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I’ve been looking at training plans for my marathon attempt. The one in the Advanced Marathoning book, which I’ve been recommended on several occasions, is not 80/20. (80% very easy, 20% flat out.) That guy on Twitter who’s represents Great Britain as an age grouper, and wins the odd race outright, swears by 80/20. It’s the big thing with all the cool kids. But Advanced Marathoning is of the philosophy “Long slow runs produce long slow runners.” Their plan is push, push some more, rest, push again. To be honest, that works for me. I like challenging myself on my runs. Anyway, in the spirit of keeping with the science I spent an evening googling 80/20 training plans. There was a lot of chatter on the forums, but nothing concrete. I read “P&D” recommended a few times. The comment that summed it up seemed to be “P&D is the best plan off the peg.” Further Googling: What does P&D mean? Pfitzinger and Douglas. The authors of Advanced Marathoning. *sigh* That’s a few hours of my life I’m not getting back. So I started the plan. The first day was a rest day/ cross training day. I decided to break out my £20 rowing machine for half an hour then do another half hour on other strength training. Today was a 7 mile “general aerobic” run with 10 x 100 meter strides in it. I think that means a run where you are not killing yourself but are pushing on a bit, with 10 sprints included. I used to aim for a steady 8 m/m when I was fit, so I thought 8.30 would still be enough to slightly tax me. Oh very dear. It was killer! I did it, and, with the sprints, managed to average 8.14 m/m, but it had no right to be that hard. I’ve been getting a lot of wake-up calls about this sub 3 attempt. “Bare minimum is an 18 minute 5K (I’m currently 22 minutes) a 38minute 10K (no idea, never tried the distance) and a 1.25 half marathon (my PB is 1.33:37, I’m way off that now.) I’m trying not to freak out about it. I got up this morning, hours before work, even though it was freezing and chucking it down, and pushed myself for 7 miles, before what I thought was going to be an 11 hour shift. I’m committing. And I’m going to be cycling through the training plan at least twice, even if I have to lower my expectations the first time through, or maybe just some of the way through the first round, I’m still training hard, and I’m still improving. The huge positives to draw from it is my foot seems to be holding up. It still gets sore, but I’ve got full mobility. If the physio has fixed me, it’s just a matter of time and effort. “Success is working out the price you have to pay and being willing to pay it.” I’m not going […]

I don’t want to speak too soon, one hour and fifty four minutes to go, but I think we’ve survived 2021. I’m taking that as a win. I tried and tried with my pushbike thing, but in the end, inevitably, I’ve ended up getting a new bike. Three sets of mudguards, new tyres, on two different bikes, and still can’t get a winter bike out of them. In the end I researched Decathlon (store) for a new bike. Decathlon is always a good benchmark as they make their own kit and manage to fit a really good standard of parts for the money. They regularly win “Best Bike Under X amount”, reviews in bike magazines. They have exactly what I want. Takes up to 33mm (quite wide) tyres, with enough frame clearance and mounting points for the (fitted) mudguards. Perfect. But it’s £849. For a pushbike that is just for riding my 5 miles a day round trip to work and keeping me from being sprayed and soaked in winter. Once I knew what I was after I went looking for second hand. Sadly the bike has only been in production for a few years so there aren’t many and they’ve kept their price. Then, through a random google search, I found someone trying to sell one “ridden 5 miles”, for £510. He’d been trying to sell it since May. On a site for people selling record players and amps. Target audience, mate. I joined the stupid site to make an offer but he didn’t get back to me. Then I saw he’d just posted it on Preloved (another not obvious site) for £495 or offers. I offered £450 ( I would have paid the £495, or a haggle in the middle) and he said yes! Bargain! It’s the same frame and such as the kitted out winter bike, but without the mudguards and fat tyres. I’ve already bought them, trying to fit to my other bikes, so job’s a good ‘un! I’m picking it up on Sunday. I’ve just looked back over 2021. Started with a broken shoulder, and no running. Bike training with my arm strapped to my chest. Putting up that beast of a shed on my own. Bought a big, tourer motorbike, not the Triumph Daytona I really wanted. Realised I don’t need a big tourer motorbike, sold it, bought the Triumph Daytona I really wanted. Got the kit I needed to ride like a racer. Found out I was still an untrained, clueless, fool, but one with a nice bike and kit. Bought us recorders. And a Sax. And a clarinet. Playing none of them. Read that a shopping addiction was a symptom of my Borderline Personality Disorder. Got a grip. Bought a boat. Had a nightmare getting it to the lake. Nearly drowned. Still can’t sail. Fixated on buying a car for the boat, prevaricated until the obsession passed. Ran the Loch Ness Marathon, blew up and failed 20 miles in to the Manchester […]

I’ve thought about it (for several whole minutes) and decided that, seeing as there is nothing actually wrong with my foot I can get back to running. Shocker, I know. I was surprised too, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I don’t make the rules. I’m doing the stretches from the physio and my foot is mechanically sound, so why the devil not? I decided to do a tester run yesterday, my first in over two months. I did my stretches, warmed up, and put on my game face. I did 5 miles and didn’t die. I’ll take that. I’ve been stiff all over today. Every time I got out of my truck it took me several paces to get back to walking naturally. But the main thing is my foot hasn’t flared up. Few days later… I’m properly back at it now. Four days, three runs. I am trying my best to show restraint and ease myself back into it. I even tried looking for a “returning to running from injury” plan, but that was “15 minutes brisk walk, rest” etc. I’ve had two months off, I’ve not forgotten how to put on foot in front of the other. I looked up a “first marathon” training plan, I figured that would take me from couch to distance nice and gradually, but that was “15 minutes jog, 2 days rest”, give me a break! What I’ve decided to do is gently increase my distance until the end of January, to build a base of fitness, then start on the training plan from my Advanced Marathoning book. The “long” run on the first week of that plan is only 11 miles. I could do that now, but my plan is to do 6 days a week of modest running for 5 weeks, then start. I started the other day with a 9.10 m/m 5 miles, then the second day I was understandably stiff and done in. I set off for an easy 3 miles, and 9.10 was all I could manage. I was a bit quicker on the second mile, then I saw another runner and did the last mile in 8.10. If I can do an 8.10 after two months off, having inhaled all the calories, on battered legs from my first run, I have been coasting these last 10 years. I went out yesterday for a 5 miler and the same thing happened. Slow, faster, faster, runner! Faster, ended up with a 7.40 m/m. OK, it was stupid and overloading my legs on what is supposed to be a gentle return to running, but it demonstrates that I’ve not been pushing anywhere near hard enough in the past. No more! My new year’s resolution for 2022 is a sub 3. It’s going to mean going all in, and everything else is going to have to be a far distant second place in my priorities, but if I can do 7.40 off the bat, I reckon I do it. […]

I went to see the physio tonight. That in itself was a tale of derring-do. The weather forecast a few days ago was of 20% chance of rain for my appointment at 17.00. By today they’d changed to to 95%. It was awful. Rain, standing water, spray, and horrendous traffic. I ended up running late so I was forced to fly through the traffic even in less than ideal braking conditions. Also much reduced visibility as my glasses were misting up. It was a bracing ride. Anyway, made it, if five minutes late. I sent Wendy a text (“Alive”), as she was sure I was going to die on the way. The Physio, Adrian, then asked me a bunch of questions, then mauled me for an hour and 20 minutes. It turns out my left calf is 1½cm smaller than my right, I have some numbness on my left foot, and he isolated the pain by twisting my foot then raising my leg. Twisted, fine. Twisted and raised, sore. He thinks it’s a trapped or damaged nerve. Either in my knee, bum, or lower back. Most likely it’s my knee as it started just after that time the back end of my motorbike slid round in the wet and I slammed sideways into a van. He said the direct impact could have damaged the nerve. It seems the smaller calf could be due to less signal or blood flow (or something. It was a symptom of nerve issues and it made sense at the time, but now I’ve forgotten.) As is the numbness and the fact that the pain only kicks in when the nerve is stretched. He has given my 3 easy exercises to try to loosen up the nerve. If that fails I have to try and get a conductivity test at the hospital. Just like testing an electrical circuit. Jab needles in each end of the nerve and pass a current through each stretch, where a circuit loses current you’ve found the problem. That sounds like a whole heap of fun. The good news is there is no structural damage to my foot. The foot pain is a symptom, not the cause. I don’t know if a trapped nerve/nerve damage is better or worse, in terms of healing. But at least it seems to be the right answer. He said the pushbiking inflaming it could just be overextending my foot in the stroke. I’ll try and adjust my bike position. He said that pushbiking should actually be good for me. I had got my eye on a rev and rip scooter for riding to work. Automatic gears so just twist the throttle, completely rest my hoof. Look at it! 113cc of pure adrenaline! 55mph with a tailwind! 130mpg! The latter is genuinely impressive in anyone’s book. Ah well. After all that I went to pay him. Wendy’s mate has a physio and he charges £80 per hour. I was thinking at least that, but if it sorts […]

I was trying to keep my fitness up and maybe start to build towards triathlon fitness next year by doing bike work and exercises while I rest my hoof. It’s been nigh on two months of no running and my foot is still tender. Not actually painful, but not nothing, like my right foot. So as soon as I return to running I know it’s going to flare up again. I’ve stopped the bike training and exercises to try and fully rest it. I still cycle into work, but it’s only 2.6 miles each way, that’s hardly anything. I was beginning to think no matter what I did it was never going to heal. Then one of my friends on Twitter said I should see the physio. I had a lot of email advice from him for free during lockdown, but that can’t compare with a proper, physical, examination. It’s a great idea. I’ve emailed him and I’ve got an appointment for next Monday. It’s 17.00hrs in Stockport, so I’m going to have to go on the motorbike. Rush hour traffic around the M60 (Manchester ring road) is atrocious. Hopefully that will put me on the road to full recovery. I went around to Lisa’s last week, to see my mam. Lisa asked me what it meant when she was braking from speed the car pulled to one side. I said it was probably the tracking was out. (Though, thinking about it, it could just as easily be one brake failing). She is working full time and still can’t afford to live, so I said we’d pay for it. Get it done, it’s dangerous. Then my mam said the brakes feel spongy. Lisa said “Oh yeah, they said the brake pads were nearly worn out at my last MOT”. Spongy is a different thing, probably need the brakes bleeding, but get the pads done as well. Now. We’ll pay for it. “No, it’s alright, I’ll get it done in January when it goes in for the MOT.” I was talking about it with Wendy today and decided I’d best nag. Lisa hates to take anything off of you, but it’s just not safe, especially as we’re supposed to be getting snow and gales again tomorrow. I text her and said ‘book it in, tell them you want these 3 jobs doing, we’ll pay.’ She text back, she’d been to pick Nath up from work, just got off the motorway (luckily), went to brake and had nothing. She pumped the brake and just about managed to avoid smashing into the car in front. She’s booked it into the garage and isn’t using it. Bloody hell, Lisa! (Update: the garage has fixed it all and she’s safe to drive again.) In other news, I’ve not had any plague weakness for a few weeks, which is great. Quite possibly it is that post viral fatigue thing: you do a bit, you get wasted. At work, I’ve wanted to get trained on the tugs […]