Juneathon day 23 - back in the saddle

So the eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed the lack of Juneathon posts from me for day 21 or 22. I could fabricate some kind of attempt at exercise, or try and claim a brisk walk to Pizza Express as exercise but the truth is that I fell of the Juneathon wagon and haven't done anything the last two days. No running for a couple of days is no bad thing as I've still been having pain in my thigh, but I could probably have done something else if I'd really put my mind to it. 

Still, no use crying over spilled milk - I'm back in the saddle now and very happy about it. I'm going to Glastonbury on tuesday evening and it would have been VERY easy indeed to call a halt to Juneathon now, having missed a couple of days, since I'm not going to be able to carry it on at Glastonbury (unless briskly walking across a field carrying my own body weight in cans of lager, or spending two hours jumping up and down to the Rolling Stones counts). With that in mind then I'm pleased to have done something today. Bearing in mind my thigh problem I took it relatively easy and stuck to the treadmill. As always the plan was just to do 15 minutes, then 20, then 4k, then 5k and so on... Just as I got to 30 minutes and was about to press stop Daft Punk came to my rescue once again and kept me going for another 10. No major issues with my thigh whilst running, so assuming everything's ok tomorrow I will try for a gentle jog outside. 

Juneathon day 23 5.43k in 40 minutes

Runningfree stats

Juneathon day 20 - more strength training

Not much to report today. I resisted the urge to run and instead did another strength training session focusing on arms. I fully expect to have to get someone to cut my food up for me tomorrow. I still have some twinges in my thigh when I move in certain positions but nothing too bad, and my knee is almost better. The plan is to run again with my friend Oliver tomorrow. I'm hoping that four days of very light running / no running at all will be sufficient to give me back my running mojo. We will see. Anyway, no time for a longer post tonight - thursday night is cribbage night and I've got some pegging to do.

Juneathon day 19 - strength training: turns out I don't have any strength

Another day of not in the zone. I decided yesterday that I wouldn't run today, for fear of making my adductor problem worse. I have a number of things coming up for which I really need full use of my legs so in this instance discretion is the better part of valour, and means a day off running. I toyed with the idea of walking but that seems like a pretty puny substitute for running, plus it's really hot outside... So, after a massive amount of humming and hawing I decided to try some strength training (which I know will make the boyfriend very happy indeed - all the weights and other instruments of torture in the man cave belong to him).

A reminder of all the scary weights
in the man cave

 

Since I started running again in January all I've done is run. Running, running and yet more running. I know I need to mix it up a bit, and I also know that if I had a stronger core and all that other stuff then I'd be less likely to get injured etc etc. In short, I know that strength training is a good thing. But I really, really don't like doing it. That said, I do like the results. Years ago I had a personal trainer who used to make me do lots of weights, in addition to running (hello Kate, if you're reading!). During that glorious time I actually developed something approximating the very baby beginnings of a six pack (perhaps a two pack?) and had lovely toned upper arms. All good. 

Running 4-5 times a week regularly since January has given me thighs of steel. Seriously. My thighs are pure muscle. Muscles which are actually visible to the naked eye rather than hidden under a layer of fat. They are AWESOME. Also my arse is fairly steely too. This is all good. However it would be better still if the rest of my body matched - abs and arms of steel are quite some way off. Still, all that's needed is a few press ups, sit ups etc and job's a good 'un, right? Ahahahahaha. 

So it turns out that I have pretty much no strength at all in any muscles other than my thighs. It's a wonder I have the strength to get dressed in the mornings. My boyfriend doesn't have any weights light enough for me to be able to do a significant number of repetitions of anything. Never mind, I thought, plenty of exercises for which you can use your own body weight. If only it were that simple. Press ups? Can't do any (although to be fair I could perhaps have done some from a kneeling position but my knees still won't let me kneel on them). Sit ups? Just about managed 20, moving an infinitesimal amount barely visible to the naked eye. The plank? Much as I used to hate the plank with every ounce of my being, there was a time when I could hold it for a minute. Now - 10 seconds felt like quite a stretch. Oh. My. God. 

My pride has taken quite the beating in the light of this feeble performance. Not helped at all by my mother (68) informing me that she can do full press-ups now (from the toes and everything!). Room for improvement, and I will certainly try and build strength training in as a more regular part of my routine once Juneathon is over. In the meantime, I really hope to be able to run again tomorrow rather than have to torture myself further. One glimmer of hope in all of this is that the prospect of running for 90 minutes doesn't phase me at all now, whereas it would have filled me with horror back in the day, two pack or no two pack.  

Juneathon day 18 - epic fail

So it seems as though there really is something wrong with my right thigh - the internet tells me it's the adductors. After yesterday's puny effort I decided to take it deliberately easy today and stick to the treadmill. Did 10 minutes at 8kph but then had to slow down to a brisk walk. I've been having twinges in the same area over the past few days and had to stop running altogether for about two weeks back at Easter time because of a similar injury. Today's pain was something that I probably could have run through if I'd really wanted to but, because I've been injured there before in a proper not-being-able-to-get-out-of-chairs way, I decided discretion was the better part of valour and didn't push it.

I upped the incline and plodded away for another 20 minutes at a brisk walk. It feels like a fail but I still managed to cover 3k, got my heart rate up and felt the burn in my calves so I guess it's better than nothing. I'm going to Glastonbury next week and have a 10k race a couple of weeks after that so I really don't want to be injured for either of those. Might be a couple more days of walking in store to keep on track with Juneathon - we'll see how it is tomorrow.

Day 18 3k in 30 minutes
Runningfree stats

Juneathon day 17 - not in the zone

Today was a struggle. I really, really wasn't in the zone at all. I put off going out all day and when I finally did muster up sufficient motivation to get off my arse everything hurt. I started with the intention of going for a fairly gentle 5k but it soon became clear that even that would be a challenge. My calves felt very tight today, on top of which my knees are both sore from my fall on saturday night and my right knee in particular complained a lot about being forced to run. I often have twinges in my knees when I run but I think today's were clearly related to falling so heavily on them. I've also been having twinges in my right thigh for the last few days, which was also a problem today. It wouldn't have been enough to stop me running if everything else had been on top form but added to a list of complaints it was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. I pottered round the block - a fairly puny effort but another run which definitely wouldn't have happened without Juneathon and I'm pleased to have at least done something and not broken my streak. Back on the treadmill tomorrow I think.

I wasn't sure of the etiquette of posting pictures of one's injuries but since my boyfriend posted pictures of his bloody knuckles (boxing injury) on his blog I figure it's ok to show my knee to the world. People of a nervous disposition - look away now. Knee fetishists and perverts - knock yourselves out.

As is always the way, it doesn't look
like much but it hurts like hell.

Day 17 - 2 k in 13 minutes
Runningfree stats

Juneathon day 16 - nearly out of the running after falling over like an old lady

Last night I was out in Lancaster with Jill, an old university friend who lives up there. On our way out for dinner I slipped on a wet patch of leaves and went crashing to the ground, knees first, in a highly undignified manner. Luckily no one else was around to see me go down, so I didn't have to do the whole 'I'm fine! I meant to do that!' thing that you normally have to do when you fall over in public. Just as well because it was really incredibly painful.For a moment I didn't think I'd be able to get up, and not crying was an effort of iron will. I was absolutely certain that when I looked at my right knee I'd see a bit of bone sticking out, or at least some blood or some other visible sign on injury. Instead, nothing. This is one of those annoying times where it hurts like hell but there's no external sign of injury with which to gross people out.

I thought it very telling that almost my first thought after I fell was 'oh no - this is the end of Juneathon' and I was absolutely gutted at the prospect of not being able to run. Fortunately that's not the case. After sleeping on it it's clear that nothing's broken, it's just bruised. So, Jill and I went out for a gentle run this morning to test things out. It doesn't hurt when walking or running (or at least no more than my knees normally hurt when running) and is only sore to the touch. Kneeling on a wooden floor doesn't feel so great, and I've probably missed my chance of playing for England, but apart from that I'm basically fine. Phew.

We went for half an hour around Lancaster - a really beautiful route. Although Jill lives basically in the city centre you can be out in fields within a few hundred metres of her house, which makes a really nice change from the industrial complexes and housing estates that I generally run through these days. Another social run and a lovely chance to catch up. All's well that ends well.

Day 16 - 4.65k in 30 minutes
Runningfree stats

Juneathon day 15 - half way!

Half way through Juneathon. I am absolutely delighted to have made it this far. Just a short run today. I'm up in Ormskirk visiting Jude and fellow Juneathoner Steve. We had planned to go out this morning for a longish run. The figure of 10k was mentioned at some point. It didn't happen, largely because last night Steve and I went out in Liverpool.

We ate tasty Japanese food. We saw a screening of LCD Soundsystem's Shut Up And Play The Hits. We went cheesy dancing. We got home at 3.30 (yeah, we've still got it!) During all of this much alcohol was consumed. At various points in the evening there was lager, sake, plum wine, bitter, more lager and vodka. It's just possible that we may have overdone it very slightly. Consequently neither of us jumped out of bed this morning feeling very much like going for a run.

After a slow morning of lounging about drinking tea and moaning, we eventually mustered up sufficient motivation to get out (this is another run that definitely wouldn't have happened were it not for Juneathon) and managed a fairly tentative 4k, not helped at all by the heavens opening just as we set off. Still, a run is a run and it all counts. Another one in the bag.

Day 15 4k in 26.03