Following on from my last post I have begun trying to treat the problem. I have been combining the exercises that I mentioned in my previous post as well as a using a frozen bottle as a roller on my calf muscle (thanks for the suggestion John).
In place of a foam roller I am using a 2 litre frozen bottle of waterI am using this on the tendon roughly twice a day
I am pleased to say that the exercises plus the ‘rolling’ and icing the tendon does appear to be working, its early days but the tendon is less sensitive in the mornings now and pinching it results in little or no pain. I don’t think I will be running anytime soon but I hope that a few more weeks of the treatment will allow me to get out and do a short run, although I am mindful of not doing too much too soon. I will keep cycling to and from work so will be able to keep my fitness ticking over.
Reading up on the injury and make up of the Achilles tendon it appears that Collagen is a key component of the healing process so I will also start taking some supplements,they may not actually do anything but even a placebo effect can yield positive results.
Worth a go
Lastly, here is a picture of my new toy, hopefully I will be able to get an early morning or evening run done soon so I can give it a test and give a review.
This is the Silva Trail Runner Plus, I plan on using this in the NDW100 in August
With the end of 2012 in sight (and no apocalypse to speak of) it seemed a good time tolook at my statistics for the year and the challenges that await in 2013
Using Good Run Guide I have been able to grab some statistics for all my runs using a GPS watch (any that have been done on a treadmill or using my Runkeeper App are not included)
Logged Runs 2012 by Month
This table details my runs on a monthly basis showing info like total distance and calories burnt
Looking back over the year, its interesting that my distance for a month peaked in May with the NDW50 being in August. I was loosely following a training plan however lost my way a bit with this and June and July where as the mileage should have been increasing further I actually dropped back. Also looking at Jan to Feb it is worrying the leap in distance from 34 miles up to 126, definitely not following the 10% rule there.
Pace over Time
Details my average pace on month by month
This graph is more indicative of the training plan for the NDW50. As it was my first Ultra my absolute focus was on managing my energy levels and running efficiency, so runs were always planned with pacing in mind. Obviously August was where the pace was slowest but you can see that following this I started to speed up again.
Races by Month
List of event details are below
Races from Jan are:
January – Asics Wildman 10km
March – Asics Trailman 13km
April – Offa’s Orror 20km
May – Denbies 10mile
June – Trail Marathon Wales
July – Pen Y Fan Race
August – North Downs Way 50 mile
October – Snowdonia Marathon
December – Grim Original 2012
Whats happening in 2013
Well, first and foremost it’s getting over my Achilles injury (more on how this is going in a separate post) but in terms of races I am already booked up for the North Downs Way 50 in May, Trail Marathon Wales in June and the North Downs Way 100 in August. I will probably look to do the Pen Y Fan race again as I really do like this one and the Grim Original may also be on the list.
I list these as races but the focus is the NDW100 so everything before that will be considered training, of which I need to make sure that I get the miles in my legs. Suffice to say I will be spending a lot of time on the North Downs Way.
It has been a couple of weeks since my last update and the title of the post should give a hint why, my run of good luck regarding significant injuries seems to be at an end.
In my review of the Grim I made reference to the fact that my right Achilles tendon was giving me pain throughout, I had hoped it was something that was just a niggle on the day and would improve with some rest. Thinking that things were improving I went for a short run about a week after the Grim (only 4 miles) yet the problem was still there and although the pain subsided when running it returned with a vengeance once I had finished and I have not run since.
As I cycle to work I am not completely inactive at the moment but running is completely off the cards (I ran 50 yards for a train and the pain was immediately there). I am fairly lucky in so far that the next race is the NDW50 in May and training was not scheduled to start until early in the new year, but looking at the date now I may have to push my training starting until mid Jan or even Feb depending on how I recover (I don’t even want to think about what happens if it is still not healed by Feb!)
So now I am having to deal with the phycology of an injured runner; the desire to get out and train, to just get one run in. It is the first time that any injury has stopped me completely and the times before have been reducing mileage or skipping training days, not stopping completely.
So, to recovery.
A bit of internet surfing has taken me to a pretty good article on the Achilles injuries (Running Writings) with some good stretches which I am now doing every day. The image taken from running writings shows the eccentric heel drops that should aid recovery, this along with RICE treatment hopefully will mean I will be back out getting the miles in by Feb.
Image taken from Running Writings blog, worth a read if you (like myself) have a similar injury
If anyone reading this post has had similar problems and has any tips they could offer feel free to post in the comments section, the help and advice would be most welcome.
That is the one word I would use to describe Saturdays race, the Grim Original 2012. This was my third Grim, having done the (delayed) 2010 and 2011 events and comparing those vs. 2012 I have to say that this was the ‘Grimmest’.
The Course
Unchanged from the previous years the course so a good opportunity to try to improve on last years time (Update: Had a tweet from the organisers saying that this years route was tweaked slightly and that they do this every year), the course consists of an 8 mileish route around an army vehicle testing track so the terrain is pretty extreme in places.
Grim 2012 Route (Image from Google Earth)
Race Day
With a 10:30 race start it I managed to get a reasonable lay in, getting up at 07:30 to be picked up by Kev at 08:00. Having received the updated driving instructions from the race organises we went off and had a pretty painless journey there, arriving at about 09:00. We parked up in what I believe was the overflow car park, which meant a reasonable walk to the actual race start and getting out of the car, even in my fleece I was struck by how chilly it was, which didn’t bode well for the actual race.
We headed to the race start line to see if we could spot Gareth and Matt, who had ended up parking in the main car park. Finding them sitting in Gareth’s car keeping warm, we sat joined them briefly before heading out to grab a couple toasties from one of the on-site vendors to warm us up and fuel our race. We then had to head back to Kev’s car to get changed, donned our bin liners to keep warm(ish) and headed back to wait for the race start.
Standing around waiting for the off, the bin liner doing a reasonable job keeping the worse of the chill off, I was contemplating how it all started at this event two years ago. A random suggestion by Gareth suggestion that the Grim “would be a laugh” and two years later I have run three marathons, one ultra and have signed up for one marathon and two ultras in 2013 already, funny how things go. The Grim Original will always hold a special place in my heart because of this, however standing in the cold I couldn’t help thinking “I would rather be in bed”.
The atmosphere helped lift me away from those thoughts, with a group (2922 participants) warm up to get the blood flowing and spirits lifted when the countdown finally ended and the bugle signalled to go I was back in the mind-set of trying to beat last years’ time. We had managed to get ourselves towards the front for the start, as last year we were at the back and it took a lot of effort and time to overtake people and while I am not a contender for a high placing finish, I was sure that I would be in the top 3rd at least.
The route hadn’t changed from last year so in my mind I had a fair idea of what lay ahead, but hitting the first ‘puddle’ (I will call them puddles, but imagine something the size of a large pond) was like a sledgehammer, my lower body didn’t know what hit it. The cold was something else, my muscles just seized up and my feet went completely numb, if this was a sign of things to come it was going to be hard going.
I was pacing well despite the fact I couldn’t feel my feet, however every time I started to get some feeling back I would run through another ‘puddle’ and lose all sensation again. Although I was happy with my pace after the first puddle I also started to get a niggle in my right Achilles tendon, a feeling if tightness with each and every stride. This pain didn’t subside and continued for the whole race, with a brief respite when crossing the ‘puddles’ as the cold numbed everything again.
There are several places on the course where the crowds gather, several particularly large ‘puddles’ and muddy sections, but the main place to get a real view of the Grim is the section where you have to traverse a mud pit and go under a cargo net.
Having to slow right down for the cargo net, with the thick mud sucking at my feet was a welcome break, it helped me stretch out my Achilles a bit but also the mud was a lot warmer than the water so my legs were getting some heat back into them, albeit briefly.
The mud was a lot warmer than the water
After getting covered in mud, it wasn’t long before I was covered in water again and clean (to a degree). I carried on, pushing past the pain in my ankle driven my the fact that I was looking good to hit a PB and beat last years time, by mile 7 I was just over the hour mark and knowing the last section I maintained the effort.
Crossing the line, as in any race, is always a mix of emotions. I had beaten my time and was very pleased, but I was so cold the focus was on getting out of the wet gear and getting warm. I met up with Kev who had finished about a minute and a half before me and we waited for Matt and Gareth to cross the line. Once they were back Kev and I headed to the car to get changed and get warm.
Last years resultsA better time on last year, although slight variance on the distance. Average pace was the main thing.
Again next year?
Initially I was thinking no, not because I don’t rate the event, being my third time I think you could say that it’s a firm favourite, but I was considering what other races are during the same period.
Sitting here now though, how could I not partake in the race that started it all, I am building up a nice collection of Grim race numbers now, that and the fact that my wife is going to run in next years race has cemented the fact that I will be doing this again next December, sun, rain or snow.
Is it for me?
If you are reading this, thinking about entering a running event you cannot go wrong with the Grim, be it in Aldershot or the one up north. They are great events and all abilities enter, it is very much a “have a go, have a laugh” event and a great one at that.
Head over to http://www.grimchallenge.co.uk like them on Facebook or follow on Twitter to get a heads up when you can sign up, I will see you there.
Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th November saw the 2012 running show at Sandown Park and having registered for free entry myself and Gareth decided to visit on the Sunday.
The venue for the Running Show 2012
The show was a great place for exhibitors from all areas of running to come and talk about their brand/website/events company etc, promoting new products. We made a point of getting there early on the Sunday as the organisers had emailed in advance advising that the first 1500 attendees on each day would get a goody bag, not one to pass up a freebie we made sure we would be in a position to get one.
After collecting the goodie bag (which incidentally was ok but not great, a couple of nutrition samples accompanied by a lot of leaflets) we got chatting to the guys manning the Find a Race stand (www.findarace.com).
Find a Race is a new website with the aim of being a one stop shop for searching for all manner of races, not just running. It’s fairly new but the team are working hard to get more and more events listed. You can search for activity type, location, date range and I really like the idea of a website that consolidates all different races into one place. While chatting to them they asked if Gareth and I wanted to “Step Up” and commit to a challenge for 2012. With my challenges already set for 2013 I committed to a time on the 100 miles, my “Step Up” is to run the NDW100 in under 24 hours. Having decided this I had to write the challenge on a white board and step on a podium to have my photo taken.
The Find a Race stand
Opposite the Find a Race stand was the Torq stand, those that have read other posts in my blog will know that I am partial to the Rhubarb and Custard Torq gels and seeing that they had free samples we headed over. One of the guys on the stand had a chat with us and offered us a sample of the new recovery powder that they are doing. I tried the Chocolate Mint flavour, which was quite tasty although a sample to take away would have been more useful as I could have tried it after a training run.
Picture of the Torq stand
Gareth wanted to get a massage so he went and booked that and we had a wander around while we waited, where we happened upon the Runners World stand who were offering a frankly unbelievable deal.
For £15.00 every 6 months for a subscription to the magazine, they were offering a goody bag filled with around £70.00 of running goodies.
The bag consisted of: The Complete Guide to Running Running Training Diary High 5 Race Pack Camelbak Delany Plus waist pack
It was a no brainer and both Gareth and I signed up. Gareth went for his massage and I sat and listened to one of the seminars, once he was done we had more of a wander around and when fully satisfied we had seen everything headed home. Below are some more pictures that I snapped while wandering around.
UltraPlodder.com 