Ups and Downs and Progress

 You can tell it's new year by the number of runners out on the streets. I think a lot of it is the new year new me so many people resolve. I certainly think I'll avoid the gyms for the first few weeks of 2023.

London 2023 is THIS YEAR!  Good luck everyone.

The Down bit

When writing my last post before Christmas I was pretty down about my condition. I had to pull out of the Wilmslow festive 10K due to a back injury that was failing to recover and my day-to-day running was virtually on hold due to a horrendous cold followed by a lingering violent cough that took me out for a couple of weeks. I had a go at getting going again with an easy gym treadmill session which seemed to go quite well but left me the following day drained with very sore calves showing that I really haven't been ready for it.

With Christmas in the middle and family coming to stay I had expected to hardly get any runs in at all but in the event there were a couple of gaps in activities that enabled me to get out on the roads. I was on easy walk/runs which went well but my chest was still horrendous and breathing very poor.

The Up bit

In the event, recovery was surprisingly fast. I managed the Christmas Eve Santa parkrun, slow for me but I did get round without a significant walk break. After Christmas, I managed a couple on longer (40-50min) run-walks moving up from 4+2 to 8+2 and by Saturday I managed my first planned continuous run of 40 minute. Back on Plan!  It is amazing how once the illness passes, body and brain remember how to do it and everything accelerates.

Milestones

So since my previous post, here's a list of things that I've achieved:

• I am into my 16 week training plan (early)
• For the first time in months I am able to do a hamstring stretch with no back pain
• I've completed a run over 10k first time since October 2022
• I've done my fastest 5k for quite a while
• I've moved on from walk/run combinations to running
• Completed my first run over 1h 20m since I did my 65th birthday half marathon five years ago
• Retuned to parkrun - my 25th
• Done my local parkrun running 2.3k each way from home to the event and back again, which I've intended doing for years
• Started to experiment with the gels as runs extend for longer time
• Managed to get my Achilles to a point where it seems to be under control - a mix of support, stretches and not pushing it too hard.

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How Many False Starts before I am Disqualified?

Wilmslow 2021

Training is so frustrating!

Sat 27 Nov: I was looking forward to taking part in the Wilmslow Festive 10k but the back problems I mentioned in my last post didn't improve sufficiently and I had to miss out. I love that race as well :(  

Mon 5 Dec: Finally back on the road again after 8 days of back exercises and walking 5-6k each day to tray to maintain my progress.  A good 50min walk / run (2 min / 6 min); Felt great and actually on plan. All the walks had worked.

Tue 6 Dec: Seem to be getting a bit of a cough?

Thur 8 Dec: Forced to miss run as my throat and lungs are burning and I'm coughing my guts out. Give me a break.

Sun 11 Dec: It's nearly a week now and the only thing running is my nose🤧. At least the chest is feeling better this morning. So much for training plans; glad I started the 16 week at minus 20 so I can catch up.

No Saturday indoor bike session, no Monday long run and no Tuesday additional bike.

Thur 15 Dec: Feeling healthier at last but minus 7C outside and my chest is still a bit dodgy. Opted for a drive to the gym.

Treadmill & Swim

Very successful gym trip. Having had a long interruption to running I needed to be careful of my Achilles and also take it easy after being poorly. 

Run / Walk for 60 minutes alternating 8.5kph jog and 5.6kph walk. Treadmill cranked to 1.0 for a gentle sop toward road running. Only 7.5km but a good hour's work. Following my run I headed to the pool to finish off with 200m. I would have done more but half the length of the pool was taken up by water aerobics and short lengths with no wall to turn at one end are a pain.

Trying to Get Back on Plan

Sat 17 Dec: After Thursday's gym session my calves are a little sore so I passed on my intention to head to a parkrun this morning. My local was cancelled due to ice on the course so it would have meant a half hour drive - not very green.

I normally do 40 mins on the indoor bike unless I decide to got to parkrun. This week however, I'm part way through renewing all the sealant in our shower so it's out of action. Poor excuse to miss exercise but not to be sniffed at 🤣

Let's see what this week brings. I need to be patient and not damage myself catching up too soon

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Santa is NOT Coming to Town

This Santa Claus is definitely not coming to town in Wilmslow Cheshire tomorrow. 

I should be taking part in the Wilmslow festive 10K for which I enjoy wearing a Santa outfit most years but sadly a back strain has decided to get worse just at the wrong time. It's really tempting to go ahead and run but I've a horrible feeling that I'm just going to hurt myself and knock my training back even further . This is really depressing as I'd only just about got my Achilles right and was hoping to get on with my training properly, but instead of that I've been knocked back a few weeks and I am now seriously concerned as to where things go from here.

This autumn-winter so far has been really bad news for me with a series of injuries from hamstring pulls to recurring Achilles pain and my back coming back to haunt me. To explain the last comment I hurt my back when I was 19, 50 years ago, and over the years it regularly decides to give me problems, usually at the most inopportune times.

Trying to maintain some fitness and strength, my Thursday run was replaced by a 400m swim and my Saturday indoor bike session replaced by a 5km fast walk. I will miss the 10k race tomorrow but, all being well, get in a short run on Monday which is my long run day.

My Training Plan

Ironically, I created my outline training plan last week and it's already gone to pot. On the positive side, I learned during training for my 65th birthday Half-Marathon  that plans have to be flexible. That time I built a solid progression and took no account of holidays, appointment clashes, family emergencies, illness, injury etc. 

For my 70th birthday London Marathon, the first thing  I did was scour my calendar for likely holidays or trips and matched them to rest periods allocating long runs to fit. I have taken my kit with me on several trips and never used it once. Knowing my own body now I have also dropped the simple continuous increase in duration/distance and instead ramp up and fall back in stages. This should both assist with boredom and reduced injury likelihood.

The other big change is that I am planning based on Duration rather than Distance, though admittedly with an eye to both. As I recover from injury I may be out for 50 minutes but that will be a walk/run combination, in healthier times it will be all run and therefore a longer distance. I anticipate being on the streets of London between 5 & 6 hours and monitor that against my actual pace as I train.

Miles vs Kilometres

I have stuck to training in Kilometres after being tempted to miles due to the Marathon tending to be described in miles. I am used to managing my routes in Km and the numbers pass by so much faster. I tend to think as I run how far I am in terms or proportion of distance covered, e.g. I know when I am 2/3 of the way and only have 1/3 left. I also like to think of a Half as 2 x 10km (plus a bit) and now the Marathon as 4 x 10 (plus a lot). I distinctly recall 3/4 through the Half Marathon thinking, right, only a parkrun to go, I can do that.

follow me on Instagram @Ged70Marathon

I'm in! - London Marathon 2023

London 2023

So Monday this week an email dropped into my Inbox, subject line, "Your 2023 TCS London Marathon Ballot result". 

I was fully expecting a rejection but after clicking through to the actual result, I was shocked to see "You're In"!

Being totally unexpected it's a mix of delight and trepidation. Not only am I attempting a Marathon but I have to sort the logistics of transport, accommodation and support on the day. It all suddenly seems a massive enterprise.

As people hear about it, the most common reaction is to ask, is this wise at your age?  I don't really know whether it is but I've dreamed of marking my 70th with a full Marathon for 5 years and now I get to do it with the London.

Stress and Pain

After the Knutsford 10k I took it easy for the week but it has been apparent that I was pushing it as I have experienced ankle, knee and calf pain from time to time, particularly after getting up in the morning. 

I injured my right Achilles 10 years ago when I first started running and it still hurts when I push on a bit. The combination of the stress of the race and my Wednesdays currently involving a steep climb in work boots to the job site has antagonised it and I can feel the swelling along the tendon which isn't great. I have completed 2 x 35 minute runs this week but have reverted to 4 min run and 2 min walk to reduce stress everywhere and give things chance to heal without injuring them further.

My current dry stone walling job at National Trust Lyme. The car park is on the lower ground beyond the outcrops in the foreground.

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More Interrupted Training and A London Ballot Entry

Well, it's almost two months since my Last Post and things haven't exactly gone smoothly. 

I mentioned in my last post knee problems and that continued quite badly and then we moved onto a new walling job with particularly heavy stone and I managed to damage my back as well as my knees. Recovery has been slow and long drawn out and not helped by a two week driving holiday in Spain and Portugal. So, all in all my training has been heavily interrupted.

A visit to my osteopath on returning from holiday assured me that nothing drastic had happened with my back but the strains were going to take some time to recover. It is improving but I still can't lean forward with my right leg out for a hamstring stretch without low right back pain.

I have now got back to regular running and my distance is increasing in readiness for a 10K in one week's time. All is looking well for the 10K but I'm not optimistic over the time as I am still running five minutes and walking two to in order to avoid excessive strain to injuries.

The big news is that I have now definitely decided to try for a marathon. My birthday is early May 2023 so I searched for marathons late April or May 2023. Three possible options are Edinburgh two weeks after my birthday, Manchester three weeks before and London only two weeks before.

I hadn't really considered London but having watched it this week on TV and feeling it is the big one I bit the bullet and spent my money and entered the ballot this week. 

So it's now watch this space until the end of October when I'll know whether it's the London or whether I'll fall back to Manchester which would be my home marathon and a lot simpler and cheaper with no travel or accommodation required.

Follow me on Instagram @ged70marathon

social media tags #26at70 #MarathonDream #MarathonAt70

Pain and Progress

Meet @ged70marathon on Instagram, my new alter-ego for 12 months as I try for a marathon at 70. I'd be delighted to get followers to encourage me.

I concluded my previous post with the hope that I would manage a couple of 5km runs by this one and I'm delighted to report a couple of 5's and a 6 over the last two weeks.

Suffering some knee pain which is not from running but from another interest - Dry Stone Walling.  I volunteer with National Trust and every Wednesday I am to be found repairing walls. The most recent job was on an steep slope and working up ladders and all the up and down and bracing trashed my knee and my right Achilles isn't at all happy. Lots of wearing a knee support and being careful not to twist it.

A gorgeous sunny morning today for 5.82 km. At the moment while nursing injuries and getting fitness back I am walking 2 minutes and running 4. A great benefit of running is getting out of the house and seeing sights; Bramall Hall looked stunning in the sunshine.

 

Holiday and Recovery

The two weeks following my last post were spent trying to get my back fit enough for a sailing holiday. I have never paid so much attention to recommended heat and exercise routines. I went for one short run but decided that avoiding antagonising my back was primary so stuck to walking.

The good news for my wife and me was that it worked and we returned last weekend from 2 weeks sailing in the Ionian Islands, Greece.

Now sailing sounds bad for your back though healthy and active. It actually involves a lot of flexibility work moving around the boat but very little leg work other than standing and bracing. It was around 35C most of the time so walks rarely went further than a taverna for an evening meal. Basically, my legs were hardly used for a fortnight!

Returning home, my back was miraculously improved but I was suffering shin and calf pain and my right Achilles was complaining violently.  Early in the week, a fast walk to an appointment led to lower leg pain that lasted 48 hours but I returned to my dry stone walling with the NT on Wednesday and have done a few light indoor bike sessions, and this morning I finally feel something like normal.

This will be one of the challenges of a Marathon at 70, aches and pains, recovery and adjustment are not what they used to be when I was younger.

So, here's hoping that I will be able to report a few 5Ks in the bag for my next post.

A False Start

Well, that didn't start well!

Sunday 1st May I ran the Alderley Edge Bypass 10km and it went really well.  I had intended walk/run intervals but in the event ran the whole distance and finished in a very pleasing 1:00:37.

All my training is done alone but I got talking to another runner who was on her first 10km and ended up pacing her to the finish and helping her meet her target time which she was delighted with. It was a good exercise for me as it is the first time I have tried to hold a conversation whilst running and I was very pleased with my breathing control.

I say I paced her to the end but actually I probably ran a better race for it myself because I was being very positive and steady for her and it worked for me.

The following Thursday, I did my back in; an old injury which has plagued me for many years.

So this morning was my first run for 6 weeks. 3.2km with intervals walking 2mn and running 4mn. Lungs seem to have forgotten how to process oxygen, I have some pain in my right knee and my right Achilles is complaining.  But my back seems ok.

It'll get better, onward and upward!

Introduction - 26 Miles at 70, A Dream

In May 2012 I was little over 1 year from reaching sixty years old and I decided to try to mark the occasion with a better than 60min completion of the Great Manchester Run 10K (story at Sixty min at 60). Before then I had last run in 1976 in a 1.5ml cross country race for leaders in a south Manchester scouting event.

Well I did it, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. What I had expected to be a one-off experience resulted in me growing to love running and since then I have completed several 10Ks, a Half Marathon for my 65th birthdays (story at Ged's 65th Half), and I regularly enjoy my local parkrun.

So, now 10 years on, it's my 70th birthday which is a few days over a year away, and I have a dream of celebrating it with a full marathon. For now it is a dream but, in that dream, this blog will culminate in my posting a time for a completed marathon.

hashtags #26at70 #MarathonDream