Update on my running....this shouldn't take long!
I haven't blogged for a while. The main reason is that this is a running blog and unfortunately I've been doing zero running!
In my last post I mentioned an achilles issue and I've been stretching that regularly on advice of the physio. However, I think probably due to the relative inactivity over the last few weeks (i.e., going from 40+ miles per week to zero) I also developed a knee issue. The knee issue has cleared up, but for the last few days I've had quite a bad cold so don't feel able to run anyway. However, I am hopeful that after the cold has cleared up I will be in a position to restart some kind of structured training, where I aim to keep the stretching going and build the mileage back up slowly.
This is the longest I've been out and it's incredibly frustrating as in someways I was running very well, after getting under 1:40 for two half marathons. However, looking back I know I had been running through this achilles issue for some time (months?) so I think probably things had caught up with me.
I had to pull out of several events that I had race entries for (a 20-mile race, a fast 10K and also a marathon in May), but unfortunately it was for the best.
VMLM and my "press and publicity" role
As well as all this injury talk, I have been keeping the "press and publicity" role up with my club, which included a race report that I wrote for the London Marathon. I am enjoying the role and also enjoy seeing my reports in the local press.
Speaking of VMLM, it's all kicked off this week as it emerged that a runner seemingly cheated in this year's VMLM. It hit the front page of The Sun and then was promptly picked up by other news sources later in the week. Being a reader of the Runner's World website I saw the story "break" on there first as some amateur detectives did all the digging on data that is publicly available on the VMLM website. In short, it appears that the runner ran the second half of the race quicker than Mo Farrah (and substantially quicker than his first half of the race) even though the pictures show him walking. The data for that runner also show that he missed some timing mates, so the implication is that he jumped the fence at around half way, or went under an underpass somewhere and rejoined having missed several miles off of the course. His case wasn't helped when he was shown bragging with his medal on his facebook page.
As part of this, some cracking stories of other cheats came out and this story is very long, but worth a read.
Going onto next year's VMLM, the merry-go-round started again today as the ballot opened and closed in around 10 hours, which is a record. I managed to get a place in the ballot, so we'll see what comes of that.
Fooooood!
With my injury and lack of miles (I've done a few gym sessions, but it's nowhere near the same) I have been really worried about ballooning in weight. Miraculously, I have managed to stay below 13st which I'm pleased with as 13st is a big benchmark for me and took my quite a while to get under. I did my recent Half PB at around 12st10 so although I have put 2 or 3 pounds on I know I can get that off again once I get back running.
I have also been toying with the idea of going towards a more paleo-style diet. Since I've been taking running more seriously, I was aware that there was a different approach available, which totally threw the more usual "carb-based" diet into question. I was always uncomfortable with the idea of stuffing gels down me on a long run and the basic idea of "going paleo" for a runner is that the body of even an elite athlete has far more energy stored as fat than it does as glycogen, so why not train your body to use fat as opposed to glycogen?
All the advice is to go about the change slowly, so that is what I am doing. For the last few weeks I've changed my lunchtime meals as I've removed bread (and crisps!) from that meal and replaced it with boiled egg per cheese, some salad (carrots, tomatoes, celery) and some mixed nuts. Over the last week or so I have started to remove cereal (porridge) from my breakfast and have replaced it with things like sweet egg omelettes (cooked in butter) or fried eggs (cooked in butter) and avocados. It is hard at first, but I think it's maintainable. The evening meals will be much more more tricky to change though, for two reasons. Firstly, I currently base my meals around potatoes, pasta and bread so this will take some time to change and will be difficult too adapt. Secondly, my wife and I try and eat together all the time and she isn't currently convinced that this is the way to go.
