Herald heroes

I’ve created a fundraising page for my City to Surf race.  It’s for breast cancer research. I want to run run this race in memory of my mother who died from breast cancer in 1987.

My fundraising page is called Run for Grace.

http://city2surf.everydayhero.com.au/paul__sheringham

Rosella have you come to take me to a better place?

 Apparently Mizan Mehari dreamt that a Rosella had come to him to lead him to a better place. Running was Mizan Mehari’s favourite dance, but his body wouldn’t let him do it.  He was an Ethiopian athlete who sought asylum in Australia, and even competed in the Sydney Olympics. Tragically he never was able to get used to life in hi new country, and injuries stopped him from running that wat he would like to. A Rosella never led him to a better place, he took his life.

He suffered from depression.

I remember when a discussion on his passing was posted on the Cool Running forum and being really moved by the imagery of the Rosella. His story is again in this months R4YL magazine.

http://www.gofundraise.com.au/Paul_Sheringham

I will be running this years Bridge Run in Sydney for a cause: the black dog institute. If you would like to donate or sponsor me in this race that would be great. Above is my fundraising page for the Bridge Fun Run.

Regards Quinkin

Noice

I got a 12km run in this morning with some noice shiny numbers.

12km (7.5 miles) 58.23 (5.31, 5.09, 4.54, 4.59, 4.53, 4.55, 4.40, 4.47, 4.56, 4.43, 4.39, 4.21) @ 4.53/km 7.47/mile

Momentum just kind of built. I was looking at some of the km splits on Garmin with a big grin on my face. Last 10km was 47.28, last 5km 23.26.

Doing the walk of life

Without my knee taped.

I only need the tape to run now. That’s a big step forward. I never thought I’d get there.  A lot of hard work.

I still can’t stop. All day at work I exercise my quads. I’m so close to getting my life back to normal. Now I am so close I probably feel more nervous and impatient.

The good thing is that when I am 100% better, maybe what I’ve been through will become a more distant memory.

Maybe then the knee injury emphasis of this blog will have run its course? I have read over some of the older posts on here, and they aren’t easy to relive.

I WIN KNEE PAIN

Sometimes the things you have to work hardest for give the greatest sense of achievment.

I’ve done it. I’ve won the battle of the maltracking patella.

Tonight I walked 5. 3km without my knee taped. Only I know how hard I’ve worked to achieve this. I’ve done the Muttonbitd Island walk countless times in various stages of pain over three and a half years.

Down past the Jetty restuarants hoping that my knee might be alright. Waiting for good trains that shake the earth under my feet at the railway crossing, when the boom gates close and the red light flashes. It hurts when I stop walking.

Out along the breakwall near the Marina, the tightness and pain starting. A big swell sweeping the wall and sometimes overtopping it. The 8:30am Virgin Blue flight coming into land; the spring carpet of Senecios turning Muttonbird Island yellow;  the winter tide washing the rocks at the base of dog beach, or the tide miles out to sea.  Many seasons have come and gone during this battle. Turn around at the base of Muttonbird Island, try to stretch hammies and ITB to loosen up.

I recall saying to my knee, I just want to walk without pain is that too much to ask? The vice like tightness, the burning nerve pain, everywhere, the eye watering pain behind the knee cap. With me everyday of my life.

Out across the dog beach the burning nerve pain used to really set in. Back along Orlando Street pushing through the pain. A pain that I knew would make my life a misery walking down the mall during the week. The stress making me feel dizzy and heavy.  My thoughts spiralling down into darkness, frustration, anger and despair.

Drivers on Orlando honking their horns, or screaming abuse at me. Leave me alone with my pain will you hoons! The drunks rolling home from the Pier Hotel. The pink light of 19 Orlando Street shining. Thinking do people really go in there?

The little girl riding her bike who looked at me and asked “Why so angry?” 

The wonder when I discovered McConnell taping and got immediate pain relief. No knee pain? The screaming had stopped for a moment.

The brief moments of pain relief when I thought I was getting somewhere, the knee cap falling back into its groove; then the horrible setback when a new physiotherapist suggested taping my knee more lightly. The knee cap went further off track that time, I could feel the cartiledge peeling off the side of my knee.

Up the hill on Harbour Drive knowing that I would pay for this walk later on. The pain screaming again like a voice that would never be quiet.

Those days in March 2007 when my foot felt like it was on fire and I’d get an eye watering burning pain in my knee while sitting at my desk at work and not even the tape would work. My life dimished in so many ways. Thinking that I needed surgery.

Obsessed with stretching my hammies, ITB and VMO activations.

People at work no longer wanting to hear, calling me lazy. That was the most frightening thing of all, not even my family wanted to know. A battle I had to fight on my own.

Only my counsellor, Peter, listened. Thanks for that. And of course Brad the physiotherapist who turned the injury around. Am I lucky I saw him? You bet! He said I took the prize for the weakest vastus medialis obliquus (inner quad muscle) he had ever seen. He said that it might take 12 months to rehab my knee and then I might run up to 5km. That was November 2006.

Well it took two and a half years, but I have run up to 20kms. How is that for exceeding expectations?

A knee cap that sounded like a tree branch was breaking. I couldn’t walk to the car without a strangling tightness grippng my inner quad.  I’d dip my leg into the Sawtell Pool to get repsite on the weekends. I actually learnt to swim, depsite hating the pool. Walking around Woolies was a challenge.

Never giving up, doing the strenghtneing and stretching and massage. Trying to eke out every ounce of strenghth in my wasted VMO. Like chipping away at a mountain. Imagining every sign of improvement, resigned to every set back.

Going to sleep with a pillow under or between my knees. Falling to sleep after another set of quad squeezes. Squeezing the pillow even in the dark, obsessed with fighting the battle. Swearing that if I never beat the knee pain I would keep fighting it until my dieing day!

The lunch time walks around Maclean Street oval. Three laps, stretches before and after. Swearing at the knee pain so much one of the neighbours complained as I went past.

The around the block walk after work. The long walk through the car park at Park Beach Plaza.  The fire in the knee always reaing its ugly head.

I kept fighting and figthing and there were moments when my knee started to feel better.

September 2007. One day my knee cap moved over a notch and felt alright. I saw the Eels play the Bulldogs at ANZ. I even ran for the train.

In Perth in Christmas 2007, doing a pain free walk in Meelup Regional Park, playing a round of golf.

Like the field trip to Royal National Park in May 2008. Full days out in the field doing what I love, botany, and no pain.

I ran first on the 18th June 2008. I started to run near the Coffs Sailing Boat club, angry with everything. I ran screaming out loud along the cycle path.

“Come on knee pain. What have you got?” I challenged it.

I swore about how much I hated Coffs Harbour.

I ran all the back to my unit and collapsed on my welcome mat, and curled into a ball and cried for I’m not sure how long, before going inside.  

Remarkeably I found the knee hurt just about as much running as it did walking.

Over the next few weeks I taped my knee and braved some more runs around the Muttonbird Island Circuit. I ran like a zephyr and a slight breeze.

The knee would hurt medially for about a kilometre but then it would warm up.

I went in my first cross country run in two decades in July. I did 24:45 and finished about 20th out of 28 runners. Sometimes the nerve pain stop me running during the week.

Often I’d throw the knee tape off because the pain would be too much. I ran in serveral more races with varying levels of pain until a run at Emerald Beach in early August.

I ran pain free that day and experienced the most unbelievable runners high.

I’ve run 800km with my knee taped.

But tonight I walked 5.3km without pain, without knee tape

I WIN KNEE PAIN

Look mum no tape part ii

I walked 5.3km without my knee taped. I also did not wear tape for most of Monday. I might be getting to the stage that I will need it only to run.

After three years of hard work I am going to beat this injury.

Didn’t sleep well last night. I have a few things on my mind with work and my dad.

Going long mid week

12km on the bicycle path this morning. It rained heavily overnight ruling a run on the grassy field out.

It was still cool and drizzly, conditions which I like.

12km 64:14 (5:26, 5:10, 5:10, 5:14, 5:17, 5:27, 5:12, 5:25, 5:41, 5:30, 5:20, 5:21)

A very evenly paced easy/moderate run.  

I think I am getting to the stage where I would be able to run on consecutive days. If they were both easy runs.

Tonight there is no pain in my calf/achilles. There is some stiffness in my left hand side quad.

Last night I did 15.5km on the exercise bike.

Last Sunday I did a 16km (93 minutes) on the grassy field. I slowed down very badly in the final 8km. The surface and the heat really knocks me around on that course.

Torrential Rain

A sustained 10km from me, in appaling weather conditions. Driving torrential rain, puddles of water several inches deep over the cycle path. There were fallen bracnhes. Rivers of water were flowing off the path.

Wild weather indeed.

10km 46.44 (4:46, 4.31, 4.30, 4.48 (slight hill), 4.58 (bezel malfunction had to stop) 5km (23.29), 4.37, 4.48, 4.43, 4.43, 4.24 (23.15).

The rain, the wet and slippery conditions and the bezel misbehaving lost me many seconds.

I ran past another runner this afternoon. We high fived each other. It was a look at us crazy runners out in this heavy rain, kind of high five. How much fun is it?

On the way to the service station for a cool drink I saw another runner braving the conditions. Boy was it heavy then! Much heavier than when I was running.

I was actually walking comfortably without the knee tape in the shopping centre. I even forgot I didn’t have the tape on.

In bad news my hot water service is not working.

Cycle, run and long run

Once as I travelled through a quiet evening,
I saw a pool, jet-black and mirror-still.
Beyond, the slender paperbarks stood crowding;
each on its own white image looked its fill,
and nothing moved but thirty egrets wading -
thirty egrets in a quiet evening.

Once in a lifetime, lovely past believing,
your lucky eyes may light on such a pool.
As though for many years I had been waiting,
I watched in silence, till my heart was full
of clear dark water, and white trees unmoving,
and, whiter yet, those thirty egrets wading.

Egrets Judith Wright

 

I’ve been  training hard. I don’t think I comprehend the words ‘go easy’.

On Monday I did a 50 minute ride on the exercise bike, my longest yet. Tuesday was an 8km tempo run in 38:38.

Wednesday I spent an enjoyable day in the field. I discovered a species of bird orchid (Chiloglottis sylvestris) that made my day. It started to rain heavily, and I got soaked going from the car into the office. I also added Thin-leaved Stringybark (Eucalyptus eugeniodes) to the species list for Bongil Bongil NP.

Bird Orchid

On Thursday I did a moderate 10km run along the cycle path in 49.24. I pushed hard the last kilometre.

49:27 (5:09, 4:55, 4:55, 5;01, 5:02 (25:02), 5:01, 5:09, 4:57, 5:00, 4:18 (24:25)   

Friday I had a rest day.

Saturday morning I did a 16km run along the bike path and almost into Sawtell. I made it as far as part of the Sawtell fun Run course. It was raining and cool this morning and I really like those conditions to run in.

16km 82:37 (5:31, 4:55, 4:51, 4:58, 4:48 (25:03), 5:08, 5:22, 5:21, 5:22, 5:13 (26:26), 5:00, 5:01, 5:26, 5:20, 5:24, (26:11) 4:57

The first 5km I stopped to tie my shoe laces twice and had trouble with the bezel changing display due to rain drops. The second 5km I crossed the road, ran on grass, as I ran along the main road into Sawtell. Started to stiffen up the last 4 kilometres, which is reflected in the times.

Unexpected long run

The way I was limping after Friday night’s race wasn’t expecting to get in a run at all today.

I got in a 10 mile run in 92:03. 6:01, 5:30, 5:22, 5:18, 5:23, 5:31, 5:35, 5:47, 5:47, 5:48, 5:42, 5:55, 6:09, 6:06, 6:09, 6:00 

Wasn’t worried about pace, just concentrated on getting through pain free. My calf area was a bit stinging for a few km as I warmed up. The last 4 km at over 6 minutes/per km dented my pride a little bit, but I decided not to push. I guess it really shows my lack of endurance.

I was running out on a grassy field without any shade, so the heat takes its toll. I was extremely thirsty when I finished. I got a feeling of pleasant tiredness I remembered getting at the end of a long run in my other runnning life.

By the time I finished there was no pain at all. Just a stiffness and soreness. The pain was high up in the calf which doesn’t worry me as much as the achilles niggles I have been having.

So all in all happy with notching up another long run.

I think that I might try to get to Sydney in March and go on a long run at Lady Carrington Drive. How good will that be?

Big Ironbark Bongil Bongil