A good week this week (although last time I said that my ankle went again!) This time I’ve been doing my exercises religiously and I’ve been concentrating on my running form (i.e. staying upright and not sagging like a sack of spuds when I get tired). I’ve also been really thinking about not over striding and keeping my knee over my ankle instead of landing with my ankle ahead. Who knew running was so mentally taxing?!
I do think it’s been helping though as I’ve been running with NO TAPE 😱 for the first time in years!! I still have the knee bands on but you never know…give it a few months or so and I might start to give it a go!
Back to today’s run which was 10.5km and a route suggested by David 😍. He came with me on his bike which I loved! A beast of a hill (both up and down) but I did it and felt good! Apparently David forgot about a couple more hills on the way back…hmmm! Pace is slower but I think it needed to be. (I’ve been doing a lot of reading about slower runs being more beneficial when training – I’m all for that!)
Stats so far:
Number of runs this week: 3
Longest run so far in training: still 14km
Total distance run so far this week: 13.1km (not including 10.5km today…apparently Sunday is a new week on Runkeeper 🤷♀️)
That was too hot! Definitely should have got my butt out of bed earlier! 14km completed with the last 4km as a walk run. (I’ll take it as a good fat burner!)
Kudos to Noah who joined David on his bike and cycled with me! It was pretty cool having my own cheer team all the way round 😊
I think David is pretty chuffed with his new bike too!
Well, it’s been a while since I last posted and clearly, my last post, ‘Feeling Good’ was a touch premature! My ankle began aching again and so I was actually sensible – I know! I took a week off running whilst I still could as the marathon is still 5 months away and sought some advice from a sports therapist… This is going to be a long post so time to settle down with a good cuppa as there is a lot to catch up on!
It was really interesting to hear how my ankle problems are probably stemming from my hips. Taping was not helping my ankle either as, after a lot of poking and prodding, there was no soft tissue damage which is what KT tape helps with. The diagnosis was that as my mileage has increased, it’s put pressure on my ankle due to my knees moving in as they are not properly supported by the muscles on the outside of my hips. Who knew?
One thing I do know was that when he started checking the muscle just behind the shin to see if it was tight, it bloody hurt!!! Wowzers! Didn’t even know that little muscle was there but clearly has quite an important role to play!
Good News!
So the outcome is that I can still run on my ankle even though it’s grumbling a bit. I just need to do some exercises for homework to help strengthen my hip muscles and my ankles. The best part is that it is quite possible I can stop taping my knees and wearing braces around my knees when I run!! How cool would that be…to think I could just go for a run without half an hour preparation first?!
Taking a week off has put me behind a bit on my training plan but over time I can make it back up by doing 4 runs a week every now and again instead of 3. This week, I’ve run 22.7km over 3 runs without any taping on my ankle and it’s actually been OK and great to be back out there! I have been proper grumpy last week, not being able to get out. (Sorry everyone!)
Getting back to it feels great!
Happy (if a bit sweaty!)
Look no tape!
I’ve been doing my exercises religiously too (see below). The first picture is just a movement out to the side, pushing against the band to strengthen my hip muscles and the second is single leg squats to help my knees and ankles. (I thought I was doing pretty well but the dog doesn’t look overly impressed…)
The one with the resistance band is a bit of a killer but if it means my knees and ankles are cured then I’m gonna get them done!
So these are the runs from this week with a 14km to come on Friday and, a little surprise from my TomTom app that told me I had run over 100km in the last 30 days! Pleased with that!
A Few Stats…
Just to finish off, a few stats that I’m going to start keeping track of. I got this idea from a book my friend lent me ‘The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer’ which is a great book to help with all aspects of training, both physically and mentally. (Thanks Wendy!)
Number of runs this week: 3 out of 4 (one still to go on Friday!)
Longest run so far in training: 14km (1/3 of a marathon…)
Total distance run so far this week: 22.73km (out of a target 36km)
A cool 22.5km notched up this week in total and it seems my knees are actually holding out! I think the chiropractor appointments are paying off and they’ve said they’ll put me back together after the marathon 😂
I really enjoyed today’s 10.5km run. It was much warmer than it has been recently but it felt good! I’m definitely going to continue to run by effort as that is paying off too 😃
I even managed to get out for an early morning (6am) 7km run in the week before work. I enjoyed it at the time but was proper flagging in the afternoon!
All in all, I would say training is going well at the moment and I reckon I’ve earned this G&T 😁
Well that route has been on my bucket list for some time. I’ve driven it a million times and always wondered what it’s like to run. Now I know. It’s totally and utterly brutal but also totally and utterly brilliant! You’ve got to love a hill or two haven’t you?! 💪👊
Absolutely buzzing that I’ve completed that 14km off the back of Saturday’s 10.5km and still felt like not dying at the end! 😃 Gonna keep going with this plan…reckon there’s something in it that’s working!
I’m off for a shower whilst my legs are still working and then extra roast potatoes for dinner! 👍🏻
This week my plan shifted from 7km runs to 10.5 and 14km! I’ve managed a 10.5k after work which was actually quite enjoyable and a nice de stress.
Today I did another 10.5km and as I looked behind me half way round, I saw this mother of a cloud! Helped me to get a bit of a wriggle on!
I’m getting a bit bored of my usual routes too so decided to explore new possibilities. Forgive me if you already know this, but not being the most technical person in the world, I’m pretty chuffed with my discovery! On Google Earth you can actually plot a route and it tells you how far it is! 😃 I know! Who knew? Clearly not me! Turns out it’s pretty accurate too. 👍🏻
I’m off now to plot a few new 14km runs ready for Monday as that is how I’ll spend my bank holiday. Running. 😁
Really enjoyed my run this morning! Started with the timed 5km run in my local run in the park. Such a great group of people who have a huge amount of running experience that I can draw on. Next week the distances start ramping up so I need to be much more disciplined about finding the time to run.
But for now I’m sitting in my rather sweaty running gear feeling totally inspired by the London Marathon today. Finished my run just in time to watch the elite runners set off – Go Mo! His pace is amazing. It takes Mo the same time to run a full marathon about 20 minutes faster than I can run a half marathon! Love this video clip too of people trying to keep up with his pace – really puts it into perspective 😳😳😳
I love watching so many people taking part in the London Marathon. Great atmosphere and some crazy costumes! 🤪 Good luck to all the fabulous runners taking part today! I’m totally going to try my luck in the London 2020 Marathon ballot!
It’s only taken 10 months but I’ve finally plucked up the courage to ride my new bike!
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good summer bike ride as much as the next person but I’m not the most confident in the world when it comes to cycling. My top three things that fill me with dread are:
1. Stopping – short legs are a hazard, especially with a cross bar. I like to know I can stop quickly if needed without causing any unnecessary injuries.
2. Cycling on a road. This may entail using only one hand if required to turn. I am in awe of people who are able to cycle with NO hands!
3. Going up and down kerbs. This is guaranteed to cause a fatal wobble that will only ever result in me ending up in a heap.
Any who, I enjoyed spending time with my hubby and son out and about on our bikes today in the gorgeous sunshine ☀️
It did make me think though…how many km would you need to cycle to match a 5k run? From my brief research on google it seems that it is about the ratio of 1:3 so for every mile/km run, you would need to cycle 3km to match it. I think I might investigate this some more…🤔
Dodgy Knees and Blisters 