 mins) to warm up before hitting 3 reps of Shooters Hill and then depending how I was feeling after that, do a bit of a call down.

I have to say that although I didnt run my quickest up Shooters Hill (looking back at previous Strava segment data), I felt reasonably good. Second time up I was feeling a little queasy and the third and final time up I was actually enjoying it. On the way back down the last time, I allowed my legs to open up a bit and just run my natural pace down rather than try and hold back and keep the HR down. By the time I hit the bottom of the hill, I felt so good I decided to carry on running at the same pace. With the 0.75 mile descent and then the following 2.25 miles afterwards, that is without doubt the best I've felt during a run since Paris. Although my average pace for the run was 9:19 min/mile pace, my average HR of 155bpm seemed much more apt for the session I'd run. I felt so pleased. Its nice to know the speed is still actually there, it just needs some coaxing out. I'd spent so many months marathon training and running at 9:30 min/mile pace in preparation, it has felt all my runs have been a struggle since but maybe this just highlights the need to build regular intervals into my training, whether I'm training for an event or not. 

As I write this at Monday lunchtime, my legs feel a little tired today. Only the 14.5 miles in two days but thats enough for the time being. I'll be doing some more work in the garden tonight then may just do a gentle session tomorrow night before running with the club on Wednesday. I'm so pleased I felt much more like my normal self last night and I'm feeling much better today as a result. Long may this trend continue.