Back in action

Long time no see.

Today marked the first day I was allowed to do a complete run without having to take 'walking breaks'. I have been working off the Sardella progressive walk/run plan for the past 2 months or so and have made sufficient progress that I'm now upto a half hour complete run every other day. Not exactly anything to write home about but progress none the less.
Have already signed up for the adidas race series this summer and also the Dublin marathon. The marathon is more out of hope than expectation, but its nice to have the goal to aim for.
There are a couple of road races in the immediate few weeks that are tempting to take part in. Mightn't sound like the smartest plan in the world, and being honest, its not. But I'm also keen to find a balance between doing what's right and what's fun. The first is a 10k & half-marathon in the hometown of Dundalk on May 5th. Definitely considering the 10k as a fun run to show support, and then on the 18th there is an 8k here in Dublin to raise money for Unicef.
As for the CML, things are progressing well. The blood counts have improved nicely since beginning the treatment 2 months ago, and side effects have been negligible/non-existant. Having another bone-marrow biopsy on the 11th, which will give a better indication of how things are going.
Of more immediate importance is the fact that flights for the brother's stag weekend have been cancelled, leaving plans in tatters, and also getting my new tattoo on Thursday. Fun times.

Whoop de doo VO2

Did a VO2max test on the bike today for shits and giggles and was pretty pleased with the results. Had a peak VO2 of 5.13L/min or 75ml/min/kg. Peak HR was 199. Overall was pretty pleased as the numbers are about the same as when I was 19 and in pretty good shape.
The bad news is that the physio told me that I need to take a week off to see if the leg will respond to the treatment, as she thinks that the lack of improvement following treatment is due to me overdoing it in the gym. So we'll give it a go. Its not like I'm training for anything in particular now that XC is passing me by.
Get the results of the blood tests in the morning too, so hopefully getting somewhere, however slowly

Not promising

So after about 10 days running the leg started giving me pain again, so I've stopped running again and am back cross training. Had the blood tests done today which I'll get the results of next Thursday, and see the haemotologist Feb 9th to try to get to the bottom of this.

Last summer Tarpy referred me to a blog run by a doctor in New Zealand as he had written a number of articles regarding the negative effects of fosamax. I emailed him a week or so ago describing my symptoms etc. The feedback wasn't exactly encouraging:

http://blog.garymoller.com/2010/01/young-marathon-runner-with-unusual-leg.html

Merry Christmas

I have totally overindulged in food and booze over the hols, but it was a well earned break. Today was the first day back at the gym since last Wednesday, and I felt it. Only managed 30 mins on the bike and then hopped on the treadmill for 10 mins. Leg didn't feel too bad so am getting back (very slowly) to running this week while gym access is limited and will monitor the progress.

Had a follow up appointment with the consultant to go over the details of the MRI/X-rays/DEXA scans. There is no stress fracture which is a relief. The problem is the actual diagnosis. Apparently the radiologist called the consultant with some concern because the femur bone has a very high red bone marrow content. In short, 'long bones' like the femur should have yellow bone marrow with the hip, breast bone and smaller bones have red. The reason why this is a problem isn't entirely clear to me yet, other than the stem cells that differentiate into red and yellow marrow aren't working properly. Apparently it can indicate osteoporosis, which has already been ruled out by the DEXA scan, so I have to see a haematologist to try to get to the bottom of it.
On a sidenote, my alignment is way off. The plain of axis that should pass straight through the knee doesn't even hit the knee, but passes about 2-3 inches inside. But that issue is 'on hold' till we get the haematologist done first. But the good news is because the structure of the bone is sound, I can run as long as the leg is pain free, hence the 10 mins on the treadmill. Tomorrow we try for 15.

Still alive, still crocked

I gotta admit, only for Jokin's pretty sick run this weekend and Keith's surgery vids, my bloglist has been conspicuous in its boringness/lack of entries. But its hard to complain when I'm just as guilty. About 6 weeks since my last post. Shoddy.

Where am I at? Not quite suicidal, but definitely feel like I'm stuck in a 2003 timewarp, except this time I'm not drinking anywhere near the quantity of beer I was putting down then (if they sold PBR in Ireland that might change).

It's 7 weeks and a day since the marathon. Last Monday I ran 1 mile (that's not a typo) in 8:35 (that's not a typo either). By the end of the mile I was in about as much pain as I was post 12/26.2ths into the marathon (that's a legitimate fraction). That had me wallowing in self pity as I don't feel that the quad/hip is improving. I finally got to see a specialist yesterday, who when he got done financially ass-raping me thinks its a stress fracture to the femur and is driving down osteopenia highway with stops at endocrinologists etc etc, again, 2003 much? I have an MRI next Monday which should hopefully shed some light on the issue. Personally I am not in agreement in the stress fracture thing. Never had a stress fracture that was still sore to walk on 7 weeks after the fact, plus this is the 5th/6th time in the last 3-4 years in the same spot. My guess at this stage is something nerve related, but what do I know?

In the past 7 weeks I've done my best to keep up fitness and keep down booze consumption. I've had a consistent 6 weeks of 2 days of interval work rehashing Berg's old workouts in the pool, with 3 days on the bike for anywhere between 60-90mins. 2 weight sessions a week and some core work later and I'm still managing to keep the weight off. I've got a full XC race program starting mid February serving as motivation for training, but as the clock ticks on it looks a little less likely. Here's to Monday providing some answers.

update

So since last Monday I took a few days completely off pretty much due to the fact that I couldnt walk. Thursday & Friday I did some light x-training. Then spent the weekend boozing. I've been good since, and have put in a good week's cross training since. I even rehashed one of Berg's pool workouts yesterday, doing the 60second ladder. Given that we used to do that twice its not that great a workout, but baby steps.

I took a big step Wednesday night and joined a running club. The reason why this might be considered news is that I didn't rejoin my old club of my juvenile days Glenmore AC, but their 'rivals' Dunleer. I truthfully wish I could have been rejoining my old club, but the fact is that I would be their only senior runner, whereas at Dunleer, even in 2:36 shape (sadly this is hypothetical) I'm only around the no. 4/5 guy. I'm also good friends with 2 of the lads who are both my age, and already have a race goal set of the Irish Novice XC champs on Dec 6th. While I wont be in great shape, we should win the team title on the back of the top 3. This definitely has me motivated to lash out the x-training in the meantime.

This optimism was checked somewhat tonight after my visit to the physio clinic. Run by students, they did some great work trying to get me fit enough to make the marathon. However, given how my recovery is going and based on my medical history they feel that as students they can no longer treat me, recommending that I visit a qualified professional for treatment and visit my GP to arrange a bone scan and/or MRI, as they're concerned I may have another stress fracture. I don't personally feel I have a sf based on how it feels, but then I've felt that way in the past when it was the case. Either way its bummed me out a bit and put some doubts in my mind, but I'll be in the pool tomorrow giving it a lash again! Dec 6th remains the goal

Post Race Reflections

Result: DNF

Dropped out somewhere between 11.5 and 12. At that point I had been running quite well and was feeling extremely good. Until then my splits had been (approximately, mile markers were quite a bit off - only 5k markers seemed completely accurate):

5:40, 6:00, 6:02, 6:01, 5:59, 6:06, 6:02, 5:47, 6:03, 5:55, 6:01 + 4:05 before stopping. The leg starting out felt much better than I expected, as it did to run these splits. I had planned on going around 6:10-6:15s due to the training I missed but got locked into a very comfortable rhythm and just went with it. The problems began on the faster 8th mile. It was nearly all downhill, and straight away I knew the hip/quad wasn't happy with it. From 8-11 it was considerably tighter but felt that as long as it didnt get any worse I would be fine. Just beyond 11 miles we crossed the canal via probably the smallest bridge in the world. But the small decline off the bridge was enough to trigger the leg, and the hip just seized up on me completely. After stopping I had to drop my chip with the St. Johns ambulance crew who stuck me in the ambulance. Getting tired of waiting around, I decided I'd walk/jog home. As soon as I stood up the leg refused to take my weight. I wasn't going anywhere. Since then it's loosened up a little, but its pretty damn painful doing anything besides sitting.

To be honest, I'm obviously disappointed but not gutted. I knew there was a good chance that this would be the outcome, and I'm glad that I sacked up and decided to give it a go instead of waking up tomorrow wondering what if?

I'm also glad that in treating this injury I've gotten to the root cause of this and the majority of my recent injuries. Apparently I "significantly lack gluteal mass", meaning I gotta get some junk in my trunk. I know what needs to be done, and hopefully after it I'll come out of it a better runner. Gonna take a day or two off before beginning the rehab and some pool work. Given the lack of training the last few weeks I don't really feel the need to rest up, but I do need to get this injury fixed before getting back to workouts etc. The plan is to take on some sort of XC season, although the novice champs on Dec 5th are likely to come around a little too early. However there is plenty of 2010 action to look forward to.

Finally, a big thanks to those who donated to the charity I was running for, and for the wishes of support leading up to the race. Those that know me best know what a fat little wanker I was around 7-8 months ago, and of all the positives that I can take out of this campaign (and there are a few) the biggest is that I'm fit again and excited about running. For that I am very grateful.

Fuck it, lets go

I haven't posted in quite a while, pretty much because there' s been nothing to post except depressing news regarding the leg. Despite a ton of rest and physical therapy, it is not responding. It's quite painful walking around still, and I feel there is little chance of me completing the marathon. This had led my mind into a dark place, dwelling on the thoughts of not competing in the race I've been training for 6 months; and also its knock on effect on some of the XC races I had been hoping to do this winter. Added to that is a large amount of guilt having collected charitable donations with the likelihood of not running.

Last night I received an email from the charity I am raising for asking if anyone with a race number to donate it if they weren't planning on running to a team member who missed the application deadline. I slept on it, and decided to give up my number. Sent the email. Got a response. 2 people had beaten me to the punch. Is this a sign?? Got some more physio, felt some improvement, but given where the head was at I decided to see about deferring entry to next year. No dice. No refunds, no deferrals. Basically we've got your 100 yoyos, now fuck off.

This pissed me off to be honest. It's not my plan to be injured. I want to run. But €100 is a lot to me, and it annoyed me to think I'd pissed it up against a wall on a race I'm not running. I'd have been better pissing it up a wall getting, well, pissed. Now I'm thinking I have the number, lets use it.

The downsides.

Even if I am able to complete it, I'm looking at enduring (hopefully) almost 3 hours of quite severe pain.

I am likely to aggravate the injury further, risking participating in XC races.

Dropping out of a race is not something I want to do.

The upsides.

At least I can say I tried.

I may (delusional point coming up) 'get into my stride' and feel half decent/ride a 3 hour adrenaline kick and not feel the pain

Say a mental 'fuck you' to those bastards who wont let me defer.

Chances are I'm going to sway back and forth at least 4689 times between now and Monday. But right now the attitude is fuck it. In the words of Billy Crudup (a.k.a Pre) ' you don't know what it will do to me if I run, you know what it will do if I dont' or something like that, I havent seen the movie in about 8 years.

Light at the end of the tunnel

1hr aqua jogging

Broke up this bout in the pool with 8x4 lengths with 1 length recovery keeping the effort the same as for the 3 length bouts yesterday. Went well besides some pretty painful calf cramping on bouts 2,4,5, 7 and 8. And all during the cooldown. The lungs got the desired workout though, so all good.

This morning was the first morning in a week that the hip didn't hurt on getting out of bed or walking around. That said, it still does feel extremely tight, but the pain is thankfully gone. Had another good session with the physio this evening so am expecting some pain tomorrow morning, but after the pool should be much improved. Anticipating running ~ Friday, when I also plan on revisiting my midget horse bone guy, as I was told yet again that my hips are way out of alignment.

Stay Positive Fool!

Aquajog, 55 mins

Sticking with Coste's arbitrary distance theme, I broke this one up with 10 x 3 lengths medium/hard, 1 length recovery. The Trinity pool is a 25m pool, but only about half of that is actually deep enough for this guy to aqua jog in, so most normal heighted people would be even worse off. Timed a few of the intervals around 2-2:10, with 1-1:10 on the recovery. Not overly taxing, but gave the lungs a workout.

Waking up this morning the hip flexor was pretty darn sore which I'm guessing is in response to the physio treatment last night. However after the pool there was a considerable improvement which is a big positive, and has me hoping to be back out there in a few days. Even if not, then the pool is serving me nicely in keeping the lungs open and ready to roll in 13 days!

Dark Clouds brewing in my mind

Day off

Took today totally off. While the aqua jogging hasnt caused any discomfort, I'm not really seeing any improvement in the condition of the hip, and was not able to get to the pool during open hours anyway. Didn't want to risk biking or the like, so just went for complete rest. Had another session with the physio, which while doing a good job loosening up the hip joint, gluts and hammy, the hip flexor didnt really respond too much. Its only been 3 days since I ran, but it feels like a lot, lot longer. Trying to stay positive, but like pimpin', it ain't easy.

Crampage

55 mins aqua jogging

Unintentionally got after it early doors, and was going like the clappers so ended up dividing the workout into 2x~14 mins steady, 1 min rest, 2x~7 mins steady with 1 min rest and was about to attempt a few 3 min bouts but 30secs into the first one the calves crapped out on me. Got a good workout in, and while it never compares, was as good a substitute for the 3x3 mile I had on tap as I am going to get. Did a major strectch session after, and while the quad is still tight walking around, there is some noticeable improvement resulting from the time off. Lets hope it continues.

Weeks total:

4 runs, 23.25 miles

3 sessions of aquajogging for 135 mins

Balls to that!

Shutting it down

30 mins aqua jog

40:51 easy jog

Got through the run ok, but it definitely wasn't the best outing I've ever had, and confirmed that I wouldn't be working out on Sunday. How and ever, went to a different physio this evening, and the difference was ridickerous. Yesterday I paid 40 yoyos for a 10 min rub, and was told I could keep running. Today I went to a student physical therapy clinic, paid 20euro for an hour and 20 min session and got way more info on the problem. Basically the quad is not only extremely tight, but full of junk that is most likely there from previous injuries I've had to the quad. As a result, no running for a few days besides aqua jogging. Plenty more physio in the meantime, and I should be good to go in a few days again. Not too worried as the pool will keep me ticking over in the meantime, but disappointed all the same. But given the quad has been the source of all my problems over the last few years, this could be a blessing.

Progress?

4 miles, 30:49

Went to the physio today, who went through the usual 15 min history lesson and only 15 mins of actual physio work, then charged me €40. Such a crock of shit. During the 15 mins he got paid for, he found that I have a lot less mobility in my left hip than the right, and the pain in the hip flexor is a result of tightness in the quads. I have been instructed to take it very easy for a few days, although I am allowed to supplement actual running with aqua jogging. Sorted out a belt for the Trinity pool and will do that which I swore never to do again tomorrow.

The run itself wasn't too bad. Kept it extremely pedestrian, and after 5-10mins there was some release in the quads. Going to a physical therapist tomorrow who should spend a lot more time on massage therapy than talking about it. Tentative plan at the minute is aqua jog followed by 40min run tomorrow, aqua + 50 mins on Sat, and all going well finally get my 3x3 mile workout in on Sunday.

Being sensible

8 miles, 54:18

Gym

After yesterday's day off, the hip flexor has improved, but not as much as I would like. It's a nuisance, and most noticeable when getting up from sitting. It feels weak, as if the leg doesn't want to take my weight, but once moving its not restrictive. The run didn't aggravate it any worse than before, and the weights if anything seemed to improve it weirdly. Am supposed to workout tomorrow, but unless there's a dramatic improvement by morning I shall be postponing that till the weekend. Left a VM for the physio who I shall hopefully see in the next day or two and nip this in the bud. The work is pretty much done at this stage. Between now and the 26th, the only runs I want to get in are two workouts and 2 runs of medium length. Plenty of time between now and then to get them in and still have a decent taper. It's hard being smart!

Days off

Tues & Wed off

One of these was a scheduled day off, the other voluntary. The foot has improved considerably over the 2 days off. Can still give a twitch every now and again, and the Titleist massages and icing have reduced the soreness on the outside of the foot but left the foot very tight in general. Happy enough that its improved sufficiently to get back out there tomorrow without having lost anything. Going to maintain the icing/massaging routine, and beginning tomorrow a steady course of ibuprofen.

I've always tried to avoid ibuprofen, as well as Alka Seltzer when hungover/got headaches. Part of it is a weird thing I have about 'polluting' my body (which is massively hypocritical when I consider some of the binge sessions I've been on) and part of it is it feels like cheating. I tell myself that without it my body can't handle the training load (or booze in the case of a hangover), and to use a drug to fix it is cheating. I felt the same way about the Fosomax for the osteoporosis, and I feel the same way about Caffeine as a performance enhancer. Just because some dude in an office somewhere decides its legal doesnt make it ok in my mind. That being said, I'm too far down the road in the marathon program that I'm not letting the moral high ground screw me over now. Lets go legal drugs.

Love for the Blogs

No running since last Wednesday, but plenty of good gym work to help (slowly) get this mass of a man to a more reasonable level. Felt motivated to post despite the lack of running material to post because of a convo with Coste and reading Keith's blog post for today. Basically I haven't run for 3 years. I've been dabbling, building up, getting injured etc etc and tried (at times, not always) to cross train through the injuries without much success till this year. This most recent shin trouble has arisen after around 3-4 weeks running following the last injury. The insight I'm drawing from Keith and Coste is that when I started running a month ago I jumped straight back into 4-6 mile runs (nothing special, but about as much as I was doing pre-injury) because the cardiovascular fitness was there but the legs were clearly not. So the next comeback will start from scratch. I need to re-train my legs to run 5-6 days a week, so will be starting slow, and will continue to supplement with gym work until I (hopefully) reach a point where the body can handle running a reasonable amount. I have 28 weeks till the Dublin marathon, of which I hope 12 will be the re-training time and 16 weeks of decent enough quality running to get me home under 2:50. The shin has been feeling a lot better in recent days, and given that gyms and all shut down for Easter here, I may venture out for some yogging this weekend. 

biablyzi: The future star of the 2010 World Cup

So I have now not run in a week, although I have managed to get some gym work in pretty much everyday. The disappointing news is that even with the week off my shin is still pretty tender and at times sore to walk on. Wait, I think I've done this before. Weird thing is the shin is much sorer post-icing, which makes me not want to ice. Because the gym work is going ok, and because college is now kicking my ass, I'm pretty much certain I won't be running for at least another week. At which point I'm hoping my shin has worked out its issues, and if it is a s.f. (you're not supposed to say it out loud) then I'll already be 2 weeks into recovery mode. On the plus side its 28+ weeks to the Dublin marathon which is plenty of time to get in shape. On the negative side, if I'm getting a s.f. on 25 miles a week then my chances of running sub 3 for the marathon are about as good as me shagging Jessica Alba.

No Line on the Horizon

Thurs: Day Off. Achilles was very sore to walk around on all day so shelved plans for an evening run and put the feet up. Not thrilled about it but want to try to nip this in the bud.

Fri: Gym. 40 mins on the bike, 10 on the cross trainer, 15 mins on the treadmill. This was absurd in a few ways. One I shouldnt have run as a) I was wearing runners that are totally shot and b) my achilles was sore. But I couldnt hack the cross trainer so jumped on the treadmill in frustration. Amazingly everything felt good. Realised that I've been running too hard since I started training again using the logic that if I want to run sub 3hrs in the marathon I need to run sub 7s now. Amazing how everything I am

studying I choose to ignore about my own running. 

Sat: Day off. Achilles wasnt terrible, but didnt want to push my luck either. Was eagerly anticipating the rugby, and while the result was what I wanted (as long as we beat the English) the game was shite as a spectacle and the referee needs his head examined to not have seen the blatant fouls by the cheating scumbag limey gits. Had a few pints with Enda post match, which was delightful. Naturally. 

Sun: 6 miles, 43:20,

Map

Went out to Santry to watch the Irish XC champs (more on that in a minute). Ran home, and didnt feel spectacular as I'd been standing in the rain for the previous hour, was cold, thirsty, and hungry. Surprised when I measured the run that I'd run that fast (relative use of the word fast) as I felt like I was crawling in an effort to spare my achilles from unnecessary abuse. Deeply satisfied that neither the quad or the achilles felt any real pain. 

As for the race itself, it was a corker. Kel went straight to the front on a relatively flat, dry course that had a lot of give in it that tends to drain the legs.

  Had Keneally sitting on him through 5k 

 before swapping the lead till around the 7k mark, at which point Keith hit the front and started to gradually stretch out a lead of 40 yards. Coming into the last lap with about a mile to go however, there were a few murmurs around the course that the legs had come off Kel, and Keneally had visibly reduced the gap to about 25 yards. However, Kel worked the only real downhill portion of the course to regain the lost advantage. Around the last km Keneally was visibly closing the gap but Kel's lead was never really in doubt and held on for the win by about 15 yards or so. 

Vinny had a similar battle with Gary O'Connor for 3rd which he won in convincing fashion over the last 3k and looked very strong throughout. Delighted for Kel to get the win that was against as good a field as you could have at the Irish champs (only Fagan & possibly Ledwith missing who would have changed the result). Also saw a few lads I used to run with/against in the field which made me realise how out of my league elite running is these days as the lads (and all credit to them) were blown out of it totally. 

U2's new album (No Line On The Horizon) was released here in Ireland on Friday. Have been listening to it non-stop since. While it's not the 'new sound' that was promised, its a cracking good album with some great opening riffs to songs that flows very well. A slightly more melodic tone than previous albums (Moment of Surrender is a good example of this) but follows the trends set by All That You Can't Leave Behind and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. All in all, good shit.

Lastly, Spurs got beaten by Man Utd on penalties in the final of the Carling Cup today. Given that I chose to go to the XC over watching it shows that I didn't hold out much hope of victory but its a huge disappointment none the less. Cannot understand how men paid millions of pounds a year to play football are unable to hit the target from 12 yards out. Its friggin ridiculous. Season after season of disappointment and failure. Such is the life of a Spurs fan.

In a word

Beard: Gone
Running: No
When: Soon
Realistically: Month
Gym: Yes
Fit: Never
Slim: Ha!
Tottenham: Shambles
Liverpool: C*nts
College: Good
Superbowl porn: Hilarious
Slumdog Millionaire: Brilliant
Peace.