Almost back to full Fitness.

Today run was another step back towards full fitness. It's been two weeks since the Calf Strain and I feel that I'm perhaps only a run or two away from being fulling fit again.

Today's run was a gentle 6 km run which I again took nice and slow. It was about 1 km further than my last effort, I am aiming to increase my distances each run by about a kilometer (or five minutes) until I'm back to running the sort of distances and intensity runs I was doing pre injury.

Today's run;

- Distance - 5.8 km (3.6 miles)
- Time - 30:45
- Pace - 5:20 mpk (8:32 mpm)
- Max HR 164
- Ave HR 117

Today I was just aiming to finish a 30 minute run and was not at all interested in the pace, other than keeping it slow. After 15 minutes my HR monitor was still only reading 99 and it seemed to be stuck at that level for some time. I wondered whether it was malfunctioning, surely I'm working harder than that?

The HR eventually got up over 150 but only after 20 minutes or so when I did feel confident enough to increased the pace a little.

I was surprised at the end of the run to see that my pace was 5:20 per km as I felt for sure that I was running way slower. This was just a real easy run but it was at a pace that six months ago I would have considered fast.

The calf felt a little tight to start with but warmed up nicely as I went on. Felt my shins a little more in fact today and that remains a concern for me, particularly as I look to increase the miles further in coming weeks & months. I iced the calf and shins afterwards just to be safe. All feels okay now.



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Thank God it's Friday

The end of the week is here and what a busy week it's been. I wasn't able to get to the pool on Monday or Wednesday due to being too busy at work, but I had no intention of missing out on my weekly swim workout and headed down to the pool at lunch time today.

- Distance - 1200 m
- Time - 37 minutes.

I know that's pretty slow and I'm still keen for any comments or tips on improving my speed. Today I experimented a little bit.

- I usually breath every second stroke to the right side. Today I tried breathing every third stroke on alternate sides and also breathing every four strokes to the right. It's probably something I just need to persevere with a bit more but I could probably find a bit more speed if I went with one of these methods.

- I think I've got quite a slow arm turnover so I tried concentrating on pulling through the water faster. I'm sure that helped with my speed a bit but I would definitely tire quicker and my form/technique would probably suffer after too long.

- Kicking is another area which I could probably work on. I seem to have quite a slow kick compared to the faster swimmers.

The Physio is happy with the progress of the Calf. I've had no ill effects from the two lite runs this week. Will go for 6-7 K tomorrow.


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Short, Slow & Wet

I went out for another short jog today. Nice and easy and short so as not to risk re injuring the calf.

- Distance - 4.6 km (2.85 miles)
- Time - 26 minutes
- Pace - 5.40 min k's (9.07 min miles)
- Max HR 162, Ave HR 145

It was a really wet day here today, did not stop raining all day. Big floods up north. Fortunately we were spared the worst of the bad weather here in Auckland an I was able to get out with a work colleague, Craig, during lunch time. We just did one and a half laps of the Domain. The rain wasn't too hard, just a steady light rain. Hardly noticed it really as Craig and I were just chatting the whole way and before we new it the run was over. In fact I was thinking that a year ago I don't think I would have been able to carry on a conversation while running, so that fact that I can now is a sure sign that my base fitness is way better than its ever been.

I could feel the calf throughout the run. It's still not 100% right. Over the last kilometer it did start to tighten fractionally. Seeing the Pyhsio again tomorrow.



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Treading Carefully - A Comeback Run

Today was supposed to be a swim day. My first run back since straining the calf was going to be Thursday.

How quickly things can change. I ended up being too busy at work to get down to the pool at lunch time and then could still not leave work early enough to both get to the pool on the way home and be home in time to spend some time with the boys.

I needed to do something though after doing nothing on Sunday or Monday, so I decided to bring forward the comeback run and head out for a light jog after the boys went to bed.

I went to the Physio again today and he seemed happy with the progress. I had no discomfort when hopping on the one leg and had good strength in the calf. Just some slight tenderness when prodded.

I felt confident enough then go and test it out.

- Distance - 2.8 km (1.75 miles)
- Time - About 15 or 16 minutes
- No HR data

The calf felt a little sore but gradually got better I guess as it warmed up. I'm sticking with the Pose Method for now as I feel confident that there is something to this technique that can be of benefit to me, particularly with my history of shin splints. I was able to get through the run with no major discomfort. Some slight tightness afterwards.

The Physio can not believe how tight I am through my calfs even after almost about nine months of fairly regular stretching which I started in the lead up to my first Half Marathon last year. I also explained the numbness I had been experiencing in my foot after 30-40 minutes of running and he suspected Plantar Fasciitis.He's referring me to a Sport Podiatrist who will hopefully be able to help further with these matters as well as perhaps advising me on an appropriate running style, ie on the switch to Pose/forefoot running or staying with heel striking.



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Weekly Wrap up

No running this week due to the calf strain so just swimming and biking to cover this week;

- Swam 2.5 Km
- Biked 20.0 Km

Oh and 30 minutes of Aqua Jogging, but I'm not sure that counted for much.

Plan for this week;

- two swim sessions of say 1.5K and 1.25K
- stationary bike tomorrow
- will try for a light run on Thursday, calf permitting

If all is okay with the calf then have a short team triathlon on next Sunday, 400M swim, 10K Bike & 4K run.

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The Weekends Bike Ride

Did my usual ride this afternoon. I like to do one bike ride a week if I can. Main reason is that I have found if I run too much or on consecutive days I am injury prone, shin splints in particular has been my main problem. Biking offers a great cross training option though and with my present calf strain still keeping me from running, biking and swimming are my only options for maintaining fitness at present. I've only got a mountain bike as I like to get off road when I can also(which isn't much) but it still allows me a good workout on the roads.

Today's ride is a mixture of some good hill climbs and faster sections. Good conditions, an average run with the traffic lights and only a few idiots on the roads.

- Distance - 20Km (12.4 miles)
- Time - 56:30
- Ave speed - 21.2 KPH (13.2 MPH)
- Max HR 163
- Ave HR 143

Calf is coming along slowly but surely. Hope to get out for light run on Thursday this week.


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A Thursday Swim

Today's Swim.

- Distance - 1300 metres
- Time - 39 minutes

The swim felt pretty good. I got into a nice rhythm after about 500 metres or so and was able to keep that going for the duration.

I'm a pretty slow swimmer and I guess this probably comes down to technique. Other swimmers often seem to just cruise by me with ease. I've never had any formal swimming lessens so if I'm going to increase my speed I would say I'm probably going to need a few lessons from a swimming coach at some stage.

I have concentrated on increasing the power in my kicking and making a nice smooth stroke. My stroke and pull through the water is perhaps a little slow and I guess I could try to pick this up as I swim more often.

When I'm running again though I'll only be swimming once a week so there won't be much opportunity to work on this.

I welcome any tips /comments on improving my swimming and speed.


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Aqua jogging

Did 30 minutes of aqua jogging today.

Apparently it's supposed to be a good method of maintaining fitness when injured while using the same muscles you do when you're running.

Maybe I wasn't doing it properly but it didn't seem that hard and certainly wasn't an aerobic workout.

Will stick to swimming and biking for the next week I think. Hopefully the calf will be alright by the end of next week.


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A Swim then Physio

After the Sunday's run which ended with a strained calf muscle, I am off running for the next week or so and will be spending a bit of time in the pool for the next wee while.

Today's Swim;

- Distance - 1200 metres
- Time - 34 Minutes

Reasonably happy with that effort. It's the longest I've swam for several months as I have been limiting my swims recently to 1000 meters. Given I'm not going to be running for the next week or so I felt I should up my distance in the pool to try and compensate.

On 1 April I am wanting to enter a short Triathlon. It's a 400m swim, 10K Bike and 4K Run. I can only hope my calf will be okay by then. I won't really risk it before that. I will stick to biking, swimming and jogging in the pool for the next week. Depending on how that goes I might test the calf on a short run around the middle of next week.

I'm a little unsure about whether the Pose Method has contributed to the calf strain or not. There's no question that the method does place more load on your calfs and maybe I just haven't done enough of the suggested strengthening in that area before I took up the new method.

I went to a Physiotherapist this afternoon to get the calf checked out. He confirmed that it's a minor strain and that I should be okay again in about two weeks. It's clear though that I remain generally pretty stiff through both calfs which is likely also to be the cause of the ongoing shin troubles. I have another appointment on Friday and hopefully we can work on that some more. No doubt further stretching exercises to come!


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Watching the Weight

My current weight is 85 kg (187 pounds).

My weight has remained pretty constant at around 85 kg for the last six months. I'm not too unhappy about that as I pretty much eat what I feel like (within reason) and the level of exercise which I have been doing is really just sufficient to maintain my current weight.

If I was to really watch what I eat then I'm sure I would be able to lose more. I'm pretty comfortable with the weight at the moment and it is certainly a great improvement on where it was two years ago when I tipped the scales at an all time high of 97kg (214 pounds) after several years of relative in-activity.

Even a year ago I was still around 95kg and the weight only really started to come off around the middle of last year when I really picked up my training as I set out to run my first Half Marathon which was 29 October last year.

I would like to run the Half Marathon again this year and would also like to enter a few other events between now and then to maintain the interest and give me something to aim for. As I increase my mileage in preparation for these events together with watching my nutrition my goal weight is 80kg (176 pounds).

On this page I will update my weight on a monthly basis and comment on what specifically I've done in the last month to control my weight.


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Weekly wrap up

What I've done in the last week;

- Ran 24.2 km (15 miles)
- Swam 1 km
- Biked 20 km

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Round the Bays ends in Pain

I ran in the Round the Bays Fun Run today. It's an 8.4Km run around the Auckland waterfront which attracts upwards of 70,000 runners and walkers of all shapes & sizes as well as a few outrageous costumes.

Distance - 8.4KM (5.2 miles)
Time - 39:50
Pace -4:45 min Kms (7:40 min miles)
Max HR 179
Ave HR 161

This is a flat course so I was hopeful of a time of 40 minutes or less so to achieve that goal was pleasing. The pace was faster than I have been running in my training and I was pretty pleased with the effort I put in to maintain that pace for as long as I did. I've done this run a few times over the years however always for the fun and social side of it. Whilst I did enjoy that side of it today also I was also keen to put in a good effort and achieve a good time.

I started about 50 meters back from the start line and took about a minute to cross the line after the gun went off. The start was pretty slow as the field spread out. By about the 1 Km stage the field had sufficiently spread out enough that I was able to run at a steady pace.

I passed a marker at 5.5 km at about 25 minutes so I new that I had 15 minutes to cover the last 3Km to make my time. I tried searching for a little more pace to ensure I made my time and with about 1 Km go I was pretty much out of gas. My pace was slowing and breathing was very laboured.

Then it happened ... I felt a small twinge in my right calf muscle. I've never strained a calf before but this is what I imagined it was, definitely not just a case of tight or sore calfs. I managed to jog the remaining kilometer and crossed the line in just under 40 minutes.

So, pleased with the time but not at the expense of a strained calf. I can only hope that it's a minor strain and that with some treatment and a bit of rest I will be back running again soon.

I had wanted to run another 10Km race next weekend and then an 11Km Trail race next month.

I'll be pretty gutted if I can't at least run the trail race as that's something I've never done and would love to give it a go.


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Saturday Morning Bike Ride

I like to mix my training up a bit with swimming and biking, on top of the running, to add a bit of variety plus with my history of shin splints I'm a bit gun shy of running more than three times a week or on consecutive days. So today I went for a bike ride.

Distance - 20KM
Time - 56:20
Max HR - 162
Ave HR - 140

The ride is one 20K loop around my neighborhood on Auckland's North Shore. It's challenging enough with several hills which test me and some longish flatter sections where you can get some reasonable speed up. I pushed myself all the way today and ended with a PB for this ride, even though I was stopped by a few sets of lights.

Don't you just hate it when you're on a ride and you see some traffic lights in the distance and you push that little bit harder trying to make it in time only for them to go red just before you get there. That seems to happen to me a few time today.


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Thursday's Run

We're making progress, today marked the shortest turn around yet between runs since taking up the new Pose Method. Evidently it is quite normal for new comers to experience quite sore calfs for the first one or two weeks after starting the technique and I have been no exception. Today though I was able to back up after Tuesdays run and get out there again.

Today I wanted a pretty flat run which would just allow me to practice the technique some more and just think about how I was running. I also wanted to make this run a bit of a speed workout.

I set out from my work at lunch time with one other colleague around a 2.6K circuit around the Auckland Domain. This is a run I do pretty regularly and today we did three laps.

- Run 8 Km (5 miles) in 41:20
- Max HR 181 Ave HR 160.
- Pace 5.10 minute Ks (8.30 minute miles)

During the second and third laps I concentrated on picking the pace up a bit which I maintained for a good 1.5 - 2 K on each lap.

The technique felt okay. I felt I was landing more on the front of my foot than in my previous run when I think I was landing too flat footed. The heel lift on landing is coming along and I noticed today that as I pick up speed the heel lift gets a bit higher and I seem to have a bit more spring or bounce in my step. Is that what I'm supposed to feel?

Sunday I have the Round the Bays Fun Run, an 8.2K run along the Auckland Waterfront. There will be 70,000+ people there so it will no doubt be a slow start until the field spreads out. It's a nice run though with a good atmosphere so hopefully we'll get a great day for it.


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Tuesday's Run

After four days of waiting I felt my calfs were ready for me to give them another beating and I headed out for a run today.

Ran a 7.8k (4.85 miles) circuit around my neighborhood. Very strong head winds at certain points (start and end!) of the run made life difficult. Showery too though luckily I only struck one brief shower.

- Time 40:40, 5:21 per k or 8:38 per mile.
- Heart rate was in my comfort zone of 150-160 for much of the run though in the second half I tried pushing it a bit more and HR got into high 160's.

Felt a bit yuk for the first five minutes which I put down to my eating too close to the run plus I downed a glass of sports drink shortly before leaving. Probably need to get the fluids into me a bit sooner, however I was pressed a bit for time so was rushing.

This was my third run in the new Pose Method which I am trialing. Still feeling a little strange and I'm not sure if I've got the landing sussed yet. I seem to be landing with about 70-80% of my weight on the mid foot and 20-30% still on the heel. I think I need to be landing with almost 100% on the mid foot with next to no weight on the heel?

I seem to have the heel lift upon landing sort of figured out as well as the shorter stride length.

I also took my orthotics out of my running shoes today replacing them with a much thinner cushioned insole with no arch support. Dr Nicholas Romanov, inventor of the Pose Method, also advocates running without orthotics so I thought I would try that out also. Didn't seem to notice a huge difference. Shins are a little tender tonight but that's nothing new

My speed does not seem to have suffered at all as today's run was a PB for that circuit.

I could feel my calfs hurting reasonably early on and I suspect I will again be suffering for the next three days again!!

I am doing some of the suggested strengthening exercises for the Pose Method as well as keeping up my regular stretching, hoping that this will help.


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Todays training

No running again today, still have sore calfs after last Fridays run!! Hopefully I will get out tomorrow.

Went for a swim instead. Swam 1,000 meters in about 28 minutes.

I use swimming as a means of cross training as I have been susceptible to shin splints if I run too often. For that reason I only run at the most three times a week body permitting. I will swim once or twice a week as well as at least one bike ride (stationary bike in need).

My one or two swim sessions a week give me a great all round and particularly upper body workout, it ensures I don't become burnt out from too much running and helps to maintain my overall fitness plus adding variety to my exercise programme.

I only really got into swimming regularly around the middle of last year as a means of maintaining my fitness (or more accurately improving fitness) while I took a break from running due to my shins. I wanted to enter the Auckland Half Marathon, which is in October each year, and I needed a way to maintain and improve my fitness while I was not able to run.

I have never been one for swimming and would have to be one of the slowest in the pool. When I started I could hardly put two lengths together. However I found that with just two swims a week I was very quickly able to increase the number of lengths I was doing and within a few weeks I was swimming 20 lengths in a session. I'm still not that fast, however when you're swimming for fitness it's not your speed that matters so much, it's all about time in the pool.

I kept up two swim sessions a week for about two months while I was resting my shins and when it came time to get back into some serious training on the road again, I found that I had lost no speed or stamina for running at all. The fitness I had built up from swimming enabled my to pick up my running as if I had never stopped. I would even say that I was probably stronger and fitter than I had been in years largely due to the swimming I had been doing.

To this day I still swim once a week for at least 20 lengths which takes me about 30 minutes. Being susceptible to ongoing problems with my shins if I run too much, I'm currently limiting my runs to three a week.


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Training update - Week one - March

This last week was a light one running wise.

Mondays run.

- 8k run in approx 42 minutes. Forgot my heart rate monitor so was not able to keep an eye on that.

This run was around the Auckland Domain (three laps of a 2.7k circuit) and is relatively flat apart from only a gradual climb of about 500 meters in one section before descending for a similar distance. I like this circuit for three reasons;

- it is close to my work place so it is just a matter of me putting my running gear on after work and getting out there.
- being a park I can run on grass for most of the run which I like to do when possible to keep from stressing my shins too much.
- being a circuit I can easily pull out early if I need to. Lately I have been getting a numb left foot after about 30 minutes of running but some days that could be after 20 minutes or some days (rarely it seems) not at all.

For this run I decided that I would try out a new method or technique of running that I have just learned a bit about after reading a Blog titled A Passion for Running. The technique is called The Pose Method and essentially it advocates a running style in which you land on the mid foot rather than heel. You have a slightly more forward lean and rather than pushing off with your trailing foot, you concentrate on lifting your foot directly upon landing by using you hamstrings thus almost falling forward. I won't go into any more specifics here because I'm far from an expert, but if you have a history of injuries then I would suggest you check out this method.

I got through the run okay. The Pose Method felt a little strange but I managed to keep it going the whole way just by concentrating on the key points I have picked up so far from their website; shorter stride, landing on mid sole and flicking the heel up immediately on landing.

It felt like I was working harder. I did the same run only a week before two minutes quicker. I'll put that down to just trying out the new method.

Beware of sore calfs though. I had sore calfs right through to Thursday. Apparently this is pretty common for new comers of this method.

Fridays run

- 7.2k in 40 minutes. Max heart rate 171. Ave heart rate 153.

This was a mid day run during my lunch break. It was a hot day and I went on a circuit which takes me a fair distance from work. This run includes a rather long hill climb of about 2k which I found pretty tough in the midday heat and with the new method. The last 2k though is all pretty flat so I finished relatively strongly.

Again very sore calfs all weekend. Maybe I should have delayed taking up the technique until I had completed the suggested strengthening exercises? Guess I'm just eager to get on with it. Started these today though so they should improve soon.

Went for a 20k bike ride on Saturday morning. Slightly under an hour though I was held up by traffic lights more than I usually am so that time could have been a bit better!

Wanted to run today (Sunday) but decided against it because of the calfs. Hope these will have settled down enough by tomorrow for be to get out. I have the Round the Bays fun run next Sunday, an 8 km run around Aucklands Waterfront which attracts over 60,000 runners every year.

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Heart Rate Monitors

Does training with a Heart Rate Monitor really improve performance?

I have been jogging with a monitor for a couple of months now and have found it to be a really interesting and worthwhile training aid. My max heart rate is 185 beats per minute and for building base fitness I need to keep my pulse rate at between 150 & 160. That can be quite a tricky thing to do and I often find that my pulse is up as high as 170 when I'm just out for a light jog.

I went for a light jog this morning however and seemed to struggle to get my pulse up to 150 and then keep it there. I found that I was having to constantly push myself to maintain my pulse in the target range. I went on to record a personal best time for the 6K circuit which I was jogging, which I largely put down to the extra effort I was putting in, in order to try and remain in my target zone.

I definitely believe that training with a Heart Rate Monitor is a great way to monitor the intensity of your training. They provide instant feedback on you intensity levels and provide a motivation to increase the effort when required.

My Heart Rate Monitor is now an essential part of my training and I don't leave home without it.


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8 reasons why you should find a running mate and how it could improve your performance

Sometimes running can be a long and lonely pastime and if you're not feeling on top of it or you're slightly lacking in motivation that's when you can start to skip sessions or take short cuts.

I really enjoy running with others and here's some reasons why I find running with training partners can be a real boost to your training;

1. you will have some company when out pounding the roads.

2. you can challenge each other and therefore push each other to a higher level.

3. you can support and give encouragement to each other if that is needed.

4. it will give you a reason to get out of bed in the cold mornings if you know your mate is waiting for you on the corner.

5. swap ideas on running and what works well for each other.

6. it will likely give you a varied and interesting range of runs.

7. it may help to keep you from getting bored with running.

8. take turns deciding where you will run and what tempo you will be running at. In my group we have turns at being "team leader" and the leader sets the course with often the others having no idea where we will be running or for how long. The anticipation of the run ahead makes for an interesting and fun run. You never know where you might end up!

So get a group of friends or work mates who are keen on running and get out there and challenge each other.

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Training update - week 4 February

I only went for two runs last week. Saturday week ago I went out for an 8k run. I was intending to keep it a pretty low key affair given I had made plans to join some running mates for a hard 10-12Ker on the Monday morning. Well the run was not one of my best.

To start with I had eaten breakfast before the run and did not give this enough time to settle. I just felt really sluggish for much of the run. I should have known better than to eat before my run but at least now I know for next time. It soon became clear that all was not well down below, with my feet and shins. My right shin was sore and my left foot was going numb again but earlier than it usually does. I actually had to walk the last kilometre home which is something I've never done before, but I've now learned from experience that it's not a good idea to continue running on a numb foot.

- Distance run 5.5k in 30 minutes.

My right shin was not settling down so I rested for the next few days before trying another run on Thursday. It was a 8k flat course which enabled me to make it a bit of a speed session;

- Distance run 8k in 40 minutes at average speed of 4.58 minutes per K (excluding stops). I stopped to stretch out my calfs at 30 minutes as the numb foot was coming on.

Other training last week consisted of one swim session in which I swam 1000 metres in about 30 minutes and today I went for bike ride of just over 20K in just over an hour (it's only a mountain bike if that sounds a bit slow!)

I have decided that after the Round the Bays I will take a break from running for about two to three months to try and give these injuries a break. This week I came across a Blog titled A Passion for Running in which the writer explains that he has adopted a style of running called The Pose Method". Essentially it is a method of running which encourages you to land on the balls of your feet rather than your heel and it is said to be more efficient and safer than the traditional heel striking style of running.

It is something that I will investigate further and may yet decide to give it a try when I start up again with a view to again entering the Auckland Half Marathon In October.

My training over the next few weeks will consist only two runs per week leading in to the Round the Bays and then just Swimming and Biking and maybe a small amount of weights.


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