Tuesday, April 29, 2014

6km Fartlek - Feeling Good

I decided to swap around my walks this week.

So instead of doing an 8km tonight I opted for the 6km fartlek instead as I was heading to the track it was easier to do the fartlek.  That way if no one is going on thrus I can still do my 8km on the walkway as Kay and Paul are walking on Weds.

My right hamstring has been tight and tender.  Right in the centre of the hamstring - not sure if it was just soreness from use on Sundays walk or if I had twinged it alittle.  Either way I was going to listen to my body and do what I felt I could.

I warmed up with Paul and Kay and as I was going around my hamstring did start to feel a little better.  The others were all doing 200 & 300 repeats so it was going to be good for me to have them out on the track.  I started out for my first km and felt smooth and strong but I didnt push too hard - just keeping feel for my leg and hip.  5:33 for my first km and I am ok with that.  Now to see how I hold up with the fast and mediums.  I was feeling pretty good and nothing was hurting - a little twinge here and there.   I had a couple of slow recoveries but mostly they were pretty close to 3.02 each round.  My hammy did start to ache a little towards the end but it was stomach that slowed me the most.  Now that I am back eating a mix of my old diet and new diet.....I have to get my body to react to the gluten - and it is!!!  That old pain was back and the awful fatigue is creeping back in.  I just hope that I get this test done and soon.

total time was 34:50   VERY happy with that.

lap splits here


Sunday, April 27, 2014

10km Club Walk - Kalinga Park

Its a 5am start for me.  Meeting everyone at Movie World to car pool into Brisbane for our first Club Walk.  Its the start of our road walk session plus its also sign on day.

My body wasnt feeling to bad today.  I must admit to feeling a bit off but thats just from the food I am eating.  I am really not enjoying being able to eat normally again..... but I have to so that when they do the scopes and biopsy it will show up the reaction to gluten etc.  So I will probably be a little crabby and off for the next couple of weeks.

I had hoped to get a 60mins today.  Jim and I talked about aiming for 6min kms for Canberra, as its a hilly course it will mean trying to pick up the pace on the flat so that each km avgs out to 6min.  I started this race conservatively ... I didnt want to go all out and blow up too soon.  I tried hard to stick to a set pace and keep to 5:45 kms but that only lasted for the first two km.  I was having trouble keeping the power on.  While nothing was hurting, I wasnt feeling fast either.  I had Dave Smith on the sidelines helping to keep me focused and telling me to use my arms more......(great tip - forget you have a forearm and hand.... use your upper arm to drive up and back - it works)  This would help me to drop my shoulders and drive through more plus give me a better twist through my hips....but I tired very quickly and so would do this in bursts.

By about 6km (my slowest km at 6:00min) I could feel I was getting tired and losing concentration so I started watching the clock and I quickly worked out that if I can stay on pace or pick it up ... that I had a high 58min time...........that was all I needed and I really drove the last 3 km home.

I finished the 10km in 58:31  -  I was rapt .... totally rapt!!!!

10 data

Saturday, April 19, 2014

10km Kickdown attempt

Today I brought some new shoes (actually two pair of the same - one for training and one for racing), new inserts, some new nike shorts and a crop top.

I was not sure how far I would walk today as in new shoes you can never be sure how far you will get.  I went out with 8km in mind.  I know Jim wanted me to do a kick down today...its been along time since I have done one and so straight away my pace was too quick.  I had just started out at a nice easy pace but it was still a touch to quick for a kick down start.  But I figured I can keep building on it and just try to pick up the pace as I go.

First up - Just a wee shout out to all the IGNORANT people that were walking along the walkway today.  Whats up with people crossing the walkpath and NOT looking up or left or right....just wandering straight off from the beach and directly in front of you.  I physically had to jump over an empty pushchair today and dodge children on bikes and parents texting.  GRRRRR

Back on track - I was feeling pretty good.  My shoes were feeling GREAT.  The heel is alot softer and slightly spungy but it meant no impact pain anywhere so I am happy with that.  Toes feel good, no rubbing! another plus.

About 7km I was getting some of that odd burning pain in the side of my hip/thigh.  I think its where the ITB joins with the Glute Med etc.  I am going to go back to the dr and run over a few things with him.  I may need another cort injection in a different area.  But will see what a CT scan shows of my back etc.

I decided to try to make the last two km faster so that it did end as a kick down and I did succeed in that.

new shoes - Adidas lite arrow 
new Nike Shorts


Total time for 10 km was 1:01:03 avg heart rate 150 (my last two kms were both under 6min km pace)  yaya


Sunday, April 13, 2014

14km Hedges Ave - Testing the body

I am nervous.  To me this seemed like such a long walk to start out with and I would have felt happier with an 8m but my coach has given me 13km and said to see how you go.

I had my cortisone injection on Thursday and the Dr did say it can take up to a week to feel any effect from it.  It has taken until this morning to finally stop aching in the glute but the side of my thigh/hip is still sore.  This is the area where I have little bony spurs on the surface of my hip and its something I have to be mindful of.

I got up and decided to just get out there and do it before I change my mind.  It was much cooler today at 24 degs and overcast.  At first I felt GREAT.  Most noticeably was the no pain my glute at all but by 6km I was getting a burning sensation in my hip - nothing bad but noticeable.

By 8km I was getting achy in the hip and lower back - more so in the back and so I adjusted how I was walking to try and alleviate it.  Which it did for a short while and it was something I had to work hard on constantly.

I had decided to walk out and up hedges ave for 5km...turn back to the walkway and then turn again at the top of the walk way to complete the last bit.  I hate odd numbers and so doing 13km was going to be a pain so I had already decided that if I felt ok that when I turned back on the walkway as its 2km long..... that I would end up doing the down and back for 4km.

I was starting to slow a little.  I was getting tired and lots of little niggles were bugging me.  I am so paranoid that i will end up really hurt that I over feel niggles...but I also not want to ignore them either.

total time for the walk today was 1.27.24 for an avg of 6.14 per km - now to see how I recover as I have a 5km fartlek up on Tuesday.

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

5km on treadmill - Injection tomorrow...

I have had some pain in the centre base of my foot and after being screened at a chiropractor service he pointed out that I had an aggravated planter fistiator...I cant spell it but I do know that its something I VERY much want to avoid.  So I have taken the tape out of my shoes that was put in a week ago and tonight I needed to walk.

I got home and it was dark already so I went down and used the treadmill.  It was just so nice to tick along happily on that tonight.  I was a bit tight and achy in the SI joint area....I am now learning that it may not actually be SI joint problems but the muscles around it.   I go into tomorrow for a Cortisone Injection into my hip.  My Dr is very sure that once I get this...the SI pain will go away as he feels the tendinitis in the bursa is pulling and causing all the back pain.   I have my fingers crossed for this as I very much need to be pain free.

I am doing well with the Gluten free diet.  Going Fructose Free is slightly more daunting and one I have not yet stepped up to.  I know that once I get my appointment for all the scopes that I need to go back to my old diet....so I think I will wait till the scopes are done and see what the results are from that.

I will let you all know how I go tomorrow after this injection.   I am so very hopeful it will help.

5km treadmill

Friday, April 04, 2014

A diagnosis ......... but is it?

Trochanteric Bursitis and Tendinopathy in the Glute Medius.

Trochanteric bursitis is inflammation of the bursa (a small, cushioning sac located where tendons pass over areas of bone around the joints), which lies over the prominent bone on the side of your hip (femur).

The trochanteric bursa may be inflamed by a group of muscles or tendons rubbing over the bursa and causing friction against the thigh bone and can also be a case of gradual onset via a repetitive trauma to the bursa from such activities as running (with poor muscles control or technique), walking into fatigue.

So to fix this........... well strengthen the hip/core/glutes and correct any bio mechanical faults.

So I am now to get a Corticosteroid Injection into the Bursa... then starts the strength exercises for the hip which MUST be done. I can still train but only to what doesn't hurt.  I may be faced with a very expensive out lay for some orthotics but for now... I will try the injection and exercises.

Now for the Tendionopathy in the Glute....GT for short ...

GT typically presents as pain over the greater trochanter (the bony lump felt at the side of your hip). symptoms may spread into the outside of the thigh and knee. It is commonly misdiagnosed as hip joint pathology,ITBS, sciatica or as being referred from the lumbar spine.   This tendon is compressed by the Iliotibial Band (ITB) when the hip is adducted (which happens when the leg moves in towards the other leg). This compression can be increased if combined with flexion or external rotation of the hip.

So If you have GT it's likely that your symptoms will include pain with crossing your legs and with climbing stairs or hills, even just with single leg balance if your pelvic control is poor. Each case is different though and in milder cases these may be fairly pain free. For runners it's likely to painful during the impact phase of running when your foot strikes the floor and your body weight moves over the foot.

One other key characteristic with GMT is pain in sidelying. Unfortunately it can be painful on either side making sleep very difficult. The issue is if you lie on your painful side there is likely to be some direct compression of the gluteal tendons. If you lie on your good side the bad leg is upper most and often falls into adduction and flexion. Considering we spend some hours sleeping this can be a significant source of aggravation for the tendon.

So fingers crossed...once we get the injection in the bursa this too will settle...I will need to find some very soft topper pad to put on my side of the bed to try and add more cushion so that if I lay on that side in my sleep it wont compress the muscle/tendon as much.

So thats it in a simple nutshell.  The dr said that I con continue to train but to be guided by pain.  I need to figure out a series of exercises to do so that I can strengthn the hip and glute.  If I can do this I may not need the orthotics.  This injury keeps on reoccuring so I also need to figure out why it keeps coming back....is it when my training becomes more intense...extra speed work or longer distance???  this does seem to be the pattern and while I could manage that a couple of years ago....I cant now.

NO CROSSING LEGS while sitting.  I need this to be written everywhere!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 02, 2014

6km treadmill

Today I had to have time off work to go to a specialist appointment at the Hospital.  So it meant working late to make up the time so I knew I was never going to make it to the track.  I also spent all day moving boxes and lifting big cabinets around in our office while we tried to totally rearrange the office....so by the end of the day my back was really sore and so was my hip.

Best I could do was zip downstairs and jump on the treadmill.  Once I got going my SI joint freed up and I could walk.  I kept a close eye on my form and made sure I was landing to the outer of my feet and bringing my knee through straight.  By 4km my hip was hurting again.  Right on the very out side of the hip - Bursa area.  Hmmmm

By 5km my ankles were hurting along with my arches in my feet.  Jim had warned me that this would happen but it still doesnt feel any better when it happens.  I have put tape along the bottom of my right insert as Jim wants to lift my right foot a little to try and align my foot to my lower leg better.   I still was able to slowly increase the speed of the treadmill so I felt like I got a good walk out.

6km in 37.03

6km data

NOTE:  for those that have followed my journey and know of my stomach history - you will know that I have gone gluten free and have been so now for 4 weeks.  I am thrilled to say that I have been 95% pain free with just the odd moment here and there.  I had my appointment back with the specialist today and showed him my diary and he was very excited to see I had gone gluten free and that my results were so good.  With this finding he is 90% sure that I have Celiac Disease and NOT IBS.  So he has rung through to add biopsy's to my next lot of tests.  He has now given me the FODMAP to follow and has asked that I also try Fructose Free as well......................This one is a little harder to follow...it is alot more limiting than just being gluten free - but I will try and see how I go.