Injury & Rehab Update

I'm in week five of the eight week rest and reconditioning period I set myself as I try to overcome the shin splints that have been dogging me for most of my running 'career'.

The last four weeks have seen me biking, aqua running and swimming once a week, with two weight lifting workouts a week also. I'm also stretching and doing strengthening exercises on the muscles around the shin/ankle area.

Occasionally my shin still reminds me that its not 100%, so I know more rest is still needed. Somehow I've bruised my heal however and I think I did this while doing the shin strengthening exercises, one of which involves standing a foot out from a wall on your heals while flexing the fore foot up and down. I'll play it safe and keep clear of that one.

Last weekend while at soccer (which we won 3-0) I was given a prize for referee of the day which entitles me to a months free membership at our local Les Mills gym. What perfect timing I thought. Four more weeks of rehab and I get landed with a one month gym membership!

So I was right in there on Monday morning trying out the elliptical trainer and bike. Tuesday morning I did a Body Pump class and Tuesday night I did a Body Balance class.

Wednesday is my rest day but I'm out of the house and into work early so I can get off early to take Jack's Soccer practice.

All these early starts mean I don't see the boys in the morning and it is amazing how you miss them when you only see them for an hour or so in the evenings before they're in bed. Michelle said the boys really miss me in the mornings too.

So today I went for a swim at lunch time which means I can stay home a bit later and see the boys. It was worth it too as Sam came up and gave me a cuddle this morning and said he loved me. It's really nice to hear them say things like that.

I've only got three more weeks at the gym though and really mornings are the only time I can go (the gym is not near my work so I can't go at lunch time). Evenings are out as that just means I won't see the boys at night. I'll go for two morning workouts a week, plus the Tuesday night Body Balance after they're in bed. That leaves me one early morning weight session in my garage and a swim one lunch time and the weekend bike ride.

As you can see I'm definitely not resting up, I'm just not running!!



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2006 Auckland Half Marathon - Race Report

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Just in case you missed the previous post, I'm posting a belated race report on my maiden half marathon which was back in October 2006. If you did catch the last post , thanks for your patience, here's the report;

After first setting my sights on the Auckland Half 18 months earlier, the day had finally come after much frustration and uncertainty along the way. It was a 6.30am start down at beautiful Devonport on Auckland's North Shore. I was running it with one other work colleague and we caught one of the buses the organisers put on from our local bus station. The bus was full of excited runners and trip to Devonport took about 20-30 minutes dropping us off right by the start. We dropped our bags at the bag drop and headed for the start line.

Memories of the pre start are pretty much limited to the long ques at the portoloos and thinking how are all these people going to make it to the start line in time. I fortunately found a quick moving que however my mate had a longer wait and we of course got separated. I will also remember the images of men standing at the waters edge relieving themselves straight into the harbour in order to avoid the long waits for the portos (I'll also say it wasn't just the men who took the beach over the long waits on land either!).

I took the chance to do a few stretchs while waiting for my mate some 50 meters back and to the side of the start but he was not to show up. The gun went. I was not too worried about starting near the back of the field as I had my race chip and it was the chip time that I would be taking as my race time in any event. Expectations / hopes were for a sub two hour run but I was really thinking that a 1:55 would be a realistic time also.

The course takes us Northwards from Devonport toward Takapuna before crossing the northern motorway and turning south heading for the Harbour Bridge before ending at Victoria Park in the city. It is a predominantly flat course with the only notable climb being the harbour bridge.

So I started near the back and remembering the advice of my more experienced colleagues I just took it pretty slow from the start for the first couple of miles. I soon got into a good steady pace and I was feeling comfortable though the first hour. I don't really know what pace I was running at and I hardly picked up any distance markers either so it was pretty hard to judge how I was doing pace wise. I just had to go on feel and from my training experience in which I usually ran around 5:20 to 5:30 k's. I wasn't consciously running any quicker than I would normally so I was guessing the first 10k would be covered in at worst say 55 minutes.

At around the half way point my left foot was feeling quite numb and I stopped to stretch my calves. I must have lost about five minutes here and I was definitely a little concerned about the time that I was losing and whether the foot would hold up enough to get me across the bridge and to the finish.

I re joined the race, we crossed the motorway, ran past the netball courts and turned south back towards the city. It was comforting to have reached this point knowing that I was now actually getting closer to the finish instead of running away from it.

At around the seven mile point when I looked across and saw my mate I'd been separated from earlier. We ran together for the next mile or so chatting about how we were each holding up. Neil was in good shape and gradually I let go and by the time we got to the bridge I was starting to lose sight of him.

Running over the harbour bridge was an experience. Definitely something that not many people ever get to do. I drive across the bridge virtually every day so the view was nothing new but you certainly get a different perspective. The climb up the bridge would be almost a kilometer and coming at the 14 K mark it was reasonably testing. I had done a fair amount of hill work in training though and got to the top quite comfortably.

The foot was holding up well and though I felt some slight numbness it didn't seem that this was going to be a problem. Down the other side of the bridge and we still had over five k's to go but I knew this area well, it is all flat, and I didn't expect it to pose any problems for me. I was feeling okay and was still running at a comfortable pace that I felt I could sustain.

Coming past the Westhaven marina we had about four K to go and I was starting to try and lift the pace knowing that it would soon be over. I finally saw a distance marker at 19 K and I thought that with only two K to go I could definitely afford to pull out all stops now and put the foot down so to speak. I managed to find some extra speed in the legs. I was passing quite a few runners at this point and still feeling okay. I eventually ran out of gas with around 500 meters to go, slowing to a jog but by that stage I was just soaking up the atmosphere of the finish and thinking to myself that I had made it.

It was a sweet feeling and the relief was enormous. I had put so much time and effort into preparing for this and as I was rounding the last corner near the finish my emotions almost overcame me as I realised I had accomplished something that had for so often seemed so far away.

I was very happy and a bit surprised with my time of 1:49. Had it not been for a stop to stretch it could easily have been sub 1:45.

Here's the finishing shots.




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2006 Auckland Half Marathon - The Build Up

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If you're a bit confused by the title for this post, don't be. I'm taking the opportunity while on this enforced injury break to write a report on my first ever race, the 2006 Auckland Half Marathon held last October, before all memories of it are long forgotten.

To set the scene I will first go back even further to mid 2005 when the thought of running the half was first mentioned by some enthusiastic lunch time runners I work with. There was a group of four or five of us who took up the challenge and even though I was in no shape back then to even be contemplating a half as I was the youngest I thought I would look pretty soft if I didn't accept the challenge.

I trained for several months before succumbing to the dreaded shin splints thus I failed to make the start line in 05. I did end up carrying the drinks however and it was hugely motivating watching all the finishers and I was even more determined that I would make the start line in 06.

In 2006 I had more time to prepare and my base fitness was generally way better than a year earlier. After two or three months of training the shin pain was still hanging around and rather than just give in to it as I had the previous year, this time I sought out some advice and treatment. My pyhsio gave me a range of stretches to do to improve my flexibility which I still do to this day. I also saw a podiatrist and got some custom fitted orthotic insoles. I took a four week break to rest the shins during which time I kept up my fitness with swimming and biking. It's amazing how effective these activities are for maintaining ones fitness when you can't run.

Six weeks out from the half I was back running. It was a quick fire six week half marathon training programme which involved a four week build up phase followed by a two week taper. At the end of week four I successfully completed a 19k (11.8 mile) run in 1:33 and at that point I was confident that I would make this distance.

I was still just running three days a week and combining that with one swim a week as well as a bike ride some weeks too.

The shins were holding up nicely but around this time I started to experience the other issue that still frustrates me today, the numb foot after about 30 minutes of running. Back then it didn't seem to be every run so I was never quite sure when this thing would pop up.

However, I was now certain that I could make it to the half and I was ready for the big day.

Stay tuned for the Race Report.


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Sam's Birthday

Here's some shots from Sam's fourth birthday party yesterday.



The kids loved the bouncy castle we hired from this place. It was great entertainment for the kids. We were so lucky with the weather as only 36 hours beforehand we had a big storm come through with winds approaching 200 kph in parts of the region. Fortunately all that we last was a lemon tree.



Sam has been counting down the days with much excitement for about the last ten days. He would proudly come out of his bedroom each morning announcing how many more sleeps till his birthday. He's so excited to be a big four year old now. It must be a big thing for a kid to no longer be a little three year old!



After the party we had a relaxing afternoon at home, putting together all the new lego. We ended the day by deciding to go out for a meal to our local Speights Ale House. The boys ordered fish and chips and by the time Sam had finished his all he wanted to do was sleep. We were not even half way through our meals and Sam was asleep in Michelle's arms. It was enough for Michelle to shed a tear or two as she could not believe her baby was now a big four year old.

Here's one more shot of the boys that I love. Jack had a crazy hair day for the last day of the school term the other week and Sam thought he would join in the fun. Jack's fat lip is the result of a collision at school with another kid.



Week three of my recovery programme as been a little uneventful. I missed my Thursday aqua running session due to the party and then decided on a sleep in this morning rather than my weights, opting to make up for it with the aqua running at lunch time today.

Looks like it will be a frosty start to the morning for Jack's Soccer tomorrow.

Happy running, have good weekend.

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No Running, Just Golfing

With still no running to write about the blog is turning into a bit of a multi sport blog rather than a running blog.

Played golf today at the Howick Golf Club, which would have to rate as one of the most scenic courses in the city with it's panoramic views out over the Hauraki Gulf. The weather today was cool but fine and the views on offer when we got out to the top of the course, including Rangitoto and across to Waiheke Island, certainly make this golf course an attractive one to visit.

We've had a lot of rain here in the last three weeks and I got to the course this morning to be told that there were no trundlers allowed because of the very wet course conditions. My mind quickly turned to how I was going to lug my full sized bag around particularly as I do not carry the shoulder strap with me.

It all worked out fine. I ended up shooting 89 which was one over my handicap.

I quickly worked out a very economical way of carrying the bag which involved basically hoisting it to the top of my back laying it across my shoulders. while holding the straps at the base and top of the bag.

Overall my putting is what got me through today. Driving was okay with some good straight drives but also some sliced, chipping was pretty solid most of the day. Long to medium irons is where I struggled today, but generally recovered through a good chip or putt.

The reconditioning programme has gone well this week again not missing a workout.

Have a good week.

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Alinghi too good for Team New Zealand

I've got nothing really to say about running at present so bare with me while I dwell on Emirates Team New Zealand's loss in the Americas Cup this week.

If anyone hasn't yet seen the stunning finish of the final Americas Cup race off Valencia held on Tuesday then this clip is a must view. Alinghi's winning margin of one second was the narrowest margin in Americas Cup history and it took Alinghi to 5 -2 in the best of nine series. Many commentators considered this Cup to be the most exciting and toughest fought Americas Cup match since Australia 3 took the cup off the New York Yacht Club in 1983.

As hard as it is for me to admit, the Emirates Team New Zealand crew were out sailed by a better crew and ALinghi were the deserved winners of the Cup. Dean Barker and his crew led at various stages in five of the seven races however through a combination of bad luck and poor decision making, including a disastrous lapse in judgement leading to the penalty they copped in the final race, they let slip the last four races to go down 5-2 having led the series early on by two races to one.

The Americas Cup is however in many New Zealander's blood now, and the team has already confirmed that they will be back to challenge for the cup again which could be as soon as 2009.




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Week one done.

Week one of my eight week reconditioning programme is done and dusted. Pleased to say it went just as planned. No problems missing workouts as I had the previous week. I guess actually having a routine is a great motivator in itself as just by merely creating it you have made a commitment to yourself.

The muscles were a bit sore throughout the week adjusting to the resistance training which they have seen little of in the past six months. I'll continue to take it easy with the weights this week until they get used to the training again.

This week I'm off down country for two days on business and will be over nighting tomorrow in Rotorua, or as we kiwis say Rotovegas given it's attraction to tourists. I'll take some work-out clothes with me and make good use of the Hotels gym facilities.

Our wet winter continued on this weekend and Soccer was again cancelled for the second week in a row. Kids are on holiday now for two weeks and are looking forward to their grandmother coming to stay next week as well Sam's 4th birthday party.

Have a good week.




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