December 12, 2010

Running Again!

Week of Dec 6 ~ 12

Plan: 54K
Ran: 54K

Running again means, of course, running with no pain. If there was still pain, I would not be running.
So I decided to try 5 on Monday, then one more each day, and it worked fine.
One by-product of not running for 8 weeks is that I am really motivated to work hard to get back into good shape. So there is your new motivational technique: don't run for 8 weeks. Not really recommended, though.
Another is that it made me aware once more of how enjoyable running is. My runs this week were definitely the high points of each day. Does that mean I love running, or just that I don't have a life? ... Well, I think I do have a life, so it must mean I love running. And it's nice to be reminded of that. So let's remember to enjoy each run, even the bad, hard, wet, cold, etc. ones, because...they're better than not running.

Monday
3:00 - 5k in 28:49. Slow, but no calf pain!
Weight: 62.6kg (Ha! Gained 2 and 1/2 kilos. And it's all around the middle.)
15C/59F, clear

Tuesday
11:00 - Weights and abs in the gym, and 10 mins. walking on inclined treadmill.
1:00 - 6k in 33:24 @5:34
15C/59F, clear

Wednesday
1:30 - 7k in 39:18 @5:37
Calf ok, but quads sore! (maybe cause I haven't run for 8 weeks...)
Weight: 61.9kg
12C/54F, clear

Thursday
3:00 - 8k in 42:18 @5:17. Quads sore.
11C/52F, clear

Friday
11:00 - Weights and abs, 15 mins walking uphill
1:00 - 8k in 42:03 @5:15
12C/54F, clear

Saturday
12:30 - 10k in 52:57 @5:18. Wow, 10k! Quads still sore.
Each k got faster, from 5:36 to 5:07, which I was not trying to do.
15C/59F, clear

Sunday
4:00 - 10k in 50:48 @5:08.
Quads ok until last 2k. Last 3k in 4:52/50/49. But just cruising.
14C/57F, cloudy
Weight: 62.3kg (big lunch). I WILL get back down to 60.0

So, I guess the calf is all better. Due mainly to rest, OR mainly to the hot brick therapy. That's the thing with rest and therapies, you can never tell what it was that worked. But that guy swore by the brick, and I think it actually did help. I am still doing it every night, but cut out the mornings. By the way, Kylie, a woman in my club, said I should name the brick, so I christened it Fred. I always thought Fred was a funky name, and it also has "red" in it.
54K for the week. Rest tomorrow, then next week I'll try about 80. If that goes all right, I'll go back into marathon training mode at 120 per week.That will give me 12 weeks until the LA Marathon, with a one-week taper.

5 comments:

  1. Great to hear you are back (well I actually knew it from the horse`s mouth).

    Please do not come back TOO fast.
    Am I the only one who thinks zero to 120 in 3 weeks is damn quick?
    (Especially if you are carrying all that extra weight !)

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  2. Good news! Happy to hear your back on the road at last! Enjoy it!
    Maybe Fred should be Freddie...

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  3. Great to see you back running injury free Bob. An 8 week layoff is tough.

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  4. Too bad you named that brick now you're going to have to keep it. If you hadn't named it I was going to ask you if I could have it. It would have made a nice Christmas present for Ewen!

    Good to hear you're back.

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  5. Good one Scott. The postage to send Fred from Japan would cost a fortune, and I think Bob shares a little of my Scottish heritage.

    That's good news Bob. After 5 days jogging you're quicker than I was in the 10,000 last week ;) Ramping up quickly is an interesting one. I recall Danny O'Dea (Lisa Ondieki's brother) saying he went from injured to 100 miles/week in 3 weeks. But then he's a tad younger than you.

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