Snow Patrol. Absolutely excellent in London on Monday night
This is the first week of my 20 week training programme for the Rotterdam Marathon on 7th April 2019. Bizarrely, the programme started with a rest day!
It looks like a bit of straight line thinking by the programme designer – subsequent Mondays come after a long slow run on Sunday so it seems sensible for them to be rest days. By definition, that’s not the case for the first Monday!
The plan has four runs each week (two at marathon pace, a session of intervals/speed work and a long slow run) and one day of cross-training. For the first few weeks the two shorter runs are 4 miles each and the long run starts at 6 miles and increases by a mile a week.
My aim had been to arrive at the start of the training in good shape, ready and able to take up the challenge. I failed and I arrived with dodgy Achilles tendons – either the result of age deterioration, poor running style or stupid calf raises with too much weight on the gym’s leg press machine.
The result of Sunday’s run was a sore right Achilles for the rest of the day, despite an ice pack, stretching and compression and it was quite painful when I woke on Monday.
On the plus side, it was no worse than it has been for the last couple of weeks and the left Achilles was not too bad at all.
I’ve said that I will be flexible about the training programme and am starting the way I intend to carry on by deciding that the run with my son on Sunday actually took place on Monday and so counts towards the first week’s training.
In part, that’s because we were up in London on Monday. Mrs O won tickets for us to go to a London performance by Snow Patrol (I like them but she really likes them).
I was not too enthused but I have to admit that they (with just a three-man lineup, no drummer or bassist) were absolutely excellent. It was a small, intimate, venue (no more than 600) and we were in the front row. I just hope that Gary Lightbody didn’t look down from the stage, see a 63 year old retired solicitor, and wonder if that’s an ominous sign as to where his career is heading.
While the legs wouldn’t have let me run on Monday, I had to resist the temptation to get out for a run in London on Tuesday morning. Later, back home, on Tuesday I did 30 minutes on the turbo for 15.85km @30.7kph (9.85miles @19.7mph).
The key questions now are:
- does carrying on running worsen the injury (not really acceptable)
- does carrying on running benefit the training but slow down the recovery just a little (probably acceptable)
- will more on the turbo help the training, without consequences for the Achilles?
Although, originally, I hurt both Achilles, I re-hurt the right one more recently. The fact that the left leg has certainly improved suggests that perhaps carrying on as I have been, with a little running but more in the gym and on the turbo, will work.
What is clear is that I’m not going to be running four times a week just yet. So, for now I’ll try to run twice a week, one run of about 4 miles and the other being the long slow run. I’ll cover the other two scheduled running days with the turbo trainer, adding a gym session for the official cross training day.
Seems like a plan.
(an Old Man in Lycra) 