“I am not discouraged, because every wrong
attempt discarded is another step forward”
Thomas Edison

After a good week to start November, things rapidly deteriorated.
I managed to back up after doing a 45km on the 6th November with a couple of short runs, before pain from a sore wisdom tooth made it too uncomfortable to even contemplate exercise. Every step I ran made the pounding in my tooth and head unbearable.

Having not been to a dentist in 19 years I was not pleased to firstly have to go visit a dentist, then to have extra scans and see a specialist. It seems bizarre not to exercise due to toothache!

It took a few weeks to get to the specialist a couple of times and get the surgical removal of 2 wisdom teeth. As I recover from this, I have not been able to exercise as I am not allowed to raise my blood pressure.

During this time we’ve also had to move, a process that took about a week and a half. Living in places with little gear hasn’t helped, although one really doesn’t need much to run! However I’ll use the fact that it was unsettling as my excuse!

With only 25 weeks left until Comrades 2010, now is the time that most Comrades training programs start to become serious.

Living in Australia it’s the time to start make travel arrangements. Unfortunately funds are a problem and it seems 80-90% likely that we won’t be able to afford the trip for Comrades 2010, or to return to our beloved South Africa and experience the once in a lifetime Soccer World Cup.

Whilst it is a sad reality that money dictates the choices we have in life, and we will hold onto to the hope that maybe a miracle will occur, the harsh realisation isComrades 2010 in all likelihood will not happen for me  due to finances.

It seems strange that what could stop my Comrades dream may not even be a physical barrier at all.

It will make the mental aspect of continuing training that much harder, but if it doesn’t happen, then a plan will have to ensure Comrades 2011 doesn’t suffer the same fate.

My great concern is not whether you have failed,
but whether you are content with your failure”
Abraham Lincoln

“A marathon is like life with its ups and downs,
but once you’ve done it you feel that you can do anything”

NOVEMBER 2009

Resting HR (average): 55
Resting HR range: 50-59

Neural mobility: 28/23cm

Average weekly mileage: 25km
Average training load: 98

Running time:km range: 4:43 – 5:55

“Catch the person in front of you,
not the one behind you”

“It hurts up to a point, then it doesn’t get any worse”
Ann Trason, Champion Ultramarathoner

Resting HR (average): 54

Injury status: (L) Calf 3/10, General lower limb pain!

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 28; Afterwards 23.5

The Comrades Marathon ‘down run’ is all about pain management. This week I got to experience plenty of it!

Monday was a fairly easy 10km, and on Tuesday the pain started!

I ran 20km, and from anout 11km, my Left calf started to get very tight and felt it could blow up at any stage. Whilst that was a struggle in itself, at least that took my mind off the pain of my sore nipples! It has started to increase in humidity in Brisbane, and running in a singlet, it still gets drenched in sweat. Once wet, the chafing begins!

I have been pretty good recently, so I didn’t apply any protection (I usually use Nip Guards on longer runs, and lubricant on shorter runs). Also it saves a few dollars by not having to use Nig Guards which are for single use . Whilst it was sore, it wasn’t until I got back home and looked down that I realised the left one had bled, on my nice white singlet!

The problem with “runners nipple” is that once it heals, the skin sort of calluses over, and goes hard. The chance of ‘reopening’ the abrasion are higher.

Sanjay suffering from runners nipple

Wednesday was a strengthening session on the total trainer, and a cycle and quad strengthening in the afternoon.

Thursday morning was a 6km tempo run. I worked hard and felt I was sprinting on the way home, but alas I had run slightly slower than the first half of my run!That afternoon my quads were a bit stiff from the previous day, something I rarely ever get in my quads.

Fridaymorning I had a set myself a minimum of 30km, and aim for 40-45km. First I had a 21km out and back to the East of Brisbane. It started off fine for the first 5km, then because it gets fairly undulating along ‘Old Cleveland Road,’ my pace became very slow and I was practically running 6:00/km’s for the remainder.

At about 15km my Left Calf started to get tight and sore. Running out and back I was practically near home at the 21km mark. The pain was too much for me and I decided 22km would be my limit.

The previous evening I was talking to a friend who told me it is important to train according to how one feels. If one doesn’t feel good, then it is better to take it easy/rest. It conflicts with my own personal mantra of “You can always do more that you think you can!”

(After 21km) I decided to do 1 more km, as I was now running to the west side. With the turn around and having to get back home it would make 24km. It was so hard to run each step, let alone think of running 1km. When I got to 22km, I thought 1 more km, that would mean I’d have to run 26km. The pain was becoming unbearable.

When I got to the 23km mark, I thought if I was going to do 26km, I may as well do my minimum target of 30km. Keep going for 2 more km and turn around. By now my feet were killing me too, and as I kept going my calf started to ease slightly.

I figured I could keep going a bit further to the petrol station where I normally buy my drink and maybe that’d help me keep going. When I stopped the pain a wave of burning pain swept up my legs! The cold drink was great, but it was better to keep moving, no matter how painful that was!

I just concentrated on running each km. Each km I ran I’d effectively have to do 2, as I had to run back home yet.Somehow I found the energy and determination to have run 32.5km, meaning I had 12.5km to get home. Whilst I had manged to feel better for the last 7-8 km, that feeling was wearing off!

At the 36km mark I didn’t know if I could make it home. Although it’s always tough, I don’t ever doubt whether I can make it home. Just over 3km to get another drink. Whilst I mormally think of small goals to keep me going, this was getting way harder than it usually is!

The last 5km, were a nightmare. Pain. In every inch of my lower body, and neck too. Instead of focusing on kms, that last 2-3km I focused on 200m at a time. When I finally staggered home, I was dead!

The pain was so intense I couldn’t sleep like I normally do! It goes to show however, if you put your mind to it, you can definitely do more than you think you can. My immediate thoughts were that was only half a Comrades! Remind me why I want to run it?

Saturday I did a 45 min cycle in front of the telly as I watched the Springboks play Leicester. The rest of the day we got a decent workout moving boxes to our new place!

Sunday was a 12km recovery run. I felt okay for the first 8km, then it got a bit harder as my legs are still recovering from Friday.

Next week the challenge is to keep up the momentum whilst Rheanna is away. It’ll be an easy week to let the legs recover (my training load had a massive spike and shouldn’t increase by more than 10%), and if I do more 4 runs during the week, I look forward to taking the weekend off running…

“What counts in battle is
what you do once the pain sets in”
John Short

“Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can”
Lowell Thomas

OCTOBER 2009

Resting HR (average): 55
Resting HR range: 51-61

Neural mobility: 29/24cm

Average weekly mileage: 46km
Average training load: 107

Running time:km range: 4:45 – 5:52

Weight: 71.4kg
Fat %: 21.6%

“Listen to your body. Do not be a blind and deaf tenant”
Dr. George Sheehan

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.
It knows that it must run faster
than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle
when the sun comes up you’d better be running”

Resting HR (average): 54

Injury status: Right Hamstring tear 2/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 31; Afterwards 27

This week I had to manage my hamstring and get back into some running. Monday and Tuesday I could only do small amounts as the hamstring was still tight, so I only did 4km and 10km.

Wednesday was a strengthening session, and Thursday a gentle 6km.

Friday morning I got up a bit late, but felt really good doing 22km. Whilst it was slow and I started to get a bit stiff after 15km, I felt I could have run 30km quite easily. Unfortunately I ran out of time as I left late, and I had an early morning appointment.

Saturday we did a long walk. I find it much harder on the feet than running, so it is something I’m going to have to increase leading up to comrades.

Because of the Currie Cup final on Saturday night/Sunday morning, Sunday was a sleep in! Unfortunately no training got done.

On Sunday I officially entered Comrades Marathon 2010! There is not long to go, and plenty of training to do. Like the Lion…when the sun comes up, I’d better be running…

“A man can fail many times, but he isn’t a failure
until he begins to blame somebody else.”
Steve Prefontaine

“The thinking must be done first,
before training begins”
Peter Coe

Resting HR (average): 56

Injury status: Right Hamstring tear 3/10, (R) Forefoot pain 5/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 28; Afterwards 24.5

One can barely call this a training week, it was more like a recovery week!

Monday I tried running but the hamstring was tight, and it felt ready to snap so I stopped and had a short walk, before using the exercycle instead.

The rest of the week was fairly disastrous. Without Rheanna at home, I struggled to sleep or to wake up, and being extremely busy with our business , there was no training happening!

On Friday I ran a short 6km, the leg felt fine, but the fitness felt terrible. I decided to give hockey another go!

We were playing an all female side, and aside from getting our ass kicked, I also re-tore my hamstring! Towards the end of the first half, whilst lunging forward to tackle, I felt the dreaded sharp stab again. Whilst I stopped playing this week, it started to tighten up a lot more than the previous week, even though it didn’t feel as serious.

I can’t state how embarrassing it was firstly to get beaten by a team of females, and secondly to not even be able to finish the game!

Interestingly, the next day it was sore in my Hamstring and right buttock. It probably indicates a neural element to the pain as well. I don’t think I should be playing hockey for a while! I’ve learnt my lesson, albeit slowly!

My body is just not used to accelerating/decelerating, and eccentric muscle work like it used to be. Marathon training is more repetitious, and simply about doing the same action over and over, and over again!

On Saturday I had to help a friend move a semi-trailer of dirt into his yard. After the inital digging up of hard dirt to make room for the top soil, it involved me shoveling for 4-5 hours. Jeez was that hard!

The back hurt, I was trying to bend the legs and use them as much as possible, but it was impossible not to twist to get the dirt into wheelbarrows. The calluses and raw skin on the hands hurt, but weren’t the worst part!

It was a tough, tough workout, but let me run for 4-5 hours where you don’t have to get dirty! It’s much more enjoyable!

Next week I’ll look to get the hamstring right and start the week easy, before starting to get some decent mileage going again. It’s a shame as I had built up some good momentum recently, it’s important to back up solid weeks one after the other. It’s where the greatest gains are made.

Time for me to think and train smarter, or as Geel Piet said in, The Power of One “Little beat big when little smart, first with the head, then with the heart”

“Not in time, place or circumstances,
but in the man lies success”
Charles B Rouss

“It’s only Pain”

Resting HR (average): 55

Injury status: Right Hamstring tear 3/10, (R) Sacroiliac pain 1/10, (R) Forefoot pain 5/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 27.5; Afterwards 22.5

Despite the pain and suffering, I managed to get through a solid week’s training, before I tore my Hamstring!

Monday and Tuesday were easy runs, very slow due to the fact everything hurts! Monday my body was still sore from last week’s effort, although my foot pain had gone. Tuesday my (R) lower back was very sore, and very limiting by Wednesday. It’s been niggling away for a couple of weeks, reminding me to do something about it.

I got Rheanna to put some needles in it and within a day or so it was feeling a lot better. Gotta remember to keep using my needles as my body always responds well to acupuncture.

Thursday was a good tempo run, and I had two upper body sessions. Weights in the morning, and total trainer in the afternoon. Short (sessions) and sharp.

Friday morning I was out just before 3am with a goal of 40km. I felt sore through my shins straight away, and tight through my right calf. Having neural tension problems, Im always wary of starting off with tightness in my calf, as it may be a sign of bad things to come if I don’t heed the warning signs.

However there’s also something called being soft. And as a marathoner, you have to learn to live with pain, embrace it, and just deal with it. By 5km, my pace had slowed right down and it was going to be a matter of one step in front of the other, over and over again (for 35km) through the pain, and see how far I could push myself.

Whilst the pace between 10-20km reached over 6:00 min/km, I’m glad I was able to find something to get me back below 6:00 min/km. Despite wanting to give up, I kept going and decided to do 42km, to ensure I had run a marathon (even if only for my psychological benefit!). 4:10 pace for a marathon is shockingly slow, but at least I finished, and I can work on greater speed once I build my endurance back up again.

Friday evening disaster struck. I had felt quite good after my long run, but playing hockey on Friday nights after a long run is probably not my smartest decision.

Playing social sport is tough, as it is hard not to push oneself. As I lunged forward at the beginning of the second half I felt the sharp stab in my Right Hamstring. Immediately I took it easy and played in goal (well the smart thing would have been to go off, but we had no reserves!).

I was so annoyed with myself, and later than night and Saturday morning it had stiffened up and become more sore, even though I had done all the right things (active ROM exercises, stretching, ice, voltaren etc).The worse thing is that Saturday morning my right Forefoot was sore again. I think it’s the sideways movement of playing hockey.

Saturday I could barely walk, but I still managed a total trainer session.

Sunday after staying up all night to watch the Currie Cup semi-finals, I decided I could have a day off!

It’s important to get back into the running as soon as possible. After 2 hard weeks I was going to have an easy week anyway, the trick is to do small amounts to allow recovery, whilst still maintaining fitness.

Should I give up the hockey? Or shall I give it another shot and see if the dynamic activity helps my eccentric muscle strength?

“I may look bad and feel even worse, but I’m still going.”

“Marathon running is a terrible experience:
monotonous, heavy, and exhausting”
Veikko Karvonen,
1954 European and Boston Marathon Champ

Resting HR (average): 54

Injury status: Left Peroneal tightness 4/10,
(R) Foot pain 3/10, (R) Sacroiliac pain 4/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 27.5; Afterwards 23

A solid week helped me get back on track, even with 1 rest day and a light day!

Monday was an easy 10km, which felt comfortable and had a decent pace.

Tuesday was tough. Slow, pain, tired, fatigue, pain, pain …I didn’t feel like running, especially when it is a hard slog.

It’s moments like these you visualise yourself running the last 20km of the Comrades Marathon, and thinking, this is how painful it is going to be (when in reality you know that this is a walk in the park, and you don’t even want to think how painful the Comrades marathon is truly going to be!)

Wednesday I welcomed the break from running and did a strengthening session. Monday to Wednesday I managed to train twice a day with good intensity.

By lunchtime Wednesday my body was very fatigued and needing a rest. I took Thursday off, thinking of Bruce Fordyce’s advice to take a rest when you feel you need it. I hate taking time off to rest, but it was sorely needed!

Friday morning I managed my first long run in 5 weeks. A disgraceful statistic on my part, but at least I was out of the house and on the road at 3am. I felt good, the rest had worked well. Oh how nice it would be to feel fresh for every long run!

I started off slow and steady, and it only got steadily slower! After 12-14km I suddenly didn’t feel fresh anymore! So much for having a rest, that’s why I just prefer to train hard and when feeling tired…train harder!

The minimum I wanted to run was 30, the aim 32, but I started feeling better after 25km. So I decided to go for 36. Once again the feeling of running nice and relaxed didn’t last long and the last 5km my legs started to get tighter and tighter. I was pleased to have done 36km, but that’s probably my limit for now (unless I had to run longer!). My body gets very tight through the nerves in my legs and it takes me time to  allow it to get used to the longer distances. Hopefully next week is a little easier!

On Friday evening I played my first game of hockey in years. It’s a 6-a-side competition with 40 minute games. I thought it may be a way to work on my speed/sprinting. However I playing on a Friday after my long run was not the smartest decision!

After a few minutes of running (well I was trying to run anyway!) around I realised how different it is stopping, starting, accelerating etc, compared to the long, slow steady rhythm I am used to.

It should be good for me, but I did slip as I tried to take a free hit and sprained my right foot. Talk about un-coordinated! I slipped trying to push the ball with no one to pressure me at all! It didn’t hurt at the time (other than my pride) but by Sunday it had stiffened up a lot. A few physio sessions by Rheanna on my tarso-metatasal joint and my intertarsal joints should be enough to overcome it however.

I was wary of sprinting too hard as I could feel my left hamstring/groin becoming quite tight, and was a bit worried how it might feel over the next few days. By Saturday morning it felt fine however.

Saturday was a total-trainer session, and the legs felt surprisingly good. But by Sunday my (R) lower back and buttocks were quite sore. I decided to take it easy as the training load for the week was pretty high and I need to get used to decent mileage again, and I’d rather ensure I back it up with a good week again next week…

“Do or do not. There is no try.”
Yoda

“All give some, some give all”

Resting HR (average): 56

Injury status: Left calf tightness 2/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 29; Afterwards 24.5

The worst part of starting up again is that exercise is always hard! You lose conditioning so quickly, and it takes time to get back to your previous fitness levels. It makes life very frustrating, but allows one to appreciate the rewards of being consistent.

Monday was a very easy 8km, trying to get the body used to running again.

Tuesday was a slow 15km. I can’t believe how hard it was to run a mid-length run, even at a slow pace. Wednesday was a day of strengthening and nice to do some upper body work on the total trainer.

On Thursday I had a tempo run and I was quite surprised I was able to go under 5:00/km. Not that it is very fast, but the fact I could run faster than what I have been doing is good. The remaineder of the day I was very tired and could feel my body telling me it had been pushed hard, and needed rest.

When my alarm rang at 2am on Friday morning to get up for a long run, my body couldn’t respond! I ended up sleeping in and aiming for recovery. Saturday was much the same.

Sunday I felt like doing the same, but I knew I had to get out and exercise. It was my first Sunday run in 7 weeks! That’s a disgraceful statistic, and one I can’t afford to repeat as Comrades Marathon 2010 starts to loom closer.

I knew it would be a tough run as my neural mobility was very bad. The right side of my low back was sore, and that resulted in me only being able to get down to 33cm in my neural stretches. Anything above 30cm represents danger and indicates my calf is more likely to flare up.

I started off slow as I could barely run, struggling to relax as everything felt difficult. Whilst it was a faster run than Tuesday, it felt twice as hard. All I wanted to do was stop, and I had to remind myself, “just one more step, one more km, keep going.”

Most serious Comrades Marathon programs will be starting in December. Time is ticking away, and now it’s time to make sure I train hard and more importantly train consistently. I can’t afford too many more lazy days, so it’s time to start giving it all…

“Ability is what you’re capable of doing,
motivation determines what you do,
and attitude determines how well you do it.”

“The difference between the impossible and
the possible lies in a person’s determination”
Tommy Lasorda

SEPTEMBER 2009

Resting HR (average): 55
Resting HR range: 51-61

Average weekly mileage: 28km
Average training load: 65

Running time:km range: 4:56 – 5:26

Weight: 72.1kg
Fat %: 22.4%

“Obsessed is just a word the lazy use
to describe dedicated”