A break rather than a tear.

Week ending 26^th June

Blimey the last entry was very gloomy. That said I haven’t made my mind up about what the situation is regard to running, weather I will get back into racing at all. For purposes of fitness I would be disappointed not to get back running by August but training for races I don’t know.

I had a MRI on Wednesday (200 smackaroos) and to my surprise it wasn’t a muscle tear I have suffered at all but a fracture of the upper arm (proximal humerous). This was much better news as it shouldn’t mean any surgery but a simple case of letting nature take it’s time and keeping it a sling. It means I should be driving by August and while physio can take up to 4 months it’s a case of easy as it goes rather than anything too involved.

 A muscle tear would have required surgery and lots of post operation recovery. The left foot ankle feels much better. I am doing my exercise and trying to a bit of walking every morning , usually 45mins to a hour. Walking bores the shit out of me so it was a handy excuse to buy that i Pod I always wanted. I’m currently uploading 600 CD’s as I speak. A nice project. It keeps me out of trouble. Sleeping is a big problem. I  can't put weight on my shoulder or arm when in bed and i have to pretty much sleep sitting up propping my back up with pillows. It usually means I can only get 6 hours of sleep a night. That said I catch up with naps during the day. The ankle is still rather swollen and while the x rays showed up no breaks it does concern me somewhat. That said walking isn't a issue

Bar the arm issue the summer is going well so far. Teachers (unpaid) holidays,plenty of books to read, football on the box, (Ireland just lost to France but at least did so with pride), garden is coming along well as is my lovely wife. Having some good social meet up with friends is nice too. No summer holidays this year but on the whole things are ok. Everyone I know and love is in good health.

The thrill is gone. Injury update.

Week ending 19^th June

Any future running plans are to be put on hold indefinitely for a long time to come as a result of my fall on the 9^th June. I wrote in my last entry I entered the Galway Bay marathon  (a couple of days before I fell).I thought, after the X-Rays ruled out a fracture, I only had a heavy sprain and that it would clear up in a 2 week period. Unfortunately this will not be the case. I am waiting to be called in for a MRI scan to see or confirm if I do have a rotatory cuff injury in my shoulder.This is a muscle tear that limits movement of the upper arm. Lifting, reaching out, side movement are all effected. Either way if this is the case (and it is suspected it is) recovery - be it through physical therapy or orthopedic surgery will take up to 2 – 3 months if not longer. This assumes of course I do get called for that MRI promptly. All these delays between the fall, x rays, MRI and resolution impact on recovery time and I find it all very frustrating . Viva -  the health service!!!!

 Running considerations aside , in terms of more important real life issues like mobility , driving, lifting,  being able to sleep correctly, all these at the moment have proven to be difficult (lifting and sleeping) or impossible (driving- lots of reliance on public transport). At the most I can only lift my arm to chest height, reaching any higher or over is impossible. I also won’t be able to correct the state exams for the summer, so there is a financial impact as well.

Anyway back to running. It’s hard not to consider giving up on the whole idea of taking part any more in races or marathon training. Since 2012 my times in general have either disimproved or remained stagnant. Injuries seem to have become a regular part of running to the point that it becomes expensive or foolish to continue. You have to wonder about continuing in a sport/ hobby that actually takes a toll on your physical well being and ends up costing a small fortune in recovery. All of these makes even less sense when you realise I am at best a mid pack runner. Even in terms of PB’s I haven’t PB’ed a marathon since 2012, a 10k since 2012, a 4 mile ,5 mile or a half marathon since 2013 or a 10 mile race since 2014.

Even on the club scene it’s frightening the amount of people who are getting constantly injured and while many of these injuries are hardly serious they do seem to be very common (PF, slipped kneecap’s, twisted ankle, I.T band and so on). 

I even know of club runners who have dislocated shoulders or under gone major surgery to repair damaged bones or tissue (hip replacements and knee replacements) and have had to take time off work as a result simply because of running. There seems to be too much of a casual acceptance to injury on the club scene for me at the moment to make it attractive any more.

It also seems to follow that once a cycle of injuries start it seems to be a regular issue for participants. In my case I have had at least one injury issue or bodily stress issue every year since 2010 – all running related. This time is probably the most serious as I seemed to trip and fall for no reason, it wasn’t as if there was a outside factor that caused it. My leg just gave way and down I went. It could have happened to me at any time and while it could happen to anyone even non runners  it was a shock. Even the staff in Mallow general said these days the amount of cyclists with broken collarbones and runners with tissue damage or fractures is way on the increase.

A gloomy entry I accept but it’s the way I see it. Once we get things sorted here with the shoulder maybe things will look better in a few months but I can’t see myself hitting the roads for a long time yet.

the harder they fall

10th June.

I had originally targeted the Cork city half marathon as a goal race to end off what was a decent training block which started with the 4 mile Boherbue race. The plan was then to focus on a possible marathon in August or October. I had run a good race in the Killarney half marathon and a solid time in the Ballindreen 5 mile in May (34.32) so I was hopeful. However things were a bit of a disaster on a number of fronts. Runners were misdirected at the very start of the race and ending up running a half mile extra before they reached the first official mile marker. This meant there was no chance of anyone getting a proper PB. I ended up running the first 3 miles at what was in effect too fast a pace and by mile 7 I was beginning to wilt. It was very hot but my mindset was all over the place knowing I wouldn't get any where near a PB or a course best. I decided to pull the plug before the official 8 mile marker(8.7 miles on my watch) deciding there was little point in wearing myself out running a 13.5 mile plus race. My buddy Aidan and my Mallow clubmates all finished the race in what was a hopelessly organised event. I don't know if I will be back doing next year. It was my own decision to drop out though and I should have adopted a more sensible pacing strategy. Having run close to 20 half marathons and DNF'ed 2 I think I made the correct decision. I won't be dropping out of races  again though unless I am injured or sick.

Tuesday I ran 4.5 miles at a slow 9 minute pace with a HR reading of 135 and I was happy with that.

Thursday was a hell of a day. 4 miles into a routine 8 mile run I took a tumble near Harrison's place and landed heavily on my shoulder. I got a bit of a shock and I had a terrible time getting back to my house. I feared I dislocated my shoulder and broke a bone in my ankle (it was quite swollen), Thnakfully the local park keeper spotted my distress and dropped me back home lecturing me on the dangers of running !!!!!

 Thankfuly the ankle was only swollen and the shoulder while sore , battered and bruised wasn't broken or dislocated. This was confirmed by the good people at Mallow general hospital in the disgracefully downgraded A and E department , now called the local injury unit. I can't drive a car for at least a week and general mobility is at 50 %, Running is out of the question for a similar period of time, maybe longer. As the pictures show the grazing is light enough but the ankle is swollen.

I did enter the Galway Bay marathon set to be held on the 1st October, That will be the focus of my training when I do get back running.The course consists of 4 X 10km loops plus 2.2 km. To be honest I don't know whether it will be a well organised low key event or a badly organised one. Time will tell, lets get the training done first.

Race update

Week ending 15^th May

I have been averaging around 35 miles – 40 miles a week. It’s reasonable mileage and I have been trying to run one race a week. No PB’s set in any of them but they weren’t all that bad time wise either. Essentially they were all in the average range. I am probably one of the slower runners in the club now whereas once I was a solid midpack runner. The standard is getting better all the time.

Ballintotis 4 mile in 27.20, Carrigtwohill 4 mile in 27.23, Cobh 10 mile (very tough – went out too fast) 1.14.04,

Midleton 5 mile in 34.28, Killarney Lakes half marathon 1.35.58. See photo below and my rather odd running stride.

I have also been putting in a bit of speedwork on Tuesdays (8 x 2 mins and 5 x 1 miles at 6.45 pace) with the usual long run on Sunday and when possible throwing in a few marathon pace runs or hill runs up in Cork. I haven’t run many club sessions apart from the Doneraile hill sessions. Just too busy with work and looking after family members.

At this stage my aims over the summer are to stay injury free, get around 40 miles a week in, get a good race in once a week and hopefully one of two PB’s. In terms of marathons I won’t be running either Frankfurt or the Dublin marathon or any marathon at all for probably a long time. Longford might be a option in August. Impending parenthood has a (nice) habit of changing my plans..

2 week snap

Week ending 24^th April

I ran around 32 miles this week and 33 miles the week before. Not high mileage at all but good workouts. Mondays consisted of a 2 mile walk each time with my wife. I normally prefer a 40 mile easy jog but I enjoy the chat with Aoiffe and it has pretty much the same impact. Tuesday last week was 7 miles, maybe 8 miles with 2 X 15 minute inserts in the middle. I covered over 2.2 miles each time at around 7.08 – 7.10 pace and on Wednesday after a long drive up and down to Tralee with my mum (she got the knee done) I did around 6 miles in Mayfield. Hopefully I get up there a bit more in the next few months. Thursday was another MP run of around 7 miles at 7.45 pace. I kept the pace controlled and the Hr was at 155. No run on Friday and I had to forego the Doneraile hill session with the club running 10.5 miles in Charleville early in the morning. Sunday morning was another early start heading to the Fota flower show for the day. A good week but far from hard core either.

This week was more of the same. 2 mile walk with Aoiffe. 7 miles on Tuesday with 8 x 2 minutes at 6.35 average pace. Wednesday a very tired 7 miles at 8.30 pace and a 4 mile race in Ballintotis. I haven’t run here in 3 years. I Pb’ed at the time 27 minutes according to the clock but in reality 26mins 57 seconds according to my garmin. This time I ran a pretty solid time. I didn’t wear a garmin for this one but lost around 10 seconds at mile 3 and another 10 at mile 4. Again far from the finished deal but I was happy enough with the time of 27mins22seconds (chipe timing helps). Clive and Paudie had cracking races. No running as usual Friday and slept out Saturday morning and was basically lazy for the day. I ran 12 miles this morning at 6.30 am at 8.30 pace. Hr was 148 spending the rest of the day watching the London marathon.

As I say a good two weeks but plenty plenty to work on.

Called off due to rain.

Week ended 10^th April

I didn’t run Wednesday. That is a deliberate policy as I am currently simply trying to go out running when I feel rested and fit as distinct from feeling the need to put myself under pressure and go running 6/7 days a week. On average I am running 4 days a week at most. Thursday effort was to be a marathon pace effort. I was planning to run 7 miles at a 7.55 pace but when I looked down at the watch at mile 6 I was surprised to see I was running at around 7.35 average pace. I hadn’t expected that so I decided to dial the pace back a bit for the last mile. The HR was reasonable enough – 158 – for a marathon pace effort but I may want to keep a tighter rein on the pace next time.

My next run was on Saturday morning with the club in Doneraile park. The plan was 2 mile warm up , 6 X 1km and 3 mile cooldown. I wasn’t completely focused and I was feeling a bit heavy legged if truth be known. I was well down the back of the group for the repeats – around 7.58 mile pace. The rest of the club members were flying it and I tried to be philosophical about it. Running is as a honest a sport as it gets, you get out what you put in.

The plan on Sunday was the 10 mile race in Cobh. I had intended to run it at around 7.20 pace feeling strong and controlled. It’s a tough course and I hadn’t had enough done yet to challenge myself to do anything faster. What was even tougher on the way down however was the weather. It was bucketing down, it was cold and the temperatures were very low. In other words ideal weather for catching up with boxsets certainly not for running. By the time I reached Belvelly bridge the waves were lapping over the bridge and onto the road. It looked pretty spectacular and a lot of cars were turning back home. I drove to the finish line and some stewards were packing away barriers and traffic cones so it was obvious it was going to be called off. That announcement was texted to me later.

The morning wasn’t without it’s compensations. I popped into my mum’s home on the way back and got well fed so happy days !!!!

I didn’t even bother trying to venture out the rest of the evening. It does mean however that I haven’t run 10 miles or more in around 3 weeks so that will have to be remedied.

By the way congrats to club stalwart Paudie Birmingham who ran sub 3 in the Rotterdam marathon to day. A great achievement and well deserved..

Monday 40 minute walk, Tuesday 6 miles with 4 X 1 repeats at 6.52 average pace, Thursday 7 miles at 7.37 pace, Saturday 8 miles with 6 X 1 km repeats. Total 23 miles

2 races in 1 week

Tuesday 5^th April.

I drafted this update a while back but only found the time now to finish it off. Last week saw me enter two races in a week – a 4 mile race in Boherbue/Kiskeam and  a 10k race in Cork City. In between I jogged 7 miles on Tuesday, 6 slog miles on Thursday and 6 miles in Doneraile park with the club (3 sets of 4 sprints , -25 -30 -35 -40 secs).

The first race is one of the oldest in Cork county and while it was a bit pricey (15 euro) I enjoyed the drive from Charleville and meeting up with clubmates. The first mile was a rapid downhill. I tried to hold back but it was difficult. The next two miles were quite hilly with a nice finish in the last mile into Kiskeam. My first mile was around 6.35 but I was finding it hard to get the legs moving after that, finishing in 28minutes05seconds. Still though it was nice to get out there and race. The legs felt surprisingly fresh the next day with the HR reaching a decent level of 145 at a pace of 8min15seconds per mile. I took the now customary day off on Wednesday but felt a bit blah on Thursday struggling to get the 6 easy miles up on my legs. Saturday was a series of hill sprints with the club in Doneraile park. I am beginning to warm to these sessions so hopefully I can stick with them. Truth be told I wasn’t very good on the sprints but road running isn’t about sprints more about mile by mile endurance. Nevertheless it was a good workout.

Sunday was the morning of the classic 10 k race in UCC. It takes in a tough but fair route along the Mardyke, the Waterworks, Anglers Rest and back up the straight road finishing in the Lee Fields. The tough part of the course is a long drag and a hill by mile 1.5 to 2.5 but the finish is a good one. I had planned to run around 7.15 pace and get in under 45 minutes, not a fast pace but I wanted to run under my Lactic Threshold. The plan was not to race all out rather at a controlled fast/comfortable pace. I was doing well enough up to mile 3 but started to struggle a bit after that losing 3 to 4 seconds on each mile after that. By mile 6 I was a bit battered and glad to get the whole exercise over with in 45minutes08seconds clock time. I timed it from when I crossed the line coming in at 45seconds02seconds. No matter though, it was tough but enjoyable. I felt recovered enough to tack on a mile cooldown for a good workout. (30 miles for the week)

Monday consisted of a easy 40 minute walk with Aoiffe.  I would have gladly gone for a jog instead but it was nice to talk and chat through our respective days. Tuesday I trundled down to the railway road starting with a  1 mile warm up with 4 X 1 mile repeats and 1 mile cooldown. Mile one 6.40, Mile 2 6.50, Mile 3 6.40 and Mile 4 7 mins. It obviously time to go home after the last mile repeat. I felt surprisingly energized for the rest of the evening.