Another week dominated by swimming, riding, resting & eating (!) with a touch of running thrown in!
Monday, it was back to the gym after work for the usual session followed by a scenic 1.5k swim. Tuesday morning I was up at 4.45 for a steady ride on Apollo in front of the telly for 40mins at 75-80% MHR with a 5mins w/u & c/d. Wednesday night it was back to the gym. I had intended to do an upper body weights session but ran out of time due to dinner plans so I only got through my usual (physio-ordered) session.
Thursday I went back to the physio at lunch. Good news is that I'm allowed to run for - wait for it - 3mins on a treadmill 3 times p/week for the next two weeks. There is still a slight niggle in my hip when I run but it seems to be decreasing with each session. The goal now for the next 4 - 6 weeks is to focus purely on my biomechanics & form when I run - keeping my pelvis tucked under & my core switched on. Then - fingers crossed - I'll get the ok to start building the distance again (slowly). I think it's almost 8 weeks since I last went out for a run. I wasn't really missing running until I found myself a new goal race :-)
Saturday, after a sleep-in, some time on the couch reading the papers & lunch with my mum, it was off to the gym for the usual session (including a 3mins run!) followed by a 2k swim.
Today, after a late night watching the Athletics, I headed off with Apollo to the M7 bike path for a 70mins ride which turned out to be particularly scenic ;-) Felt very flat towards the end though I suspect it was due to dehydration.
A big week of training ahead before R & I head up to the Hunter Valley after work on Friday for the weekend for a family wedding. Unless I get my long ride in during the week (or convince myself I'll get it done when I come home on Sunday night) I suspect Apollo will be coming along for the drive.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Bunnies & angels
Well in the end I decided discretion was better than stoopidity so I didn't ski or snowboard on the weekend - but I did have lots of fun - and food :-)
Friday, August 17, 2007
These days turned out nothing like I had planned...
I had another wonderful weekend last weekend. On Saturday, after asleep-in & lounging on the couch reading the papers, I did 70mins on Apollo as planned before later in the afternoon heading in with R to pick Owly up, and then drop in & chat to Ellie before arriving at Chez Lulu ahead of evening of pizza, wine & catching up with some of my favourite people.
After everyone headed off to the start of C2S on Sunday morning, I walked down to Bondi, bought the papers & sat in one of the cafes on the south side of Bondi overlooking the water & had a lovely & leisurely breakfast. About an hour, breakfast, 2 coffees & 2 newspapers later, I walked down (up?) to the northern end of the beach to meet the rest of the cheersquad. A few memorable moments - though I could really have done without seeing 3 Borat's in, um, full flight though. Ick. After the race it was off to the pub to catch up with everyone & admire and covet a few nice shiny buckles ;-)
A swim (1.25k), laziness, chocolate souffle, tiredness & other 'stuff' (including of course my glute/core stuff) have been the order of this week. I sat down on Wednesday & wrote out a rough outline of a program (it still needs a few details) so I actually have some degree of structure to my training as opposed to my current 'whatever mood takes me' approach - particularly given that it will be some months before I am running long again. The program however somewhat resembles a program that a triathlete might have - well, except for the lack of running ;-)
Leaving work a bit early today (Friday) to head down to the snowy mountains & Canberra for the weekend. I have never been down to the snowy mountains (a disgrace, I know). So there will no training (except for my glute/core exercises) and my first skiing and/or snowboarding experience - though between you & me, I'd prefer to be climbing up the mountains... ;-) My hip has been feeling really good the last week - hopefully it (and all my other bones & ligaments) will still be fine on Monday morning :-)
After everyone headed off to the start of C2S on Sunday morning, I walked down to Bondi, bought the papers & sat in one of the cafes on the south side of Bondi overlooking the water & had a lovely & leisurely breakfast. About an hour, breakfast, 2 coffees & 2 newspapers later, I walked down (up?) to the northern end of the beach to meet the rest of the cheersquad. A few memorable moments - though I could really have done without seeing 3 Borat's in, um, full flight though. Ick. After the race it was off to the pub to catch up with everyone & admire and covet a few nice shiny buckles ;-)
A swim (1.25k), laziness, chocolate souffle, tiredness & other 'stuff' (including of course my glute/core stuff) have been the order of this week. I sat down on Wednesday & wrote out a rough outline of a program (it still needs a few details) so I actually have some degree of structure to my training as opposed to my current 'whatever mood takes me' approach - particularly given that it will be some months before I am running long again. The program however somewhat resembles a program that a triathlete might have - well, except for the lack of running ;-)
Leaving work a bit early today (Friday) to head down to the snowy mountains & Canberra for the weekend. I have never been down to the snowy mountains (a disgrace, I know). So there will no training (except for my glute/core exercises) and my first skiing and/or snowboarding experience - though between you & me, I'd prefer to be climbing up the mountains... ;-) My hip has been feeling really good the last week - hopefully it (and all my other bones & ligaments) will still be fine on Monday morning :-)
Friday, August 10, 2007
Two steps forward....
zero steps back this week - woohoo! I'm quite excited to report that after 5 weeks off running, I am finally making progress. I'm still not running but the pain/niggle/discomfort in my hip has decreased over the last two weeks and hopefully I'll get the ok to start running again in about 2 weeks time. That probably sounds like I've missed running - in all honesty, I haven't. I am not at all frustrated by the fact that I'm not running at the moment. I've been riding or swimming almost every day - besides, it's still bloody cold in Penriff at 5am!
Zoe, the Sydney to the Gong ride is just about the only thing on my radar at the moment :-)
Saturday 4/8
I had a fantastic weekend. Did 50mins LSDR on Apollo on Saturday morning as planned while watching The Last Samurai - IMHO the only decent movie that Tom has made other than Top Gun :-) The rest of the weekend was spent down the South Coast relaxing, eating & drinking :-)
Monday 6/8
Back to the gym for my now-usual exercises followed by a 1k swim.
Tuesday 7/8
40mins on Apollo at 75-80% MHR plus 5mins w/u & c/d at 5am.
Thursday 9/8
Interval session on Apollo at 5am -
5mins w/u
6mins - 30/30s
4 x 5mins efforts/2min recovery
6mins - 30/30s
5mins c/u
Total: 50mins.
Back to Brad the super physio on Thursday lunch where he loudly declared, after watching the video he had taken of me running, "now that is a runner", LOL. The difference is really quite incredible - significantly less curvature in my lower back (I have/had far too much) and less dropping of my right hip when viewed from behind (though it still drops a touch too far). I left with instructions to continue with the current program for the next 2 weeks with the addition of 2 more exercises to do on a daily basis - that gives me I think 7 exercises (2-3 sets each) to do on a daily basis with another 2 exercises (3 sets) to do 3 x per week. Good thing I'm not running - I don't have the time with all this strengthening stuff ;-) I will have buns & abs of steel by the time I'm running again! I've still got some way to go but his comments after seeing the video & the fact that I was able to run for 4mins on the treadmill almost pain free (for the first time in 5 weeks) has left me feeling really positive. My hip was niggling a touch later in the afternoon but a definite improvement after last week.
Today (Friday) 10/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual hammy/quad/butt stuff followed by a very scenic 1.5k swim.
Saturday morning will bring a sleep-in and a 70mins ride on Apollo followed by the usual glute/core stuff. Then later in the afternoon it's off to Chez Lulu. Lulu has kindly offered her compound to Owly, Miners, Go Girl, R & I for a pre-C2S slumber party. Of course I'm the only one not running so everyone else can watch Ellie & I drink on Saturday night - that's only fair I think given that we have to listen to them talk about their runs on Sunday. On Sunday morning while the others head into the city for the start of the C2S, I think I'll walk down to Bondi for a relaxing & peaceful breakfast overlooking the water and then head up to join the cheersquad before all those stinky smelly runners arrive ;-)
MTDS: 5.25k
Zoe, the Sydney to the Gong ride is just about the only thing on my radar at the moment :-)
Saturday 4/8
I had a fantastic weekend. Did 50mins LSDR on Apollo on Saturday morning as planned while watching The Last Samurai - IMHO the only decent movie that Tom has made other than Top Gun :-) The rest of the weekend was spent down the South Coast relaxing, eating & drinking :-)
Monday 6/8
Back to the gym for my now-usual exercises followed by a 1k swim.
Tuesday 7/8
40mins on Apollo at 75-80% MHR plus 5mins w/u & c/d at 5am.
Thursday 9/8
Interval session on Apollo at 5am -
5mins w/u
6mins - 30/30s
4 x 5mins efforts/2min recovery
6mins - 30/30s
5mins c/u
Total: 50mins.
Back to Brad the super physio on Thursday lunch where he loudly declared, after watching the video he had taken of me running, "now that is a runner", LOL. The difference is really quite incredible - significantly less curvature in my lower back (I have/had far too much) and less dropping of my right hip when viewed from behind (though it still drops a touch too far). I left with instructions to continue with the current program for the next 2 weeks with the addition of 2 more exercises to do on a daily basis - that gives me I think 7 exercises (2-3 sets each) to do on a daily basis with another 2 exercises (3 sets) to do 3 x per week. Good thing I'm not running - I don't have the time with all this strengthening stuff ;-) I will have buns & abs of steel by the time I'm running again! I've still got some way to go but his comments after seeing the video & the fact that I was able to run for 4mins on the treadmill almost pain free (for the first time in 5 weeks) has left me feeling really positive. My hip was niggling a touch later in the afternoon but a definite improvement after last week.
Today (Friday) 10/8
Back to the gym after work for the usual hammy/quad/butt stuff followed by a very scenic 1.5k swim.
Saturday morning will bring a sleep-in and a 70mins ride on Apollo followed by the usual glute/core stuff. Then later in the afternoon it's off to Chez Lulu. Lulu has kindly offered her compound to Owly, Miners, Go Girl, R & I for a pre-C2S slumber party. Of course I'm the only one not running so everyone else can watch Ellie & I drink on Saturday night - that's only fair I think given that we have to listen to them talk about their runs on Sunday. On Sunday morning while the others head into the city for the start of the C2S, I think I'll walk down to Bondi for a relaxing & peaceful breakfast overlooking the water and then head up to join the cheersquad before all those stinky smelly runners arrive ;-)
MTDS: 5.25k
Friday, August 03, 2007
The goldfish effect
Thanks to everyone for your comments, much appreciated. Thanks also to TD and FPT for your comments on bone scans. I am getting a wee bit concerned about my hip now. 4 weeks without running (5 weeks on Tuesday) & it still hurts to walk most of the time. I will see how it goes over the next 1-2 weeks but if there is no improvement, I'll be looking into the bone scan.
An update in brief - I've been swimming (3.75k this week) and done a lil bit of riding. If you want the extended version, read on -
Saturday 28/7 (Happy birthday Dad!)
30mins ride to test the hip. Good news is that Apollo doesn't seem to aggravate it so I'll be spending lots of time on him for the next little while. Stayed up to watch the TT at the TdF. Probably the best night of racing I've ever seen. Despite the drug controversy, I still think the TdF is the greatest sporting event in the world. And to top it off, we now have a rider who will one day end the race in yellow :-)
Sunday 29/7
After a sleep-in and a relaxing morning reading the papers, I went to the gym for the eccentric leg press/hammy curl followed by a 1k swim and then home for the balance of my glute/core exercises.
Monday 30/7
I had planned to get up and do a session on Apollo before work but the prospect of staying in bed proved far more enticing.
I don't think my arse has ever been more sore than it was today after using the 'unusual' leg press machine at the gym yesterday. Headed back to the physio at lunch and left with instructions to continue with the same program for the next 10 days. I ran for a whole 4mins on the treadmill. There was still a noticeable niggle in my hip but it had improved from last week.
Tuesday 31/7
40mins on the bike followed by glute exercises before work. My hip became very painful in the afternoon.
Wednesday 1/8
Back to the gym after work tonight for eccentric leg press/hammy curl followed by 1.25k swim and then home to finish off the glute/core exercises. Yawn. I'm like a bloody goldfish when I get in the pool. My mind drifts off and I can never remember just how many laps I've done. I could have done 2k for all I knew...
Thursday 2/8
After 5mins on the bike in the gym last night, I've quickly discovered that the setup of the bike has an immediate & noticeable impact on my hip. Fortunately it seems to like Apollo so I was back on him this morning. All of my sessions recently have been steady state rides in an effort to ease the pressure on my hip. So today I tried an easyish interval session to test it out.
5mins w/u
5mins - 30/30s
3 x 5mins efforts w/ 1.30 recovery
5mins - 30/30s
5mins c/d
Total: 39.30mins
I didn't push the intervals too hard - my only goal for this session was to test out the hip & thankfully it went well.
Friday 3/8
Back to the gym after work for eccentric leg press & hammy curl followed by a scenic 1.5k swim and then home to finish off my glute/core exercises.
Tomorrow (Saturday) I've got an LSDR for 50min on Apollo planned before heading down the south coast for a relaxing weekend with R.
Interestingly I feel much more philosophical about my injury than I was when eg I had my ITB problem 18 months ago. Perhaps that comes from so much experience with injury. Yes, I am frustrated but hey, the world won't end tomorrow because I can't run, nor will I wake up fat tomorrow cause I haven't run for 4 weeks. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing & eventually I'll get there. Besides, my thoughts recently haven't been so much on a return to running but building a strong & function body for a few other adventures I have in mind...
MTDS: 2.75k
An update in brief - I've been swimming (3.75k this week) and done a lil bit of riding. If you want the extended version, read on -
Saturday 28/7 (Happy birthday Dad!)
30mins ride to test the hip. Good news is that Apollo doesn't seem to aggravate it so I'll be spending lots of time on him for the next little while. Stayed up to watch the TT at the TdF. Probably the best night of racing I've ever seen. Despite the drug controversy, I still think the TdF is the greatest sporting event in the world. And to top it off, we now have a rider who will one day end the race in yellow :-)
Sunday 29/7
After a sleep-in and a relaxing morning reading the papers, I went to the gym for the eccentric leg press/hammy curl followed by a 1k swim and then home for the balance of my glute/core exercises.
Monday 30/7
I had planned to get up and do a session on Apollo before work but the prospect of staying in bed proved far more enticing.
I don't think my arse has ever been more sore than it was today after using the 'unusual' leg press machine at the gym yesterday. Headed back to the physio at lunch and left with instructions to continue with the same program for the next 10 days. I ran for a whole 4mins on the treadmill. There was still a noticeable niggle in my hip but it had improved from last week.
Tuesday 31/7
40mins on the bike followed by glute exercises before work. My hip became very painful in the afternoon.
Wednesday 1/8
Back to the gym after work tonight for eccentric leg press/hammy curl followed by 1.25k swim and then home to finish off the glute/core exercises. Yawn. I'm like a bloody goldfish when I get in the pool. My mind drifts off and I can never remember just how many laps I've done. I could have done 2k for all I knew...
Thursday 2/8
After 5mins on the bike in the gym last night, I've quickly discovered that the setup of the bike has an immediate & noticeable impact on my hip. Fortunately it seems to like Apollo so I was back on him this morning. All of my sessions recently have been steady state rides in an effort to ease the pressure on my hip. So today I tried an easyish interval session to test it out.
5mins w/u
5mins - 30/30s
3 x 5mins efforts w/ 1.30 recovery
5mins - 30/30s
5mins c/d
Total: 39.30mins
I didn't push the intervals too hard - my only goal for this session was to test out the hip & thankfully it went well.
Friday 3/8
Back to the gym after work for eccentric leg press & hammy curl followed by a scenic 1.5k swim and then home to finish off my glute/core exercises.
Tomorrow (Saturday) I've got an LSDR for 50min on Apollo planned before heading down the south coast for a relaxing weekend with R.
Interestingly I feel much more philosophical about my injury than I was when eg I had my ITB problem 18 months ago. Perhaps that comes from so much experience with injury. Yes, I am frustrated but hey, the world won't end tomorrow because I can't run, nor will I wake up fat tomorrow cause I haven't run for 4 weeks. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing & eventually I'll get there. Besides, my thoughts recently haven't been so much on a return to running but building a strong & function body for a few other adventures I have in mind...
MTDS: 2.75k
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