Monday 13/05/13 Week 5/run 3 of the C25K running plan. 20 mins straight through round the woods. Sprinting the last 50 yds. I missed Saturday's morning run (wife's birthday) but actually that helped my legs. They felt much fresher for my Monday run. I still feel like (and look like I think) I'm plodding around at a snail's pace but the discomfort was much less. Once I finish the plan I'm going to make Monday a 30 min run (however far I can go in that time), Wednesday a sprint/fartlek/interval run and then make Saturday a full 5k as fast as I can (and join my local park run to get it timed). That's the plan anyway. Finished with some ad wheel roll outs from knees (attempting to come up on my toes at the end) and some stretching out using the swiss ball. Drillz and Skillz In the evening I went through all 9 TKD's patterns up to black belt using Stu Anslow's patterns books as a guide. Chon-ji to Choong moo. Revisiting and revising really.
Well week 5 and 6 are odd because there's a different run for each session (3 in each week). Some mix walk/run and some are just run. So seeing as I'm repeating weeks I'm not sure whether I should do each week (Run 1 then 2 then 3) twice or repeat each run 2 or three times. As it is I'm repeating each run 3 times so one week is stretching out over 3 weeks (if that makes sense). Run 3 of week 5 is a 20 minute run straight through with only walking to warm up and cool down. The next run run1/week 6 is another mix of walking and running. Clear as mud right?
Yes! I just checked through the app and yeah, weeks 5 and 6 are those 2 mile runs etc. I look forward to doing those.
Wednesday 15/05/13 Run 3/Week 5 of the C25K. 10 minute walk and the 20 mins along the canal and through the woods again. First 2 minutes of running always feels awful. Managed the full 20 no bother though. Could probably do the full 30mins if I wanted to but will stick with the programme. Got whipped across the ankle with some stinging nettles, a face full of midges and chased by a dog. A fun summer run. Drillz and Skillz 10 minutes of BJJ/Grappling solo flow drills. Using Youtube for inspiration. Jason Scully's stuff in particular. Can do most of the movements but still need to work the mind and remember them.
Saturday 18/05/13 Run 1/Week 6 of the C25K. 10 Minute warm-up walk, 5 mins running, 3 mins walking, 8 mins running, 3 mins walking, 5 mins running, 10 minute cool down. Started adding in some shadow boxing as I run. Simple hand combinations that don't slow down the pace but still change the way the body is moving and add in different planes of motion. Drillz and Skillz Playing silly buggers in the garage with my daughter. Running around, pretending to be animals (crabbies, frogs etc). Gracie grappling games. Topple the giant, spider kid, naughty horse.
Monday 20/05/13 Run 1/Week 6 of the C25K. Repeat of Saturday's run. Managed to go the whole circuit round the woods in the time of the podcast. Not near 5k yet though. Getting pain in the right heel. Uncomfortable but nothing major yet. Will run tomorrow and then rest a few days until next week (going to a wedding anyway). Drillz and Skillz I did no drillz. Therefore I developed no skillz.
Wednesday 22/05/13 Run 1/Week 6 of the C25K. Repeat of Monday's run. Tried a slightly different route. Bit more traffic to watch for but more interesting and with more gradients. Legs and feet felt OK but overall felt like I was running through treacle. Glad no one really sees me running. I must look awful. Maybe an off day? Drillz and Skillz Went through the TKD patterns from Chon-ji to Hwa-rang last night. Getting up to speed on them and pulling out odd sections and combinations to polish.
Wednesday 29/05/13 Run 2/Week 6 of the C25K. 5 minute walk, 10 minute run, 3 minute walk, 10 minute run, 5 minute walk. Did this late (8:30/9:00) as I had stuff to in the morning. Drillz and Skillz None. No skills. Sorry "skillz". _______________________________ Saturday 1/06/13 Run 2/Week 6 of the C25K. Same as Weds. Drillz and Skillz 20 minutes bagwork. Did the Iain Abernethy podcast one but had my grappling dummy on the floor as well as my Thai bag so mixed up stand up striking as well as ground and pound and floor mobility (switching from side control-mount-knee on-scarf etc). Full 15 minute stretch out/yoga on the lawn as it was sunny. That felt good. Also did some fun grappling games with the sprog. She loves naughty horse. _______________________________ Sunday 2/06/13 Was going to go to Karate but ended up swapping getting leg-kicked for sitting in a wendy house having a teddy bear's tea-party instead. Such is the role of the modern warrior. Partly made up for it by at least getting my gi on later and running through as much Shidokan kihon as I could remember and all 5 Pinan kata. _______________________________ Monday 03/06/13 Run 2/Week 6 of the C25K. Same as Saturday. Not a lot of time so that was it.
Damn I wish I had a big punchbag at home. Oh and somewhere to hang it. Oh and a home _______________________________ True story. Try combining the two. Tell 'em the one about the Teddy Bear who fought 5 x 3 minutes rounds against the Tea-Cup of Doom...Acted out with pads and bags...
I recommend sticking to flat, even surfaces when you're conditioning your lower legs for running for the first few weeks before switching to trail running in the future, should you hafta take any breaks and start the program again. Trail running engages the muscle groups so much more dynamically that it's much easier to injure yourself, especially if you're pushing your fatigue too hard and letting your form slip. Do you have experience in proper running posture? If not, I'd definitely watch some videos at least. Um, no. This is a debated subject among science and runners. If I don't stretch before I run, I'm far more prone to injuries or cramping. I hate doing it and don't always have the time, so that's how I know. Not so funny now, is it, Mr. Comedy. :evil:
I've done that but there's definitely contradictory advice out there. Land heel first or mid-foot or ball of the foot? Upright or leaning forward slightly? Bare-foot running style? Less cushioning footwear or more? At the moment I'm trying to land mid to fore foot, stay on my toes, strong core etc. I'm sure there's more I could do to improve but I feel pretty good at the moment. I'm definitely doing something odd though because my right leg gets scraped by my left foot but my left leg doesn't get sraped by my right. The guy at the running shop said I land heel first and over-pronate which is what's causing the shin discomfort I get (hence I'm aiming for more of a forefoot running style that transfers the stress back into the calf and achiles rather than the shin). Ironically the running shop guy said that running on flat surfaces can be a cause of injury because the landing is the same each time. Whereas trail running is more varied (and closer to what we evolved to run on) which means your legs don't get into that repetitive pounding so much. I admit though it's easier to turn an ankle on trails. As it is I did the first few weeks on tarmac and now run exclusively on gravel track, dirt path and forest paths. Seems OK to me. He only wanted to play.
What a strange world we live in where people land on their heels during running. This is how I do it. The same is true in my stride shod or minimalist. And there is zero forgiveness for poor alignment running on concrete minimalist, so I became quite apt at knowing where my body wanted me to land. Make sure you keep an erect posture, imagining an arrow from cranium to tailbone. I consciously try to relax my shoulders while my core rotates to prevent any upper core cramping from lung contractions. Then play back I say. For keeps.
Yeah that's how I try to do it too. Although I think I probably don't lift my knee "over a log" in that way. Room for improvement as always.
If I run in shoes or trainers, I land on more forefoot. If I run in mountain boots I land heel first and roll through. I tend to run in boots way more than I run in trainers.
Maybe I should have said static stretching.... but even so I do some mobility stuff at the gym in my warmup, including some passive/band assisted floor stretches, mostly around the hip area before squats. It helps me get to target weight quicker and I find myself less stiff the next day
If either of you are experiencing tendon, ligament, or cartilage related back pain, I recommend investigating a new medical procedure that is fashionable in professional athletics called PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection, where your blood is extracted, and the plasma spun up and and reinjected into the injury site. The literature is still in it's infancy, but many doctors are observing regrowth of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, as well as reducing inflammation from neural trigger points. Some facilities are coupling it with stem cell site injection (your own) as well, because apparently the PRP activates latent stem cell growth and additional stem cells to the site may increase it's efficacy. If the claims of cartilage regrowth are true, that would be a first in medical science. It's recently become partially covered widely under American medical insurance too, evidently. Aside from the initial injection pain, the procedure is considered quite low risk (the PRP only one anyway).
Wednesday 05/06/13 Run 2/Week 6 of the C25K. Same as Monday. Felt pretty good early on but think I hit a blood sugar low in the last 5 minutes because my pace fell right off and felt a bit light headed and woozy. Had a BIG home made smoothie to pep me up. 'Nana, yogurt, protein mix, berries, peaches and a weetabix.
Sat 8/6/13 Week 6/Run 3 of the C25k. 25 minutes straight through. Longest run in the programme so far. Handled it Ok but my right heel/achilles is sore. Eases up after 5-10 minutes but it's a concern. May need rest for few days. Got another 25 minute run tomorrow, will see how that goes. Finished with some stretching/yoga in the garden and gracie games. Sun 9/6/13 90 minute Karate session. 40 minutes of exercising. 2 minute rounds of 10 punches with weights (or various kicks) followed by increasing reps of exercises (jump squats, press ups etc). Followed by all pinan kata, various kihon, kicks and finally conditioning. 6 x 2minute rounds of thigh kicks, rib kicks and ab kicks. Ouch.
Mon 9/6/13 Week 7/Run 1 of the C25k. Same as the last run which is odd. 25 minutes straight through again (although I need to slow down part way through to go through a kissing gate and again to climb a style so it's by no means even paced). Right heel/achiles felt fine, if anything my left calf/shin flared up (an ongoing niggle). Legs really felt the leg kick conditioning from yesterday.
