Tuesday 29 July 2014

TRAINING UPDATE: Ticking over and planning dreams


I’m still injured and I am trying my absolute best to not let it get to me. There are days where I look outside at the summer sun and pine so bad to lace up and get running but realistically, this injury is worse than I thought.

It has been one month since Mizuno Endure24 and since my last Training Update, the pain in my right knee has definitely become more frequent and is making its show during runs sooner. Each weekend, I have attempted to head out for a jog praying I will be able to complete good distance (and by good, I am referring to at least 5K at the moment) but alas, I cannot even complete two miles before the familiarly strong, dull ache kicks in.

Of course, this does signal to me that something really isn’t right and I shouldn’t assume that it is just linked to my injury prone ITB. So as it stands, I am looking to seek some physio help for the very first time to learn what really is wrong with me and more importantly, how can I fix it!? I have also opted to pull out of Chippenham Half Marathon which I am GUTTED about but with it being just weeks away, I honestly feel like I won’t even be ready to shuffle 13.1miles, let alone run to my target pace of sub 8-minute miles.

Things haven’t totally gone to pot though. I have found that I am able to keep up cycling and swimming. Thank God otherwise I’d be going nuts! I cycle to work most days and I have managed at least two swims a week. During this period, swimming for me has been something I’ve discovered I'm actually fairly good at (sorry to boast). I have been heading to my local 25m pool and found myself to be one of the stronger swimmers in the lanes, even overtaking people! Wednesday just gone was also was an achievement for me as I reached the 800m mark in just over 25 minutes and to my surprise, I still had petrol in the tank.

So in all, whilst I cannot run and honestly feel like I have lost all signs of fitness in this field (I cannot remember the last time I ran over five miles) I have decided to start thinking about how I will start up again after I’m fixed.

Focus on my strengths

Before I was injured, I was dabbling in all sorts of distances. I love the challenge of getting those miles under my belt and building up endurance. My dream is to run London Marathon and I have tried a few half marathons to date to customise my body to distance running. Deep down though, I know I belong in the 5K/10K field. This is where I feel strong and dominant. I’m built for this type of running more so than marathons and so once I am able to get back out on road again, I will start to concentrate on these distances to build back up speed and strength. I cannot remember the last time I ran a parkrun (I’d say Christmas?) and my last decent 10K time was back in January so I am keen to find my feet again and get more involved in these sorts of races.

Set a challenge

Of course, if in October I get that much desired letter from Virgin London Marathon confirming a ballot entry, I will definitely, DEFINTELY switch to a training plan for this, no matter how fast or slow I am. However, as you may have noticed on my social media channels, I am incredibly curious to set myself another rather different challenge and that is in the form of a triathlon.

I just love watching triathlons on the TV. From the Brownlee’s storming it at London 2012, to the ITU World Championships (Jodie Stimpson, Non Stanford and USA’s Gwen Jorgenson are my faves) to just recently watching England dominate the singles and relay at the Commonwealth Games, I will watch it all, at home or on the go.

In the last six months, I have become more confident to dabble in this sport myself and now I have my shiny new road bike, all I need is a wet suit and I am good to go!

At the moment I am researching UK triathlon events and seeing which takes my fancy but I have decided to test the water and opt for a Super Sprint. The swim is the bit that daunts me the most so I want to start short and sweet. I’ve found Twitter a great help in learning more about this sport and have also picked up a copy of Triathlon Plus to get familiar with it.

Having this target for 2015 is what’s keeping me sane at the moment. Knowing that I have something to work towards and a project where I will start as a complete newbie does also reassure me for when I’m injury free and back on the road. I feel no pressure to beat any target and I thoroughly look forward to setting a new and very different challenge.

Weight Watcher!

As I am not running at the moment, I am noticing a erm…slight tum forming. I think this is due to me eating the same amount of food that I was consuming during the peak of my training. I need a food overhaul and VB6, which I blogged about in my last Fuel for Thought post, is definitely helping even if I may have slipped up this last week. But I have been working crap loads and when I am working long hours, I do reallllly struggle to maintain a routine.

As I am losing the luxury of high calorie burning through running, I need to ensure I cut my food intake and I have also decided to try and squeeze in core and glute strength exercises to keep the old bod toned (or close to being toned is more like it for me). Also, I get enough of my fiancé ‘casually’ mentioning ‘hey, why don’t you try and do some squats?’ so it’s safe to say my bum isn’t in tip top condition. Cheeky sod.

That's it for now but let’s hope next time, I actually have some ‘training’ to update you on. And maybe a perkier behind!


Lipstick Runner.

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