A Beautiful Mile

I started exploring some of the pre-set workouts in my forerunner the other day - just an amazing little gizmo.I set it for the pre-set fartlek just to see what it was like.....in a nutshell it told me my cardio was still shot to bits and my speed was lousy.Gives me a good starting point though.
Then I thought I'd spend the next 30min doing a slow run (according to my forerunner) of 5m25s/km but I couldn't get my hr down to where I wanted it i.e. 150s or lower so I canned that session 11min into it.Feeling a bit disheartened I thought I'd try another pre-set ; this time a 1mile 'race' at 4m45s/km with my virtual partner.That is the most enjoyable run I've had for months!Not sure if it was the soft grass underfoot cushioning every footfall, the nagging from my forerunner or simply some much missed endorphins kicking in.
Post run: there was definitely some pain/strain in the lower back and deep abdominals but not in the usual places which was a relief.The spot on my SIJ which has been my bugbear for so long now didn't even utter a whimper after the run so I'm classing this run as another leap forward.Came home , did some hip flexor stretches which helped immediately and some cat stretches then repeated them a few hrs later.Two doses of anti-inflams and I'm completely pain/strain free.
Day off tomorrow but I'm going to resist the temptation of running again so soon.Bike time tomorrow and contemplate some advice from a much better runner than myself about the intensity of my runs being too much this early in my rehab.

Another Leap Forward

Great little session tonight!
7.01km in 45m57s at 6m33s /km.There was a 10m54s 2k interval in there as well as 2x1km in 4m58s and 5m05s with generous 5min walk/jog in between.Barely a twinge from the injury and the hr seemed to be much better in control.As is my habit, I finished the last 600m at a good pace and again the injury felt stronger at 4m32s/km pace than it does at 6m32s/km - very weird but I think I'm glad it's not the other way round.
2km is the longest continuous run I've done so far and even though it was in deep kikuyu grass it gave me the necessary confidence to up it a wee bit on Saturday.

Decided to get a proper fitting done on my road bike this week.The 50k mtn bike ride last week was just beautiful.Despite tearing 2 chunks from left shin and wearing the red stripe down to my ankle I had a great time and averaged 148bpm for the 2h55m I was out there - great for my weak cardio performance.If I can get a bit of bike fitness into the legs I may yet have a tilt at a triathlon next summer.

Accepting I'm Not A Machine

After receiving some advice from a fellow CoolRunner that I may be ignoring my hrm during my rehab training (thanks Rob Song) I kept an eye on it today.It really felt like I was bludging.It only took a few hundred metres at 5m30s pace to raise the hr to 150s.The merest of hills during this phase leapt it to the 160s which was where I was drawing the line for training today.As soon as I hit the 160s I throttled back to a very gentle jog until the low 120s came up then went off again.I only covered 7.something km in 55min and burned 652cal - I'm pain free but still not 'running'.I did put in one good lap today: lap 7 was a "fed up with this shite walk/running caper" and I covered this 1km lap in 4m42s in some good,spongy kikuyu.No harm done and it felt soooooo good.

Some other positives that hit me today were that Concord must have the thickest kikuyu grass I have ever waded through.Great for fragile hacks like me but lousy for U/14 junior baseball teams that keep losing their baseballs during training.I found one today in semi thick grass and was having a 'ball' tossing it around during the latter stages of the run.Other positive was that I feel most comfortable when running at a pace of less than 4min/km - absolutely no pain at all.I tried to take note of body position etc and will try to transpose that form into the junk kms I have to cover to get the 'legs' back.

I've realised that I have been running far too hunched over.I remember an anthropologist saying once that humans walking is a fall aborted.My running could be similarly described until this attempt at getting back into it.I'm trying to visualise that my legs and hips are pulling me forward and the glutes are propelling me forward.Trying to be much more upright and imagining that my hips are dead level regardless of terrain or pace.

Book review: Fahrenheit 451 is a great lesson in avoiding the mainstream media.
Million Dollar Baby is a balls n all insight into the 'sweet science' of boxing.It really is a science too!

Some Meanderings

After my abysmal 9k run last outing I have worked hard at exercising the glute medes and rolling around on the floor with a tennis ball under my arse cheek to iron out the kinks.3 days of this then I ran/walked for 50min today on the spongiest kikuyu grass I could find.There is a collection of sports fields about 5 min away and I just did laps around the extreme outside of these fields with 2 stops for some glute stretching and a few laps up and down the steps of a footbridge to break the boredom.The SIJ pain came and went but mostly went.The boring nature of the run meant I could concentrate fully on sucking the lower abs closer to the backbone and imagining that the glutes and hips are driving me forward with the legs merely following.

I received some complimentary comments after my blog writings were misinterpreted recently and it just confirms my high regard for the personalities that take up running for their exercise pursuits.We are definitely a quirky bunch that seem to be comfortable in our own company.Good traits!

I'm annoyed at being unable to watch any rugby or cricket on TV!I know there is a pub owned by Bill Young's (Wallaby prop) family only 5 min away but the SMOKE!So I enquired about getting Fox today and luckily my disdain for top40 music and Hollywood type movies but my like of sport and docos means that I may 'only be up for $11.53 per week!'.Am I supposed to be gleeful that the matches and games I used to watch for free are now $11.53 per week and the revenues go to flesh out already fleshy marketing people at Fox?I'm sure some go to the players but what happens if I watch a replayed match?I can't imagine Fox paying Mark Ella a royalty cheque for the 'many great matches played in the past and aired on FoxSport'.

An entire day off today and all I would have liked to do was run.For about 5hrs.Just run and think and drink from garden taps.Maybe carry a few lollies to have every 10km.No watch or gps either.No plan or route or deadline.No dogs or spiderwebs.No rules. Unfortunately............no chance!I am a day closer to my no rules day.

I Almost Lit The Match

I have told my physio that I will burn my Mizunos if I fail at getting back to running the way I know I can, adopting the ultra conservative approach I have asked her to observe.3 days ago I ran 9km at an average of 6m45s and had to stop at the 8k mark to stretch the glutes and ease the pain.The day was unseasonably hot but really no excuse for the increased pain I was feeling.At work the next day I was ridiculously sore with grabbing pain everytime I moved laterally or awkwardly - very reminiscent of pre-treatment days.I honestly thought this running caper was over and I'd buy a trumpet or something less injurious to learn.

It's now Wednesday and all the pain is gone; even after a heavy backpack workout on the stairs last night.Physio has given me some emailed advice on what to add and subtract from my training and my motivation is back.Then I read on the CR website that my comments on being forced to run at almost 2min/km slower than where I was training pre-injury has offended some of the runners.Here I was thinking that airing my thoughts and feelings in this blog would be therapeutic.My comment was inspired by a forum question posed ages back at what constituted running in comparison to jogging.Covering 9k in 6m45s/km average pace in no way constitutes running to ME - it obviously does to some and I envy their enthusiasm.I still don't know when it will be that I feel I'm running again.Whether it's a certain pace or distance or time ...I just don't know.I DO KNOW that I miss terribly being able to run a few consecutive 4min/km and I DO KNOW this blog is about me and my thoughts and feelings.

Never Mind The Bollocks - Just Do It.

What's It Gonna Be?

Bloody work is bustling again beautifully right now - figures are great,personality clashes are being sorted,expansion plans unfolding with the usual good luck etc.All this has distracted me from training and getting back to being a runner.
Not meaning any offence to anyone here but completing 10k in 60min is not really running.
Today, I canned plans of turning up to the Striders Domain 10k because it would have been a walk/run affair for me resulting in about a 60-65min time.Looking at the results now, I could have come last.I examined my motives for fronting up and they were all ego based.I wanted to finish strongly over the top of the 60min plodders who would have not known what went past them if I finished at sub 4min/km pace and I wanted to raise my handicap time so that I could feel some sort of pride at the end of the year when I hit 40min again.

Exercises are going along nicely - when I do them and I am definitely feeling improvement there.My arse is getting less waifish and I'm able to target the gluteus medius much better now.Sunday morn tomorrow and a warm one it's going to be - no excuse for a nice run somewhere.

Bloody work - so many people depending on my efforts and obvious results if I can get the job done.A long run tomorrow may show me a different perspective.