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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Feb 2009 : 2:52:34 PM
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It's been a busy few days! The schools were closed on Monday and Tuesday and also our Nanny couldn't get to us as she didn't fancy sliding her car down a hill (fair enough) so I "worked from home", which meant no running. I did get a bit of a workout yesterday afternoon clearing the snow and ice (great big sheets of the stuff) from the driveway and the road. My little lad Tom "helped" - good lad 
I finally uploaded my last run of Jan from my Garmin, and the grand total for Jan is 93.57 miles - highest monthly mileage ever, by a long way.
Back to work today which meant I got out for a run at lunchtime. I took my off-road shoes thinking there'd still be loads of ice about, but it turns out that Maidenhead is nowhere near as bad as Guildford, and most of it's melted now. Still, was a good run...
Wed 4th February
6.88m - 01:02:23 - 9:04 - hr 164bpm/80%WHR
HR a bit high, but a good run... feeling good!
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2009 : 10:32:14 AM
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What a week! "working from home" on Mon and Tues due to the snow (and school closure) meant juggling childcare and work and long days, with no running. I felt really bad for my eldest daughter though - she recently got elected to her school council and last Monday they were all set to go to the House of Commons and meet our MP - she's been looking forward to it for weeks and had decided on some questions to ask the MP and everything ("how do you concentrate when you hear Big Ben?" was one of hers... I suggested asking what the MP got from John Lewis) and so when Monday morning came with all the snow, the trip was obviously cancelled and she was properly gutted.. Luckily playing in the snow cheered her up but I still had to promise to take her into London one weekend to see Big Ben etc.
Got back to work on Wednesday and was determined to run. At home the snow/ice has only just about melted (loads still on pavements) but by work it wasn't as bad on Wednesday but I wore my trail shoes to be on the safe side - no problems there really.
On Thurs there was more snow near work so my 4 miler was a bit slippy. Friday was a scheduled rest day and then the weekend - starting to really step up the mileage now..
Sat: 7 miles race pace. As I mentioned, the pavements near home were still covered in snow and ice so I decided to wear my trail shoes. Then I thought I might as well actually run off road too - so off I went for a wonderful 7 miles along the River Wey towpath. Lots of snow and ice as far as the eye could see in places. There are some bits where it's all just farmland around and the site of the snow covered fields and the cows and horses huddling together for warmth was amazing. V quiet run - not many people about but hard to keep a consistent pace due to the uneven terrain made more treacherous by the snow and ice. Felt strong and really energised after this run.
Sun: 14 miles LSR. I'm now heading into the unknown, from a mileage perspective. I've run 3 HM races before and of course slightly over 14 miles at the RNR, but never this far in training, and it's increasing week on week. I set out in my new shoes (Asics Gel-Nimbus 10) early afternoon and the sky was clear and the sun out - lovely. About half way through the sky got darker and it started to drizzle and get really cold.. I didn't warm up much for the rest of the run. I also encountered numerous stretches where people haven't cleared or gritted their pavements and the snow/ice hasn't melted which made for slow progress. I really enjoy letting my mind wander and not having to think about where to put my feet when on a LSR, so this really disturbed that. Coupled with the cold etc, I was feeling a bit down by 10 miles but got on with it and had an enjoyable last couple of miles on the homeward stretch. Not sure that wearing the new shoes for the first time on this run was a good idea as I had a sore ankle and what felt like a blister forming on the ball of my left foot (and I never get blisters). I wore my compression socks for the evening and throughout the night and my legs feel much better this morning.
Week 7:
Mon 2/2: Snow
Tues 3/2: Snow
Wed 4/2: 6.88 miles - 01:02:23 - 09:04 - avg hr 164bpm/80% WHR
Thurs 5/2: 4.01 miles - 00:36:11 - 09:01 - avg hr 160bpm/77% WHR
Fri 6/2: Rest
Sat 7/2: 7.17 miles race pace - 01:04:513 - 09:03 - avg hr 158bpm/76% WHR
Sun 8/2: 13.88 miles LSR - 02:13:35 - 09:37 - avg hr 152bpm/71% WHR
Total for the week: 31.94 miles
Looking back at this, my midweek runs were also at race pace.. This week I'm going to mix those up a bit more - slower on Tuesday (recovery), slow again on Wednesday and then I think some intervals on Thursday. LSR this weekend goes up to 15 miles.
Apologies for not commenting on many diaries recently - I have been reading but I've been a bit behind and haven't commented much. Will try harder!
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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Heavyweight
1450 Posts |
Posted - 09 Feb 2009 : 2:37:08 PM
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Impressive lsr at the weekend Matt.
Blisters on my soles is a bit of a 'new shoe phenomona' with me too - With me I think it's because it's hard to get the laces exactly to my liking until they have been broken in a little, and this results in a bit of sliding within the shoe on the first couple of runs.
.... and I think I prefered your daughters question  |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2009 : 4:43:59 PM
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Thanks HW... Yep, the whole breaking them in thing may have been to blame. Still, no blisters in the end, so all's well...
Well, I thought it was. Did 4 miles recoveryish at lunchtime and had some pretty bad pain in my knees, particularly on the left. Must be related to the increase in mileage. I'm supposed to be doing 7 miles tomorrow - will have to see how it feels in the morning.
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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deano
818 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2009 : 6:16:26 PM
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Hope the knees are ok today matt .Good LSR at the weekend, its all looking good for the marathons..good luck - keep up the long runs..
deano
Chin up and keep on running! |
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Ian B
1336 Posts |
Posted - 10 Feb 2009 : 7:11:20 PM
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Matt
You are probably right about the increase in mileage and the fact you done your weekly mileage in 4 out 5 days has also contributed to it as well, I know you are keen to increase the mileage but missing one run in one week won't do you any harm, i suppose my advice is don't cram everything into less than your normal time, just because a schedule says so.
Anyway good mileage Matt i don't think i have ever got anywhere near 30miles in a week or should i say 3/4 week
Ian B |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 08:56:14 AM
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No running for me today. I know exactly what's wrong - patella tendonitis. I had a serious case of this a few years ago before I started running where I tore the tendon playing football (after months of it gradually getting worse and me ignoring it). I had months of physio to get past that and did a lot of gym work on strengthening my quads and I've not had a problem since.. until now.
This is nothing as bad as it was back then, but it's an early warning and I'm not going to ignore it this time. No running today, but I'm going to get a patella strap to wear whilst running (I'll start again as soon as I get it - hopefully tomorrow or Friday) and I'm going to start going back to the gym to work on my quads - I haven't done any of that since starting my marathon training and that could be a factor.
Was a bit down about this last night but I'm feeling optimistic today - just hope the above works!
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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Heavyweight
1450 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 09:58:24 AM
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Hi Matt - Maybe join me in backwards running? - was recommended to me when I had similar knee pain (front & lower knee). You certainly feel it in your quads after you have done a couple of minutes. In my case it was close to an instantaenous cure for the pain & it hasn't returned.
** Please bear in mind I am not an expert and/or qualified and your knees can go up as well as down.
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 10:41:00 AM
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hmm.. interesting. You do that regularly?
not sure where I'd do the backwards running thing though.. Do you use mirrors? 
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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Heavyweight
1450 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 11:38:23 AM
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The backwards running was recommended by a doctor (who also runs) and I have a section in my regular training route about 400m long which is wide, smooth (and thankfully quiet) pavement and I try and do it each time I use that route.
I guess any quad exercise will work - but this method is convenient for me.
Hope your pain is not too serious and goes quickly. |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 12:52:20 PM
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I did a bit of googling after reading your suggestion - looks like there's plenty of supporting evidence for this.. I'll see about incorporating some backwards running into some of my runs.
Thanks HW
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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Helen C
485 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 2:27:38 PM
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Hope the knee feels better soon Matt. I'm not sure about backwards running though. I seem to find it challenging enough to stay on my feet facing the right way!
Steh auf, geh raus und mach's einfach. |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 3:02:16 PM
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tell me about it.. I'll probably trip and break my ar$e. Still, that would take my mind off the knee pain..
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
Edited by - mdunn77 on 11 Feb 2009 3:02:44 PM |
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claire1
487 Posts |
Posted - 11 Feb 2009 : 7:59:15 PM
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LOL ... came in here to see how much you are running and eating and find people going backwards! Will that allow me to eat more I wonder?!
Might give this a try ...I have some intermittent knee pain as my mileage builds up.....will try and persuade my Friday running partner to do it with me... nothing to do with me not wanting to look a pilloch on my own!
Anyway hope your knee settles down! |
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mdunn77
1540 Posts |
Posted - 12 Feb 2009 : 08:25:28 AM
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knee feels a little better today. Hopefully my patella strap will turn up in the post so I can get out for a run today - not sure I want to risk it without it right now.
Claire - just for you.. I had a fab beef and chorizo burger for lunch yesterday, with a cheese and wholegrain mustard sauce.. nom nom nom
Two marathons in two months in aid of Cancer Research - please sponsor me at http://justgiving.com/mdunn |
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Matt's 2009 Diary
