Confusion

I am confused.

After 6 months of tedious injury that stopped me running, I want to do whatever I can to prevent the same thing happening again. But what exactly should I do? When I started getting heel pain, I went straight to my tried and very trusted physio, but for a long time we didn't seem to make any progress. She spent a lot of time working on my lower back, which she pinpointed as the cause of most injuries, and we tried local massaging, taping, and eventually orthotics.

I didn't notice any obvious improvement, until February this year, when I managed a few runs without any heel pain. Great news, but I am none the wiser about what helped the recovery.

Since then, I've been continuing with a few stretches that Ms Physio gave me, along with loads of others I've got from the net (mainly from other bloggers). I've also continued to not cross my legs when I sit down, to wear shoes all day and hardly ever go barefoot, and to wear the orthotics at all times. But I don't know if any of this is actually helping.

Recently I've had a lot of discomfort and pain in my feet - in the tops, not the heels - of which I really don't know the cause, and after the last few runs, there has been some slight reoccurance of the dreaded heel pain. I really can't stand the thought of not being able to run again, and Pete has said he would find it hard to put up with too - apparently my usual sunny demeanor was replaced with some grumpiness, although I find this very hard to believe.

I've been reading on various blogs about barefoot running and minimalist shoes, and while a large part of me (my brain?) thinks that this is just the current fad and in a few years it'll go out of fashion, I have found some of the things I've read quite convincing. For example, I can see that strengthening the foot could help prevent injury, and that this is not going to happen by constantly protecting it in highly cushioned shoes. I also feel that heavy heel striking might not be the ideal running style for my injury-prone heels.

So I'm beginning to wonder whether my orthotics are doing more harm than good. Could they be causing the discomfort in the top of my foot? And what sort of shoe should I be wearing?

With all these dilemmas in mind, I paid a visit to the running shop this week. I didn't know if I wanted a more cushioned shoe, or something more minimalist. I've found that my last pair of shoes (Saucony), have been pinching my toes, and I don't find them very comfortable.

Anyway, I spoke to the guy in the shop about all my issues (poor man), and he videoed me running on the treadmill and showed me my many running faults. I ended up with a softer, more maleable shoe, which he thought would help correct my wonky gait.

This is the first time I've ever bought new running shoes and not thought that they were a thing of beauty. Behold, the monstrosity:


Actually they don't look too bad there, but look away from the next picture if you are of a sensitive disposition:



AAARGH! So I tried them out on the treadmill this morning and they felt very comfortable, but afterwards I had a few pains in the side of my right foot. That didn't last long though, so I think I'll probably keep them. I'm still confused, so I guess I'll just play it by ear for now.

(Apologies to anyone who has these Nikes and loves the look of them).

A week of excuses

This week I have not had a busy week workout-wise. But that's ok becuase I am prepared with my excuses for this, or as I prefer to call them, 'mitigating circumstances'.

Excuse number 1: No school

Monday was a local holiday, and so as usual, the schools took the opportunity to close for a full 3 days. Even worse, Emma's playgroup gave themselves the whole week off. Nice for them, but I do all my cycling and some running during the mornings when Emma's at playgroup and Robbie's at school, so this really threw a spanner in the workouts. Consequently, I've hardly done any cycling this week, nor been to the gym, nor pilates.

Excuse number 2: A cold

All week I've been battling a mild cold, with sore throat, congested head, and a bit of a cough. On Sunday night, I had a real fever, and was shivering in bed for a while, but felt a lot better the next day. When I managed to fit in a quick run on Tuesday evening, I was wondering why my legs felt tired and sluggish and my pace was slow. It was only when I ran the last few metres to my front door, and my legs started to feel really achey, that I remembered that I had a cold, and should probably have taken it a bit more easily. Doh!

Excuse number 3: Spontaneity (lack of organisation)

On Thursday I found myself coming home unexpectedly early from work. I had an hour or so before having to pick the kids up from the childminder, and I suddenly realised I could fit in a run. The problem was that I had eaten too much and drunk coffee too close to running, but I actually ran 5k in just over 27 minutes, so I was quite happy, and I don't really need an excuse for this one.

Excuse number 4: My constant companion

Due to the aforementioned selfishness of playgroup organisers, even when Robbie was back at school at the end of the week, Emma was still around. So I decided to attempt a cycle with her on the back of my bike. I usually take her to playgroup like this, but it's a 1.5 mile journey which is downhill all the way, and I pick her up afterwards in the car. This time I tried to keep to flat roads as much as possible, but there was still a fair amount of hills, and it was hard work with her weight on the back. I only managed 4.6 miles, but it took me nearly 34 minutes, and I'd had enough by then! Great quads workout though. My too-heavy passenger

Excuse number 5: Wind

Yes, my old foe, the Scottish weather has been very active this week. After the scary gales on Monday, it's continued to be very windy. This morning I headed off to try a 6-mile run, as I've only run up to 5.3 miles since my comeback. It didn't start well when the route I'd planned to take was blocked (by men clearing and chipping broken branches off the road from the recent gales). So I had to change my route, which left me in a bad mood and I kept changing my mind about where to go. The first 2 miles were great, as it was mostly downhill, and mile 2 took me a thrilling 8m26s! Unfortunately as we all know, what runs down must run up, and as I came back uphill, it was straight into a strong head wind. Mile 5 took a horrendous 10m21s - bleurgh. By this time I also had a bad stitch, and eventually I stopped at 5.5 miles. As I got home, I thought this was one of the worst runs I can ever had! However, after such a long period of injury, I'm remembering to keep counting my blessings that I'm running at all.

So the stats for this week are pretty sad to look at.

Cycled: 4.6 miles
Run: 11.9 miles

...and that's it. Thankfully next week should be back to normal - but you never know!

Back online!

Thank Goodness. While Pete could still play his video games on the computer over the weekend, for those of us who spend far too much time on the Internet it is impossible to be offline for 2 1/2 days and remain sane. No email, no Facebook, and worst of all no blogging = nightmare. All better now though - phew.

Last week I didn't manage a huge amount, what with my foot still bothering me and not being able to run much. I only fitted in 2 bike rides too, and then went to the gym on Friday. This was my 3rd week in a row of having a great gym session on a Friday morning. It only came about because I've started giving a lift to a girl in Emma's playgroup on Fridays, which means I have to go in the car, rather than the bike. So instead of going for a bike ride, I started going to the gym instead, and I've been really enjoying it. I usually have time for 60 mins of cardio, before a few reps on the upper body weight machines.

Last Friday, I did 20 mins on the bike; 20 mins on the cross trainer, then decided to try 20 mins on the treadmill. My foot felt fine, and I plugged in my ipod, turned the music up loud, and had a great time pumping up the endorphins while trying not to sing out loud in public. In fact I wasn't running that fast, but I felt like Usain Bolt, so I didn't care. I was pleased to be running again.

Encouraged, I went for a 5K run on Sunday morning. It was my usual hilly route, but somehow I managed it in 26m58s - which averages out at 8m39s per mile - score! (Having said that, I ran on a flatter route yesterday and was far slower - swings and roundabouts...).

This week I've been busier. School has been closed for 3 days for a local holiday, and playgroup is closed ALL WEEK. Yes, that was indignant shouting. So it's been hard to fit much exercise in. Added to that, we had gales on Monday which were actually quite frightening as trees were blown down and the roads got strewn with branches and whole trees. Almost every train route in Scotland was closed, so Pete had a long bus journey back from work, and the local road bridge was closed, leading to long traffic jams in our town, which I got caught up in.


Just round the corner from our house

We've also had plumbers round to fit a shower in our bathroom. They turned up last night to finish the job, and as they were drilling through the kitchen and generally getting in the way (we live in a tiny flat), we ended up getting a Chinese takeaway, despite having a fridge full of healthy food. It is great to have a shower in our home at last though. It'll be so much quicker than a bath, especially in the mornings after a run and before going to school.

So last week looked like this:
Cycled: 16 miles
Ran: 5.1 miles (including treadmill)
Gym x 1
Pilates x 1 class

Techno-fail

We have no Internet. I am writing this at work, because it is clearly an emergency. So in case anyone wondered why I haven't blogged or why I've stopped reading and commenting on other blogs, this is the reason. Some sort of techno problem at home, which is hopefully in the process of being resolved now.

Normal service should resume soon...

When Nature Attacks!

My parents were visiting over the weekend, so I didn't quite stick to my usual routines. I did manage to fit in a nice bike ride on Monday morning though. I cycled to playgroup with Emma on the back, and after I dropped her off, I headed into the local country estate for a rural, woody bike ride. It's a scenic route, but there were millions of buzzing insects all over the place.

Again, I felt quite fit and kept up a good speed. I had about 30 minutes to cycle before meeting Mum and Dad back in town, so after about 3 miles in one direction, I turned round to come back.

On the way back I was just wondering whether I was going to make it on time, when suddenly, a huge black animal flew into my face! Well, maybe I exaggerate slightly, but a black fly definitely went in my eye, and it felt pretty big. I didn't have time to stop, but I rubbed my eye for a bit and it felt sore. Annoyingly, I was wearing contact lenses when I usually cycle in my glasses, so it was access all areas for the opportunistic fly.

When I met my parents, Mum had a good look in my eye but there was nothing there. Anyway, we browsed a few shops and I had a lovely cup of coffee with them before I cycled (and they drove) home.

All day my eye felt sore on and off, and by the time I went to my Pilates class at 8pm, my vision was quite blurry in the left eye. As soon as I got back home I went in the bathroom to take my lenses out, and as I looked in the mirror, there was a big black squidge in the corner of my eye. The fly had been lurking round the back of my eyeball and then come out the other side - an intrepid journey which had taken 11 hours! Yuck!


See - it's massive!

(I wasn't totally unprepared for this, as the same thing happened once before with a contact lens, and luckily I'm not too squeamish about eyes. If something had flown into my ear I'd have died on the spot).

My eye felt a lot better after the unwanted body had been expelled and full vision was restored. I think I'll be wearing my glasses if not proper goggles every time I go out on the bike from now on!

Weekly stats - not as I'd planned

Last Sunday I was pleased to see that I had run my furthest weekly mileage since coming back to running, with 15.2 miles. This week I have totalled one paltry run of 3.1 miles. Hmph. I mentioned a pain in my foot in my last post, and unfortunately it is still giving me trouble and stopping me from running. The good news is that I don't think it's got anything to do with the PF injury, but I really have no idea what caused it. It almost feels as though I bruised it when I was asleep, becuase I have no memory of doing anything to provoke it - I'm not sure it was caused by running.

I had a great run of speed intervals on Tuesday morning, and then during Wednesday, I gradually felt a pain coming on in the left outside of my foot, under my toes. I can't put weight on the outside of my foot, and it hurts to flex it, so I've been walking with a bit of a limp. This in turn has lead to tightness in my calf muscle, which feels like cramp. I'm sure this has been caused by the way I'm compensating for the pain when I walk.

So it's all very frustrating. Last week I really felt that I was getting my fitness and speed back, and now I've had to stop again. The foot seems to be getting better, but it'll be a few days at least before I'll want to risk a run. Sad face.

So this week I've been back to the old cross-training. I went to the gym on Friday, and tried to use the elliptical machine, but I found that it hurt my foot, so I could only really use the bikes. Added to that, I've been out for 3 bike rides this week, so I've really been getting those quads working. Quite by accident, it seems that this has been my highest cycling mileage week this year!

Monday's bike ride was lovely and sunny, but it involved an almost vertical long uphill, which was really tough. I'll definitely be avoiding that route in the future. On Wednesday I felt tired, it was rainy and I'd forgotten to take my inhaler - yes a litany of pathetic excuses - so I only managed 6 miles. Today I had a really nice cycle on a cool, overcast morning, and it was a flatter route than usual. My speed was the fastest yet, averaging over 11mph! It seems that I am definitely getting fitter, and faster at cycling.




















Monday's cycle in the sun

My stats for the week are not quite what I'd planned, then:
Cycled: 24.3 miles
Run: 3.1 miles (flipping heck...)
Gym x 1 - 60 mins of cardio plus weights
Pilates x 1 class

Hopefully this foot pain will clear up soon. I'm not sure if I'll be able to run at all this week, but I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a run next weekend, perhaps. Luckily I've really been enjoying my last few bike rides, so it'll be more of the same for now. At least this foot pain is stopping me from overdoing the miles as I come back to running, and aggravating the PF. Perhaps it's a blessing in disguise - in which case it's a really good disguise, because to be honest, it seems more like a total bummer!

Midweek Musings

1. I am so glad I finally took myself in hand last week and cleaned up my diet. I wasn't all that strict, I just had my own rules about not overdoing it. It shouldn't be that hard, but I find it really difficult to be disciplined for 6 whole days in a row. On Sunday, we met some friends for lunch in a restaurant, and I did have pudding (cheesecake and it was massive).

This week I'm trying to stick to it for 5 days, then I can be a bit more piggy at the weekend. I can't believe I haven't done this sooner - I put on about 8 lbs at Christmas, and I kept 4 or 5 with me until last week - what an idiot. It seems to me that I can either be properly strict, stick to a plan and keep a record of what I eat, or I just have no self control whatsoever - there is no middle ground.

2. I got up for a run yesterday at 6.30am, and I felt distinctly unmotivated. This was partly because I wanted to sleep a bit more, and partly because I just felt a bit bored of my usual 3 mile run. I couldn't decide what this run was for, other than to increase my mileage for the week, and burn some calories. As I got to about 1 mile, I passed the local High school, and saw the running track painted on the grass. So I decided to do some track intervals instead.

I've only run there a couple of times before, over a year ago, so it was a great change from the usual plod along the streets. I basically ran 400m fast, 400m slow x 3, so after I'd run home, I'd reached 3.1 miles in total. My average pace was 8.49 min/miles, which is about the same as my usual pace for a short run, but it was much more fun, and I really enjoyed pushing myself on the fast intervals. It reminded me how important it is to keep things varied and not get stuck in a rut.

3. I felt fine after that run, but today, 24 hours later, I've got a bad pain in my foot. It's not even in the heel, and seemingly not PF-related, but I can't really flex my left foot, which is making me limp when I walk. I'd planned a run tomorrow and a longer one on Sunday, but I'm not so sure now. I'm going to rest it as much as possible (while looking after 2 kids), and hope it feels better after a night's sleep.

4. Regarding the Mum part of Runner Mum, look what I achieved this morning!




















I am totally useless when it comes to hair-dos, but both Robbie and Emma begged me to do a plait for her, so this is my best effort. Emma quite often gets her hair done in a fancy way from other girls at the childminder's and their 10-year-old efforts put my boring ponytails and bunches to shame.

Anyway, I'm off to spend the rest of the evening with an ice-pack on my foot, and I'll be moving from the sofa as little as possible. Please let it be better by morning!




















*Sigh* 'Mum, what's wrong with your feet now?'