Daz Does Tri

Hmm, sitting here this morning. Slept much better last night and the rehab has definitely helped. Hip feels about 90-95% right. No pain whatsoever, very little in the way of tightness. Still feel something there but it's clearly on the mend. Now the question - to run or not to run today. I know deep down I should leave it another day. That way I can be pretty confident that it will be even better. But (excuse the butt) I'd like to test it and at least find out if running will compound any damage. Also, not running today may not improve anything. So, I'll do the usual pre-run warm up today. Lots of rolling, hot/cold shower, stretching, glute activation and make a final decision once I'm ready. I'm pretty certain I'll test it but I'll see. 2 unplanned days off, shouldn't really affect fitness at all but it's the mental side of the game that takes the biggest hammering. Pre run weigh in - 10st 11lbs - about 3 lbs over 'normal' So, I set up, got...

Little bit injured, little bit ill. Was going to post about glute rehab work I'd been doing but now it seems a bit worse than I feared. Firstly the little bit ill. Def feel a bit chesty. Slight sore throat but nothing major to worry about. Only really mention it as timing it with injury seems pretty handy! I always EXPECT to be ill at some stage in December. It goes with the territory - booze, cold, late nights, mixing. This year I thought I may actually stave it off but it's been so long since I had anything that I can take this on the chin. Either way, plenty of Lemsip & plenty of sleep and 'll be 100% healthy again in a few days The little bit injured - well that's a little more complicated. The hip flexor - always the bloody hips - seems to be strained. Self diagnosis says that tight glutes have probably pulled on the hip joint and pulled the flexors too much. A second day off today and I'll hammer the rehab (roll, ice, hammer, tens, stretch, activation). It...

Another week in the bag, this time no switched sessions! Even managed to get them done at times that work for me. Have to say, possibly the best week nailed - possibly ever for the shape I am in!  Every session done at the right pace, HR was good and progress is being made. Happy days. The but - there always is - is my butt. My glutes are still not quite right. I'd take that at this stage though as it seems muscular which means I am finally working them hard. Found an older video of my running form on my phone today - from around May when I ran a 16.47 5k TT. Rear form was perfect - almost too high with the butt kick but you can clearly see the front leg extension not reaching far enough. Need to do another one at some stage to compare as I would say that with the form corrections I have made I should be better. Glutes aside I am shocked that I don't really get any other aches and pains. Everything seems to be holding up. I feel good enough to be confident to push almost every ...

Interesting week. Niggles and pacing time trials meant that everything was very much arse about face. Have to say, net - net I got away with at least maintaining fitness but it was a stressful way to do things! So Monday rest day - think maybe the only day that was to plan !  However I had woken up with a stiff back which wasn't ideal.  Loads of rolling and stretching but I had managed to get a pretty severe knot in both my shoulders. Tuesday was still sore so ran the easy run as best choice (Thursday's session). Felt amazing (as I should on easy after a rest day) and back seemed fine although still wasn't out of the woods. Wednesday was Tuesday's session on the treddy and it went really well. Back was ok - there BUT manageable however my glutes and hips were a little achey. Thursday was Wednesday's run (are you with me). 5 steady BUT off the back off 7 steady and treadmill session carried a little more fatigue than I would have liked. Glute was pretty achey. Pace c...

Decided to try and work on my run form while we are in lockdown 2.  Now I am  I'm pretty sure I have Anterior Pelvic Tilt after a solid Dr Google session yesterday. It's basically where your hips tilt forward and it means that your hip flexors and lower back become super tight. This all adds up for me as I sit here with my back pretty shredded and I've been concerned about hips for some time! You become quad dominant and don't engage quads correctly. The diagnosis actually matches nearly ALL symptoms I have had in the past 10 years with running injuries (apart from the calf issues of 2015-2017 !!) Easy to spot (although it took many videos to find one) - your arse and your belly stick out. Tuck in your arse to straighten out your pelvis and you will engage core and activate glutes. Need to visualise by looking side on in mirror. So hopefully this will mean less strain on my hip flexors and lower back. Correction was best put to Pre by Bill Bowerman - the point of deepes...

Back into lockdown, in the cold.  Can only mean one thing - plenty more treadmill for me and the boys !! Form is really coming along now, really starting to believe #project15 can happen. It's only a whisper but the improvement is there. The concern, as always, is the body holding up.  I'm doing more of the rehab and S&C that needs to support this and right now it feels like I can hold it together. It's a funny battle. The hips, glutes, lower back area is where the problems are so strengthening all of that chain is required. Putting the area under stress and most likely to collapse under strain seems counter intuitive but left un-strengthened it will fail spectacularly as it always does! Backing off the miles really takes a lot of pressure off. Pace this week is much better, a 5 mile steady run on Wednesday at 6.07/mm felt pretty relaxed. That was flat out 5k pace at the start of the year ! I can handle that pretty comfortably at the minute which is a great sign. It d...

I hate chasing miles. Gone are the days I could stick 5-6 months of a marathon build averaging 60-70 miles per week. My marathon days are long behind me. In truth, I never much enjoyed the long runs. Anything over 18 was mentally so draining. 2+ hours on feet was just soul destroying, I never really relished the thought of it and the lack of them is probably the reason I never managed to hit a marathon that is comparable to my shorter distance stuff. The last few weeks, certainly pre-Bedford I was set on looking to build to 50 mpw and possibly up to 60 mpw to keep the project alive. My previous 6 weeks before Bedford averaged 34.6 miles. Longest run was 9.47 miles. Last 2 weeks I upped to 44.9 & 39.2.  On Saturday I definitely noticed that the aches and pains were starting to return. Feet / achilles pains have been managed but the hip / glutes are starting to grumble and that always spells bad news! The Saturday run just felt like a very tired effort, chasing miles to...