Injured and ill
So as I said I've been injured. Well in truth I haven't just been injured I also had a mild cold.
And yes it was just a cold. No #manflu in my house MTFU!
This cold didn't really affect training as I mostly concentrated on getting some miles banked on the turbo.
On the subject of turbo training. Some people have decided to give me grief about turbo training on social media.
Sorry but it's my training and unfortunately I'm time crunched so if I choose to spend time on the turbo then that's my decision. Does it affect you? No. Why are they bothered? I have no idea. If you don't like what I tweet or blog then don't read what I write.
My twitfriend @budjude17 summed this problem up really well.
Anyway I've digressed. Back to the injury. After my half marathon three weeks ago I managed to tweak a nerve in my back. This affected the nerves in my foot and led to me limping and seeking help from Blizard Physiotherapy. In total in the last three weeks I have been to two track sessions and both were affected by my injury.
I have been told by my physio that the pain in my foot is not running related but trying to convince my brain of that when it feels like there is a hot poker being shoved into your heel is not ideal.
#Flickyfeet
After my second trip to the physio on Monday, I braved track again unsuccessfully and was fortunate that my physio was also at track and watched me run on Tuesday. After the session she messaged me with the below. By the way my nickname at track is "blogger"
The comment about trainers threw me a curve ball as I feel really comfortable running in Skechers. But if the trainers I wear are causing me to exacerbate my current injury by not supporting my foot then that is something I need to think about.
There is no point running in something which is causing me problems even if they are comfortable and don't give me blisters.
So on Wednesday I spoke to Dave Tune of Blizard Physiotherapy after my functional movement class. Dave spent a lot of time discussing running with me and I found it really enlightening.
Dave analysed my gait and advised that I was right to be running in neutral shoes but I need some stability in the trainer to limit my hypermobility in my ankles. He watched me run on a treadmill in the first pair of trainers I ever bought (Asics Gel Cumulus) and advised that they were more suitable than Skechers as they have some mild stability.
The positive of this is that I don't need some more trainers. Woohoo. The wifes pretty pleased about that too.
Now for the bad news.
While analysing my run. Dave asked why I run the way I do. I said it just felt natural. He then said I was wasting energy by flicking my feet after each step. Now for someone who has been congratulated on being efficient at running i.e. with my feet landing under their body. This confused me.
Dave then went on to explain that my stride length was quite short and the foot flick was not required as I was not off the ground for a long period of time and that I was wasting energy and raising my HR unnaturally by flicking my feet with every step.
He counted my running cadence as part of the analysis and advised that my cadence was too low and if I increased this then I would not have time for the foot flick which could also increase my run speed. So now with Austria looming, I have to reinvent my running style.
Anyway after chatting with Dave I managed to go for a quick 2 mile run in preparation for the Gainsborough 10km race tomorrow to see if I could run after my injury.
This went really well as I completed the 2 miles in under 17 minutes and was running below my zone 2 threshold. I did this in my "new" old trainers and made a conscious effort to not flick my feet with each step. It felt weird but I had no issues with my foot so Gainsborough is a go for tomorrow.
Other Training
Even though the last two weeks have not gone to plan. It hasn't been a complete disaster. I've managed to get outside on my bike a few times. I've even taken #Rinnie out on her maiden voyage.
I need to tweak my position to find comfort as I had neck ache after 30km the other night. But I felt fast on my new TT bike.
I also went to have my swimming stroke analysed by Dave Akers some more and got to meet some people off Twitter. I learnt a lot during the two hour swim in the pool of dreams. I loved my first dip in a long course swimming pool and took away some useful pointers on my stroke. I can't wait to put these into practice.
Meeting Dave Scott
The other week I was fortunate enough to go to TFN to meet Dave Scott. It was amazing listening to the 6 time Ironman World Champion discuss things including answering my question on Kona Pro Rankings. I also spent some time talking to Mark from TFN and am looking forward to helping him out with something in the future.
No Smoking Day
Since my last blog I have also been revealed as one of the faces of NoSmokingDay for 2014. I feel privileged to be chosen to hopefully inspire smokers by showing what is possible when you kick the evil habit. I had to travel down to London to be photographed and interviewed for the campaign. I found the video interview nerve wracking but still felt proud to be chosen to represent the ex smoker.
This blog and my Twitter is only meant to inspire people to quit smoking. And as I have said previously if I have inspired one person to give up the evil habit then I will be amazingly happy and the exposure granted by British Heart Foundation and NoSmokingDay allow me to hopefully do this.
On NoSmokingDay Iw as interviewed for Real Radio in Yorkshire as well. It's weird hearing yourself on the radio.
Swimathon
If you're feeling generous I'm swimming 5km for SportRelief next weekend. This is further than I have ever swum and I am treating it as a long training day. It's for a good cause after all so a bit of pain doesn't matter. If you feel generous use the link below.
http://my.sportrelief.com/sponsor/smoker2ironman
Thanks for reading,
Michael
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