Paul Petch

Nearly 50% of my target distance DONE

A bad week – I want to punch my Podiatrist (again)

Last week was full of ups and downs to be honest. Last weekend found me with friends at the Wharfedale Track on the mountain bike and it was a ride worthy of my top ten BEST rides ever. It was a fantastic day and aside from first class company, my fitness due to running was bloody spot on! I was not fatigued at all and that helped me concentrate my energy on the extremely technical track.

The Tuesday run on the sports playing field at work was a nice 1hr jog at an easy pace and with the threat of rain, but with a temperature of 15degs- it was quite magical. I did get caught in a huge downpour with 10 minutes to go but just kept going- it was awesome. The following day though, things in my left hamstring were not so happy- infact i was struggling to weight the leg! After seeing the foot Doc. last week, he was happy with the fact that my issues had basically “come good” with regards to the ITB pain and over use of my quads but concerned that my left arch was feeling so “battered” after being on my feet for more than 2hrs. He suggested I try my original style orthotic that was a lot more spongy. Anyway- this is what caused my issues after Tuesdays run!

What is it with these Podiatrists? I can’t help but feel that they just like to make problems so they can sell $140 marsh mellow runner inserts. The original inserts caused me issues- and they still do….so I’ll be looking for a refund on my next visit. DIE!!! MARSH MELLOW!!!! INSERTS!!! DIE!! :D Anyway, after extending my usual 30minute massage on Wednesday to an hour, things felt ok….which was more than I can say about my masseur who had spent months fixing up issues that the Podiatrist had broken in less than an hour. Dorothy was not a  happy lady!!

Thurday’s hard hill run continued to piss the hamstring off and then Mr. Knee pain returned for an un welcomed kick  in he nuts. After 45 mins of hill running I pulled the pin and went home annoyed with a week that had reminded the pain pathways that Dorothy (masseur) and I had spent much time and money to fix up- to come alive once more.  Heading towards the longest run of my training so far (well actually….lol) I was a tad nervous to say the least.

To make things even more “edgy”, a terrible stomach upset also plagued me last week that has left me quite bloated, “acid stoamchy’ ” & light on my feet to the toilet! Anyway…..

Nearly 50% of the Kepler….

Cycling to the base of the Rapaki track I was still having a few twinges in my left knee but once I had stretched and got my head into the days task ahead- things settled down. Riding my bike to the base of the Port Hills is not only an extra work out, but it really does ensure that I’m warmed up nicely before heading off. Talking of warmed up, I highly recommend it when your first KM’s of a run have you gaining 300M……it is a bitch.

I felt good all the way up and over to the point at which I usually return near the start of the Greenwood track, but this day was different and I had three hours on my feet to clock up. So on I went……and on…and on :) After about 1.5 hrs I simply turned about and ran back the way I came…which also included lots of ups and lots of downs. After about 2.20 I could feel my left knee trying to tell me that it was annoyed at how tired my quads were from all of the descending so I tried a few foot strike variations that gave it some respite until the next climb. Phew!

By the time I had reached the top of the Rapaki Track, I was looking to add more onto the run so continued up the road side towards the Traverse Track. One I was up the top of this climb I once more turned back on my tracks and then headed down once more to the Rapaki. Everything approaching the three hour mark was sweet…..mentally there? CHECK! Properly fed? CHECK! Water? CHECK! Cardio? CHECK! Happy quads after running down so many hills? HMMMMM :D

At my bike I sat….amazed…slightly stunned….and really chuffed with such a great run out there. And more importantly, I had pretty much run 50% of the Kepler challenge distance with all of my marbles intact and just a few minor niggles in the left quads. Could I have gone on? Damn right I could have! Amazing…..stuff. After a stretch I was off for the ride home and feeling damn fresh considering that I had been on my feet for 3hrs and covered close to 26KM. My cadence was an average of 87 spm and I was averaging  06:51 min/km! I even had enough energy to wash my mountain bike in the yard and do a few other house hold chores before an iced bath.

The following week

Sunday I woke to a bit of a sore right hip flexor and some tight hamstrings and quads….and of course an appetite of a horse :D Physically, things were not to bad considering…..and instead of doing nothing, my Wife and I went shopping and walked there- which I think helped to loosen things up a bit. Overall I’m super happy with my progress so far and after tonight’s massage and a few more days rest, I’ll be back on my feet with no worries.

My training plan goes up another notch this week with two high paced 45min runs + a 1.5 easy during the week….but I know how my body works now and I’m just going to keep with 1 x 45min run this week. As for the weekend, it is all about the bike again and maybe a run afterward to keep up the intensity leading towards the Crater Rim run in just a few weeks.

What I have learnt is to never take being able to run for granted, and I’m still super cautious about over training and injuries. But one thing is for sure- I can do it- and injuries/ illness aside- things are looking good for the Kepler Challenge. WoOt!

One thing is very clear though, I need to swap my Thursday night run for the Rapaki track so that I can start to work more on my descending technique and strength. Thankfully, the clocks have now gone forward so that should work! Now I just have to get the weather Gods on my side!

Related posts:

1. My first ultra marathon distance of 49KM
2. Taking back control of my running
3. Weekend run (week one) – Port Hills
4. Training, goals & ITB syndrome
5. Back in the Porthills….endurance training

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 11:09 am and is filed under Runs & Walks and tagged with kepler challenge, podiatrist, port hills, runners knee, stretching, trail running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.