Seeing the specialist on my Birthday yesterday, meant that I was possibly going to receive an unwelcome present.
Well I received a mixture of good and not so good news.
My foot doesn't have a stress fracture, but does have some bone bruising and inflammation. It does seem though that I did have a stress fracture previously.
With respect to me knee. I do not have any additional issues with my meniscus, but I due have some damage to my cartilage behind the knee and again some bruising to the bone.
Not a clean bill of health, but at least I don't have a stress fracture and my meniscus which had been operated on hasn't deteriorated.
So it does mean that I will be going to the ball and with caution I can run the Kent Road Runner Marathon next week. :-) The main objective being completion rather than worrying too much about the time.
Then subsequently more cross training to strengthen the knee and also reduce the high impact exercise. I was planning on running an Autumn Marathon, but having run (Kent Road Runner Marathon pending) 3 Marathons in 18 months, I think I am going to take a bit of a break from the longer stuff. Except of course the Adidas 24 hour Thunder Run in July, but that is only 10k, albeit probably 5 times in 24 hours. Then I will stick to 10k's and the odd Half Marathon for the rest of the year.
I am also going to ensure I take a combined MSM, Glucosamine & Chondroitin and a Omega 3 oil supplement to try and help with my joints.
Until next time
TJH
Saturday 25 May 2013
Thursday 23 May 2013
What does MRI stand for?
I thought that it could be 'Mr Ray's Injuries' or maybe 'Marathon Running Implications' but the Internet tells me that it actually means 'Magnetic Resonance Imaging' and I think that is what the medical profession will be sticking with.
Anyway, on Wednesday evening I was booked in for two MRI scans one on my right knee and one on my left foot.
I am fortunate enough to have private health care through my work. After registering, I was taken to the MRI area and was shown to a room where I could get changed and put my belongings into a locker. I was also informed to have a look at the list on the wall and choose which music I would like to listen to whilst having my scans! :-)
Five years ago I had a knee arthroscopy (better known as keyhole surgery) this was as a result of a football injury. The surgery was to repair a torn meniscus. At the time, my surgeon explained that I had to give up football and running. I therefore took up cycling, which 2 years later resulted in me cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Having an effective 3 year break from running/football my knee slowly got stronger and stronger and then having seen a mate running the London Marathon in 2011, I decided that I wanted to start running again. Since August 2011 I have now been running pretty much every week.
I have tried playing a couple of games of 5-a-side football, but the constant change of direction and twisting and turning means I experience discomfort in the knee. So the football boots are well and truly hung-up.
But since suffering my knee injury earlier this year in the Tunbridge Wells Half (resulting in me having to walk the last 3.5 miles) something has definitely been amiss. I am concerned that maybe the constant running has weakened my knee?
Also as a result of this, I have been experiencing pain in my left foot, which maybe a result of sub conscious change of running style to compensate for my right knee?
So scans have now been done and I see the specialist tomorrow to see what the diagnosis is? and whether I can run the Kent Road Runner Marathon next week?
The other advantage of going private is that you get your own CD with your images, so here are images of my foot and knee. Not sure if they are good or bad news?
I will post a blog update to disclose the conclusion.
TJH
Anyway, on Wednesday evening I was booked in for two MRI scans one on my right knee and one on my left foot.
I am fortunate enough to have private health care through my work. After registering, I was taken to the MRI area and was shown to a room where I could get changed and put my belongings into a locker. I was also informed to have a look at the list on the wall and choose which music I would like to listen to whilst having my scans! :-)
When I got back to the waiting area, there were two other women waiting, so I asked what music they had chosen, but they were both waiting for x-rays and apparently didn't have the option of music. I decided to go for Moby to start with (but I must admit the Play album is much better) and then when my foot was scanned, I was asked if I wanted to change the music, I then went for David Gray (but I must admit that the White Ladder album is much better also). I did consider going for Queen Greatest Hits, but if Don't Stop Me Now came on, I am not sure I could have kept still for the scan!
So why am I having these scans?
Five years ago I had a knee arthroscopy (better known as keyhole surgery) this was as a result of a football injury. The surgery was to repair a torn meniscus. At the time, my surgeon explained that I had to give up football and running. I therefore took up cycling, which 2 years later resulted in me cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Having an effective 3 year break from running/football my knee slowly got stronger and stronger and then having seen a mate running the London Marathon in 2011, I decided that I wanted to start running again. Since August 2011 I have now been running pretty much every week.
I have tried playing a couple of games of 5-a-side football, but the constant change of direction and twisting and turning means I experience discomfort in the knee. So the football boots are well and truly hung-up.
But since suffering my knee injury earlier this year in the Tunbridge Wells Half (resulting in me having to walk the last 3.5 miles) something has definitely been amiss. I am concerned that maybe the constant running has weakened my knee?
Also as a result of this, I have been experiencing pain in my left foot, which maybe a result of sub conscious change of running style to compensate for my right knee?
So scans have now been done and I see the specialist tomorrow to see what the diagnosis is? and whether I can run the Kent Road Runner Marathon next week?
The other advantage of going private is that you get your own CD with your images, so here are images of my foot and knee. Not sure if they are good or bad news?
I will post a blog update to disclose the conclusion.
TJH
Sunday 19 May 2013
L
If parkrun existed during the Roman era, some people would be running around parks on a Saturday morning with a red t-shirt with the title of this blog on their back. However, our numbering system seems to be a bit simpler so a nice 50 will do!
In case you haven't gathered I ran my 50th parkrun this weekend.
If you don't know what parkrun is, in a nutshell it is a FREE timed 5k run run completely by volunteers. These happen in parks all over the country at 9am every Saturday morning (oh and for some parkruns on Christmas & New Year's Day as well) The initiative has also taken off in Australia, America, Poland, Scandinavia. There is even a parkrun at for the squaddies at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan!
You get issued with a bar code and once you complete the run, you get a placing token. These are then both scanned and by the afternoon you receive an e-mail and/or a text telling you your time and position and the website is updated with the results.
All the info you could want to find, including how to register and obtain you bar code go to the website parkrun.
Now I am far from unique achieving 50 parkruns, there are literally hundreds of people that have done it. There are also hundreds that are in the 100 club and a select few that have notched up 250 parkruns! For youngsters, the first milestone is 10 runs.
When you reach one of these milestones you are awarded with a technical t-shirt.
It is very pleasing to have reached the 50 milestone. That means I have run 250k mainly on Saturday mornings, but with a couple of Christmas Days and & New Year's Day thrown in.
I ran my first parkrun at Bromley on 27th August 2011 finishing in 26:03 and I ran my 50th yesterday at Bromley in 22:59. Although it was only my 41st parkrun at Bromley. I have also managed to take in local parkruns at Orpington, Herne Hill, Ladywell, Bexley, Crystal Palace & Dulwich and also a couple further afield in Poole & Oxford. My current PB is 21:53.
I have not always run parkrun alone. My wife Mich has now run 13 parkruns and Max has been pushed around in the running buggy over a dozen times and at half a dozen venues.
As I mentioned at the beginning, parkrun is all down to volunteers, without volunteers parkrun wouldn't exist. I have volunteered four times now. I have been a pacer, a timer, handed out the finishing tokens and scanned the tokens. It is very rewarding to help out, enabling others to run.
It was due to running at Bromley parkrun that I got chatting to some Petts Wood Runners and ultimately joined the club. Bromley parkrun is also an extremely friendly event with tea coffee, water, cakes and biscuits provided either home baked by the runners or purchased from donations. (To be honest every single parkrun I have been to is friendly)
The last couple of paragraphs may seem that an advert for parkrun and maybe they are, but I have not been asked to do this, and I haven't come across anybody who has a bad word to say about parkrun and I am sure 99.9% of parkrunners would agree that it is a great, fun initiative.
And to top it all, Bromley parkrun is not all about running with social events sometimes organised which usually involved beer and curry (the staple diet of any budding athlete)
So next objective is the C club, well it would be if I was Roman ;-)
Until the next time
TJH
In case you haven't gathered I ran my 50th parkrun this weekend.
If you don't know what parkrun is, in a nutshell it is a FREE timed 5k run run completely by volunteers. These happen in parks all over the country at 9am every Saturday morning (oh and for some parkruns on Christmas & New Year's Day as well) The initiative has also taken off in Australia, America, Poland, Scandinavia. There is even a parkrun at for the squaddies at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan!
You get issued with a bar code and once you complete the run, you get a placing token. These are then both scanned and by the afternoon you receive an e-mail and/or a text telling you your time and position and the website is updated with the results.
All the info you could want to find, including how to register and obtain you bar code go to the website parkrun.
Now I am far from unique achieving 50 parkruns, there are literally hundreds of people that have done it. There are also hundreds that are in the 100 club and a select few that have notched up 250 parkruns! For youngsters, the first milestone is 10 runs.
When you reach one of these milestones you are awarded with a technical t-shirt.
It is very pleasing to have reached the 50 milestone. That means I have run 250k mainly on Saturday mornings, but with a couple of Christmas Days and & New Year's Day thrown in.
I ran my first parkrun at Bromley on 27th August 2011 finishing in 26:03 and I ran my 50th yesterday at Bromley in 22:59. Although it was only my 41st parkrun at Bromley. I have also managed to take in local parkruns at Orpington, Herne Hill, Ladywell, Bexley, Crystal Palace & Dulwich and also a couple further afield in Poole & Oxford. My current PB is 21:53.
I have not always run parkrun alone. My wife Mich has now run 13 parkruns and Max has been pushed around in the running buggy over a dozen times and at half a dozen venues.
As I mentioned at the beginning, parkrun is all down to volunteers, without volunteers parkrun wouldn't exist. I have volunteered four times now. I have been a pacer, a timer, handed out the finishing tokens and scanned the tokens. It is very rewarding to help out, enabling others to run.
It was due to running at Bromley parkrun that I got chatting to some Petts Wood Runners and ultimately joined the club. Bromley parkrun is also an extremely friendly event with tea coffee, water, cakes and biscuits provided either home baked by the runners or purchased from donations. (To be honest every single parkrun I have been to is friendly)
The last couple of paragraphs may seem that an advert for parkrun and maybe they are, but I have not been asked to do this, and I haven't come across anybody who has a bad word to say about parkrun and I am sure 99.9% of parkrunners would agree that it is a great, fun initiative.
And to top it all, Bromley parkrun is not all about running with social events sometimes organised which usually involved beer and curry (the staple diet of any budding athlete)
So next objective is the C club, well it would be if I was Roman ;-)
Until the next time
TJH
Wednesday 15 May 2013
Club Running
It's been a three weeks since I last blogged. I have been a bit busy and just haven't got round to it. I could type a mammoth blog covering all sorts of topics, but thought I would focus on club running.
For anybody who has read any of my blogs before, you will be fully aware that I am a member of Petts Wood Runners. I have only been a member for a couple of years, but I can honestly say it has transformed my running.
Prior to training for the 2012 London Marathon, I had never even considered joining a running club. More content with reading the running magazines or looking for information and advice on the Internet. Through one of the free running magazines, I discovered Parkrun. A lot of the regular volunteers at Bromley Parkrun are PWR's and that is how I found out about the club.
So I just want to highlight some of the benefits of being part of a running club. I can obviously only vouch for PWR, but I am pretty sure that all running clubs have the same ethos.
We meet on a Tuesday night for the regular weekly run. Numbers can vary from 40 to over 100 people turning up and there are 7 groups catering for all paces. PWR also run a regular beginners group, where people who are completely new to running embark on an 8 week course culminating in a 5k Parkrun.
We have additional 'track sessions' on a Thursday night, using the Norman's Park Athletics Track going through various drills for different targets eg 5k or maybe 10k. In addition, now we have the light evenings another Thursday session is run concentrating on a core workout!
On Sunday's we have informal runs especially during the training period for the Spring Marathons.
Add to this that as a club we can turn up en-mass to 10k events & Half Marathons, we also compete in other events such as the Assembly league (a series of 5k races), cross country events, the list goes on.
So as you can see, there is pretty much something for everyone. Add to this the social side, friendships, sharing advice, comparing war wounds. If you are a regular runner, I honestly cannot see a downside to not joining a club!
We also host an annual 10k which is regularly voted one of the top 10k's in the country and a lot of that is down to the PWR members who give up a considerable amount of time to organise, officiate and marshall the event.
Best of all is having other people (in addition to your family) cheering you on at events, it's amazing how a bit of encouragement can help you squeeze out an extra 2% effort in a finish!
I am just going to highlight a couple of recent events I have been involved as part of PWR.
TRUSTWORTHY
A couple of weeks ago Petts Wood Runners organised a 'Mob Match' against three other clubs; Orpington Road Runners (our local rivals) along with New Eltham Runners & Bexley Runners. I think this is the 3rd Mob Match that I have been involved in and as always the camaraderie between all the runners was superb. The basis of a mob match if you don't know, is your finishing position determines your points and the club with the least number of points is declared the winner (scoring adjusted according to the club with the least number of runners at the event)
A local Sports Shop, Cook & Matthews who provide PWR with our club kit, had organised for some suppliers to be present, including Mizuno.
Mizuno had about 100 pairs of their shoes in different models and sizes and we were invited to wear a new pair of trainer for the event, if we liked them, we had the opportunity to purchase them at 50% discount, if not, just give them back! I think that proves just what a trustworthy bunch us runner are.
However, I can trump that. As it was a pleasant evening, Mich and Max came to watch and 10 mins before the start of the event, a woman approached us and asked if Mich would look after her 5yo boy. Mich was a bit taken aback and said, "er sorry who are you", she gave her name and then Mich said "are you Petts Wood", the woman replied, "no I am with Bexley".
Mich 'baby sat' whilst this woman ran and Max had a little friend to play with. But it epitomises the camaraderie of runners. Although to be honest, not sure if I would approach a complete stranger and ask them to look after Max?
But it was a really good event, with free food, a raffle and the icing on the cake was the clubhouse had T.E.A (Traditional English Ale) from the HogsBack Brewery on handpump. Like a pig in $hit ;-)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/308579367
Oh, Orpington won the Mob Match. Booooooo
RELAY
Tonight as I type this, I have just got back from a Relay event hosted by Beckenham Runners. Again a first for me. In fact the last time I did a relay was probably 25 years ago at school? But this isn't a 100 metre relay passing a baton. This is a 2.6mile relay with teams of 3. Once again a great event catering for all speeds. PWR entered 8 teams. I was running the 2nd leg for my team. We were playing catch up from the start as when the horn sounded, Chris running the 1st leg was in the bushes having a pee, so ended up doing a 200+ metre sprint to play catch up from the outset! Must have been the nerves! I managed to run my leg in 19:25 which is an average 7:25 min/mile, so was quite pleased with that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/313270617
Haven't yet got the formal results, but another good evening and the majority of the runners stayed to the end to cheer the last couple of people home!
So another event done that I wouldn't have done if I was not part of a running club and a good way of using an event as part of a training plan eg, a threshold run.
Blimey, this was meant to be a short blog based around one topic.
To conclude, if you do not belong to a running club, join one! Even Mich my wife is now a member :-)
Until Next Time
TJH
For anybody who has read any of my blogs before, you will be fully aware that I am a member of Petts Wood Runners. I have only been a member for a couple of years, but I can honestly say it has transformed my running.
Prior to training for the 2012 London Marathon, I had never even considered joining a running club. More content with reading the running magazines or looking for information and advice on the Internet. Through one of the free running magazines, I discovered Parkrun. A lot of the regular volunteers at Bromley Parkrun are PWR's and that is how I found out about the club.
So I just want to highlight some of the benefits of being part of a running club. I can obviously only vouch for PWR, but I am pretty sure that all running clubs have the same ethos.
We meet on a Tuesday night for the regular weekly run. Numbers can vary from 40 to over 100 people turning up and there are 7 groups catering for all paces. PWR also run a regular beginners group, where people who are completely new to running embark on an 8 week course culminating in a 5k Parkrun.
We have additional 'track sessions' on a Thursday night, using the Norman's Park Athletics Track going through various drills for different targets eg 5k or maybe 10k. In addition, now we have the light evenings another Thursday session is run concentrating on a core workout!
On Sunday's we have informal runs especially during the training period for the Spring Marathons.
Add to this that as a club we can turn up en-mass to 10k events & Half Marathons, we also compete in other events such as the Assembly league (a series of 5k races), cross country events, the list goes on.
So as you can see, there is pretty much something for everyone. Add to this the social side, friendships, sharing advice, comparing war wounds. If you are a regular runner, I honestly cannot see a downside to not joining a club!
We also host an annual 10k which is regularly voted one of the top 10k's in the country and a lot of that is down to the PWR members who give up a considerable amount of time to organise, officiate and marshall the event.
Best of all is having other people (in addition to your family) cheering you on at events, it's amazing how a bit of encouragement can help you squeeze out an extra 2% effort in a finish!
I am just going to highlight a couple of recent events I have been involved as part of PWR.
TRUSTWORTHY
A couple of weeks ago Petts Wood Runners organised a 'Mob Match' against three other clubs; Orpington Road Runners (our local rivals) along with New Eltham Runners & Bexley Runners. I think this is the 3rd Mob Match that I have been involved in and as always the camaraderie between all the runners was superb. The basis of a mob match if you don't know, is your finishing position determines your points and the club with the least number of points is declared the winner (scoring adjusted according to the club with the least number of runners at the event)
A local Sports Shop, Cook & Matthews who provide PWR with our club kit, had organised for some suppliers to be present, including Mizuno.
Mizuno had about 100 pairs of their shoes in different models and sizes and we were invited to wear a new pair of trainer for the event, if we liked them, we had the opportunity to purchase them at 50% discount, if not, just give them back! I think that proves just what a trustworthy bunch us runner are.
However, I can trump that. As it was a pleasant evening, Mich and Max came to watch and 10 mins before the start of the event, a woman approached us and asked if Mich would look after her 5yo boy. Mich was a bit taken aback and said, "er sorry who are you", she gave her name and then Mich said "are you Petts Wood", the woman replied, "no I am with Bexley".
Mich 'baby sat' whilst this woman ran and Max had a little friend to play with. But it epitomises the camaraderie of runners. Although to be honest, not sure if I would approach a complete stranger and ask them to look after Max?
But it was a really good event, with free food, a raffle and the icing on the cake was the clubhouse had T.E.A (Traditional English Ale) from the HogsBack Brewery on handpump. Like a pig in $hit ;-)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/308579367
Oh, Orpington won the Mob Match. Booooooo
RELAY
Tonight as I type this, I have just got back from a Relay event hosted by Beckenham Runners. Again a first for me. In fact the last time I did a relay was probably 25 years ago at school? But this isn't a 100 metre relay passing a baton. This is a 2.6mile relay with teams of 3. Once again a great event catering for all speeds. PWR entered 8 teams. I was running the 2nd leg for my team. We were playing catch up from the start as when the horn sounded, Chris running the 1st leg was in the bushes having a pee, so ended up doing a 200+ metre sprint to play catch up from the outset! Must have been the nerves! I managed to run my leg in 19:25 which is an average 7:25 min/mile, so was quite pleased with that.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/313270617
Haven't yet got the formal results, but another good evening and the majority of the runners stayed to the end to cheer the last couple of people home!
So another event done that I wouldn't have done if I was not part of a running club and a good way of using an event as part of a training plan eg, a threshold run.
Blimey, this was meant to be a short blog based around one topic.
To conclude, if you do not belong to a running club, join one! Even Mich my wife is now a member :-)
Until Next Time
TJH
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