One step at a time

Quickly checking in.

We are about to go on (probably the last) family holiday by flying to Peru.

Amongst other things, we'll be trekking up to Machu Picchu. With greater or lesser success we have all been increasing our fitness levels.
By now I have managed to average somewhere around 40ks a week. Last week I got up to 18ks in one hit including a number of times up and down Reabold Hill.
Can't say I'm back to where I would want to be, but hey, it's not a race.
And it definitely won't be in the Andes. The altitude will probably do us in at first and more than one step after the other, slowly, slowly, won't work.
Over and out. More when we're back at the beginning of August.

Hey, still here!

Logging in to comment on Epi's last post has prompted me to post again. Had to rummage and look for the login details first though.

The Four Seasons at Wailea in Maui is indeed beyond this world. Somewhere someone said that if there is a heaven, it is hopefully managed by Four Seasons. I agree.
And so, if anyone ever has an injury, it should also be looked after by someone from Four Seasons. Ok, I'll stop waxing lyrical, it's getting pathetic.

Not much happening on the running front with me. I do try to get out three times a week, ride the bike occasionally, go to the gym etc. and the lack of exercise still shows.
Still better than my last post though, down to 89kgs! Yeah! Ehm.... Can't shake those pesky twins I carry around with me constantly.

Anyway, still here. Will check in occasionally.

Coming Out

The title has a number of connotations:

- coming out of the fondue (see last post over a year ago);
- coming out of the house;
- coming out with one or more secrets I have kept in an imaginary closet.

Status:

Weight: 92.8kg
Bodyfat Pctge: 28.5%
HR: yes, it still beats
Last run: sometime in August '09 (I think)
Pace: you've got to be joking!

Even though it reads in the heading "Henry runs", none of that has been happening in the last twelve months.

I have done all sorts of things during that year apart from killing myself (although even that had been on my mind).

The Queen coined the phrase annus horribilis and that's what it has been for me. Am I over it? I really don't know, but when you're down the only way you can go is up.

I wandered on my very own event horizon and fortunately with the help of my family, my GP, my psychiatrist and last but not least, the pharmaceutical industry, I have been able to drag myself away from it so that, at least now, there seems to be little threat of being sucked into that black hole.

There are a number of reasons for that downfall, all too complex and in part too personal to mention, but one of them certainly was my obsessive nature and wanting to achieve all kinds of things in all sorts of areas, including running.

So whilst physical activity can provide release from stress, increase endorphin levels and so on, it can also cause illness.

I hope that this frightening experience has made me a better person. I don't think I am completely over it, nor do I think I can ever expect to be.

But according to my shrink I should get off the pills by 31 December, which is one sign of improvement.

Anti-depressants, happy pills, synaptic-tacs or whatever they are called have certainly helped, but overall for me they were rather mood-levellers, which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on which side of the happiness scale one sits on.

I definitely want to get off them.

And I want to get out and breathe in some fresh air and feel alive.

Fondue

Fondue Rule #3: When you lose your piece of bread in the cheese you either have to wash up or have a lump of concrete attached to your right leg and are thrown into Lake Geneva.
Either way, you still have to retrieve all bits of your piece of bread and until you do, everyone can poke fun at you.
Why?
Because it's not the fault of the piece of bread and it is a miserable existence to be sunk in the cheese.
Although I am much better now, I still feel like a piece of bread that's been cast adrift in a fondue. I am only just being retrieved bit by bit.

Went for a total of four runs this week for a total of 46.6ks and a ride of 23k.

Not too bad in terms of going out there, but I have definitely lost the mojo.

Probably sunk somewhere in the cheese with me.

Gotta go find it.

Going to Sydney tomorrow for two days which will interfere with things, but that's life.

I'm quite happy to do the HM, but am not expecting much. Rotto will be more important.

Crook no more

Just checking in briefly.

Have been crook and not up to much in the last two weeks.

Started up with a bit of running and riding over the last few days, but really not much to write home about.

I was hoping that the stiff right lower leg would resolve, but it's now flared up again.

Clown - if you're still up to doing the HM, we might walk it together....

Almost back in Business

Flew to Sydney today for a week's R&R. It's good to get away and lower leg permitting, I want to do some runs around the Botanical Gardens, Opera House, Harbour Bridge and so on. We're staying at Hyde Park like last year and that's really neat for some nice runs.

Had an easy week just to get things moving again:

Monday: Ride 23ks
Wednesday: Run 11.3ks at 4:49min/k
Friday: Run 12.5ks at 5min/k, level 2, av cad 87
Sunday: Ride 28ks

Running times were much better than expected. I felt really good, even going over hilly terrain in Kings Park.

Left lower still troubles me at times, usually just when I start off and then after the run again, but not during once I have warmed up. At times it's quite tender to touch over the bone on the inside and likewise the calf seizes up. I'm a bit stumped what it might be.

Riding is however no problem and seems to help, the pounding of the running makes it flare up.

I have signed up for the C2S Half-Marathon, already one might say, but knowing myself, I thought it was good to commit, otherwise I might get this crazy idea of doing the full.

This week I'll take it pretty easy and next week I'll sort out the program in more detail.

A bit like Berlin

Yesterday I decided I would try to crack 3:20 knowing full well that I was probably going to find it difficult. Although the preparation had not been bad, I had not had done enough long runs to feel confident I would last the distance.

But then I thought, the heck, I'll do half in 1:40 and then just go for broke.

And I did, but not necessarily for the right reasons.

The conditions were perfect this morning. About 8 degrees at the start, a bit of breeze on the South Perth foreshore and along the freeway, in both directions, but otherwise they could not be faulted.

Got there early enough for an easy warm-up. The right ankle and lower leg felt like a brick and I thought this would hold me back. But in reality they behaved quite well in the run and I had very little joint issues, the odd niggle, but nothing I could not cope with.

The 3:30 bus powered away in front of me and I thought that was a bit silly as I had planned to sit in front of them and then latch on if I had to. The third k they did in 4:15 min/k!

Anyway, I did as I had planned but definitely went too fast in the first 5 ks.

At 14ks I felt my thighs going tired and I knew I was going to be in trouble later on. At that point I was averaging 4:40 min/k for a 3:25 finish (1:10 elapsed time). No bother, I otherwise felt good, slowed a bit and went through half at 1:39:17.

By 30ks I had slowed just a bit and was still spot on for a 3:20 finish (2:22 elapsed time). And then the stomach cramps started as in Berlin, but just a few ks later. And the odd stitch as well. At various times I had to walk and with the by then pretty heavy legs I found it very difficult to get into a rhythm again.

During one of those breaks the 3:30 bus powered past me and I just could not hang on.

The 405 was doing funny things today - HR at 171 at times (??) and on the way out at least, it was way short. In the end the discrepancy was only .5%, but on the way I was not sure whether I could rely on it. The 15 and 30k readings above were real time.

In the end I came in at 3:31:18, not fantastic, but ok in the circumstances. As earlier in the year I doubted I might run one ever again, I have no reason to complain.

I'm not sure what to do about the stomach cramps. In Berlin I had had some stomach issues before independently of the running, but not since. So I think it must be running related. In Berlin I thought I might have overdone it with the nutrition and I took only a couple of gels with me today on purpose so I would not "over-feed".

Really takes the fun out of doing a marathon.

Right now I don't think I'll do the C2S marathon, but rather the half and see whether I can improve the time I set last year - maybe sub-1:30? Eight weeks is just a bit short to prepare for it, especially as Rottnest is another eight weeks later. That is booked and not to be missed (I would have been really sore had my knee turned out bad and I could not run it - but now I am confident of having another fun run there).

Otherwise, legs are a bit sore, stood in the freezing pool for five minutes and had a snooze for an hour, but feel just fine.

Wonder what tomorrow's like ;-))