A Bit of Bling for a Fat Ankle!

I know its been a while since my last post but I was waiting to get the Brize sprint race out of the way so I could comment on that, but it didn't quite go to plan and I've been struggling to come to terms with the 'outcome'!

Well, it was a good race...decent weather....friendly faces...even bagged a good result...but....I've picked up a rather worrying injury...NOOOOOO!

I came 3rd overall and actually won the Vets race, happy days!

I had a good swim too, managing to do a 5min 30sec 400m swim which is a PB by a quite a bit! The 20km (ish) bike was done in 29min 30sec and the 5km run took just under 20 mins however... the run kind of ended in disaster really...with about 400m to go I rounded a tight corner and tried to step up on to a curb but misjudged it and went right over on my ankle....and I mean right over!

I hobbled to the finish line, took of my shoe and then watched in amazement as my left ankle grew and grew! It was really painful, not just on the outside of the foot but also all around the heel and arch and I could hardly move my toes which worried me a lot!

I knew I had to ice it up and thankfully a good Samaritan, namely Dan Tudge (novice winner), popped up with an ice pack from the med centre, cheers Dan!

With my foot getting bigger all the time I squeezed my shoe on, while I still could, and psyched myself up for the 3 and a half hour drive home!

The next day I went of to the hospital for a x-ray and was very happy to find that it was not broken...phew! However, I have suffered some degree of ligament damage, the extent of which is yet to be determined. I've been R.I.C.E 'ing it for a few days and the swelling has almost completely gone and have a lot more movement and a lot less pain. I certainly won't be running for a wee while but I reckon I will be certainly swimming, and probably cycling by the end of the week.

I will be back to the doc on Wednesday to assess it again...but as an optimist, I think the ligaments are more strained than torn and as long as I don't try and rush back too soon, I think I will be ready for the RAF Champs at Dambuster....time will tell.

So, mainly swimming and biking for me for a while, with some sadistic physio treatment thrown in for good measure!

Sport hurts!

Train well.

Night Shifts...Don't Ya Just Love 'em!

I've managed to get some solid long distance training in recently. Whilst I was on a week of night shifts I topped 16 hours!
I started the week with a turbo session of 10 mins tempo (90-100rpm)/3 mins easy, repeated 4 times. This was a bit of a toughie.
The next day was a 10 mile run in 1:08. Apart from being attacked by a pair of kamikaze lapwings which dive bombed me repeatedly trying to c**p on me, it was a pretty comfortable run and I had plenty left in the tank for an evening core session.

Wednesday I did a steady bike to the pool where my main set was 5 x 400m on 7 mins, and then pushed hard on the bike home, with the whole session taking about 2 and a half hours. Later that evening I got my race bike out for 1 hour hard tempo in very windy conditions!
My run session on Thursday was a killer! After a 10 min warm up jog, I did 7 min hard tempo/3 min easy, repeated 7 times. This did hurt...a lot.
On Friday I picked up my boys from school and on the way home they wanted to check out a skate park. Fine by me...there is a pool right next to it! While they practiced their 'ollies' (no, I don't know what they are either), I hit the wet stuff and did 10 min easy, 10 min moderate, 10 min hard, 10 min easy and finished with some sprint work.
Saturday was my BIG RIDE. It was a 90 miler, where I tried a new scientific nutrition strategy of 'eat as much as I can and see what happens'. My food list was: cheese bagel sandwhich, a banana, 2 Power Bars, a litre of Gatorade and 2 litres of water. Apart from a slightly sore neck, having spent the whole ride in the tuck, I felt good enough to go for a 10k run when I got home. It was a good confidence booster in my build up to Bolton.
I backed up my 'big ride' with a 'big run' the next day. I'm not sure how far it was coz it was a new route, but it took 2 hours 15 mins. This was hard work... due in no small part to the leaving do/40th birthday bash my good lady and I attended the night before! Not ideal!

Monday I was feeling a bit battered and bruised from a tough weekend so I plucked up the courage to go for my first open water swim of the year. OMG, it was FREEZING! I lasted about 40 mins before the headache, earache and numb throbbing hands and feet forced me into a hot shower!

Anyway, a good week of 'quantity' with no injuries apart from the usual aches and pains associated with being only a matter of weeks away from turning 40!
Stay fit y'all!

Race Done...Time To Get Some Miles In.

Thats another race done. The Interservices duathlon last Weds was a sunny and breezy affair, on a flat and open course. It was a long old drive too...4 and a half hours to be exact! It was my first time at this venue and although it was nice to run on a flat course, I'm not a fan of flat bike courses...my legs don't want to keep working constantly, without any downhill free wheeling to break it up a bit! Still, I was pretty happy with my run splits....the first run was 5km in 17:33, 20km bike in 26:41 and my 2.5km run in 9:03. But, despite our best efforts, the Army just managed to sneak the win....for a change! We will have our day eventually!

Since the race on Weds I've trained quite well really. Thursday was just a very steady 1 hour turbo ride but on Friday I got up early for an 8 mile run before work, with a 4km pool swim in the evening.
On Saturday I went for a 60 mile ride around a fairly hilly route, then it was on with the trainers for a 10km run. I felt really good, which was probably due to the 'fuel' I managed to get down my neck on the bike. I had a SIS energy bar and a banana, no energy drink this time, just water but a lot more than I would normally have and it worked very well, no cramps (legs or stomach) and no 'stitches'....although I need to eat more whilst on the bike, I finally seem to be getting closer to getting this nutrition lark sorted!

Today, Sunday, was a long run of 14 miles. I did this on 2 Go Gels and again, felt good. This has been the first time in ages that I have managed to run, in some shape or form, for 3 days on the trot with no niggles or tweaks...things are looking up!

Looking forward to this week... I'm on nights at work so as long as the weather isn't too dreadful I should be able to get plenty of miles on the bike, with a couple of long bricks to boot!

Train well...