Self Massage could be the Answer

I've been trying out self massage on my calfs for the last week to try and loosen them up. I'm hoping it might just be the solution to my problems of calf tightness and shin splints.

I'm massaging them daily for about ten minutes each, quite firmly along the whole length of the calf and hard against my shin. I've already noticed some improvement in with my sore shin.

Last week I went for three run/walks of only about a mile each. This week I'll step the distance up slightly and also increase the time running vs walking. I've been here before though so I know not to be in a rush when it comes to increasing my distances too fast.

I know that I've got many years of running left in me once I fix this so rather than feeling like I'm missing out on valuable training time or being robbed of race opportunities, I'm taking the approach that time is my friend and whether it takes one, six or twelve months to get over the shin splints, there is going to be ample time when I am fit to train hard and race.

So if you haven't tried it before and you have a few niggling injuries you want to get rid of, give self massage try, or better yet if you have a willing better half you could always bug them! (my better half is usually too rapt up in Grey's Anatomy, Men in Trees, or Desperate Housewives to be interested in giving my legs the attention they need).

Have a good week.

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Still on the Road to Recovery

It's hard to believe that we have been back from our North American vacation for a over a month now. Time does pass quickly doesn't it , though the fond memories from our trip won't be easily forgotten.

This last month I have been slow to get back into any type of physical activity. I still sense that my shin and foot are not totally right so rather than rush back into any type of training I've taken my time to decide on what my next step will be towards getting me back running.

The time I've had away from running (over three months now) has re affirmed to me the enjoyment that I do get from running and I would so much like to be out there, but somehow I need to figure out a way to put these injuries behind me.

I was reading some stuff online last night about treating and preventing shin splints (or more correctly Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome) and it was encouraging to read that it is possible according to experts to fully recover from this cruel injury. Sometimes over the past few years I have doubted that and wondered whether I just don't have a body made for running?

There is so much stuff on line covering shin splints that sometimes you wonder whether the so called experts even know the true cause. Some seem to think that an exaggerated pronation of the foot is the chief cause others say it's an over use injury brought on by too rapid an increase in mileage etc.

Truth is there does seem to be a multitude of factors that can contribute to shin problems and I just need to find out which ones are relevant to me.

What I do know is this;

- I have always had very tight calf muscles and achilles.
- I have generally been inflexible from feet through to hamstrings / glutes etc
- I have and some muscle imbalances which needed strengthening.
- I have not had the best running form.

It seems to make sense that these factors are the main ones that will be causing my shin problems. I don't think I have overly flat feet which would encourage excessive pronation and the last podiatrist I visited did not think I pronated extraordinarily so while I may always need a stability shoe I don't think over pronation is a main cause.

So to enable me to get back on on the road (well grass firstly) I need to continue working on stretching and strengthening my feet, calves and legs. For the next few weeks that's what I'm concentrating on.

For the next month I'm going to try and run/walk one or two miles twice a week on grass just so the legs don't forget what running is all about and also just to try and not lose too much fitness. I haven't done any swimming for three months either nor biking so my fitness will have dropped bit.

Something I picked up in my reading last night about running technique was that over striding can be a factor also. This leads to an excessive heal strike and 'slapping' of the fore foot and over use of the tibialis muscle. So in my short run/work workouts I will be also concentrating on good form and short strides.

Another treatment I picked up on was regular self massage of the calf muscles to loosen them up. This is something I haven't really tried too much of before though I have heard of it working for others. It's got to be worth a try.

Happy running.




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What will 2008 Bring?

Happy new year to everyone, hope you've managed to get a good break in.

This time of the year always seems to be the time people like set their goals for the year ahead doesn't it. I've never really been one for new years resolutions as such, though I do believe in having an idea of what goals you want to achieve and I guess now is as good a time as any set re assess where I'm going and what I would like to get out of 2008.

I'm not going to sit here and write that this year will be the year I'm going to run a marathon and that I'm going to do this and that. Off course I would love to run a marathon as well as a number of smaller races.

The one major running goal I have for 2008 is to just get and stay injury free. If I can do that then the races will follow, of that I'm sure.

That may sound to some like it's far too non specific and that I'm afraid of commitment or that I'm not backing myself enough to just say I'm going to run a marathon no matter what. That could partly be the case but the way I see it until I can get to a level where I'm able to maintain a regular training programme without breaking down every three or four months then I see no sense in setting race orientated goals.

I know from looking back at my numbers from 2007, there is a lot of room for improvement and that will also be a goal for this year, to add to those numbers. Again if I can stay injury free then I should have no trouble surpassing 2007.

A marathon remains long term goal and one that I will strive for but whether it will be this year, or next or in five years, I can't say.

This week I have had just the one run , on Monday a 3.3 mile , 30 minute jog around the Auckland Domain. As I said in the last post, the shin has started to cause me some more discomfort and I was tempted to pull out after the first of my planned two laps. As most of you will know, we runners never like to pull the pin half way through a run so I soldiered on and completed the planned 30 minutes.

I was due another run yesterday but choose the sensible option of another days rest. I was a bit down yesterday as a result, but I'm pleased to say that the rest seems to have done the trick and it is feeling better. With a family holiday planned for next week to Nelson I was thinking about taking the week off running to give the shin an extended break.

I'm sure you will agree that it's no easy decision, knowing when to take a break or to push ahead with the training, especially as next week was supposed to be week three of my Rotorua Half Marathon training schedule. I might try and fit a run in tomorrow and see how it holds up. I will be taking my runners anyway so wish me luck.

Later.



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Heading to America.

I've been a bit slack lately updating the blog and getting around to all yours. The reason for the slackness is that much of my computer time lately has been taken up by surfing the travel pages and hotel guides planning for our family holiday to the States and Canada which is happening next April.

This will be the first major trip my wife Michelle and I have done overseas, apart from crossing the Tasman to Aussie or up to Fiji. It's also of course the first major trip for the boys. All up we will be away for a month so it will be pretty big for us.

Part of the trip is to visit Michelle's parents who are in the States currently travelling in their RV. They left six weeks ago will be away for about 16 months all up. We will be meeting them in Vancouver at the start of the trip and spending five days with them there, before Michelle and I head down to the Las Vegas region for five days on our own. From there is back up to Vancouver for a few more days before saying farewell to M's parents and heading across to the Rocky Mountains and down to Calgary. We then jump on a flight to San Francisco for three days and then head down to LA via Yosemite. It's a pretty jam packed itinerary and only hope we can hack the pace. Here's my Yahoo Travel Planner if you're interested in the detail.

We've have got all the major stuff sorted like airfares and accommodation in the major cities. A few weeks ago I booked us a rim side cabin at the Grand Canyon but what was harder still was trying to find some accommodation at Yosemite National Park, and we're not even travelling in peak season. Finally we have decided on a motel about an hour out of the park in Oakhurst. It will make for a long day travelling from SF that morning but at least we will already be out of the National Park and ready for the next leg of the trip the next morning.

Recently I thought I would look into what the April temperatures are in places like the Grand Canyon and Utah. I was thinking like yeah it's spring time it should be quite mild. Then I find out the lows are still in the minuses (C) at that time of the year! I'll be making sure we pack heaps of warm cloths thats for sure.

Next on the list of things to organise are some B&B's in places like Jasper and Banff. We're not sure about booking anywhere in Utah and California and may just wing it and see what we find depending on where we end up.

How's the running going?

I had my check up with the physio last week after successfully completing my scheduled 50 minute run. She's happy with the progress and as said to keep slowly building up and to maintain my strengthening and stretching. She's got me doing these calf raises on the edge of a step, one legged. I have hold a weight (7kg) in one hand, rise quickly onto ball of my foot and then drop slowly and controlled to a count of ten. I do two sets to failure. As a variation of the stretching she also said to stretch on the step again by standing on the edge one foot at a time lowering my heel both with a straight leg and then bent.

I raised the numb foot/pins & needles thing and she thought this could be a case of Compartment Syndrome. On the 50 minute run I somehow managed to stave off the numbness for 40-45 minutes before stopping to stretch. I was taking smaller strides so I will work on that and hopefully that will help. Will just have to keep an eye on tha one. With the continued strengthening and stretching hopefully this will pass. I've also booked a sports massage with a massage therapist at the Millennium Sports Institute to work on loosening up the calfs /legs some more. I've never had a deep tissue massage before so this should be an experience!

Last weeks numbers;

Monday - 44 minutes
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - 50 Minutes
Thursday - Bikram Yoga
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 35 Minutes

This week is a cut back with three runs of 25, 30 and 35 minutes planned. Still taking walking break for one minute after every ten of running this week.

I know I've still got a long way to go but I have already had a look at a race calender and can see a Half Marathon in Auckland on March 2 and the Rotorua Half on March 16. Rotorua would fit perfectly before we head off for our trip wouldn't it?

Have a great week.



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Still Running Six Weeks On!

I'm into the sixth week of my return to running after a four month break to rest and rehabilitate my ongoing nemesis, shin splints. I'm quite pleased with my progress to date and must admit to being a little surprised to have not having suffered a recurrence yet.

I guess after putting up with them for so long and having given in to them on several occasions before I was probably conditioned to the prospect of the shin splints again getting the better of me.

I'm certain the fact that I am still out there running is thanks to the work I've been doing during my time off from running;

- I've maintained regular stretching and strengthening of the calfs and feet.
- took a weekly Bikram Yoga class
- studied what I believe to be a safer running technique in Chi Running (which whilst I haven't fully converted to, I've taken some key points on board).

I've also tried to maintain my fitness through swimming and water running so the eventual come back to running was not such a shock to my system.

I also sought professional advice and was boosted when the Physiotherapist and Podiatrist gave me the all clear to commence training again. After all they're suppose to be the experts right and if they say its okay to train then who am I to question them.

As I said in my last post, I still get some aching in the shin here and there but it doesn't seem to bother me when I'm running which is the most important thing. My only lingering doubt is that as I gradually look to increase my distances the lingering pain will worsen and gradually interrupt my running.

I'm doing everything I can to try and make sure that doesn't happen;

- I've adopted a slow build up utilising the run/walk method,
- Small increases in weekly distances
- Shoes have been given the okay
- Icing

I can only hope that Ewen's comment that the shin splints will gradually dissappear is correct, or maybe as Tesso suggests, I just need to stop thinking about them so much?

Here's the numbers for last week;

Monday - Swim 1000 m
Tuesday - Run /walk 28 minutes
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Run/walk 32 minutes
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Run/Walk 36 Minutes
Sunday - Rest / Golf (Shot 94 at Formosa and it was a rest as I took a golf cart)
Today - Run/walk 40 minutes.

Today's run was walking one minute running nine x 4.

The plan for the next ten days is to build up to a 50 minute run which the Physio wanted me to complete before our next meeting, next Wednesday.

Therefore the plan is something like this;

Wednesday 30 minutes
Saturday 36 minutes
Monday 42 Minutes
Wednesday 50 minutes

As you can see, I've not recorded any distances above as I'm not really interested in distance at present, its all about time. I would guess I'm running on average mid 5's to 6 minute Ks.

If I can get through the next ten days then it might be time for a cut back week as it would have been seven whole weeks of building up.

Wish me luck.



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Run, Walk, Run

Last week I has my appointment with the Podiatrist. My shin seemed to be taking soooo long to come right I just wanted to get a 3rd (Podiatrists) opinion.

Apparently I have a pretty neutral foot position when standing and a mild to healthy amount of pronation (some pronation is good apparently!).

I took along the Chi Running book I'm reading as I wanted to get his thoughts on that subject too. He had heard about it, and Pose Method also, an in fact referred me to an interesting Sports Science Blog which debates the whole topic very thoroughly.

While he understands that these methods work for some people, he wants to see me retain a heel striking / toe off gait, which off course is the total opposite of what Chi Running is about. How's that for successfully managing to put myself in a conflicting situation then!

He picked up that I'm tight in the calf and Achilles region though was happy with my hamstrings. Orthotics could be an option still on the table but before trying those again he has given me some heel pads which slip in under the inner of my running shoe. These just raise my heel about 6-8 mm and take some of the pressure off caused by the tight Achilles. The good thing is though he thinks my shoes are okay.

He's given me the okay to start some gentle running to see how these things go. Therefore yesterday a went out for a 15 minute run/walk in which I ran for a minute then walked for a minute etc. Its the programme suggested by Mark in this article. It's real back to basics stuff, but I guess anything is something and I don't want to repeat past mistakes of too much too soon.

If it goes well it won't be too many more weeks before I'm running a respectable distance. I must admit to having some apprehension about how long I will last though. The shin pain is still hanging around and I can't really see how starting to run while this still hangs around will be of any good. Shouldn't I be holding off till I don't feel any pain? The Podiatrist didn't seem to think so and is keen to start a slow build up. I have had three months off after all, how much longer do you stay on the sidelines?

So the run felt okay. The danger of reading too much though is that you have too many thoughts floating around in your head on all different matter of techniques and focuses. Hence the run was one of constantly reminding myself of the different focuses I've been reading about but at the same time try for the heel toe gait the Podiatrist is looking for.

I'll have three more run/walks this week then report back to the Podiatrist with my progress. Another Physio appointment booked for next week to go over any other stretching / exercises I could be doing.

Have a good week.



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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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Reconditioning and Strenthening Programme

Here's the training programme I've decided on to recondition and strengthen whilst taking time off running to beat the shin splints. This will be an eight week programme with a view to having me out running again by September.

Monday
Swimming 30-40 minutes

Tuesday
Resistance training (weights).

If you've ever attended a Les Mills Bodypump Class then basically that is what I'm doing in my garage with the music blaring from the cars CD (well not blaring as I'm doing this from 5.30 to 6.30 in the morning).

If you don't know what Bodypump class is, click here.

Wednesday Rest - Coaching Jack's Soccer team.

Thursday Deep water aqua running - 30 minutes

Friday Weight training.

Moderate weights 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps, two exercises for the larger body parts,
one for the smaller parts per body part 10-15 reps.

Alternating each week between these two work outs;

Workout 1
Quads, Shoulders, Biceps, Calfs, Abs/core

Workout 2
Chest, Back, Hamstrings, Triceps, Calfs, Abs/core

Saturday/Sunday

Bike ride - 60 minutes.

In addition to the above I'm continuing with 30 minutes of stretching each night.

Also I just found a bunch of new exercises at www.pponline.co.uk specific for treating shin splints. This website could well be the most informative sports training website on the Internet. It's a virtual online encyclopedia full of articles on all sorts of sports, training tips, injury prevention tips and much more.

Here's the shin/ankle strengthening exercises I'm doing.


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Facing Reality, Kids Soccer, Well done Canada

I said a week or two ago that I was in two minds about whether I should keep running or take another lay off to rest and recover from my ongoing shin splint troubles. I decided on giving myself three weeks to see if I could shake of the shin splints with some light running over short distances, in addition to my ongoing stretching.

This last week the shin made my mind up for me and now I'm facing the reality of another lay off. This time I'm thinking I'll just take an extended break of maybe six to eight weeks rest, while at the same time continuing with other forms of cross training and strengthening work to hopefully enable me to come back fitter and stronger.

The week started with a 7.7 km (4.8 mile) easy run at around 5:30 pace. Right from early on the shin was feeling a little sorer than it has been in the recent outings. The other common nuisance of mine, the numb foot, also reappeared at about the 30 minute stage again to add to my problems.

Two days later I was taking to the roads again, but I pulled the pin within minutes as the shin was just too sore. I could not imagine that I would be doing myself any favours by continuing on. I new then and there that my time was up and that I would again be confined to the pool or the bike.

I need to figure out some sort of training routine over the next few days or week, that will get me back onto the roads by September. As much as I find swimming to be a drag, I'll fit in one swim a week, one session aqua running, one or two bike rides. I would also like to start some weight training again (weights have been sitting untouched in the garage for months). I keep reading that Yoga is good for assisting runners with their flexibility, so I need to look into that as well.

On the family front, we have all been crook this weekend, Jack as had a cold for several days now, then yesterday Sam , Michelle and I all come down with a stomach bug. Fortunately while we were still not 100% today the worst is over.

It also seems to be the season for birthday parties. I took Sam to a friends 4th birthday this morning and Jack to his mate's 6th birthday this afternoon. Next weekend they are both off to another party each. Theirs come up in July and August and the planning has already started. A bouncy castle on the front lawn apparently?

Jack's soccer is going well. The team has a record from their eight games so far this season of two wins, three draws and four losses. Yesterdays result was a 0-1 loss with the opposition scoring in the final minute of the game. Our team is a mixture of kids who have good amount of skill to those that just want to get their foot on the ball no matter what direction it goes, to some that show little interest and spend half the game in a day dream. Jack is not our most skilled player, but he tries hard and he enjoys it. The challenge is to get the kids to play in some sort of formation and think about playing as a team and looking for a fellow team member to pass to if they are in a better position. We keep on practicing this and slowly we are getting there.

Finally, well done to the Canadian Rugby team who put on a brave showing against the All Blacks last night in Hamilton. The All Blacks were the victors by 64-13 but given many in the media were predicting a 100 point spread Canada did well to limit it to half that.



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To Run or not to Run?

Thanks to everyone for the well meaning advice concerning my shin splint problems. I really appreciate it. I must admit I'm still a bit in two minds about where to from here.

Several of you including Eric and Phil suggest a longer break from running might be needed followed by a slow and gradual transition from walking then to running, others including Ewen, and my Podiatrist is even of this opinion, that a little running now should be okay so long as I don't increase the mileage too fast too soon.

In fact the Podiatrist commented yesterday was that a little soreness once I've started back running after a lay off is not unexpected as the muscle gets used to me running again? I explained to him that the soreness was nothing major during the running but just the usual aching afterwards. He seemed happy for me to continue running three times a week but to keep the runs to about 30 minutes at this stage for the next few weeks.

Therefore this is what I've decided;

- I'm going to keep running three times a week, around four to five miles each run for the next three weeks.

- I'm doing a range of stretches and strengthening exercises every night for about 30 minutes to work on increasing my flexibility and muscle strength.

- I'll keep icing the shin when needed but particularly after each run.

I'll reassess things at the end of June and see where we go from there. If there is no improvement then I might seriously need to take Eric and Phil's advice and take a decent amount of time off. As people rightly have pointed out I've got plenty of time ahead of me to reach my goal of one day being in a position to run a marathon. If I need to take some more time off I will but first I want to give it one more shot at overcoming this while still keeping up some running.

Thanks again.


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Starting Over

I've been thinking some more about when I'm going to start running again and also about what sort of mileage I should run when I start over.

The shins have still been niggling me at times over the last week so naturally I'm a bit gun shy about taking to the road again in case it is too early and I end up incurring the same old problem. I've therefore put my come back run back one week just to be safe. By that stage it would have been three weeks rest from running and I will just have to get out there and see how it goes.

I came across a website the other day called marathontraining.com. It's a site full of useful information for runners of all experience levels, however it is chock full of information for first time marathoners or those training for their first full marathon.

Given my current shin splint problem, I was particularly interested in the page on minimising injuries. The key thing I picked up from that page was something called the 10% rule which states that your weekly mileage should not increase by more than 10% and the distance of your weekly long run should also not increase by more than 10%.

I had heard of this rule previously as I'm sure most readers probably have also. I never really paid much attention to it though. I was just looking back in my log at the training I did in the lead up to my first half marathon last October. I trained for that with just six weeks of running as prior to that I was out with the shin splints. The biggest weeks of those six were weeks four and five when I ran 23 miles for the week. The problem has more or less been with me since then and I have managed it through regular icing and only running a maximum of three days a week. Long term though that doesn't seem too healthy and as my Podiatrist said, my aim should be to get to the stage where I'm running pain free.

Maybe way back in October is where the current shin problem has stemmed from. I just came back too fast in trying to make the start line for the Half instead of going for a slow buildup. That said, I'm glad I did the Half and got that first one out of the way, but maybe I just shouldn't have waited until now to take a break.

So from next week, I'll be rigidly following the Milage Buildup Schedule from the marathontraining.com site. This will ensure a gradual buildup in milage thus avoiding any chance of again falling into the trap of doing too much too soon.

All going well the 10 k races I wanted to do next month will still be doable, we'll wait and see about the Half in July though.

Happy running




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Missing Running and a meeting with Dean Karnazes

I suppose I'm going through what every runner has at some point. That is experiencing the frustration of not being able to run through injury or illness. It's ten days now since my Podiatrist said to take a two week break to rest my Shin Splints and while I'm not the sort of person to let those frustrations show outwardly, it's just a feeling on the inside that a part of you wants to get out and run. I know though that if I'm to improve longer term this is something I have to work through.

I'm also a little concerned that two weeks might not be enough rest. We had practice last night for Jack's Soccer team. The practice went for about 45 minutes or so and afterwards my shin was almost as sore as it would have been after a run, and that was just after running a kids Soccer practice!

I went to the pool on Tuesday intending on a 1500 meter swim, but only managed about half that before I called it quits. The motivation just wasn't there on the day and I used the excuse of leaking goggles to call it a day. Is that weak or what!

I was back at the pool today and tried some Aqua Jogging as suggested by Ewen last week. I went in the deep water and used a vest unlike my last dabble with this activity which I found to be a bit of a waste of time. Today whilst I certainly felt in a bit more in the legs it still wasn't the cardio workout that I feel I need. I ended up doing about 15 minutes of Aqua Jogging before I reverted to the lanes and swam a good 700 meters. The swim felt good and no problems with leaking goggles today.

Tomorrow moring I'll get up early and jump on the exercyle for 40 minutes or so.

Mike raised a good point about not repeating mistakes of my past. I can't help wondering if I'm being a bit optimistic by wanting to build up to a half marathon in just eight weeks of training (that's if I can start up next week). May be I should flag the half and just go for a more gradual increase in mileage building the to Auckland Half Marathon in October.

This weekend ultra runner Dean Karnazes, the man who famously ran 50 marathons in 50 days, is in Auckland as part of his down-under tour. I thought I would pop along to hear him speak. I don't know too much about Dean, other than his 50 marathons in 50 days thing, so I would be interested to hear any stories or comments from other RBF members who may have had the chance to meet and/or run with him.




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Halt all Running

I thought it about time that I seek some medical advice about my ongoing shin pain and numb foot, so I visited a sports podiatrist on Monday to see if we could get to the bottom of these problems.

After all the usual back ground questions, inspection of the feet, exercises, and jogging up and down his office/gym with him carefully watching my style, he eventually gave me his plan to get me out running again, pain free ... two weeks rest from all running, lots of ice followed by self massage of the shin with Anti-Flamme and stretching.

I guess I was half expecting that news. I know deep down that the shin pain is not going to go away unless I take some action and give them a decent rest. It is a little annoying, but I'm not totally gutted because I know that it's for the best longer term and that if I stick to the icing & stretching then I have a good chance of coming back a stronger runner.

The other thing the Podiatrist has said to do is to go without the orthotic insoles. Did you ever here of a Podiatrist saying such a thing? He reckons my gait and pronation is not overly bad and that the orthotic together with my structured/control shoe (Adidas Adistar) is too much. I'm even to take out the cushioning insole I had been alternating with and go back to the standard flimsy insole which came with the shoes.

On to the numb foot. The Podiatrist thinks this could be caused by a medical condition known as Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome. Basically the numbness is brought on by the compression of a nerve in the ankle/foot brought on in my case through running. Hopefully rest will also account for this but we will wait and see on that one.

In the mean time I'm restricted to swimming and biking to maintain my fitness. Swimming is something that I do get a bit bored with and I literally had to drag myself down to the pool yesterday. Once in the water though I got stuck in, swimming 1100 meters in 32 minutes (is that slow or what!). The plan over the next two weeks will be to both swim and bike twice a week. One bike ride will be on the road one on the stationary bike.

My comeback run will be May 23. I'll just be starting out lightly for the first two weeks, gradually building up to five or six miles over that time. All going well, that will leave me with six weeks until the Run Auckland Half Marathon on July 15.

My 12 week plan will therefore become a six week plan! It sounds short I know, but I prepared for my first Half last year with only six to eight weeks of decent training so I know I can do it. The one slight concern might be that I would be increasing my mileage too fast and could therefore be risking the shin again?

Happy Running!

P.S. Hope you like the new colours.


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