Happy again

Voltaren kicked in beautifully from Thursday. Swelling has come right down. Really pushing the stretching exercises and getting much more flexibility. Saw JLP yesterday and he hammered my Solus which was agony but eased things up a lot. Today I cut a line down the back of my old Brooks ST Racers (the ones with the heel wedges in) like Tim Cradock had suggested last time I saw him. Ran the Manly beach 6.15km in between showers in 25:17 (4:07's) feeling great. Felt a bit like running in thongs on my left foot but first time I've finished a run in months with no pain or stiffness.

Haglund's Syndrome

I'm convinced this is what I've got. Sounds better than "insertional achilles tendinopathy" as well. Have done so much on the achilles but the swelling never comes down unless I take anti-inflammatories. All the stuff I read on the net suggests that's more of an indication of bursitis. I've plainly had achilles tendinopathy as well as that is what the ultrasound showed. Haglund's Syndrome is where you get retrocalcaneal bursitis (what I was originally diagnosed with) and insertional achilles tendinopathy (what I was subsequently diagnosed with) at the same time.

Achilles seems to be getting under control (from what Gary said yesterday) so I'm going to attack the bursitis with NSAIDS.

Getting lazy on the exercise front. Nothing all of last week while hobbling around following the blood injection. Rode in and out on Monday but too wet Tues, Wed and today.

Have gone long on Timmy L at Gold Coast and short on the Tiger. Need Kanser to make sure he gets Timmy out for a couple of hard sessions this weekend. I reckon it could be pretty close in the run in but no-one's got more guts than Timmy L....

Pain, Pain and more Pain

Last Friday was a gentle 6km with Springer.

Monday took the kids to training at Narrabeen track with Tony Wong and the young Striders. Ran 5 x 800m which was fine as it was nice and easy. But then we all did some handicapped sprints and I got carried away trying to catch the 9yr olds. Woke up the next morning in a bit of pain. This was exacerbated by seeing Dr Kuah at lunchtime and having my first autologous blood injection into my achilles. It was very painful. It was almost as painful as massages with JLP. Lesser men would have cried. Struggled to walk yesterday and marginally better today. Will give it 5 days complete rest then start the eccentric loading from scratch building up over 10 days. Determined to beat this injury.

Realised I've been drinking too much without the threat of a run the next day to curb my enthusiasm so have decided to go dry during the week. I'm up to 68.2kgs. Could kill a beer.

Updates

Heel not so good this week which is very frustrating. Just as things seemed to be taking a step forward I take 2 steps back. Did a very easy jog yesterday after a Tiger massage, other than that it was a ride home on Monday (new PB I think in 38:43), ride in and out on Tuesday and rides in and out today. Threw all my effort in Parriwi Rd today managing a 3:32 - legs were numb even at the first turn and were jelly with 100m to go. Pretty pleased especially as I had no momentum at the bottom of the hill due to a traffic jam.

Watched Rebecca run her area X-Country yesterday. She came 40th out of 60 and made me incredibly proud. She's only in Yr 2 yet was running against girls in Yr 4 - she looked tiny compared to most of them. She obviously gave it everything and was knackered at the end. She complained this morning about her legs being "sore". I'd like to wake up in the morning just once when my legs aren't sore. Manly West kicked ass. Those kids from the posh surburbs like Balgowlah Heights and Seaforth may teach maths better but the kids aren't half as fit.

Step aside Mr Lindop, Mr High is in the house....

Running wise, pretty uneventful. Drank far too much on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, meaning I'm wrecked. Running tends to curb my excesses so I need to get back into it. Friday was a great night with the Striders Dinner and listening to Deek speak. We retired to the seediest pub in town to play pool, where Timmy L was on fire as usual but was matched (and, later on surpassed) by Dicky H. I think it was more a question of Timmy not being able to hold his beer as well.

Disappointing to hear Muz and Wildman will shortly be leaving us. Both will be much missed from the HuRT Squad, not only as great runners but great socialisers too.

Managed to drag myself out for a run on Sunday. Just an easy jog again - this time from the Pittwater Rd car park at Queenscliff lagoon to Shelly Beach and back in 26:46. Heel still OK but not as good as early last week. Realised that I took 2 Nurofen last Sunday night when I had Man Flu which most likely removed all pain from the achilles at the same time.

More running

Felt man fluey yesterday, so just a ride home. Couldn't believe how sore my thighs were following Tuesday's jog. Feck, it was only 5km but felt like someone had taken to them with a hammer.

Saw Carl this morning, core is getting much stronger, adductors way too tight though. Then rode in - hammered it all the way. 3:50 from bottom to top of Parriwi, 12:56 at Mosman, 26:58 at the Harbour Bridge and 33:38 all up. Not sure I'll get much quicker than that as I was lucky with the lights all the way.

Another easy 5km at lunch today in 21:17. Thighs still very sore, but heel is feeling better than ever so feeling very confident about progress. Bursar still protrudes, but no pain - even on my first steps out of bed this morning.

Probably no ride this evening as it's started to rain. Good luck to Man Utd over night - have to support the English teams against those Spaniards.

A tentative return

JLP had urged me to try a run this week, so decided to go today. No pain with the heel over the weekend so put on my Brooks ST racers with the heel wedge in and jogged the flat 5km route in 21:56. Felt great just to be out there again. Saw Clyde, Charlie, Warwick and Travis while out. No pain at all from the heel but it is how it reacts that is more important. Kirst must have put my shorts and vest in a hot wash as they felt unnaturally tight.

Also rode in in 35:43. Felt tired doing so but I think that was more to do with a big weekend.

Bad news was the Toon's demise. Championship football next season for the first time since 1992. All they needed was 1 goal to stay up, but from all accounts that didn't ever look like eventuating.

Good nudes..

Haven't felt any pain in my heel for 3 days straight - longest period without painkillers since last September. JLP's massages appear to be working a treat. Will try a jog in Thursday if I can continue without pain until then.

Swimming times continue to drop. I could be a triathlete yet.

Congrats to the SMH Halfer's yesterday. Good runs by Steve, Tucks, Muz and LF Charlie. Steve proved that, along with the winner, 3km steeplechasers can run pretty decent Halfs. Disappointing to see Kanser struck down my injury. Also great runs by Uncle Dave (who has really hit some form) to run a low 69 just behind the Horne and Vlad who ran a low 70.

Another update

Went to see JLP on Friday who spent an hour solely on the left calf. Was agony and I had to limp for 48 hours but it really loosened it up and made the heel feel much better. Heel has started to feel stiffer as the week has passed but seeing him again tomorrow. No doubt that the ridiculously stiff calves are a major source of the problem. Had to shave my legs last night as half the pain from the massage was pulling on hairs. I'm looking more and more like a cyclist by the day. Are you supposed to shave all your leg or just from the knee down? Took me so bloody long I just did the latter but it now looks like I'm wearing a pair of hairy knee length shorts...

Either cycling in and home each day or swimming the 1km. Weight has levelled out at 66.5kgs. Cycling has come on leaps and bounds. PB is now 34:41 and took it easy today after getting caught in traffic but still clocked 37:24. Freestyle is much quicker now too but still get knackered after 200m.

Miserable update

No running for another 3 weeks at least. Just more of the same exercises. They're working, but slowly. We'll do autogous blood injections if it hasn't improved sufficiently by the end of this month. So Sydney may be out at this rate. May consider Melbourne in October instead. I think Tucks is running that one.

Good news is Rebecca got picked to run for Manly West in the area cross country. Top 6 got selected for U9's so she did really well as she's only 7. Apparently the PE teacher's advice in the trial was to start slowly and keep on going. My advice the night before was to sprint off like everyone else and to hang on as long as possible. She said she listened to me because I was a proper runner.

New PB riding in yesterday in 36:54. Got caught by the lights badly at the end too.

Another update

More riding in and out each day. Getting strong on the hills on the bike. Had it serviced today and it was running very smoothly on the way home. Given up on swimming though. Just too boring. Up to 66.2kgs. Been increasing the weight on my back doing the eccentric loading and can now put quite a bit of weight on my left achilles without pain. Also icing immediately after which I'm sure helps. Am still constantly aware of it though. Back to see the Doc on Wednesday and really hoping he'll allow me to start jogging again. Feel as though there is nothing to be lost by doing so.

Some great results at the weekend - Durante running 32:08 and Muz 32:28 being standouts - both beating Tucks for the first time. He didn't run badly either with a 32:36. Good solid run by Kanser in 33:29 plus some sub-35's from Phil Woods, John Binfield and TB (first time).

Emailed Sean Williams this evening to discuss a training plan for the marathon. Kanser's looking too strong so I need some expert advice.

Been a while

Was on holiday last week at Seal Rocks - great time and will add some video footage of me waterskiing and being dragged by the speedboat on a doughnut in the next few days. Very little exercise when on holiday. Have been riding to and from work every day though. Getting much stronger on the bike - PB on the way in is in 36:57 and 39:27 for the ride home. No swimming though as it's such an arse.

Best news is the improvement with the insertional tendinopathy. Still feels stiff but pain has subsided a lot such that I'm not doing eccentric loading on it off the edge of a stair so getting real extension. Always feels much better after the exercises too so similar to last year with the other achilles. Seeing Dr Kuah next Wednesday so hoping to resume light running again then.

Good luck to all the HuRTS boys at the State 10km on Sat. I've got a cheeky couple of bets on so will be looking for TB and Tucks to have good ones....

Update

Yesterday was just a 1km swim in the Cook + Phillip in 23:02 feeling pretty good. Planned to ride home but got stuck late at work so gave it a miss. Today was another km in 23:07 then a ride home in 39:28. Flying home tonight, although I was lucky with the lights. Still love the bike and Parriwi Rd.

Heel similar. Pain definitely on left hand side only though. Have adjusted eccentric loading to try and pin point the exercises.

Easter Weekend

Nothing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Put on a load of weight (about 4kgs - up to 68kgs now) on a diet of beer and chocolate. Wouldn't be too bad if the achilles was showing huge signs of improvement but it isn't. Much less pain on the right hand side at the insertion but still the same on the left. I'm wondering whether it's because of the way I do the eccentric loading and where it is loading the achilles the most.

Just 1km in the Boy Charlton pool in Manly this afternoon. 24:29. Had to stop a few times though with slow swimmers (yes, there are some even slower than me) and Bec and Billy asking incessant questions from the Fun and Splash lane next door. Bec asked if she could swim in my lane at one point and I said no, it's only for serious swimmers. She then matched me stroke for stroke in the fun and splash lane adjacent to mine for 1 length which pissed me off.

More of the same

Ride in in a good time but my garmin stopped tracking after it got too full of info. Swim at lunchtime in 24:33 - first 10 lengths crawl then alternating. Surprised it was a minute slower than yesterday but must have slowed when I tired on the later crawl lengths.

Improving

Saw Carl this morning (session 8) and did a load of stretches and core work. No doubt my stomach will be screaming in 2 days time like last time.

Rode to work in 39:45 and home in 42:39. Swim was 23:33 (I think my PB last year was 22:33 but determined to get under 20). Felt tired in the first half of the ride in but felt strong on the swim and ride home.

Same again

39:53 on the way in, 24:01 for the swim and 43:08 on the way home. Getting quicker for each. Feeling quite tired though which is good. If I can get under 20 mins for the swim I might even consider doing a triathlon.

Non-running Update

Saturday was 1km in Warringah Aquatic Centre. Sunday was a rest, recovering from a hangover after TB's 30th. Today I cycled in (40:50), did 1km in the Cook + Phillip (25:34, which wasn't too bad considering I got massive cramp in my right hamstring towards the end of length 15 which almost drowned me) then a ride home I'm guessing in 44 something but I forgot to start the watch. Rode with Richard which was easy on the flat bits but pushing the hills.

Heel is slowly improving. Swelling has come down a lot and little pain throughout the day. Very aware that if I did the slightest run it would flare back up again though. Continuing with the eccentric loading, nitro patches and Strassburg sock. The sock is a pain in the ass. Seems to cut of blood circulation half way through the night and wake me up.

Only 1 month to go before I see the Doc again...

Riding

In in 41:22 and home in 46:22. Only marginally quicker than my running PB. Would have been a lot quicker coming in but got lost in the Rocks following my running route which is inaccessible for bikes. Definitely harder riding home due to the hills in Mosman. Great to overtake the mountain bike riders up the hills though.

Bike

Thanks Tim and Dave for the offers of bikes, but couldn't turn down the opportunity of heading out to buy a new toy. Bought an Orbea Aneto, felt pretty light and looked pretty cool so that did it for me. Rode home tonight. Took about the same time it takes me to run home with all the stopping at lights. Got down Parriwi Rd at bit quicker though. Photo of when I reached home is above. Also added a few photos from Kangaroo Valley.

Gents, you're spot on about the head to heads. I wasn't sleeping at night.

Good luck to all those racing at Lane Cove on Saturday - expect to see Durante sub 33 and MC sub 35. Also good luck to Jamie on his sub 3 marathon attempt in Paris. Wish I could tell you what you have to do...