10 weeks to go...

In 10 weeks time, if all has gone to plan and that's my plan - not some alternate crappy plan which appears to be hijacking my plan!! - i'll be lying in bed ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED, trying to get sleep as the gun will be going off in less than 9 hours!!!!

As i write this, i've got some strange lower leg issue (appears to be more than a niggle) that is causing a bit of pain. The most frustrating part is that it isn't stopping me from training but i don't want to push things in case it's doing damage.  I haven't had it looked at yet, as we were on holiday and i hoped that rest would heal all ... um, not really.  

So first thing Monday morning it's a call to the physio to make an appointment and get his opinion.  As far as I'm concerned there are 3 possible answers:

1) Don't train - you'll do irreparable damage ... which probably means, no IM :(

2) You can train - but it won't get better until you rest it ... Cool, that's why they invented post IM months ... GO!!! :)

3) It's nothing ... you're making it up ... GO NUTS YOUNG FELLA!!! 

Once i know the answer, you guys will be the first to know :)

I'm feeling quite confident that given the next ten weeks to train i'll be good to go on the day.  I haven't done as many long sessions as I'd have liked to by now - so I have already re-assessed my goal and changed it from a time to finishing sub 17 hours!

...
 
And in other exciting news - i'll be racing as part of the Heart Kids QLD team at the Noosa Triathlon later this year.  Once i get all the details sorted i'll do a separate blog post (or 2) on this subject, and why i'm proud to be part of this team.

Cheers Tim

The best laid plans...

Just a bit of a catch-up on what's been going down...

Those who have been taking notes, will know that I've been struggling with a knee injury of late.  I could use heaps of TLAs (and even some FLAs) to give a name to what's going on. Or I could just say that it appears my knee cap isn't tracking straight and there may be some crap under my knee which is getting aggravated   This has apparently been brought on by weak quad muscles, and exacerbated by tight calves and ITB issues.

The frustrating part is that I can still run - relatively pain free - but it hurts for a while afterwards...on the upside, the intensity and duration of the pain is getting less.

So...in the meantime, under the watchful eye of my Physio, I'm keeping my running to a minimum.  I'm allowed to run for an hour or so every second day.  

And as far as rehab goes, plenty of squats - both single and double legged - isolating my quads and concentrating on keeping my knees straight and not letting them move inward as I squat.  And, A LOT of time on the foam roller, with particular attention being paid to my ITB, calves, and quads.

So the upshot of all that, is that i don't think I'm going to have a marathon in me in 6 weeks time - particularly as I want to have a good crack at the Noosa OD Tri 3 weeks after that...

Oh well, them's the brakes...and it looks like my first marathon will be after a bit of a swim and bike ride :) 

Progress, Injury and a DNS waiting to be...

Let's recap the last line of my previous post...

And most of all - fingers crossed i can remain injury free.

...when will i ever learn!!!

Those who follow my Facebook page... gratuitous click here for link to my Facebook page ;) ... will be well aware that recent weeks have been injury riddled... Nothing serious, just recurring injuries that i can't seem to shake.

Apart from my dodgy knee (which i'm hoping tomorrow's physio visit will fix) things have been progressing well.

I've been spending a bit of time in the pool and my swim is feeling better than i can remember.

I haven't been spending long hours on the bike, opting at this stage to work on some short sharp high intensity trainer sessions. The few times i have been on the TT bike, it's felt good - love the Trinity, it feels so fast and smooth. I'm looking forward to getting some long rides happening pretty soon.

And the run...well apart from the injury...i'm really pleased.  I'm starting to get some nice distance without pulling up too sore.  20k runs through the trails and hills are becoming the norm, and the progress toward the Melbourne Marathon is on track... 

I really believe the splitting my running between the Vibrams and the pseudo-minimal Brooks is paying dividends.  I'm comfortably running 8-10k in the Vibrams and really notice the change in style to a more natural fore to mid-foot strike.

Unfortunately, due to the knee injury i'm not confident that i'll be racing at Hazelwood this weekend.

Fingers crossed i'm running at full tilt again soon and can continue to build toward the Melbourne Marathon and Noosa.  I might even try to convince a few other people who are competing at Noosa to do a practice Olympic distance race in late September / early October... It's not that cold in bay, surely i'm not the only crazy one ;)

Until next time, happy training!!

Posterior Tibial Tendon Dysfunction - Not so much winning!!!

So following on from my last entry, here's the low down on the ankle injury.

When i rolled my ankle at Two Bays, we (being my physio and I) think that i've pinched my Posterior Tibial Tendon. So it appears that when i run too much it's going to get sore - we're hoping it's just scar tissue, as strength and flexibility is OK.

Oh look, here's a piccy of said tendon...

So, the obvious advice is...blah, blah, blah...rest...ice...exercise...

And look here's exercises...

Ankle Flexion

Strengthening the muscles and tendons all around the ankle will help treat the injury and offer support. Sit cross-legged, with your injured leg on top of the other. Slowly flex your ankle so that your toes are pointed up toward your knee. Hold for a few seconds, then slowly point your toes and repeat. perform 5 to 10 repetitions. Stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort.

Ankle Circles

Slowly circling your ankles will help restore some mobility to the injured area. Sit cross-legged with your injured leg over the other. Slowly circle your foot all the way around, then reverse and go the other way. Perform 10 repetitions to start off, until the injured muscle is stronger. Stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort.

Inner Ankle Lift

The inner ankle lift uses light 5-lb. weight, so if your injury has not progressed to the point that you can incorporate any resistance, skip this for now. You will need a normal shopping bag with handles, and some kind of weight equaling approximately 5 lbs. Two cans of soup are sufficient. Sit cross-legged with your injured leg on top, and hang the shopping bag handle over your foot. Slowly raise your foot up and down by flexing and extending your ankle. Perform five to 10 repetitions and rest briefly between each one. Stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort.

Heel Raise / Calf Raise

The calf muscle at the back of your leg offers support to the posterior tibial muscle, and can help distribute the weight load if it is strong. Calf raises will help strengthen the calf and rehabilitate your posterior tibial muscle. Simply stand with your feet parallel to one another and raise up onto the balls of your feet. Hold that position momentarily and return to the starting point. Only do five repetitions and increase as you get stronger. Stop immediately if you experience any pain or discomfort.

Read more: LIVESTRONG

But as we know, just doing exercises is boring - i know, i need to ride and swim too, so why not just concentrate on that...because i like to run, and want to run!!

So, did a little research into taping, and look just like magic...

KT Tape time!!

And the KT Tape Forum even has an example of / discussion on my exact issue!!

So it looks like all that is left to do is to find a store with said KT Tape, and hopefully i'll be able to return to some reduced running... :)

Oh, and of course keep on doing the exercises... ;)