Tuesday - 15km

Really happy with the run this morning, feeling much better and refreshed from the weekend and yesterday. And I only just realised - no back pain (well, hardly any)! Another stunning morning, back up at my normal time, so just getting out at dawn. Up to North Head, the harder but more enjoyable route. Got back to North Steyne in 60:02 (3:59’s). Had I have known I was two seconds off the one hour mark, I’m sure I could have run three seconds faster. The good news is that I’m seeing progress.

Monday - 15km

Up ridiculously early this morning in an attempt to get the run in before an early start with work. A stunning morning with the surrounds lighten up by the moon. I could definitely feel the effects of yesterday’s long run, and just to confirm it wasn’t all in my head, my heart rate reflected it as well - holding around 5-10 bpm lower than usual at the same level of perceived exertion. Out along the Shelly-Fairlight loop, just trying to grind through it this morning really. Got back to North Steyne SLSC in 60:46 (4:02’s) at 151 bpm. Nothing great, but better than nothing.

Sunday - 28km

A very balmy 13 degrees this morning, and didn’t I feel it! Running in just a t-shirt itself was too much! The plan was for 28 km this morning, doing my best to maintain the heart rate in the green (aerobic) zone. That I achieved. Ran up to the caravan park at Narrabeen, turning around just before Pittwater Rd (15 km Mark) for the shorter trip home. Got to the end in just over 123 minutes, 4:24’s at 148 bpm. Nothing amazing, but nothing horrible by any means - just a typical Sunday long run. That’s two proper weeks of running now, I’ve made some solid gain with plenty more to come.

Saturday - 15km

It’s amazing what the news of a lunar eclipse will do to people! Out on a very busy (and stunning) morning in magical conditions. My back was great until about 4am this morning, when I woke up in a lot of discomfort. It wasn’t too bad once I started running though - always a good sign. Feeling fairly strong after a rest day yesterday, so ventured up to North Head. Got back in 60:06, holding pretty much 4:00’s on the dot - my best run since returning (North Head is a lot tougher than the Shelly-Fairlight Loop), at 157 bpm. Now at home watching the last stage in the Pyrenees - I should never feel sorry for myself when I suffer after watching these guys.

Thursday - 15km

Survival mode today, as predicted yesterday. Both feet had settled right down, but my back was worse. I was actually slightly concerned pre-run whether or not I’d actually be able to get out there. I put on the shoes and decided to give it a go anyway. It did settle slightly as I ran, but I really did notice it going downhill (as seems to be the norm at the moment). Up to North Head and back, the heart rate ever so slightly lower than Tuesday’s run. I actually lost a bit of concentration before the halfway mark and missed the usual turnoff to the Fairfax Loop, having to run an estimated extra 50 m or so. Got home in 66:29 (4:05’s), fractionally faster than Thursday (and on ‘tireder’ legs) averaging 156 bpm. As usual, the left foot is now throbbing, the back is no worse than pre-run, and I am happy to get through another week of running ‘relatively’ unscathed. Bring on the rest day tomorrow!

Wednesday - 15km

Sub 4, finally! Still some way to go, but that is nevertheless another landmark for where I’m currently at. Another stunning morning, similarly warmer like yesterday. Out along the usual Shelly-Fairlight loop. The heart rate monitor was all over the shop this morning - the first time it’s been totally unreliable since I’ve restarted running. Just put my head down and pushed though the 15 km the best I could. Got back to North Steyne SLSC in 59:33 (3:58’s), so very satisfied with that. I might pay for it a bit tomorrow, but I don’t care. I can sleep in on Friday. My back was uncomfortable to start but seemed to resolve quicker than yesterday. My left foot is throbbing now, but by no means painful to walk or hop on - another positive sign. I’m loving coming home to watch the highlight of the Tour de France - especially now that they are in the Pyrenees. I don’t know what’ll do next week! At least the Vuelta isn’t too far away.

Tuesday - 15km

Up to North Head on this relatively warm morning after a small amount of time away from it, primarily to avoid the jolting through my back from the downhills towards the end. However, my back wasn’t as good as yesterday - but still better than last week, which is a positive. I was able to push the intensity a bit today, although the pace doesn’t feel fast by any means yet (it will come, I’ve just got to be patient and realistic). Got home in 61:37 (4:06’s), averaging 155 bpm (although it would be quite a bit higher, as the heart rate didn’t switch on properly until just after the 2 km mark). The good news is that the last 5 km were all sub-4’s, admittedly there’s a bit of downhill. Nevertheless, it’s still progress. The back is a bit stiff now, and I have some mild throbbing through my left foot where the fracture was. The former I’ll live with, and the latter is just a bit of irritation around the callous surrounding the healed second metatarsal - so all good.

Monday - 15km

Feeling much better today, both with regards to my back and the feeling of running properly again. As mentioned, I felt quite uncoordinated on the past two runs. That all but disappeared today, leaving myself only with the feeling of needing to get faster. I’ll certainly take that over the constant jarring through my spine on every step. I pulled up surprisingly well after yesterday’s two hours, a far cry from throughout the day yesterday where I was walking around like an old man. Out along the Shelly-Fairlight loop on a stunning, but very cool morning. Got back to North Steyne SLSC in 61:29 in 4:06’s at 155 bpm. Almost back to where I was pre-right leg blow-up. Looking forward to some further progressions.

Sunday - 2 hours

I decided to give the usual Sunday 2 hour long run a go, but the compromise was to back the intensity off a bit. Like yesterday, running still feels somewhat foreign. My back was jarring on every step until about 8.5 km, then it either subsided or the general feeling of fatigue took over. Kept a positive mindset (remembering Lawson Craddock in this year’s Tour de France every time I started feeling sorry for myself) and simply just grinded away. The pace progressively slowed the longer I went - but I didn’t care. The only objective was to run for the whole 2 hours - not a second longer. Ran up along Pittwater Rd, turning off at Ocean St before turning around at the start of the bridge. Got back to Ruby Lane at the 2 hour mark, finishing with 26.29 km at 4:34’s. Nothing special, but then again nothing shocking even - pretty much where I would expect to be at this very point in time. The most positive news is that the right leg is completely fine. The back I can now run through (in fact resting it would make things worse), so as long as the legs are cooperative, then I’m back.

Saturday - 15km

Take two. First run since Sunday, after blowing up my right leg to the size a balloon which led to compartment syndrome and compression of my right peroneal nerve (trust me, nerve pain at night is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced). My back was horrible as well, likely a symptom of compensating for a non-cooperative right leg. The plan was to initially take Monday and Tuesday off, but this extended to Wednesday, then Thursday, before deciding to just wait until Saturday. The leg is pretty much back to normal now, although the back still requires some work. Nevertheless, it was great to finally get back out there this morning. The pace felt horribly slow, the effort felt hard-ish, and all up it felt like I hadn’t run in months! I wanted to keep it flat, so stuck to the Shelly-Fairlight loop (it was very windy along the harbourside). Got back to North Steyne SLSC in just under 65 minutes (4:20’s), so a fair bit quicker than it felt (it honestly felt like 5 min/km pace). Back home now and my back is much the same, the right calf is slightly tight - but nothing like what it was. All up, not a bad outcome. It’ll only get better from now on.

 

Photos from Monday morning.

Sunday - 28km

Feeling pretty ordinary this morning after hurting my back post-run yesterday along with what feels like neuropathic pain through my right common peroneal nerve. The latter resulted in many sleepless hours last night with a constant ache on the outside of my right calf just below the knee. Interestingly, movement seemed to help, so I’d get up every hour or so to walk around. So to say I was a bit apprehensive pre-run this morning would be an understatement. However, the pain certainly didn’t worsen as I started, so I just kept going. By about halfway, I couldn’t feel it all! Anyway, I decided to stick to the 2 hour plan - a proper lap of the lake is still slightly beyond me at this very moment. The pace was faster than anticipated, but I was able to control it. Ran up to Narrabeen Caravan Park (much further than last week, especially as I went via Manly Pool this week) before turning around and heading home. I figured that 2 hours was going to take me not too far shy of 28 km, so I changed my mind and went slightly beyond the 2 hour mark to reach the 28 km. Got just past Harris Farm in 2:01:27 in 4:20’s averaging 147 bpm. A huge improvement from last week, and I’m happy to report that I feel much better now than I did before I left. 103 km all up for my first proper week back. That mileage won’t really change much over the next two or three weeks, allowing myself plenty of time to adapt to it. Another super Sunday of sport with The World Cup final, the Tour de France (tonight’s stage looks epic), Wimbledon and the MotoGP (Assen is always a fantastic track). A pity none of these events are comparable with AEST.

Saturday - 15km

I ended up deciding against Parkrun, feeling that I’m making good gains just by running my weekday loops. So up to North Head it was on this freezing cold morning (8 degrees, ‘feels like 4’ according to the iPhone). Beautiful conditions otherwise. Apart from a sore right calf, I was able to really give some intensity (which I like). Those hills are still torture though! Got back to North Steyne in 60:36, 4:02’s averaging 159 bpm. It’s getting there! Shouldn’t be long until I’m comfortably sub-4’s again!

Thursday - 15km

I was in survival mode this morning, the past week’s worth of runs had progressively taken their toll! Each day I’d been sore walking around throughout the day, but this had subsided by the Energy morning. That wasn’t the case this morning, but I knew it was just one more run I had to do before taking my much needed rest day tomorrow. Up to North Head, pushing the intensity (as reflected by the heart rate), but the pace just wasn’t there. Got back to North Steyne SLSC in 61:59, a whole second quicker than Tuesday (4:08’s at 155 bpm). Overall, it’s been a great week of running where I am much further ahead than where I had anticipated. Now time to give the legs a little R&R for the next 48 hours.

Wednesday - 15km

Another big improvement this morning, once again surpassing my expectations quite substantially. Out and back along the Shelly Beach-Fairlight loop (same as Monday), feeling the residual muscle fatigue from the past few days. Got back to North Steyne in 60:08, holding 4:00 min/km pace averaging a fairly high 157 bpm. Really happy with that, as I had actually thought it would take a couple of weeks (as opposed to a few days) to get back down to flat 4’s and under. So way ahead of schedule, not that I’m complaining. More of the same again tomorrow, then a much needed rest day on Friday. Might even give Parkrun a crack on Saturday - it won’t be fast by any means, but I’ve got to start somewhere!

Tuesday - 15km

A significant (and totally unexpected) improvement this morning in my first run up to North Head since April. A cold but pleasant morning (so glad I’m no longer in the water), I took off well before sunrise. From the outset I was able to push the pace and intensity to a greater degree than yesterday - like as if my brain had suddenly given my legs the permission to run faster. Those hills though! I forgot how steep those inclines are - especially from The Boathouse to the Shelly Beach carpark. Wearing a heart rate monitor reflects this (despite not working for the first two kilometres, it was pretty much spot on from that point). Managed to get back home in 62 minutes flat averaging 4:08’s (heart rate averaged 147 bpm, but it would have actually been higher given the first two kilometres). Really happy with that - if anything, I was expecting a slightly slower pace compared to yesterday given the profile. So the comeback is going much better than anticipated, let’s hope I can keep it up!

Monday - 15km

I was slightly nervous about how this morning would go down following a long run yesterday. Waking up from a deep slumber, I was almost ready to postpone it until tomorrow. But I knew that I’d be annoyed at myself all day, so I just went with it with the plan of simply running on feel. The first few steps were quite challenging, but not long after I was warming up. Had a very dull ache in my foot at the fracture sight (which was present yesterday), but this eased up from about halfway onwards (it’s a phenomenon called ‘phantom’ pain where the nerves surrounding the callous of the healed fracture sight get slightly irritated, leading one to fear that they’ve refractured the sight - when in theory the sight is actually stronger than previously given the appropriate amount of time). I ran the usual Shelly-Fairlight loop, progressively increasing the effort and pace throughout. Got back to North Steyne in 65:10 holding 4:24’s at 145 bpm. I shouldn’t compare this to pre-injury speeds, but nevertheless I am really happy with that, especially backing up from yesterday. I definitely made the right decision to run instead of deep water run today - it was cold out there with a moderate southwesterly wind (the worst direction when at Manly Cove). Plus according to the B&B, the water temperature has dropped further to 16.1 degrees. I’m happy to be back on the land where I belong!

Sunday - Two hours

I did it! I actually managed to run for two continuous hours without any real dramas! I didn’t really want to tell anyone that I’d planned this in fear I’d be told off. But I knew that the fitness I’d maintained through the deep water running would see me through this. So I set out and headed towards Narrabeen, turning around at the 60 minute mark - which saw me reach the bus stop opposite Oceans Restaurant at North Narrabeen. The heart and lungs (the engine) were more than fine (as was the mind), it’s simply the muscles and tendons (the chassis) that is lagging (again, absolutely expected after 8 weeks of non weight-bearing training). The two hours bought me just shy of North Steyne SLSC, so a very slight positive split (very happy with that) with 25.37 km in 4:44’s at 143 bpm. Not concerned about the pace so much at the moment (although it is significantly quicker than the mid 5’s of last week), it will come down by simply running more. On that note, I made the decision yesterday that I’m done with the deep water running now - so the plan is to build some mileage over the next 2-4 week before I start to add in some intensity once again. Looking forward to it!

Saturday - 8 x 5 minutes (off 1 minute), 10 x 45 seconds (off 15 seconds) (deep water running) + 30 minute run

I felt amazingly good this morning, so made the most of it. After resisting the temptation to ditch the deep water running althogether and just run, I forced myself to stick to my original plan by forcing myself into the water. Part of it was probably driven by the dread I feel prior to this massive session. But a glorious morning and slightly warmer water temperatures ensured that I made the correct decision. As usual, I got through each of the five minute efforts by focusing on each one in isolation, counting to 300. Then the focus shifted towards the short but horrible 45 second efforts with the world’s briefest recovery of 15 seconds. These are torture at the best of times, let alone after 8 x 5 minute efforts. Got out, put my shoes on and decided to push the pace a bit more today, kind of ignoring the heart rate in an attempt to regain that feel of running strong once again. And it worked! I felt like a runner once again (after feeling like a plodder for the past week). Managed to get an extra kilometer in over 30 minutes, finishing with 6.66km at 4:31’s. Still a way to go, but a substantial improvement since last week. Looking forward to staying dry tomorrow by running only.

Thursday - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (off 1 minute) (deep water running) + 30 minutes easy run

A very welcome return to what felt like spring this morning! A balmy 12 degrees (even the water felt slightly warmer) and not a breath of wind, I was treated to ‘world record conditions’ out in Manly Cove this morning. It was a bit disheartening initially having gone from running for 90 minutes yesterday back into the water this morning, but the reasoning is to simply maintain some intensity while I ease my way back onto the land. Other than a bit a soreness post-yesterday, I was otherwise pretty good. Got through the pyramid set unscathed, feeling good. Followed it up with another 30 minute easy run. Had to really back off the pace towards the end to keep the heart rate low - it certainly felt easy and slow. Rest day tomorrow before starting all over again on Saturday.

Wednesday - 90 minutes easy

I went against conventional wisdom today and got out there for a very easy 90 minute run (yes, on the land). The deal I made with myself was that I could go for the full 90 minutes so long as I keep my heart rate in the 120’s. Despite the my ego getting bruised by running at such a slow pace that was required to keep the heart rate down, it was fantastic. The initial plan was to just do laps of the beachfront (as its dead flat), I detoured along the harbour for a few small hills along the early part of the MSW. A bit of muscle soreness/fatigue started to set in around the hour mark (totally expected), but managed to keep the heart rate down and finish the entire 90 minutes. A very small but important victory on the long road back to recovery. 16.64 km in 5:24’s at 128 bpm.

Tuesday - 2 sets of 6 x 2:30 minutes (off 30”) (2 mins between sets) (deep water running) + 30 minutes easy run

The water temperature continues to drop, luckily I was saved by the warmer than usual outside temperature thanks to the cloud cover. I feel really good today, which was reflected in the quality of the session - then confirmed by looking at my heart rate monitor data post-session. As I said last week, today’s session feels relatively short (it’s not at all) after slogging through Saturday’s and more recently Monday’s efforts. Put the shoes on post deep water run for another easy 30 minute jog around Manly. Felt better today, kept the heart rate slightly lower (still higher than usual, not surprising given that I’ve just done a hard workout in the water, and I’m running in a wetsuit) and the overall pace was slightly faster. Really looking forward to trying a run fresh tomorrow morning to see how it goes.

Monday - 3 sets of 9 x 90 seconds (off 30”) (2 mins between sets) (deep water running) + 30 minutes easy run

The equal biggest deep water running session I’ve done. All up, 27 x 90 second efforts! That’s right, 27! Slightly intimidating, pacing was absolutely key (as so often is the case lately in these deep water running sessions given their progressive nature). Got through it, in the end just focusing solely on one rep at a time without even thinking of the following rep. Looking at the heart rate post-session, I’d have to say that that was the best session I’ve had in the water over the last 8 weeks! Outside air temperature was warm, but water was cold! Didn’t take long to warm-up though. Then the fun part - instead of swimming 15 lengths, I put the shoes on and ran very slow and easy for 30 minutes. I really had to put the brakes on massively as the heart rate was higher than usual given I’d just done a massive deep water running session. I got over the slowness of the pace after a few minutes and simply focused on enjoying the serenity and the fact that I can run pain free. The plus side of running instead of swimming post deep water run is that I’m not frozen by the time I get home. All up, a great way to start the week - but not enough time to digest all the sport from overnight! Two World Cup matches (a bit of a shock result in the former game), a Formula 1 race in Austria (couldn’t resist not looking up the result) and a MotoGP in The Netherlands (I don’t know the result yet, and am very much looking forward to watching it).

Sunday - 2 hours (deep water running)

Thank god I got through that! That was the coldest deep water run I’ve had yet, my feet going numb towards the end. That coupled with the fact that I just wanted to be on the land running meant that the two hours were a real drag. Got through it in the end, cycling back home shivering then having the longest hot shower I can remember. I’d planned to go for a 20 minute run (on the land) straight afterwards, but I might postpone that to later on today when I’ve finally warmed up. On a positive note, I managed 10 minutes yesterday afternoon feeling great! Exciting times ahead!