Leg getting better

So I went to the Drs today to get my leg/ankle checked out. It was really hurting at the weekend and I kept getting a dull ache in my leg followed by shooting pains in my heel. So after doing Marie's head in all weekend I went to see the Doc. I needed for him to check things out and make an assessment. So after giving him my many symptoms he came to the decision that I had a few issues. One was tibial posterior tendonitus which is swelling of the muscles down the side of the leg. The other and my Mother isn't convinced of this in Plantar fasciitus which is the swelling on the tissue that runs along the bottom of the foot.
So what can be done, well lots really. Ibuleve gel rubbed into the affected area several times per day. Lots of stretches that focus on the heel, Achilles tendon and posterior muscles. The most important one is orthotic heel inserts I have bought. They cost £25 but straight away they felt better. They stop my heel hurting which is a big bonus. So the plan is to keep to the exercises and using the gel and he (Dr) reckons it will go within a week.
It's been almost 3 weeks since I run and it's 5 weeks on Sunday to my first Triathlon. Feel very worried that I need to get back running asap but at the same time I must let the injury heal..
My advice to anyone following a similar path, always stick to the 10% rule on running. If I hadn't of pushed my mileage that day I wouldn't have an injury now. It's costs me loads of treatments and caused a lot of stress.

Bought my wetsuit

Today I purchased my wetsuit ready for the Blenheim Tri in June. I need to start practising swimming in open water and in order to do this I need a wetsuit. The plan was to go to Kirtons Farm and buy the suit there but I thought I would check Wiggle out. Turns out they had a sale on and also would knock £15 off if I spent over £100. Means I got a £125 wet suit for £85. Bargain. I also purchase some snap on laces which are a must for the transition.. The Triathlon wetsuit is much thinner than a normal wetsuit allowing you to swim in them. Anyone that has swam in a wetsuit will know they are very tight and quite restrictive as you move your arms. These suits also have a polyester lining helping to protect it from chlorine and warm water.. All in all a lovely suit that arrives tomorrow.. Will try on and post a pic.. :-)

Injured but back in the pool

After a miserable six days with no training I got back in the pool last night. I have pulled a muscle/tendon in my ankle which made me make the sensible decision to stop training for a period of time. It was hell on earth and every day I kept thinking am I out for good.

I Googled every known ankle pain trying to ascertain what was wrong with my foot. It seemed to point to various injuries which had come together to develop a weakness in the tendons. I haven't run for two weeks now and wont I think for maybe another two. I want my foot to get strong again.

What I have done is return to swimming using a float between my legs. This proved very interesting as only my arms would propel me along. The first 20 lengths were very tiring but after a rest and a drink I completed another 20. I did feel odd and turning at the end was pretty hard but at least I did it. I tried a few lengths with no float but my foot didn't feel strong enough to kick and I didn't want to risk a relapse. I'm planning on working on my upper body whilst my foot takes a rest. I know why this has happened and its down to pushing my running too far and too fast and simply over training.

I need to remain positive and know that my foot although painful will heal in time. My Mum has been giving me massages and applying Reiki to my foot. She also lent me a Novosconic tool that sends sound waves through the muscles to aid with healing. All of this is helping to speed up my recovery but I must remain sensible and not push it.

I plan on a "real" cycle on Sunday and maybe I may try a static one tomorrow. The ankle should be OK on cycling as it's primary role is to take the weight when you run. Again I will be sensible and stop if it hurts too much..

Keep your fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for me..

Weekend of personal bests

So at the weekend I did a swim and a cycle and managed to beat my previous personal bests (PB).

On Saturday I went to the pool for 7am. I was the first there but within 15 mins there were about 4-5 swimmers in each lane. Had to keep swimming past a few people and they kindly let me through but it did get annoying. I was planning to do 70-80 lengths but I pushed on and in the end did 104 lengths (2600 metres) in under a hour. I never stopped and I reckon I could of gone quicker.. Really enjoyed it and felt amazing. I'm going to start a swim plan now that will improve my speed and stamina. I saw a great plan online by a Triathlon world champion. It seems pretty extreme to me and they say to do it only once every two weeks.

SWIM PLAN


1. Begin with a 400m warm–up, consisting of 100m swim, 100m legs only, 100m drill of choice (like catch–up, where your front arm stays out in front until the other arm comes through to touch it) and 100m swim.
2. Swim 50m with the first quarter of the distance flat out and the remainder cruising. Take 10 seconds rest and repeat three more times. Swim 100m at easy pace and then repeat the entire sequence.
3. Swim four lots of 100m, going as hard as you can for the first 25m and cruising for the remaining 75m. Take 15 seconds rest between each 100m and swim an easy–paced 100m at the end.
4. Swim three lots of 200m with the first 50m flat–out and the remaining 150m cruising. Take 30 seconds rest between each one.
5. Swim four lots of 50m using legs only, holding a float out in front of you. Do the first 25m of each one flat out and the second 25m easy. Take 10 seconds rest between each 50m.
6. Warm down with a gentle 200m swim.

On Sunday I went out with Tom for a bike race. We did our usual route which is about 25k. I intended on going hard and said this to Tom. Although it was a blue sky it must of been about 1 or 2 degrees. My feet was frozen and after 10 mins I couldn't feel my fingers but it wasn't raining so that was a plus. The wind was pretty strong too which for the first 10k slowed me up a bit.

I had Endomondo on and got to hear the lap times. As I hit 10k she said total time was 21 mins something. I knew my 20k PB was about 45 mins so that gave me a real boost to push on. Tom was doing really well too and only a few mins behind. As I got to 20k I heard her say 44 mins something. Spot on, really happy with that. If I can do that time on the day it will really bring me in close for a 1 hour 30 min time. No aching or anything after that too which means my muscles are getting better.

Did my weigh in this morning and have lost more weight, was quite shocked really. I have now lost 21lbs. I think I need to eat more carbs when I do my long training sessions..

Normal week of exercise

This week I have got straight back into it. On the Monday I went out with Tom for a very wet and miserable cycle around our usual Bramley route. I cycled from my new house to his and then out. Whole thing was 30k (19 miles) and although I was soaked from head to toe it was great.
Up swimming on Tuesday with Darran. Did a respectable 70 lengths in 37 mins, haven't swam for a few weeks so a little sore.
My ankle is still aching and I have been a little worried so on Thursday I decide I will do a 20k on the static bike and then do a small recovery run. I try and asertain what muscle it is, it feels like the muscles down the side on the ankle. Still not sure. I stretch it and put on the trusty Voltarol.
As I go off my ankle feels OK but after a couple of kilometres it starts to hurt. I finish a small 4k run and decide that's me out of running for at least a week. I need to rest it. Plenty of cycling & swimming and maybe get back on the weights again.
Am off for an early 7am swim on Saturday morning.

Booked another Triathlon

So I have just booked up for the Blenheim Triathlon on June 10th. It's meant to be the easiest one so it makes sense I do this one first. It does mean I have less than two months until my first Tri. Not feeling neverous but I would like to start doing triple disipline training. Need my ankle to get better first.

So I am now looking for sponsorship for my Blenheim one. Click here to sponsor me..

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JamesTidball

My longest ever run

So I'm back in my new house and decide I'll go out for a nice big run. My quad muscle is feeling much better and I'm feeling pretty strong. I set off and sort of know which way I'm going to go. I run down towards Eastrop Park which is about a mile. I continue on and feel really good as I hit the 3 mile mark. I'm now running over by Old Basing and I decide to cut up through Chineham. I run past my Mums house and at this exact moment my left ankle starts to ache a bit. I ignore and continue on through Popley and up towards our house.

I finish the run in 1 hour 1 min and it's a 11.6k run (7.2 miles). Really happy with that and I certainly didn't run it fast, I get a new PB of 10k in 51 mins 23. The only problem is my ankle is now aching, what have I done? Silly boy! Will I ever learn? I go from running regular 7 and 8k runs to a 12k run.. I think I have pulled a muscle.

Newquay has lots of hills

So I'm now in Newquay for the week with the family and already I'm thinking about what I'll be doing. I have brought all the gear so no excuses, I suspect I will drink more wine than usual and after coming back from the Brecons with 2lb weight increase I need to shed some weight.

So as we drove into the holiday park I noticed there were some fairly large hills. They should make for a new challenge on the run & bike. Day 1 was taken up with driving and packing/unpacking. I decided on day 2 I would go out for a run. I sort of knew my way into town and got Marie's Dad Leon to come with me on the bike. We set off and my quad was still giving me pain from the weekends hike. The strap was helping along with lashings of Voltarol. (Thinking of getting them to sponsor me for the Triathlon)

As I approached my first hill Leon stopped and had to push his bike up the hill, I went on at a steady pace. I started in my craghopper cut offs and by the time I got to the top I needed to remove the trousers and make them shorts. Leon caught up and we continued down a very steep hill (see pic) which is much harder running down than up. (More muscles used)
As I got to the bottom I continued running around the area. I went back up the same hill and home. During the return I had left Leon behind, he did well but needs to get his fitness up. Glad he came though as it's boring out there on your own.
In the afternoon we all went out on a bike ride into Newquay which also took in a stop at the beach. Was really nice, not really a training exercise but I logged it on Endomondo. :-)

Day 3 saw me go out for a decent bike ride on my own. The weather was grey and grim, not nice at all. I thought I would cycle towards Padstow which was about 15 miles away. After about 4k of cycling up and down huge hills I decided Padstow was not really achievable. The B road I was cycling was pretty busy and I didn't like how close some of them were getting. As I approached Magwan Porth I saw a huge downward hill, I got up to 60kph down the hill, that's 40mph. Very fast and very scary. I also realised that I would have to come up this hill.  As I got to the bottom my computer registered 8k so I decided to turn round at this point. I selected the lowest gear I had on my bike and started pedalling up the hill. It really wasn't as bad as I thought. I made sure I stayed on my seat and kept pedalling. When I got back towards the holiday park I continued onto Newquay. Big mistake, once in Newquay it started to hail. They were big ones too. I did have my high vis jacket but it provided little resisatnce from the hail. I decided to cycle back and it took a while as I had left my glasses at home so when I got speed up the hail was stinging my eyes. Great cycle with some monster hills. Total distance 22k in a hour and 22 mins.

Day 4 I went out for a run again, I knew what to expect now and also knew the area a bit better so I had planned a half decent circular. I took Leon with me again and set off. As I got down the bottom of the hill in Porth I took Leon to this very steep hill which I think was a 1 in 4. Anyway Leon couldn't make it up the hill so started pushing, I jogged past and shouted "Catch me up.." He shouted back that he would meet me after I had run the circular bit. I jogged on and as I came back I couldn't see Leon so I decided I would run out towards the cliffs. I looked really nice and although was a little treacherous the views were amazing (see pic).  I finished the run in 48 mins and it was 8.4k. A long run for me and also taking into a lot of elevation. That was the last of the exercise as we went home the next day. Definitely going to look for some decent hills to practice on when I get home.

March Summary

So March was a busy month but I clocked up some miles.. According to Endomondo I did

241 miles cycled

8.4 miles  swam

34 miles run

18 miles hiked

 27031 calories burnt

I am also now at my goal weight and that means I have lost 15 lbs since starting this at the beginning of February.

 I think March was a extreme month and with the new house I don't expect to beat that. I want to level things out now and continue to train but not as excessively.