Extreme Ways

I had to close down everything
I had to close down my mind
Too many things caught me
Too much could make me blind
I’ve seen so much in so many places
So many heartaches, so many faces
So many dirty things
You couldn’t even believe

Moby Extreme Ways

Last night I didn’t sleep very well at all. I was so hyped after yesterdays run I couldn’t shut down. It wasn’t so much a runners high as a runners low. My mind was going a hundred miles an hour going over the events of the race before and after.

Today I went for an easy pool jog. The calf injury seems to be settling down as the day goes on. It is more of a tightness/stiffness in the calf rather than pain now.

The other thing is that I went shopping without the knee tape on with out any ill effect.

Three years on and I might actually beat this maltracking patella. I might be able to walk each day without my knee taped up. I’ll still have to wear to run and ride a bike.

Another day another pool jog

A cooler morning and there were less people at the pool. No kids to dive bomb me. I enjoyed it.

I did a fifty minutes pool jog. Went to sleep this afternoon was very, very tired.

10km

I’ve been busy training. Last night I did a 50 minute pool jog. This morning I did a 10km run.

Afterwards I did some calf raises and heel drops and my achilles felt great.

One of the lifeguards showed some interest in my aqua jogger. He said he used to be a triathlete, and had a knee reconstruction. I told him the aqua jogger was good for a cardio workout, but doesn’t help in quadricep building. I told him that knee taping really helped my knee rebuild my quads.

I guess I am a bit of success story with my knee. I’ve spoken to  many people with knee problems, even my new boss at work was a runner once, but hurt his knee in his early thirties.

I’ve become a bit of a local knee guru, wherever I go people ask me about my knee tape, and relate their knee pain stories to me. I wish I could give them the advice that could miraculously rescue themselves from knee pain like I have been able to do.

This morning I ran 10km along the Hogbin Drive cycle track. Lots and lots of cyclists, I was the only runner. One cyclist had a go at me, not sure what for? I asked them to get off their bike and run to see how easy it is.

I did 10km in 49:02 (5:09, 4:59, 4:54, 4:46, 4:48 (24:36), 4:57, 4:57, 4:50, 4:55, 4:50 (24:27).

I think you’d have to call this a tempo run. I’m not flat out by any means, but  do get puffed and I am pushing to get my kms down under 5 minutes. Perhaps I shouldn’t be pushing this hard all the time on training runs?

Humidity

Yesterday I ran 8km along the cycle path on Hogbin Drive. It was meant to be an easy run. However the heat and humidty (27 degrees celsius and 74% humidty at 9:30 am) turned it into a harder run. At the finish I was sweating so much that it was dribbling into my eyes and stinging them. This made it hard to keep my eyes wide open while driving. I wiped my eyes with my shirt. Horrible. Compared to the weather conditions in Perth it was horrible.

I had hoped to run on the grass athletics track at Toormina, but the lane marking were completely gone. So I ran along the cycle track instead. I started easily and got quicker the first 3 km, then I slowed for ks 4 and 5, as the heat took its toll. Back off I told myself for the last 2 kilometres, save yourself for the Sawtell fun run.

5 miles (8 kilometres)

5:00, 4:48, 4:39, 4:51, 4:52, 4:48, 5:10, 4:58 (39:06)

Today I did a 40 minute easy pool run.

You know what is really great about running? All day yesterday I was thinking about the Sawtell Fun Run. Thinking about running takes my mind off everything else. I hardly thought about work at all.

Track

I ventured on down to the running track at Toormina. It had cooled down overnight and there was a dew on the grass.

I walked 400 metres as a warm up. When I hit the timer button on the Garmin I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run or not. That is the element of risk with running: are you going to have a good run or are you going to get injured? Take a deep breath, start to run and find out what cards fate will deal you.

Running is hard word. Lazy people don’t do long distance running.

So I rolled into the first kilometre. 2 minutes per lap X 20 laps that is 8km in 40 minutes. I tried to see if I could better that. I did the first kilometre and picked it up from there.

5:10, 4:47, 4:31, 4;35, 4:40, 4:39, 4:43, 4:33. =37:38

I wasn’t flat out by any means. Perhaps 60-70% effort. I was pleasantly surprised by the 4:30 kms. It was a good hit out, and I felt the good old tired buzz of runner’s high.

Saw the physio he was pleased with the progress on my achilles. He gave me some balancing exercises to do. I thanked him for getting me to the starting line. His treatment on my achilles realy has helped.

Also bought some speedos. The pool shorts I am wearing were causing very bad chafing.  

Looking forward to my holiday. Jogging around Kings Park should be enjoyable. To be honest I should feel more upbeat, but I feel strangely down.

1.2km without tape

This morning dawned clear, sunny and hot. I headed down to the pool for an hour and a half pool run. I estimate that to be the equivalent of a 15km run. The first hour or so was good very few people in the pool.

A young girl who was a particularly strong swimmer splashed water on me from three lanes away. Her bow wave pushed me towards the side of the pool.

I wore a shirt because an hour and a half in the sun can cause sun burn. I’ll have to purchase some other swimming attire because I got bad chafing from the pool shorts I was wearing.

Then two girls dived into the pool and splashed me and swam across my path. They got in my away as hard as I tried to get out of theirs.

In the afternoon I took the McConnell tape off and drove down to Toormina. I had seen a photo in the local newspaper showing little athletes competing with a Woolworths sign in the backgorund. I thought there might even be an athletics track there, and it turned out there was. So I walked a couple of laps around the track without the McConnell taping. It felt OK.

This is good thinks I. So then I decided to jog. I jogged three laps or 1.2km, and the knee felt pretty good. I even sped up a bit the last lap or so.

This is the first time I have jogged without tape for three years!

It looks like that after three years of hard work and of being in  pain that I  I am finally getting to the stage where I can live my life without my knee taped.

I went shopping at Toormina centro. I walked around knee untaped. I can remember the times that I couldn’t walk from my car to the shops and back without the knee cap becoming tight and running off track. 

Before last Christmas I tried to get around without tape. At the end of the day my knee would feel horribly tight. Christmas 2005 was the last time I had a normally functioning knee.

That is a long time with a disability.

Today I walked at least 2 kilometres, ran 1.2km kilometres and so far it has stayed on track. I have not worn tape for seven hours.

The 14th December 2008 is  going to be a day to remember.

Pool Running

A forty minute pool run. It seems pool running is still a novelty amongst swimmers.

“That must be boring for you,” one well meaing swimmer said. Which is interesting coming from someone chasing a black line up and down the pool.

With pool running I’m getting a good cardiovascular workout. However, I’m not getting chlorine up my nose, or in my hair. My eyes don’t turn red from the water leaking into my goggles. I don’t feel like I am drowning or suffocating when I turn my head to breathe and instead get a mouth full of water.

A couple of kids really couldn’t work out what I was doing. They checked me out underwater. “He has a bad knee maybe that is why he is doing it.”

Some girls swam past and said “How boring.” One splashed me with water. I asked her to keep her water to herself.

One boy asked me if I was touching bottom. I told him I was running in water because I have bung knee and can’t run on land.

He looked at me as if I was some exotic bug. Swimmers just don not understand.

Another boy asked me to move, he wanted to dive in.

“No I said use another lane.” At one stage I had to dodge in and out of other swimmers. I pool jogged from lane 8, to 6, and all the way over to 5, just trying to find a little bit of open water where I could pool jog in peace.

Then I had a swim, 250 metres. And I couldn’t believe I was swimming easily. Just slowing down my stroke and making sure I breath; floating like a log. They were the easiest 50 metres I’ve ever done! Maybe I’m mastering this swimming caper as well? I turn to breathe and then I delay the entry of my stroke into the water so I get more air.

This is all well and good, but I’d rather be running on dry land.