The Week of Not Running

It Sucked, big time.

I have no idea what’s on TV on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I curled up with a book instead. Taking the train into work instead of working from home (and going to Street-O) made for some very long days - not helped by the fact that work has suddenly gone mad. Often not home until nearly 9pm. So tired…

By about Tuesday, my right hip was hurting in a major way. By Wednesday, I was on drugs.

Discovered that the roti slices that I like to throw in the microwave are 330 calories each. EACH! Shit… not buying those again.

Today, I had a scheduled appointment with the Myo. He expressed surprise that I’d managed to hurt the *top* of the metatarsal, but when he saw my hyperflexible feet up on tip toes, he thought that maybe there was an explanation. Unfortunately, his explanation was all in words 10 syllables long, to do with the amount of roll my foot goes through when I land, and my foot not locking out the way it should.

He dug around the right glute, kneaded out the left calf and shin area (bloody sore!), and agreed that running was probably a Good Thing, rather than letting everything seize up.

Wahoo!

And by 2pm tomorrow, I will have Not Run for 7 days and 3 hours.

Bring it on…

How do you stop after just one slice of pizza?

or one slice of bread
or one muffin
or one piece of chocolate
or one apple (see, it’s not just the “bad” stuff)

I think I’ve come to realise that I have a binge problem. Not the kind of problem where you worship the porcelain throne, or devour a whole tub of chocolate frosting, but just a general inability to walk away and stay away.

My stomach is full; I *know* I’m not hungry; but I just need to eat something. Nowadays it’s mostly a healthy something like raisins, but it’s still too many somethings…

Funnily enough, I never binge on green stuff. Perhaps there’s a message in there somewhere (ie, “eat more of!”). I make a pretty mean green salad when I can be bothered.

–
later…

Have just been up to the shops to buy some green stuff to add to what’s in the garden to make a salad: lettuce, spinach, cucumber, green and red capsicum, beans, alfalfa and mungbean sprouts, avocado and verijuice dressing. Pretty damn tasty, actually.

Weigh-in: 11/05/2008

Weight	69.8 kg
Run	29.2 km
Walk	11.9 km

That weight is creeping up - I’m only just scraping in under 70 kegs. Crap.

I don’t really know what Akismet is except that it reminds me of Aki from CR! Anyway, JH mentioned that it was blocking some valid comments, so I thought I’d check out what mine had collected.

Back in April, I posted about a weird heartbeat. One of the comments that Akismet blocked pointed me to this link and “Ventricular Premature Beats”. Common amongst older people who drink too much coffee. Not Guilty, Your Honour! Anyway, it sounds like it’s nothing to worry about, so I shall stop worrying. Not that I was, particularly.

I shall worry about Not Running, and eating too much comfort food instead.

Street-O @ The Glen

I set this as a line course, after a comment from Geoff that it would be fun to see what happened if everyone did the same route. I had at least two route options between most controls, so it wasn’t quite that automatic.

Not many people this morning - apparently everyone is off at the Fox-Hunting (Radio) Champs or something, including Geoff. We still had more than a dozen turn up though. Perfect running weather - overcast and slightly chilly.

I ran with Mark, occasionally leapfrogging each other as we chose different routes between controls. The only time I faded to a walk was uphill towards Waverley Road, and then having to wait for the traffic lights. And to wait for Mark to catch up.

I wore my old orthotics with the new padding, and felt the underside of my foot heating up after the first half hour. Ten minutes more, I reckon, and I would have ended up with a blister. As it is, I have a sore red spot on the arch just behind the big toe.

10.6 km in 60 minutes at 160 bpm (5:43/km).

My week off running starts now.

Friday update

I can’t respond to any emails today.
Something has crashed on my computer & my mouse is missing

Pod Visit

Off to the Pod this morning to check out my foot. After lots of poking and prodding, she still doesn’t know exactly what the problem is, but that it might be a small bone spur on the side of the head of the first metatarsal.

I’d brought in several pairs of shoes, and several different orthotics that I’ve had over the years, and she took the oldest of these and added some padding under the ball of the foot to relieve the pressure from the first metatarsal.

And prescribed a week’s bed rest. 

Okay, maybe not that drastic, but she wants me to stop running for a week, then slowly ease back into it if there is no foot pain.

Noooo…

I’ve organised a run this Saturday, and I really want to do it. My Mum is coming to visit the week after next (which would be a perfect week to take off running, seeing as I won’t get to do much anyway), so the timing is just plain bad. Perhaps I’ll defer my week off until after Saturday. Shhh, don’t tell Pod.

Street-O @ Mullauna

Lots of dithering out there tonight. Decided not to get the two controls north of the freeway because it looked (and was) a long way. Decided not to get control #5 because it was a long loop for only a 2-pointer. By half time, I’d covered more than half the map. Oops, didn’t plan that very well. Trotted around the rest reasonably well, and finished 5 minutes early.

Geoff finished a few minutes later for the same number of points over a slightly different course. Mark was right behind him, having gone north of the freeway and got more points than us. Bugger.

I can run faster than these guys, yet they often score better than me. There’s a tough, but friendly, competition between the three of us. And we’re in the same division this round too, currently 1st, 2nd and 4th, I think.

Must run faster! Or smarter…

9.0 km in 53 minutes at 156 bpm (6:00/km).

Street-O @ Wattle Park

Bernie’s Special - 40 controls on the map, 20 on each half, but only your top 20 count towards your score. So the ideal strategy is to pick all the high ones from each half of the map.

My strategy was to pick off the high pointers, and whatever low pointers were on my direct route or very close by, in case I didn’t get all the big ones.

I ended up getting 25 controls in total, so I could drop off a handful of 2- and 3-pointers.

Very hilly area, and I needed a few walking breaks. On the run back up to the top half of the map - about a kilometre of uphill - I was running very strongly. No idea of my pace (too dark to read Popsicle) but it felt pretty good. Then I struggled big time over the final few controls on the way back to the finish.

9.6 km in 58 minutes at 161 bpm (6:03/km).

Dinner afterwards with the usual suspects at Shintaro Restaurant (Japanese) on Riversdale Rd. They fed us complementary sake! >hic<

Weigh-in: 04/05/2008 and Nerd Report

Weight	69.6 kg
Run	28.3 km
Walk	17.9 km

I put a new battery in the HRM (strap), and it was reading normally as I pottered around home for half an hour. Problem solved, hopefully.

No toe news is not good toe news. It’s still sore, although after reading Ewen’s comment from yesterday, I had to think about it for a while. Yesterday’s run was mostly off-road - gravel paths and grassy bits, and apparently didn’t aggrevate it. It doesn’t hurt walking around, but I can make it hurt by standing on the balls of my feet (on tippy-toes).

I’ve also retired my current pair of Nimbus 9’s: 640 kms, and I’ve worn through the uppers already. First time I’ve worn through the mesh on a pair of Asics, but the soles are getting thin under the ball of the foot too. I’ve washed them and will take them into the Pod next week. I have a new pair of 9’s to replace them, which have been in the cupboard since the Rebel sale late last year.

The Nerd Report

Apr 2008:

Date	Time	Distance	VAM	HR	Pace	NF
1/4	51	7.92	83	147	6:34	0.8
2/4	56	9.70	91	159	5:48	-0.1
3/4	38	6.39	0	148	6:03	-1.2
5/4	72	13.20	94	158	5:50	-0.2
7/4	62	10.87	110	158	5:46	-0.4
8/4	50	7.16	18	135	7:01	0.0
9/4	56	9.15	123	151	6:08	-0.3
12/4	51	7.99	185	153	6:23	1.2
14/4	60	9.66	137	148	6:13	-0.5
16/4	52	8.79	124	155	6:01	0.0
18/4	43	6.70	18	145	6:33	0.3
19/4	56	9.44	83	157	6:00	0.3
21/4	58	9.74	111	155	6:00	-0.0
23/4	55	9.41	130	160	5:51	0.3
25/4	63	11.22	116	163	5:39	-0.0
28/4	54	8.98	119	154	6:04	0.1
30/4	55	9.53	94	159	5:48	-0.1

All heading in the right direction. Noice.

Cake-O @ Latrobe University

Okay, what’s going on here? As soon as I turned on the HRM it started reading double what my heart was actually doing. With my fingers on my pulse, I was getting thump-thump-thump; and Popsicle was flashing ping-ping-ping-ping-ping-ping - with my pulse exactly matching every second flash.

Polar is only 7 months old - the HRM battery is supposed to last for 2 years. Grrrr.

Other than the HRM being stupid, it was an excellent run - the entire course was within the campus grounds and park to the south-west. I’d forgotten about The Fence until I ran up to it; and I should have got control #8 near the finish, but pretty happy.

9.8 km in 57 minutes at an unknown average HR (5:54/km).

Chocolate Snowballs

It’s almost cold enough for the real thing.

I’ve had a sore foot since the last time I whinged about it a couple of weeks ago in a post on Cool Running. The whole big toe joint feels bruised - top and bottom. I haven’t changed my casual/work shoes, I never wear high heels, I use gel inserts in my running shoes… NOTHING has changed. Except that maybe I’m running a little bit faster.

Anyway, it’s really annoying. I’ve done no other running this week because of the foot. I don’t want to make it worse (like a stress fracture). I’ve even been cutting back on my lunchtime walks.

So I surfed the net for metatarsal stress fractures (gotta love an internet diagnosis), then surfed Cool Running for a Melbourne Pod. I’ve made an appointment at the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Centre with Rebecca for next week.

Street-O @ Notting Hill

Another cold, crisp night. Winter is definitely here this time. I wore long tights for only the second time this year - and was annoyed to discover that the second of my favourite tights is now falling down when I run. Damn this weight loss!!

Geoff had seen the course beforehand, and said that we should start with control #10 to the north. So I did, and ended up in the hilly corner of the map. I was following a trail of people until #7, when most of them headed down into the creek. I wasn’t brave enough to follow in the dark, and headed back up the road and around the long way - passing (in the opposite direction) all the people who’d gone cross country. Dammit.

A few controls later, I caught up with Mark. Then promptly lost him again as I ran 100m towards a control I wasn’t supposed to get. Caught up again after few more controls, then we collected Geoff with only a couple to go. Geoff and Mark ran ahead as I was debating whether to go for #6. If they did, then I would. They did. Hard yakka, getting that last one, and then getting back on time. I had no energy to go chasing the boys and got in with about 10 seconds to spare.

9.5 km in 55 minutes at 159 bpm (5:48/km).

My heart is still doing weird things. When I started Popsicle, it decided that my heartrate was 180 bpm. Fingers on pulse confirmed that it wasn’t me. Unless it was picking up the shadow beat as well. As I watched, it dropped to 120 (still v. high for standing around in the cold), before bouncing up to 200. Hmmm, the Garmin had this problem too. Maybe it is me?!

It seemed to settle once I started running, reading approximately right for the effort I was doing.

Street-O @ Blackburn Lake

I discovered when I woke up this morning that I had a bruise on my left butt. It wasn’t discoloured, but it hurt to sit and walk. I discovered within three steps of heading out this evening that it also hurt to run.

The whole way.

It didn’t ever “warm up” and go away. I seriously considered cutting my course short and coming in early, it was that sore, especially as it was pretty cold (and wet) out there tonight. But I warmed up eventually, and I trotted around quite strongly after my slow start.

The Devious Dodds had set a quiz for tonight’s course. Run around collecting street letters, then try and solve the puzzle afterwards.

answer:
    PRoverB: CyCLiCaL THiNKinG By MaPPers Means DeJeCTed JoGGers JoG in CirCles.

hah.

9.0 km in 54 minutes at 154 bpm (6:04/km).

A small group of us went to the local Mexican restaurant afterwards. Bruce and I shared a main meal - one enchilada each, plus lots of Adam’s nachos. Sharing meals actually works out quite well - it means that I don’t overeat, and it costs less.

Weigh-in: 27/04/2008

Weight	68.8 kg
Run	48.8 km
Walk	7.9 km

I got my first weight loss comment this weekend! From Liz, who I probably haven’t seen for a couple of months. She asked me if I’d “lost a bit of weight”. And then she sort of went all apologetic for mentioning it.

After I’d ‘fessed up and told her that I had “lost a bit”, she said that she noticed it ON MY TOP HALF. Arrgh, I don’t want to lose weight on my top half - there’s not much there to lose in the first place.

So, out with the tape measure…

And yes, since Jan 1st, I have lost 1 cm from my bust (*sob*); 2 cm from my waist; 4.5 cm from my bum; and 4 cm from my thigh. Awesome! No wonder my jeans have got loose.

SS#3 @ Mt Franklin Gorge

I had much better energy this morning. We had pre-marked maps (yay, BK) and a lot fewer contours. I ran about 80% of it, and didn’t mess up any navigation.

I fell over at one stage. It had rained overnight, and the ground was very slippery with wet fallen leaves. I landed on a small branch across my shin, which HURT. I hobbled over to a fallen tree and sat for a while. I could see blood. I ended up with a small scratch (with lots of dirt and crap embedded in it. Yum), and a large bruise on the front of my shin (which is swollen and turning green. Yum).

But back in time for an early lunch.

The juniors had set up a fundraising stall, so I had 2 cups of homemade soup, a cheese toastie, and a slice of cake for lunch. Much nicer than my leftover rice which I was planning on. And then on the way home, I bought a microwave log thing from the Servo, and a chocolate bar. Hungry little caterpillar.

Course: 4 (W35A) 13 controls
Course distance: 7.2 km
Distance covered: 7.9 km, elevation gain: 232m
Time taken: 1:32
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5504518