After a couple more days rest and a sensible pill, courtesy of OSN, I decided today was the day for a LSR.
The sun was shining and the wind was warmer than we have had for a long time. Tee shirt weather at last and I was going to make the most of it.
I decided to do a run 1 mile, walk 1 minute routine for the run as I wasn't sure of my fitness after the lurgie and the calf injury and this worked well for me as I had energy for most of the run.
I had planned a 16 miler but when I reached mile 16 I decided to keep going for as long as possible to see if I could make it 20. my hips protested and my back was getting a bit sore for the last mile but I took gels, jelly babies and energy drink with me so each time I got slow and sore I soon got back to running again with their help.
The only problem I had was that my left calf suddenly started hurting at mile 6 and carried on till mile 18, though it could be alleviated my rubbing and stretching but soreness returned each time within a couple of minutes running on it. It didn't hurt to stretch it or to walk, then just as suddenly, it felt better. Wierd.
It is beginning to stiffen up now though and I have iced it and will do so again soon.
A wonderfull feeling to have done the 20 today as I had so many doubts during the last couple of weeks.
One more long run to do then its taper time.

20 miles
4 hours 6 minutes
Average pace 12.25
Average HR 152
Peak HR 170

I've been fighting a cold for the last couple of days, taking anything that will zap it before it gets a hold but unfortunately its beaten me and after a bad night I've woken today with a temperature and snotty head.
So I can't do my long run - or any run - today. Again. I am fed up with this. Now that the calf is feeling a lot better I had intended to get another long run in before the taper but I am not risking going for a run with this lurgie and blowing all the work I've done.
I hope that it will go off in a couple of days and I can get out on Tuesday for a 15/16 miler then next Sunday for a 20 miler and then it will be taper time. If this plan doesn't work out then I am seriously worried that I will be undertrained.
I'm crossing everything and hoping for the best.

Yesterday I has a sports massage. The lady who did it seemed knowledgeable and could talk for England but was also very nice and I soon felt relaxed enough to hop on the table and hope that she wouldn't find anything wrong that would stop me running for a while.
After an extreemely painfull massage she told me that my problems are all down to tight muscles at the moment, a mixture of a poor running style when I am tired and the increase in mileage for the long runs. She also gave me some stretches and excercises to help with my back and said I need to stretch my hips which are also tight and pulling my pelvis out of line.
The calves were very sore after she had worked on them, more than before I went and it did worry me in case more harm had been done than cured but when I ran this morning all my worries were unfounded and I had no trouble from them at all, though they are still sore to touch.
Today I ran in the sunshine for a change. I was seriously overdressed for the sudden onset of better weather although it only lasted a couple of hours, it was so good not to be huddling up against the cold wind.
I am fighting a throat lurgie which I hope will soon go so I kept the run short and brisk but it felt good.
I did half an hour of stretching and core excercises after.

5.5 miles
57.30 minutes
Average HR 150
Peak 173
Average pace 10.41

Monday I rested. I phoned a sports massage person and got myself an appointment for Thursday. I used to have massages regularly when I was marathon training before and really think they help to keep everything in working order.

Failing that, I will do as OSN suggested.



Tuesday 21 March.

I did a 2.5 mile walk/run in the morning to see how the calf would behave after a few days of lower mileage. It was ok, a little stiff but not too bad.
Then I went for a swim. 50 lengths, including practicing front crawl breathing again (or drowning) which is getting easier and I can go further than I was a little while ago. I actually managed 8 lengths before getting puffed this time.
In the evening I met Yumyum for a run along the seafront. It was a nice, easy conversational pace and the calf/heel was fine all the way. I wondered if this was because its had the rest of the day to loosen up?
Anyway, a splendid day and a smug feeling at the end of it.

2.5 miles (am)
Average pace 13.07
Average HR 128

50 lengths swim
some against the clock

6 miles (pm)
Average pace 12.00
Average HR 137
Peak HR 160
72.47 minutes



Today is a rest day. Just the usual chores and walking.
And - the calf feels better than of late.

OSN _ not run on it????

Whatever do you mean??

Yesterday I rested and the calf started to feel better so today I went for a short run to see how it is. It felt stiff for the first couple of miles and I had to stretch it a few times and running too slowly made it worse so I picked up the pace just a little and it felt much better. The sun is shining and I didn't wear a hat, though the wind is still chilly and from the east. It is a lovely day to be outside.
The muscles down the outside of my calf are still tender when I press on them, a massage again later may help.

3.5 miles
Average pace 11.00
38.50 minutes
Average HR 138
Peak HR 165

A gentle walk/run today. Its blowing easterly gales and I was glad to be home again, so not really sorry i wasn't doing a longer run.
The calf is still sore to massage, its the effects of the higher mileage, but wasn't so bad when running. The heel was ok.

2.5 miles
very easy
Average HR 128



In the afternoon I wwent swimming. The pool was nicely empty other than a few older peeps (my age and above) who were lane swimming, just as I like it. I felt really good, practiced my technique - choked, spluttered, got cramp. But at the end of the session I was really pleased with my efforts and could definately gone further.
Calf not sore when swimming but its definately "there" again now. Bah!

1900 metres - 76 lengths.

Monday and Tuesday were rest days due to a stomach problem which I think has been left over from the bug I had a few weeks ago. It should be solved by taking bacteria (the name escapes me) and Aloe Vera juice, recommended by a nice lady in Holland and Barrett and also in Gillian McKieth's book. I hope it works cos its getting me down now.


Wednesday 15/3/06

I did a nice easy run. Its still very cold in the wind and its an incentive to keep moving as the chill factor is wicked. The left calf was stiff through most of the run and the back of the heel bone is sore - again - even though it wasn't like this on the long run and has been fine for the last 2 days. I've done everything to try to get rid of this problem - changed shoes, had physio, gel inserts, massage, but it only goes off with lower mileage and as soon as I get over 30 per week it comes back again. I am fed up with it as its been going on for so long now. I was so pleased with my training this time, increasing as I had and doing the long runs with no problems, then its back again, though I am going to back off this time before it becomes chronic like it did before.
Other than that, the run was fine and I enjoyed myself.

5 miles
56.47 minutes
Average pace 11.24
Average HR 132
Peak HR 150


Today I've rested and massaged the offending leg. I will see how it is with a short run tomorrow. I really want to get a long run in this weekend so I'll treat it very gently before that.
Not stretching it much as it makes the heel sting when I do that, I've also iced it.

Today's run was along Southend seafront in the sunshine. It seems a while since we have had much of that and there were lots of people out there enjoying it too.
I did 11 miles and the achilles didn't play up at all - a little stiffness at times but that went off quickly and only came back in the last mile or so. I was so pleased.
The wind on my back was pleasant on the way out but when I turned round to go back it was icy and quite brisk so it made quite hard work of the return run, though I managed to do a mile more than I thought (I only meant to do 10) so the time was better than first thought.

11 miles
2 hours 4.33 minutes
Average HR 149
Peak HR 180
pace 11.30

I've taken notice of OSN's comments about my warm-up and cool-down. Actually I haven't done any of that for years and just go out and start off running, slowly and building pace and HR over the first mile, so that I'm running at the HR I want to do for the whole run at the end of mile 1. Then at the end of the run I just sort of get slower and sometimes walk for a minute or two, then stretch - I always stretch, no matter how long or short the run as I've found it really does help me.
What does everyone else do and would it really help me avoid these niggles that bu$$er my running so often?

I have decided that I need an extra day running each week to make myself feel confident about the marathon mileage, so I've put it up from 3 days to 4 with a day x training as well. I was just not sure that 3 days per week would do it for me and as someone who has always run 5 to 6 days per week, it felt like I should be doing more. I am only increasing for this month then I will lower it again for the taper in April. It is nice though to look forward to each run with energy and enthusiasm and the rest days are doing me good, I am no where near as tired as I was last time I trained for a marathon.
But I do have to watch the compulsive side to the running as I've found the more I run the more I want to run. Once I get over the 30 miles per week milestone I keep wanting to get out there and add a few more miles even though I know its not always a good thing to do and I have ignored injuries and tiredness before and overtrained then ended up doing nothing instead of enjoying the event, so that is something I am trying to control this time around.
It was raining and windy this morning but I felt good and was looking forward to my run. My HRM decided to throw a wobbly after a couple of minutes so ignoring that I decided to just run to how I felt. It was a good session, brisk and flowing and the time flew by.
The calf needed a quick rub and stretch at the first half-mile then was fine and I haven't felt anything from it after.

4 miles
41.54 minutes
pace 10.38

After resting yesterday the left Achilles tendon felt tender when I put my foot to the ground this morning. It was like that for a few minutes then felt ok. I'd been doing some massage on it yesterday and had hoped that would sort it out so I was disappointed when it made itself felt first thing. However, when it started to feel ok I thought I'd give it a try out and see what would happen.
Running was fine, the first couple of minutes made the calf ache a bit but that went off quickly and after that everything felt fine and easy.
I did 2 sessions of 2.5 miles, stopping for about half an hour after the first one so that I could see how a run would affect it but as it felt ok I went out again for the second one.
All in all a lovely run. The sun shone and it was much warmer than it has been for a good while. Luckily I ran this morning as the weather changed to wind and rain shortly after I got back.
A run without a hat! Is this spring??

5 miles
10.59 pace
Average HR142
Peak HR 160
52.46 minutes

A much better day for running. Breezy, chilly and wet but not that biting Arctic-feeling wind that we've had lately so it was good to be able to feel more relaxed about the run.
A nice, easy run marred slightly by an ache in the left calf (achilles or muscular??) which kept coming and going.
I will give it a massage later and hope that the problem goes away, I don't even want to think of injuries at this stage of the training!!
Its probably nothing to worry about and its just nerves blowing it out of proportion.

6 miles
1 hour 6.14 minutes
Average pace 11.06
Average HR 143

I went for my 14 mile LSR today which I found hard work in the cold winds. There was some sunshine which was very nice if the wind was on my back but it was bitter when I had the headwind against me, which seemed to be a lot of the time!
Its probably because I did the 19 on Monday that I felt so aching in the hips and I ended up walking for 2 minutes at the beginning of every mile for the last 5 miles as my legs were very tired but I still averaged 12.00 min miles which is the same pace as last time, even with the walk-breaks, so overall I'm very pleased with this week's training.
I've hit 40 miles this week (unintentionally) and even though its more than I should have done, I've never managed to get to that amount without getting injured before. I think this is all down to Shades' schedule and the extra rest days. I will be taking it a bit easier next week.

14 miles
Average pace 12.00
Average HR 151
Peak HR 172
2 hours 49.12 minutes

A cross training day so I headed for the pool. I didn't take too much notice of the clock as I stopped for cramp a couple of times but had a mostly enjoyeable swim. The only unenjoyable parts were where I was trying to alternate sides for breathing doing front crawl. The resulted in a lot of coughing and sinking but I will get the hang of it eventually.
The legs are feeling ok and I have a rest day tomorrow, then its back to running for a few miles to finish off the week.

64 lengths
1600 m

Yesterday I did a 2.5 mile recovery run/walk. This was a much as my legs would handle, being very slow and sore, especially around the hips and left calf.
I did half an hour of massage on them later and this did help. It seems Monday's long run will take more recovery than I was anticipating.




Today I ran in the evening with yumyum. We did the seafront route and although it was cold it wasn't windy (for a change) and the snow flurries of earlier had stopped. We had an enjoyable run and chat and as usual the time flew by.
Hips and legs felt fine whilst running, the calf only just making itself felt now and again. They ached again when walking, but that will go off soon.

5 miles
58 minutes
Average pace 11.6
Average HR 138