I'd like to be able to say that I'm a lot clearer now about what's going on with my Achilles tendons but if I did, I'd be lying.
I spent an hour this evening with a physio at Hampden and after going through everything from my training schedule to my shoes and back again, he wasn't able to offer any real insight into why I'm getting grief in both feet.
Bottom line - continue to stretch, ice and ease off on some of the training. I asked if he thought I should stop running and he said no.
So, my cunning plan is to lower the intensity of some of the sessions, mainly the Tuesday ones, but keep the mileage up by doing the long runs and the stuff in between.
If I'm hit by more problems I'll revise things again then.
After Hampden, I went to the Sweatshop at Next Generation in Glasgow, where I bought the Sennheiser PMX 70 headphones.
Hopefully they'll allow me to listen to music while running. No other bloody headphones have worked but they seem to fit quite well.
Tuesday, July 31
Monday, July 30
Gatwick
This is us at Gatwick, about half an hour into the two-hour wait for the flight to Glasgow.
The overnight flight from Tampa was fine. It was only about half-full so we were able to get three seats each which we lay out on.
I can't quite figure out airlines' policy on upgrading passengers.
In the lounge at Tampa we got talking to a nice couple who own a house in Sarasota. As we were boarding, he said to me: "Oh, you're in the posh part of the plane. We aren't."
I told him we were in economy and he said it was worth asking to be upgraded to World Traveller Plus because there were spare seats.
This was the point at which he said his wife worked for British Airways.
As we boarded the plane I asked about upgrading and was quoted £200 each! I saw the couple standing at the door chatting to the crew and didn't think any more of it.
Maybe a couple of hours into the flight, one of the crew came back to Fiona and asked if she was the person who had "friends" in Club Class. Five minutes later we were both given bottles of champagne as a "consolation" from the couple.
Fair play to them, but how does that work? Is being an employee of an airline sufficient justification in itself to be upgraded without any further questions asked?
It doesn't seem the fairest of situations but I suppose that's a perk of the job.
Am I exempt from paying the licence fee? I think not.
------------------
Sunday, July 29
Sad sight
The cases are out, repacked and the last few hours are being spent on the beach.
Ironically, it rained as we were walking there, which Fiona said was Anna Maria Island crying for us.
It would bring a tear to a glass eye.
------------------
My house!
Every day for the past two weeks I've walked past this one which is for sale and if I had a spare $1m or so I'd snap it up tomorrow.
------------------
Treadmill: all is revealed
So, tomorrow we leave for home.
The last two weeks have been glorious, spent on Anna Maria Island on the Gulf coast of Florida.
The temperature has been over 90 degrees every day, making it impossible to run outside, hence the need to use a treadmill in an air conditioned gym to continue the marathon schedule.
Today I did 13 miles on the damn thing and it was utter tedium. It just proves how much visual stimulation adds to the enjoyment of a long run. The only visual "stimulation" I had was ESPN and it was sheer bollocks.
More importantly though neither Achilles gave me any real grief during or after the run. I iced them both quickly after finishing and that may have helped.
I'm going to give the scheduled four mile run a miss tomorrow (that's only the second session I'll have dropped in two weeks).
I doubt very much whether or not it'll make the difference between hitting my target or not on October 7.
The last two weeks have been glorious, spent on Anna Maria Island on the Gulf coast of Florida.
The temperature has been over 90 degrees every day, making it impossible to run outside, hence the need to use a treadmill in an air conditioned gym to continue the marathon schedule.
Today I did 13 miles on the damn thing and it was utter tedium. It just proves how much visual stimulation adds to the enjoyment of a long run. The only visual "stimulation" I had was ESPN and it was sheer bollocks.
More importantly though neither Achilles gave me any real grief during or after the run. I iced them both quickly after finishing and that may have helped.
I'm going to give the scheduled four mile run a miss tomorrow (that's only the second session I'll have dropped in two weeks).
I doubt very much whether or not it'll make the difference between hitting my target or not on October 7.
Friday, July 27
It had to happen
Aye well, no sooner do I make a statement like "things are on track" than the wheels come off.
Two words - Achilles tendon - tell the story.
It's the left one that's causing the grief and I think the main reason for it flaring up was Tuesday's speed session.
It does, of course, spell utter disaster in my mind. The end of the world. All is lost.
That's my normal response in such situations. Then some rational thought kicks in and a plan of action takes shape. In this case, the plan is a visit to the physio at Hampden next Tuesday for some advice beyond what I'm already trying to do - stretch, ice and cut back on strenuous sessions. The latter is easier said than done.
The internet doesn't help. I've looked around various sites and self diagnosed all manner of outcomes.
Probably the most helpful thing I've been able to do is to diagnose it as a Grade 2 injury. This places it as one which doesn't stop me running but which is giving some discomfort usually after rather than during a run.
The problem with tendon injuries is that they just get worse without any treatment.
Positive thoughts please!
Two words - Achilles tendon - tell the story.
It's the left one that's causing the grief and I think the main reason for it flaring up was Tuesday's speed session.
It does, of course, spell utter disaster in my mind. The end of the world. All is lost.
That's my normal response in such situations. Then some rational thought kicks in and a plan of action takes shape. In this case, the plan is a visit to the physio at Hampden next Tuesday for some advice beyond what I'm already trying to do - stretch, ice and cut back on strenuous sessions. The latter is easier said than done.
The internet doesn't help. I've looked around various sites and self diagnosed all manner of outcomes.
Probably the most helpful thing I've been able to do is to diagnose it as a Grade 2 injury. This places it as one which doesn't stop me running but which is giving some discomfort usually after rather than during a run.
The problem with tendon injuries is that they just get worse without any treatment.
Positive thoughts please!
Monday, July 23
The Long Run
Today saw my longest run for quite some time - 11 miles.
Every inch of the way was on a treadmill and anyone who knows me knows why. That's for another day.
Fitness wise I felt fine but my left Achilles was giving me grief around the nine-mile mark. I iced it and the right one immediately after finishing and the difference that made was quite pronounced.
The puffiness and "spongy" feeling around the tendon had all but disappeared.
I think the total running time was in the region of 1.40. More of the same next weekend except the distance is 13 miles. On a treadmill again. What joy.
My total mileage for the week is 36.8. Fingers crossed, everything remains on track.
I entered the Glasgow half this week and at £27.50 it's a pretty expensive event but I reckon it's worth it.
Every inch of the way was on a treadmill and anyone who knows me knows why. That's for another day.
Fitness wise I felt fine but my left Achilles was giving me grief around the nine-mile mark. I iced it and the right one immediately after finishing and the difference that made was quite pronounced.
The puffiness and "spongy" feeling around the tendon had all but disappeared.
I think the total running time was in the region of 1.40. More of the same next weekend except the distance is 13 miles. On a treadmill again. What joy.
My total mileage for the week is 36.8. Fingers crossed, everything remains on track.
I entered the Glasgow half this week and at £27.50 it's a pretty expensive event but I reckon it's worth it.
Friday, July 20
Friday feeling
Today is a rest day so no running.
The mileage tally for the week so far is 21.8 but I don't feel like I've put enough effort into the four sessions I've done.
Tuesday was fartlek and with hindsight I reckon I could have worked harder.
Having said that, I've increased the mileage paces in the RW schedule to times that would give me a faster marathon finish.
I've been thinking back to this time last year and comparing how I felt then to now.
I'd been really bothered by shin splints and had stopped running for a couple of weeks.
Touch wood, I haven't had anything like those pains this time. Sure, my Achilles both have very "tender" spots but constant massaging seems to be keeping the problem at bay.
The mileage tally for the week so far is 21.8 but I don't feel like I've put enough effort into the four sessions I've done.
Tuesday was fartlek and with hindsight I reckon I could have worked harder.
Having said that, I've increased the mileage paces in the RW schedule to times that would give me a faster marathon finish.
I've been thinking back to this time last year and comparing how I felt then to now.
I'd been really bothered by shin splints and had stopped running for a couple of weeks.
Touch wood, I haven't had anything like those pains this time. Sure, my Achilles both have very "tender" spots but constant massaging seems to be keeping the problem at bay.
Sunday, July 15
Easy like Sunday morning
I was wondering what to call this post and the line from the Commodores song popped into my head.
The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind at work but they levelled out by Friday afternoon and all is well now.
I can also conclude the Greaves Sports saga over the Wave Creations and I'm very glad to say it has a positive outcome for me.
They didn't sell on eBay so I was resigned to paying for them and putting them in a corner forever without wearing them.
When I went in to hand over the £95, that nice chap Gordon said he would speak to the Mizuno rep about taking them back. He also ordered me a new pair of Inspire 3s, my tried and trusted model. I think I'm onto my fourth pair now.
It all worked out fine, with the shoes swapped and everyone happy so a big vote of thanks to Greaves for being so understanding.
Up to yesterday, I'd done 29.6 miles in the week, the highest mileage for a long time.
My achilles feel very odd. The right one feels like it has a "burning" sensation about half way down it and the other one gets a bit achey sometimes.
I've had a bit of shin pain in both legs but nothing too problematic.
I won't be too unhappy if this is as bad as it gets but I have a sneaking feeling there's worse to come.
The last few days have been a bit of a whirlwind at work but they levelled out by Friday afternoon and all is well now.
I can also conclude the Greaves Sports saga over the Wave Creations and I'm very glad to say it has a positive outcome for me.
They didn't sell on eBay so I was resigned to paying for them and putting them in a corner forever without wearing them.
When I went in to hand over the £95, that nice chap Gordon said he would speak to the Mizuno rep about taking them back. He also ordered me a new pair of Inspire 3s, my tried and trusted model. I think I'm onto my fourth pair now.
It all worked out fine, with the shoes swapped and everyone happy so a big vote of thanks to Greaves for being so understanding.
Up to yesterday, I'd done 29.6 miles in the week, the highest mileage for a long time.
My achilles feel very odd. The right one feels like it has a "burning" sensation about half way down it and the other one gets a bit achey sometimes.
I've had a bit of shin pain in both legs but nothing too problematic.
I won't be too unhappy if this is as bad as it gets but I have a sneaking feeling there's worse to come.
Wednesday, July 11
New 305 arrives!
The weekend is looming and we know what happens on Sunday morning! No more details on the blog for a few more days though.
I've just had lunch on the roof at PQ, which was a pleasant change to being anywhere outside and not being soaked.
Back to last night and the first speed session I've done as part of the marathon training schedule.
It was one mile + four x 800m with two-minute recoveries between the efforts then one mile.
By the fourth effort I was feeling on the verge of uncomfortable, which was a good sign. Not having a working Garmin, I had to go by times and the schedule reckoned the efforts should have taken four minutes.
That's a bit slow though, around 8mi. So I increased the pace to what felt like about 7mi for the first couple of efforts. It feel back a bit after that, maybe to about 7.30mi.
By the end, I was feeling the pace so to speak. Perhaps more significantly, so were my shins but that might have been expected because it was the first proper speed session I'd done for a while.
Tonight is a slow seven-mile run, scheduled to take 70 minutes. I'd been contemplating where to go, considering I didn't have a Garmin.
Lo and behold, while writing this entry, the new one arrived so I'm now back up and running with GPS capabilities.
Fingers crossed it works now and keeps working for good!
My sub-4hr schedule is here.
I've just had lunch on the roof at PQ, which was a pleasant change to being anywhere outside and not being soaked.
Back to last night and the first speed session I've done as part of the marathon training schedule.
It was one mile + four x 800m with two-minute recoveries between the efforts then one mile.
By the fourth effort I was feeling on the verge of uncomfortable, which was a good sign. Not having a working Garmin, I had to go by times and the schedule reckoned the efforts should have taken four minutes.
That's a bit slow though, around 8mi. So I increased the pace to what felt like about 7mi for the first couple of efforts. It feel back a bit after that, maybe to about 7.30mi. By the end, I was feeling the pace so to speak. Perhaps more significantly, so were my shins but that might have been expected because it was the first proper speed session I'd done for a while.
Tonight is a slow seven-mile run, scheduled to take 70 minutes. I'd been contemplating where to go, considering I didn't have a Garmin.
Lo and behold, while writing this entry, the new one arrived so I'm now back up and running with GPS capabilities.
Fingers crossed it works now and keeps working for good!
My sub-4hr schedule is here.
Monday, July 9
Sailing ship on the Clyde
Great excitement at work mid-morning when the Bell's Bridge was opened to let this yacht through.
It's not a great picture because I didn't get to the window in time. There were loads of people with their cameras phones out and clicking away.
Talking of Glasgow Airport, we took Sophie there last night to get her solo flight to Gatwick. It was odd to see the door where the Jeep hit all covered up, almost as if nothing had happened.
Four miles last night and despite my bad head earlier in the day, it was an enjoyable run.
That'll do for now. Knackered and needing sleep.
It's not a great picture because I didn't get to the window in time. There were loads of people with their cameras phones out and clicking away.
Talking of Glasgow Airport, we took Sophie there last night to get her solo flight to Gatwick. It was odd to see the door where the Jeep hit all covered up, almost as if nothing had happened.
Four miles last night and despite my bad head earlier in the day, it was an enjoyable run.
That'll do for now. Knackered and needing sleep.
Saturday, July 7
A long week
This has felt like a really long week.
By Thursday, I was feeling the pace of last weekend's events catching up with me. Obviously I'm no spring chicken,or even a cub reporter ... or any other animal analogies you can think of.
I was due to do five miles on Thursday evening but by the time I got home at about 9pm, I really couldn't face it so I held off until early on Friday morning and did the run then.
For the record, I did the Bellshill 5.57m in reverse direction from the way I'd normally do it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
For the second week in a row, I swapped my Sunday long run to a Saturday to fit in with Mr Barr's plan to run the Moffat 15k on Tuesday night. The schedule asked for nine miles so we did the Red Brick and a bit more, running out at 9.56m in 1.31.
Speaking of last Saturday's events, I did a couple more user-generated content things later in the week.
The Scotsman ran a big item in its Media section on Thursday looking at how UGC sustained the media coverage for a couple of hours and more and I was asked to contribute a few words on how it had worked for the BBC.
On Thursday night, Newsnight Scotland did an item about the same thing and yes, you've guessed it, I was in that.
Finally (and perhaps the most personally fulfilling one), RTE asked me to to an item for its World Reports radio programme, a bit like Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent.
It was great to be able to write what felt a bit like a stream of consciousness and the result is here:RTE World Reports.
By Thursday, I was feeling the pace of last weekend's events catching up with me. Obviously I'm no spring chicken,or even a cub reporter ... or any other animal analogies you can think of.
I was due to do five miles on Thursday evening but by the time I got home at about 9pm, I really couldn't face it so I held off until early on Friday morning and did the run then.
For the record, I did the Bellshill 5.57m in reverse direction from the way I'd normally do it and thoroughly enjoyed it.
For the second week in a row, I swapped my Sunday long run to a Saturday to fit in with Mr Barr's plan to run the Moffat 15k on Tuesday night. The schedule asked for nine miles so we did the Red Brick and a bit more, running out at 9.56m in 1.31.
Speaking of last Saturday's events, I did a couple more user-generated content things later in the week.
The Scotsman ran a big item in its Media section on Thursday looking at how UGC sustained the media coverage for a couple of hours and more and I was asked to contribute a few words on how it had worked for the BBC.
On Thursday night, Newsnight Scotland did an item about the same thing and yes, you've guessed it, I was in that.
Finally (and perhaps the most personally fulfilling one), RTE asked me to to an item for its World Reports radio programme, a bit like Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent.
It was great to be able to write what felt a bit like a stream of consciousness and the result is here:RTE World Reports.
Wednesday, July 4
The morning after
Thankfully no aches this morning after last night's time trial.
I wondered if I'd suffer a bit either in the heels or the shins from pushing on but the only after-effect was that I felt quite tired.
I had six miles to do this evening so after getting back from an all-day meeting, I went straight out again. Settling down would have been too dangerous!
Of course I still have no Garmin so I'm having to base runs on courses I know such as the 5.57 miles one round Bellshill.
I felt fine, maybe just a wee bit heavy in the legs, but hopefully that'll wear off.
My plan is to start doing the Tuesday night club sessions at least which should build up some speed and stamina.
Talking of Garmin, I had a wee rant at them today after yet another day passed without the dud 305 being collected.
Apparently it's to be picked up tomorrow. We'll see.
A bit more media exposure is on the cards after the Glasgow Airport attack. Fergus Shepphard, The Scotsman's media correspondent, spoke to me yesterday about the user-generated content response and Newsnight Scotland are doing a piece tomorrow night on the same subject.
RTE read my Editor's Blog and have asked me to produce a 3.5-minute long item for their World Reports website for publication on Friday.
Nice to turn my hand to some writing/audio again!
I wondered if I'd suffer a bit either in the heels or the shins from pushing on but the only after-effect was that I felt quite tired.
I had six miles to do this evening so after getting back from an all-day meeting, I went straight out again. Settling down would have been too dangerous!
Of course I still have no Garmin so I'm having to base runs on courses I know such as the 5.57 miles one round Bellshill.
I felt fine, maybe just a wee bit heavy in the legs, but hopefully that'll wear off.
My plan is to start doing the Tuesday night club sessions at least which should build up some speed and stamina.
Talking of Garmin, I had a wee rant at them today after yet another day passed without the dud 305 being collected.
Apparently it's to be picked up tomorrow. We'll see.
A bit more media exposure is on the cards after the Glasgow Airport attack. Fergus Shepphard, The Scotsman's media correspondent, spoke to me yesterday about the user-generated content response and Newsnight Scotland are doing a piece tomorrow night on the same subject.
RTE read my Editor's Blog and have asked me to produce a 3.5-minute long item for their World Reports website for publication on Friday.
Nice to turn my hand to some writing/audio again!
Tuesday, July 3
July Time Trial
It was my turn tonight to present the trophies to the winners of the July run so here's one of them.
This is Donald getting the Road Runner trophy which the person coming last is given. It's our version of the wooden spoon.
The time trial is run over a four-mile course round Strathclyde Loch and is a handicap event designed to put members on a level playing field with each other.
Tonight I did 29.12 off a handicap of 10.20. My PB for the course is 28.10 (I think) so I'm not horribly disappointed with that performance.
No gyp from my achilles, which was good news, although it's a bit achy now.
This is Donald getting the Road Runner trophy which the person coming last is given. It's our version of the wooden spoon.
The time trial is run over a four-mile course round Strathclyde Loch and is a handicap event designed to put members on a level playing field with each other.
Tonight I did 29.12 off a handicap of 10.20. My PB for the course is 28.10 (I think) so I'm not horribly disappointed with that performance.
No gyp from my achilles, which was good news, although it's a bit achy now.
Monday, July 2
Glasgow Airport attack
The weekend didn't go entirely to plan because of the incident at Glasgow Airport, which kicked off at 3.15pm on Saturday.
Our evening Chez Barr went ahead but the phone was red hot against my ear and News 24 was never far away.
This was a difficult story to follow, because of all its twists and turns, but I think we did a fine job overall.
Alex and I had done the Red Brick on Saturday morning so at least I'd got the weekly long run in. That left a "brisk" three-miler for Sunday, which had to wait until I'd finished work and come home at 9.30pm.
Just before leaving, I knocked out my first entry in the BBC Editors' Blog section of the website. It's here complete with a very bad picture. It was taken by me, using the small mirror on the back of my Blackberry. Not flattering at all.
John Smeaton, who's mentioned in my BBC blog entry, is rapidly turning into a cult figure. I'm glad I got him into my piece before we wrote this story about him this afternoon.
There's video on the top right of the story. Well worth a watch.
You can see the tribute website here. There are some fairly extreme comments on it which have made me ponder our linking to it but we really can't do the story without carrying the url.
He's really struck a chord with many people and I for one admire his bluntness and "no messing" attitude.
Power to your elbow John!
I was asked to go on Good Morning Scotland at 7.15am on Monday to talk about the user-generated content we received from people at Glasgow Airport and other locations. The interview is here.
Skins
This post is a few days late and that's because of the weekend events at Glasgow Airport, about which I'm going to write another entry after this one.
The point of me taking the picture above was to show the leggings I got from Greaves Sports at an evening they were holding last Thursday to promote Skins.
They're made in Australia and are intended to compress the muscles so aiding sports performance and recovery.
I also discussed with Sandy Greaves the situation with the Mizuno Wave Creations and I bought them that night.
Unfortunately I only wore them once before realising that my instinct had been right and that neutral shoes are not for me.
They're now for sale on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mens-Mizuno-Wave-Creation-8-running-shoes_W0QQitemZ260134906545QQihZ016QQcategoryZ97056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The point of me taking the picture above was to show the leggings I got from Greaves Sports at an evening they were holding last Thursday to promote Skins.
They're made in Australia and are intended to compress the muscles so aiding sports performance and recovery.
I also discussed with Sandy Greaves the situation with the Mizuno Wave Creations and I bought them that night.
Unfortunately I only wore them once before realising that my instinct had been right and that neutral shoes are not for me.
They're now for sale on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mens-Mizuno-Wave-Creation-8-running-shoes_W0QQitemZ260134906545QQihZ016QQcategoryZ97056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
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