T minus 4 days and counting....

At long last the day of reckoning beckoneth, and Mack the knife, my illustrious surgeon has his steel out and is honing his skills and reading the 'how to fix cartilage' manual.

Seems an age ago when I damaged it, see blogs from further down, yes it was late January!! I guess 4 months is not so bad a wait under the National Health Service.

I should be off for about ten days dear readers (if there are any of you left after such a gap in postings) so will update you once out of the hospital and sat with my leg up watching series repeats of time team and crap in the attic....

Onwards and upwards !! Then comes the long road to recovery, walks first (come on Archie) then back to the gym for some limbering up and weight loss before heading back to the streets to do the next knee in. 4 months of inactivity has increased the muffin top somewhat, ably assisted by a week in Spain and some jolly good dinners...and beer....and brandy...and pudding .... would you like seconds / cheese sir ... oh yes please would be rude not to....

Strut Bro Steve has also had his ankle issues to deal with, how is it now old boy, any chance of updating our adoring public lol

That's it for now, will post next week so you can get the full graphic update

Jimbob

One and a half weeks to go.

Well it's all been a bit quiet on the blog for a while as Steve and Jim have been on their holibobs!  We (and our respective better halves) have been in sunny Spain in the small coastal town of El Campello, and very lovely it was too!  I managed to get out for a few runs whilst away (a couple of three milers and a five miler), going out first thing in the morning and running along the sea-front and around the harbour and Pirate's Tower.  It made a very pleasant change from the streets of Surrey (as pretty as they are!), but it was hot even at 9:30 am, so I wouldn't have liked to run much later in the day.  I also fell foul of the 'Kerrylergy' and so wasn't feeling up to doing too much more than what I did achieve. 
I had my first run back on Blighty soil last night, a gentle three miler, and now I need to crack on with the last few runs before the GWR.  9 days and counting! (S).

Down to earth.

Well that was a mixed bag.  This morning was the inaugural Croydon Half Marathon and the weather was pretty much perfect, bright and dry but not too hot.  However I've not had the best couple of night's sleep leading up to the race and as I toed the start line with my mate Mark from work, I had to admit that I was already feeling tired!  The excitement and anticipation I'd felt at the start in Fleet simply wasn't there today and the thought of the 13.1 miles ahead of me just conjured up a feeling of dread.  Not surprisingly the first four miles were torture!  I was sluggish and disjointed, lungs heaving and sweat pouring off me as I lumbered up the hills.  The hills weren't that bad actually,  but it was just one of those days.  After five miles I made a decision to stop worrying about the time, I had said all along that this was only going to be a training run and once I reconciled that decision in my mind things started to improve almost immediately.  Well, when I say improve I actually mean improve mentally, miles 8, 9 and 11 were actually my worst in terms of time but I actually felt better!  I finished the race in 2:04:22, nine minutes slower than Fleet, but still quicker than all my performances in 2010.  So all in all I have to be pleased with the result, a good training run ahead of the Great West, not too far to travel and a nice medal to boot! (S).

5 weeks to go.

Well I must admit I've been a bit lazy since we've last been together.  Last week finished on the massive total of 9.4 miles, but then it was a post-race week!  I popped out for a quick 3 miler on Thursday and a slightly brisker 6.4 miles on Saturday, which actually went OK. It felt good to be running again and get the old legs moving.  Sunday was due to be a 10 mile LSD but household chores got in the way and I'm afraid the run went out the window.  This weekend sees my second race of the year so this week is another taper week!  This means that I'm not going to be busting a gut in training, and even though I am falling a little behind my "1000 miles in 2011" target I'm not going to worry too much about it.  I've planned an 8 mile steady run tonight, slightly changing and extending my regular 6 mile route, so we'll see how it goes! (S).

6 weeks to go.

Well thank you very much to my brother-in-running for his kind words and to the rest of you who sent congrats!  I am pleased to report that since Sunday I have done exactly zero miles in zero minutes at a pace of 0:00mpm.  It's been feet up time and recovery from the exertions of Fleet.  I know I said about doing a little run last night but to be honest my thighs are still rather sore (walking down stairs smarts a little!) and my left calf is twinging again, so I'm going to leave it another day.  It's only 11 days until the Croydon Half now but I've decided that I'm going to treat it as more of a training run and not worry too much about times etc.  With only six weeks to go until the Great West Run my focus now has to turn to Devon, and as such my training will be geared with that specific race in mind, besides which, whatever happens at Croydon will be a PB for that race anyway!  Laters gaters... (S).

Oh yes he deserves it !!

Oh yes he does!! What a superb time from Strut Brother Steve - under 2 hours and below target, what a result. Red wine obviously does the trick but I don't remember reading that in Running World. You have set the standard now matey, keep it up and don't overdo the training! The sangria is beckoning!

All together now, a big hand for the big fella !! Hip Hip ...........

Go!!!

Well the red wine last night did the trick and once I'd dragged my bloated belly into bed I was pretty much out for the count.  Apart from a brief interlude at about 4am when Kerry was woken by Heston bouncing on her head, which then meant I was woken up too, I slept pretty soundly through to 7:30 when my alarm went off.  I did have one weird dream about getting home from the race without my medal but I put that down to the cheese on the lasagne last night.  Anyway, my darling wife got up with me and made me a delicious breakfast of porridge and fresh coffee before I jumped into the car and headed off to Fleet.  An uneventful hour later I was parked up and strolling towards the Race HQ ready for my first challenge of the year.  I had run Fleet just once before, five years ago, and managed a time of 1:58:30, so my target for this year was based on that.  However being realistic I had calculated my WAVA adjusted time so my goal was 2:03:26.  For those of you who don't know, WAVA is the World Association of Veteran Athletes and running magazines and websites often refer to a "WAVA Rating".  This is a scoring system that takes your age into account, by comparing your race time to that of the world record holder in your age group. It can also be used to compare performances between athletes (or your own performances) of different ages.
Today was bright and crisp, great running weather and I felt really excited as I joined the other 2500 runners preparing for the off.  The course is slightly undulating and after a bit of a pre-amble around the town centre streets we headed out into the glorious Hampshire countryside.  I knew I had to keep below 9:25 a mile to achieve my target time, and after the inevitable slow first mile when the massed ranks begin to spread out and make running at your own pace a bit easier, I was achieving that pace comfortably.  In fact I was clicking along nearer to 9 minute miles so I set my sights on a couple of club runners who seemed to be running well within themselves (they were chatting to each other and not doing impressions of asthmatic ants!) and decided to try and keep up with them for the next few miles.  I had only done a couple of training runs over 8 miles so I knew that would be the telling point, and to be honest miles 9 and 10 were a real slog and I started slowing down and lost my pacers.  However when I reached the 10 mile point I realised that not only was I in with a real chance of beating my goal time but also, if I really put my head down, I may even break the 2 hour mark.  That realisation gave me a bit of a lift and I dug deep and kicked for home.  Mile 11 flew past and by now I was in the groove and passing other runners all the time.  Mile 12 went similarly quickly, even if I was feeling pretty knackered by now, panting like a greyhound and sweating like a carthorse.  As I reached the one mile to go point I realised that not only was "sub two" well within my grasp but my actual 2006 time was there for the taking as well.  Summoning up my last reserves of energy I pushed up the last hill, turning at the top and sprinting (well, relatively speaking) the final 400m, crossing the line in 1:55:25.  That's my second fastest time overall and best WAVA adjusted time ever.  Well chuffed!  I drove home with a big grin on my face and spent the rest of today gorging myself on cake, red wine and a lovely roast pork dinner.  Well I did burn off nearly 2000 calories this morning!
Tomorrow will be a rest day and then I'll go for a gentle recovery run on Tuesday, after all, it's only two weeks to the inaugural Croydon Half Marathon! (S).

Get set...

Not really a blog today as there are no runs to report, but I couldn't resist the temptation, tomorrow is the first race of the year and I'm pretty damned excited about it!  I've just had a massive carbo-loading lasagne dinner, followed by chocolate and biscuits and all washed down with a couple of glasses of red to help me sleep.  It's an early start tomorrow so I'll be heading off to bed soon and will update again after the race.  (S).

On your marks...

So the last couple of taper runs are now done and both went off without too much drama.  Tuesday saw a 3 miler completed in a gentle 28:15 which coincidentally is the pace (9:25mpm) required for my target time for Fleet (more on that later).  Wednesday was a 5 miler that I started deliberately slowly and then picked up the pace for the last two miles.  That saw me round in a comfortable 47:38.  So just a couple of days to go now, so feet up and carbs galore! (S).

Daleks on acid

Well as I lay there I was thinking of you dear readers...how would I blog this strange and peculiar experience? Yes the 30 minute session inside the MRI scanner is complete and what I can only describe as being spoken to by a dalek on acid! A multitude of rhythmic dalek noises of various pitches and strangely mesmeric. I found my ind wandering in the hinterland of madness as it chugged its way around my knee. It was 8am so still slightly groggy from the night's sleep as I had to get up early to get there. A very strange and surreal experience I must say.

So the 'now let's see what is going on in there' phase could be on it's way to be over and the decision of the surgeon, fondly referred to as 'Mack the Knife' awaits. Doesn't fill one with glory does it!! The important thing is that whatever the outcome I will know what the prognosis is and be back on the road to recovery and literally 'back on the road again' running (great Reo Speedwagon song for those who know it).

Steve is doing us both proud with is training, hat's off to you old boy, pardon the pun. Tomorrow sees a day of travelling up to London for meetings; now a crutch on the underground is going to be entertaining I can tell you!

To share a saying totally unconnected to the knee issues I came across this week, and Darren you will like this one. It refers to cultural change in business but you could adapt it for use in any scenario - "You can't talk yourself out of what you behave yourself into". Yes I can hear the cogs turning out there, grinding away, what on earth is he on about. Reflect on it dear readers .... what do your actions say about you and what things do you 'say' that create your reality?  Do you try and talk a good story and 'do' something completely different? Sounds like an invitation to an essay doesn't it?

So yes I may well have completely lost it at last! I will leave it to you to judge ..... woop woop diddly woopdoop....

7 weeks to go.

Blimey, where is the time going?  Well only 7 weeks until the Great West but only one week until my first race of the year, the Fleet Half Marathon on Sunday.  So this week is a taper week, starting with a rest day yesterday and a gentle four miler tonight.  More later... (S).

Not really a blog, if you'll pardon the pun.

I woke up this morning (der der de der, no it's not a blues song) and my left leg felt a bit tight but not too bad.  After a couple of hours pootling around I decided to go for a run and see how it went, and I can report that it went pretty well actually, thank you for asking!  I did 5.5 miles of cross country with little or no adverse reaction so am now set up nicely for next week's tapering before the Fleet Half next Sunday.  So that's Week 10 banked with four runs for a total of  22.74 miles.

Twingey Twingeson.

So my second recovery run was four miles on Wednesday and I'm glad to report that all went well again.  I didn't push it too hard and it was nice to feel that there was plenty left in the tank.  It's going to take a couple of weeks before you start to lose fitness but it was still good to push on for the last mile and be breathing normally within 30 seconds or so after finishing.
I had Thursday as a rest day and then planned my week's long run for Friday as I had the day off work.  After spending the morning glued to the TV watching the awful scenes unfold in Japan, and several hours in the afternoon of DIYing (yes, really!  I'm rebuilding the steps up to our front door, surprising I know!), I finally headed off about 5pm.  I was going to do the whole run cross country, but it was too late and subsequently too dark for that, so after 5 miles across the Downs I came back to the light and finished off the 10.25 miles on the road.  It wasn't fast but I felt good, so with the Fleet Half only a week away I must admit I was a little relieved. However this morning I jumped out of bed a bit too quickly and tweaked my hamstring!  (Ah, I see, another cryptic picture!) DOH!!!  I had to get Mrs. R to rub a load of Deep Heat into the offending part (ooh err!) and now take it easy and see how it is tomorrow!  Laters... (S)

8 weeks to go.

They say that a week is a long time in politics, well let me tell you that when you love your running (almost to the point of obsession according to Mrs. R), then five days out with an injury seems like a bloody lifetime!  But, as the comment posted on my last blog says, patience is indeed a virtue and so as much as I really wanted to get out there at the weekend and test my leg, I resisted the temptation and continued my period of RICE (that's Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation for those of you who weren't aware!).  That meant that last week's total was a rather weeny 8 miles over just two runs, not really the sort of mileage I wanted to be posting two weeks before my first race of the year and enough to put me behind my 1000 miles in 2011 "Fetch" target (Click here for the Fetcheveryone website) .
So on to this week then.  I decided that the payoff for my layoff (ooh I love a bit of alliteration!) was that I would go for a gentle three miler last night, walking the first few minutes to warm my calf up and then to keep it slow. "Please be alright, please be alright!" was the mantra I kept repeating to myself as I progressed along my route and happily I can report that I made it round without major incident!  After my shower I turned the temperature right down as far as it would go and played the ice cold water over my calves, a bit of a shock to the system but apparently good for recovery!  This morning, apart from a few little twinges, my legs feel fine, so I'm going to rest again tonight and do four miles tomorrow.  Until then, Happy Pancake Day! (S)

Sorry Judith!

No real blog, just 'Sorry Judith' ! Sorry but this little chap just cracks me up.....sorry....sorry...

What do you mean I'm not 20 anymore?

So Wednesday came and off I headed on a nice circular route to pick up my car, which I'd left at the pub the previous night, and clock up another seven miles.  I was very mindful of my "leg issues", so started very slowly in an effort to warm up gently.  I even pulled out my long training trousers from the cupboard to give my muscles a bit more protection!  All was going pretty well until about a mile in and that all too familiar dull ache started in my left leg again.  I immediately stopped and gently stretched my legs before continuing on my way.  The stretching seemed to have done the trick and all felt fine for the next five minutes or so, and then the aching started again.  Another stop, another gentle stretch and another five minutes of being alright, before the pain started coming back.  Damn!!!  I was a bit stuck as I had to get my car, which was about the same distance away as my house, so I persevered and carried on with a mixture of running and walking, each time my leg appearing to get better for a few minutes before cramping up again.  This went on for nearly five miles and then the strangest thing happened, the pain seemed to go and I started running freely.  When I got home and checked the Garmin data it showed that whilst I had got increasingly slower as the run went on, "peaking" with mile 5 taking nearly twelve minutes, my last mile (number six) was at 8:37 pace!  Crazy!  I drove home and immediately got my compression leggings on (very sexy!) and put my feet up for the rest of the evening. 
This morning I woke up and swung my legs out of bed with no small amount of trepidation, but actually things weren't too bad.  I have definitely pulled my calf (ahh they cry, so that's what the picture is all about!) so off I toddled to Boots at lunchtime and bought a compression bandage, which of course is nearly as sexy as my Skins leggings!
I'm going to take a few days off now and then see how things are at the weekend, after all it is only just over two weeks until the Fleet Half and I certainly don't want to miss that!  I'm now getting a little taste of Jim's frustration, you want to get out there and run but your body needs you to rest up.  As I'm not a twenty year old anymore (no seriously, I know it's difficult to believe!) it's going to take me longer to heal and recover, but if I'm sensible I may be able to do something this weekend or some time early next week.  Fingers crossed! (S)

Now there be still and no jiggling about!

Ah now then now then now.....we have a date! Tuesday 15th March at 8am and all will be revealed MRI wise!

Physio next Tues may be a waste of time....yes Mr Dalton its still clunking, clonking, grinding, twitching, painful...you know the story.

We will know the result of the Barcelona game by then....

Where have you been.....?

Aha here I am! Tada!! Jim reporting in dear readers with hearty apologies for my absence from the Strut Brother blog. Well hasn't Steve done well, manly backslaps all round, a great running month and what a shame re the 100 mile target. You did the sensible thing and listened to your locking leg...guess who didn't...yup yours truly....
Enough wallowing in self pity I hear you cry! Indeed I agree with you. Sp how is the leg (thankyou for asking lady at the back). I saw the consultant at Frenchay hospital last Wednesday, who's view backed up the physio's that I have damaged the cartilage which will necessitate an op, probably some time late April / early May. Before that an MRI beckons to inform the surgeon what is going on in there. Feels like it is full of marshmallows, clunks, clicks and grinds (squirm) and is still constantly aching.

This was all made worse by Sunday's debacle at Wembley. Let's hope we can do better tonight against the Orient. Sort it Mr Wenger or I will make your leg twitch!

Steve, Theo's out mate its your turn to take to the field!!

9 weeks to go.

So last week finished OK.  I went out on Friday and did the Tadworth Court short course run of 3.63 miles, taking it really steady after Thursday's nightmare and went round in a comfortable 36:12, or 9:57 mpm.  It was much better and my legs felt back to normal.  So far so good.  I then had my weekend off to rest and recover so Week 8 finished on the magic four runs but at a reduced mileage of 21.84.  Today Kerry and I came back from our lovely relaxing weekend in the Cotswolds.  It was going to be the chance to complete the second of my two targets, namely 100 miles in February.  Obviously I hadn't done my weekly LSD so with a goal of 8.75 miles to hit the century I headed out planning to do between 9 and 10, depending on how it went.  Well not very well was the answer.  I was only about a mile and a half in to the run and my lower left leg started really hurting.  It felt like I needed to stretch it out more so I stopped and did some stretches and then carried on.  It did feel a lot better, at first that is, but soon it all just locked solid and was aching badly.  I stretched it out some more and once again it felt better so I pushed on again, hoping that as I warmed up more it would ease itself.  It was pretty cold tonight and it just didn't seem to want to play ball, I got to two and a quarter miles and it locked up again.  That was it, I decided to call it a day and disconsolately walked the mile home.  I'd missed my 100 mile target right at the last gasp and had to be content with finishing February on 93.5 miles, however that was still the most I've ever run in a month so I have to take the  positive from that.  Ironically by the time I got back my leg felt much better but I didn't want to take any risks.  I'm out with my mate Andy tomorrow so let's see how things go on Wednesday. (S)

Hold your horses!

Wooooah there fella!  I think I got a bit carried away in my last post.  Those of you who know me will know that I have a tendency to get a bit obsessed with things and throw myself into them with an all consuming passion.  It's probably an Aries thing.  Anyway, in my headlong charge to achieve the two goals I was talking about in my previous blog entry I forgot the golden rule of running... Thou shalt not over-train!  Tuesday night was a high point in my build-up so far.  I went out and did the new improved 7 miler as a tempo/fartlek run and went round in 1:02:22 which equates to 8:55 mins per mile.  Now I've run under the 9mpm pace before, but it was the first time since 2007 that I'd managed it for a distance as long as that.  So I was well pleased!  Wednesday, not unsurprisingly, I felt a bit sore in the legs and had a rest day.  Last night was due to be another 7 miler but as soon as I started out I knew that it wasn't going to be another speed session.  I felt lethargic and my legs were really heavy.  My calves had been replaced by two blocks of concrete and despite stopping several times to stretch them out they didn't really ever loosen up.  I struggled round to about three miles but it just wasn't happening, I was feeling knackered and wasn't running smoothly at all, so decided to cut my losses and head back home.  I ended up only doing just over four miles and with the stretching and a couple of walking breaks I finished with a 10:46 mins per mile pace, somewhat slower than Tuesday's effort!  It wasn't that I was in any physical pain, more like that I had somebody else's hips and legs on and they didn't fit properly!
When things are going well it is all too easy to push yourself ever harder, to go further and faster, but it is so important that you give your body time to recover from the exertions and rebuild stronger for the next time.  I think last night was just my body asking for me to slow down a bit, I've been running so much more in the last few months and whilst I've been following the 10% max increase rule since the start of 2011, I have to remind myself that I'm not a twenty year old any more!  (For those of you who don't know, the perceived wisdom is that you should not increase your training week on week or month on month by any more than 10%, to give your body a chance to repair, recover and be ready for the increased stresses of the next level of training).  With this in mind tonight's planned seven miler is now going to probably be no more than four miles and then I have Saturday and Sunday as complete rest (in the Cotswolds with my lovely wife!).  That way I will still keep up the four runs a week and depending on what I do on Monday, I still might just get to my 100 miles for the month mark!  Have a great weekend one and all. (S)