It's been over a month (again) since my last post and again it has been quite a journey.
I've mostly recovered from the giardia infection but still have some side effects, which a visit to a specialist gastroenterologist a week ago revealed may be due to an underlying condition. I now have a date with a camera in mid May - 4 days before the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon.
My training has been sporadic as I deal with recovery and restarting training on a tight deadline. Stretches are essential and something I have neglected from time to time to my own detriment. My Physio (the talented Tony at Proactive Healthcare in North Ryde) has been an invaluable support and patient advisor as we work to get me up and running comfortably and without injury. Runs with patient work colleagues (Darren and Gilbert) through the national park near work have helped push my training further but it is time to really knuckle down to some serious training if I'm going to complete the SMH half marathon in May.
Fundraising plans are back on the drawing board following a conversation with work that produced a result that was less than I had hoped and threw a spanner in the works for my corporate sponsorship plans. Personal requests, Facebook posts and conversations are back in action and the generosity of friends offering to help raise money has been a welcome and wonderful support.
Ideas, training discipline and conversations are now the flavour of the month.
Bring it on!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
The month that's been
Here it is almost a month since my last post and a lot has happened, unfortunately not around running and increasing race fitness!
In the week following my last post I went to see the physio twice, and my foot appeared to be healing well. I was advised to start some gentle jogging for short periods. We went away camping for the following week and whilst I didn't run I did do a fair amount of walking (including carrying small children) which gave my foot a good testing. Back to see the physio on our return (Friday Feb 26) and he was happy that I'm all set to start training again, easy at first and see how it goes.
Hold everything!
The following 10 days were filled with fever, headaches, stomach cramps and other related symptoms - no running! Off to see the doctor (4 times in two weeks) resulting in a bunch of tests and treatment for Giardia. The illness has left me very tired and physically incapable of training - the most frustrating aspect as it has been over a month now since I have been running.
I know I need to recover fully or risk doing myself damage, I'm concerned it will impact my ability to run the SMH Half Marathon on May 15th - only 2 months away having already resulted in my pulling out of the Corporate Games 5KM run on March 19th.
That's how it is at the moment, this is what I'm dealing with and I'm determined to run the half marathon in May.
Once I'm healthy I'll have to restart my training regime and get back to being disciplined about the early morning starts and following a program. Right now I need to focus on recovery and fundraising!
In the week following my last post I went to see the physio twice, and my foot appeared to be healing well. I was advised to start some gentle jogging for short periods. We went away camping for the following week and whilst I didn't run I did do a fair amount of walking (including carrying small children) which gave my foot a good testing. Back to see the physio on our return (Friday Feb 26) and he was happy that I'm all set to start training again, easy at first and see how it goes.
Hold everything!
The following 10 days were filled with fever, headaches, stomach cramps and other related symptoms - no running! Off to see the doctor (4 times in two weeks) resulting in a bunch of tests and treatment for Giardia. The illness has left me very tired and physically incapable of training - the most frustrating aspect as it has been over a month now since I have been running.
I know I need to recover fully or risk doing myself damage, I'm concerned it will impact my ability to run the SMH Half Marathon on May 15th - only 2 months away having already resulted in my pulling out of the Corporate Games 5KM run on March 19th.
That's how it is at the moment, this is what I'm dealing with and I'm determined to run the half marathon in May.
Once I'm healthy I'll have to restart my training regime and get back to being disciplined about the early morning starts and following a program. Right now I need to focus on recovery and fundraising!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Changes?
It took me a while to think of a title for this blog - I considered "Yo-Yo" but that didn't really capture it, "Rollercoaster" sounds too dramatic and yet it has been 3 weeks of ups and downs.
Picking up from late Jan, and the first low around my training, I went back to my physiotherapist as I was having real trouble getting a rhythm in my running and constantly felt like all my leg muscles were tight from the hips down. Some effective massage, a few stretches for at home and another visit to learn how to use a hard foam roll to really help stretch reluctant muscles later and I noticed a BIG change in how I felt about running. Up we go as I start to enjoy my training and even look forward to it.
First week of Feb and Sydney is in a heat wave while Queensland is waiting for category 5 Cyclone Yasi to hit, parts of Victoria are flooding and the outskirts of Perth are on fire - crazy! Little or no sleep for a week, it is about 28C at 06:00 (37C at 00:30 one night!) and really humid but no rain and running was exhausting rather than exhilarating, down we go again. A southerly change hit on the Sunday, the whole city breathed a sigh of relief and I look forward to getting into some serious training in the week ahead.
Tuesday morning, first real run of the week and I cover just over 5km's in a warm up, 5x 5min runs (30 sec gaps) and warm down format. Felt GREAT! Looking forward to the rest of the week. Tuesday afternoon, minor cramp in my left foot that becomes more painful on Wednesday, leads to me skipping my run Thursday morning as I start to hobble and then making an appointment to see the physio again that afternoon.
Thursday afternoon Tony at ProActive Healthcare checks out my foot, helps relieve the pain and gives me treatment advice while breaking the news that it could be either a stress fracture (no thanks - never broken a bone and not keen to start with a stress fracture of my 5th metatarsal) or tendonitis. No running for a week, wear soft shoes, ice, rest etc etc. Back again this Tuesday to see how it is healing and see if it needs X-Ray or Ultrasound.
Here's to a quick and full recovery and getting back to running! In the meantime it is bike repairs so I can ride and off to the pool to keep my cardio work on track.
Picking up from late Jan, and the first low around my training, I went back to my physiotherapist as I was having real trouble getting a rhythm in my running and constantly felt like all my leg muscles were tight from the hips down. Some effective massage, a few stretches for at home and another visit to learn how to use a hard foam roll to really help stretch reluctant muscles later and I noticed a BIG change in how I felt about running. Up we go as I start to enjoy my training and even look forward to it.
First week of Feb and Sydney is in a heat wave while Queensland is waiting for category 5 Cyclone Yasi to hit, parts of Victoria are flooding and the outskirts of Perth are on fire - crazy! Little or no sleep for a week, it is about 28C at 06:00 (37C at 00:30 one night!) and really humid but no rain and running was exhausting rather than exhilarating, down we go again. A southerly change hit on the Sunday, the whole city breathed a sigh of relief and I look forward to getting into some serious training in the week ahead.
Tuesday morning, first real run of the week and I cover just over 5km's in a warm up, 5x 5min runs (30 sec gaps) and warm down format. Felt GREAT! Looking forward to the rest of the week. Tuesday afternoon, minor cramp in my left foot that becomes more painful on Wednesday, leads to me skipping my run Thursday morning as I start to hobble and then making an appointment to see the physio again that afternoon.
Thursday afternoon Tony at ProActive Healthcare checks out my foot, helps relieve the pain and gives me treatment advice while breaking the news that it could be either a stress fracture (no thanks - never broken a bone and not keen to start with a stress fracture of my 5th metatarsal) or tendonitis. No running for a week, wear soft shoes, ice, rest etc etc. Back again this Tuesday to see how it is healing and see if it needs X-Ray or Ultrasound.
Here's to a quick and full recovery and getting back to running! In the meantime it is bike repairs so I can ride and off to the pool to keep my cardio work on track.
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