Diagnosis: Plantar Fasciitis

It would appear that my running has resulted in the degeneration of the collagen fibres close to the attachment to the calcaneus (heel bone).  Apparently this is a common condition for runners, especially those of us who overpronate.

The problem is that if I continue to run on my painful foot I will aggravate the injury and increase the inflammation.

  I've had a sports massage to reduce the tension in the plantar fascia and also to stretch the calf muscles and I've been advised to apply ice to help reduce the pain and inflammation. I've also been given a range of Plantar Fasciitis exercises to do to help treat the problem.  The main issue is that I'm unlikely to be able to run on it for a while, as even  walking or standing on the foot can apparently stop the inflamed tissue from healing. However on a positive note I can still do some gentle cycling and swimming too.  Hopefully such cross training will keep me ticking over and my foot will recover in time for the Marathon. I guess only time will tell, in the meantime I'm going to put a can of soup in the freezer....

My Highest and Lowest Couple of Weeks

Pic by Sandy Ferguson

Cup Heroes – Highs and Lows

It’s been a strange and indeed unique couple of weeks with Killie beating Celtic at Hampden to win the League Cup and the ecstasy then turning to sadness as the news broke of Kilmarnock’s Liam Kelly’s father Jack having a fatal heart attack at the end of the game.

Having run 20 miles on the morning I was too tired to go to Hampden and I must admit that my last two League Cup Finals were not happy occasions as first Celtic and then Hibs demolished the ‘stars in stripes’.  

I managed the 20miles and stuck to my training schedule pace of 9min/miles though my left leg did most of the work, as first the pain on my right abductor muscle and then the sole of my foot took their toll.  With Monday an official rest day, it was Tuesday before I tested my legs again but with the pain in my foot I opted for the softer treadmill option to do my interval session. 

£100 Trainers

Although I had recently invested in my Asics 2360s, it appeared that my right foot, in particular, was not getting enough support.  A lunchtime trip to Run4It and after expert analysis of my running style, I left almost £100 lighter with a pair of shiny, new, Asics 2170s.  Well I would have if I hadn’t got my 10% discount, which reduced the price from £99 to a still hefty £89:10.

However I left my new trainers at work and on Wednesday I gave my Asics 2360s another chance as I ran my 9mile run.  The pain in my legs and foot was too sore to run on Thursday and, as Friday was a rest day, it was Saturday before I gave my new 2170s an outing.  Nothing too serious though, a 4mile easy run @9min/mile pace. 

100^th Strathclyde parkrun

Of course, I combined this with the 100^th Strathclyde parkrun and it was great to see some old friends there, including Tom and Marie McChord; Clare Purdie, loads  of Motherwell AC runners and young Amy Friel, who I provided some encouragement too in the latter part of her maiden parkrun.  She was delighted to finish in a time of 27:51.  Another delighted runner was Jammy Jo Smith who, wearing his Kilmarnock FC 125^th anniversary vest, recorded a course PB of 20:50.  John and the rest of the team at Strathclyde had further cause for celebrations when the barcodes revealed that the event had attracted a new record of some 183 runners crossing the finishing line.

Full results

 Perfect Day at Rugby Park

In the afternoon it was my turn to wear my Kilmarnock FC 125^th anniversary vest as I made my way to Rugby Park for the first time in years.  I wanted to show my gratitude to the team for their great performance at Hampden and the impeccable way that the club had conducted itself through a difficult week.  Motherwell FC were the opposition and their large travelling support showed tremendous dignity and were a credit to their Club and Scottish Football as a whole.  A decent game of football; gorgeous weather; a fine result and an emotional post game parade of the League Cup would have added up to a great day but add a Killie Pie and meeting some old friends and it adds up to an almost perfect day.

Worst Day in Pollok Park

A quiet night in on Saturday, albeit an hour shorter than normal, and I was ready for my long run in Sunday.  With the Dirty Duo kicking off at Ibrox at 1pm, I was keen to ensure that my training was completed as soon as possible.  Porridge and pre-run fuel taken and body and feet covered in Vaseline, I made my way to Pollok Park in what was probably the hottest morning of the year.  I was perspiring after my 1mile jog warm up!  A quick wipe down, I refuelled and set off for a mock Half Marathon with a target of 8min/miles.  Running around Bellahouston and Pollok Parks, I refuelled every 5k and was feeling strong but by the time I reached the 9mile mark my right leg and foot were hurting badly.  My pace dropped as the pain increased and by the time I reached 12miles the pain was excruciating.  Perhaps foolishly, I hobbled on until I completed my 13.1miles and then almost in tears I limped the 0.7miles back to my car. 

Woe

A cold bath, hot food and a sleep were to follow.  A search on the Internet now has me thinking that the pain in my foot isn’t due to the lack of support from my trainers but possibly a navicular sprain*. Whatever the problem is, the confidence gained by last week’s 20mile run had been replaced with a major question mark over the ability of my leg and foot to survive a marathon and there’s less than 4 weeks to go!

Century Ian

Thanks to William 'Bellahouston Harrier' 

Well Plan B didn't last long. On my first night of my new training schedule, I jogged the mile along to Maxwell Park and then as soon as I increased my pace to start my intervals I felt the strain on my abductor and hamstring muscles. I hobbled home and took an enforced break from running.  The good news was that I refreshed my training by doing some cycling and resorting to working on my upper body and abs during the next week.

This meant that I had to postpone my 100th parkrun and had to pull out of the Inverness Half.  I managed a 5.5mile run on Thursday though and, with no real adverse affects, decided to run my 100th parkrun on Saturday 10th March.

The wonders of the Internet, social networking and good old-fashioned word of mouth, meant that when I arrived at Pollok Park, I was greeted with one good wish after the other. The acknowledgements continued as I did my warm up and by the time we lined up at the start of my 100th parkrun I was on a real high.  However I was wary of my leg and I didn't want to damage it again.  I recalled the old running adage: "Don't start like an idiot and don't finish like a wimp."

At 9:30am I set off with another 365 runners, spooky with this being a leap year.  I ignored my fellow runners who darted off, whilst I tried to restrain my pace.  Despite the large turnout, including some who had came along especially to join me in my centennial canter, some regulars were missing with: holidays, the Inverness Half and the local Jack Crawford 10k all attracting Glasgow parkrunners.

Martin Myant gave me a friendly pack on the back as he overtook me and marshalls and supporters smiled, waved and provided words of support and recognition of my century of runs.

In the race itself, I was a bit surprised to catch Martin up as he is one of the most consistent runners at the event.  He did reappear on my shoulder a bit later but he didn't have quite enough to overtake me as I stuck to my task of having a respectable, if not spectacular race.   I increased the pace a little in the final third of the 5k event and continued to make my way through the field.  I passed in-form Graeme Pert on his way to another PB.  With a kilometre to go, I felt my hamstring straining and, for a second, I thought about pulling over and walking for a bit.  "Don't finish like a wimp" I reminded myself and stuck to my task.  I finished strongly but resisted the temptation to go hell for leather on the last 200m.  I didn't want to do anymore damage to my leg and I crossed the line in 66th place with a time of 21:56.  I was happy enough with that, my fastest time at Glasgow since November 2011 and almost half a minute faster than my last outing two weeks ago.  I shared congratulations with those around me and others in the queue as they waited to hand in their barcodes.

This was my 86th Glasgow parkrun and I've run it in sunshine and in snow, in hail and in rain.  I've run at least six different routes in Glasgow and I've finished as high as 14th and with a fastest time of 20:50.  I've run it at the end of long run training sessions and I've run it in support of others, encouraging them on their way round.  Competitively, I've had some good tussles over the time, not least of all racing against my cousin Kenny Rae on his sole outing.

I've also completed 10 Strathclyde parkruns, on two slightly different routes, in my century of parkruns, placing as high as 12th, with a best time of 20:29.  I had the pleasure of acting as a pacer at one of the Strathclyde races, helping fellow runners to complete the course in around 21 minutes.  I've had three outings at the Edinburgh parkrun, on three, slightly different Cramond courses. My best Edinburgh place being 30th but my best time there was a PB of 20:19.  My single sojorn to Falkirk, saw me placing 44th in the inaugural event, with a time of 23:15, as I commemorated my 100th 5k race by tackling Callendar Park's now infamous Heartbreak Hill.
 
I've made a lot of friends as I've run my 500km through Scotland's parks, some of them were kind enough to help me celebrate my century of canters by joining me in the Burrell Cafe for some cake, chocolates and coffee to mark the occasion after Saturday's events.  Thanks to all of you for making each one of the hundred 5k races so special. 


Reagan's First
One special runner at the Glasgow parkrun on Saturday was Reagan Maliska who was tackling his first 5k to raise funds for The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, who had cared for his Grandfather Jack during the last few weeks of his life, which sadly ended in December 2011.  The youngster has raised over £1200, so far, for the Hospice and deserves all of

our respect and admiration.  Well done Reagan!

All the nines.................and a new plan too...

It was all the nines last week as I completed my ninth week of Marathon training.  I ran my 99th parkrun and I ran my longest run, 19miles.  I should also have ran 9miles at race pace on Friday but work interfered with my training plans and I forgot to check my schedule before doing my10mile run at race pace instead.

99th parkrun

Despite the temptation to get involved in a race, I managed to discipline myself and kept my 99th parkrun pace steady throughout the undulating 5k.  It was still good for the confidence though, as a number of those around me faded in the latter part of the event, resulting in me placing 72nd out of 363 finishers, in a time of 22:24.  It would have been a good day to race, with perfect conditiions and lots of runners about my level too.  It was a successful day for Pamela Joss and Sarah Whalen, who both celebrated their 50th parkruns by achieving PBs.  Well done to both of you.  Alexander Laughlan also clocked up his 50th parkrun but no PB.

I'll be doing my 100th on Saturday and I won't be chasing a PB, that can wait for another day.  However there'll be cake and chocolates at the Burrell Cafe after the run, so please feel free to come and join me.

Full Results


Nineteen Miles

I managed my longest run, in a long, long time when I ran around Pollok and Bellahouston Parks three times on Sunday morning.  19miles in all.  I met a few running buddies on the way and enjoyed the company of my new cordless Sony Walkman too.  I've never ran with an MP3, i-pod, tape or even a stereogram but I thought it might keep my mind from wandering off into negative thoughts.  It may have worked but even with my energy drink and in good spirits, I'm afraid that there was no convincing my old legs that everything was fine and they became more tired, stiff and sore as I took on the latter miles.

My legs were still stiff and sore as I put them through a 10mile run on Monday, albeit on the treadmill, before cycling along to Embody for my, now weekly, massage.  Is there such a thing as good pain?


Nine Weeks to Go
With the previous nine weeks having taken their toll on my legs and on my enthusiasm for running, it was time to review my training schedule, which although I had been sticking to it rigidly, just wasn't working for me.

New Plan
I've therefore decided to replace it with another plan which has a rest day after the long run and which even includes the parkrun as an option on some Saturdays.  Unfortunately not this week though.  A three mile run in 27mins is the schedule and yes, of course, I'll run the parkrun instead, just even slower than usual.
Let's hope that the refreshing of my training will help me through the next few weeks and bring back some of the love that I have for the sport.  Of course you can help too by making a donation to charity in memory of my sister who died of Motor Neurone Disease.


May All Your Miles be Happy Ones!

Glasgow parkrun #161 Slideshow

Glasgow parkrun #161 Slideshow

Historic Saturday..... in more ways than one!

My VLM training schedule for last week included:

Monday: 8miles

Tuesday: 4miles

Wednesday: Track Session 6x800m @Bella Velodrome

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 3miles

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: Half Marathon @Steady State Pace

Stuart MacDougall Leads From the Front

This was the first Saturday that I’ve not run since November, although I still popped along to Pollok Park to take some photos of the local parkrun and to see Claire Couper win her third race in successive weeks in the west of Scotland, a happy hunting ground for her indeed.  Claire ran a course PB of 19:11 and placed 10^th overall.  A determined Stuart MacDougall, celebrated his 50^th parkrun by leading from the start, to win the men's race in a time of 17:57.

Winning Wave

Full Results

My Pics

 I celebrated Kilmarnock FC’s historic victory at Ibrox with a couple of glasses of wine on Saturday night and I admit that I had difficulty in finding my mojo on Sunday morning.  I eventually made my way to Pollok Park at around 11:30 and after a wee warm up I increased my pace and ran through Pollok Park anti clockwise.  I had thought about running in the Kinloss to Lossiemouth Half Marathon, where apparently a tail wind helped the runners to good times.  Instead I settled for a similar route to last week and completed a couple of extended laps around Pollok and Bellahouston Parks.  I struggled to reach my targeted pace and slowed a bit near the end but all in all my time of 1:44:45 was about right for a Steady State training schedule.  As a reward, my schedule increased my Monday run from 8 to 9miles.  A sports massage on those sore legs of mine was well overdue, it’s been years since my last one, so I cycled along to Embody for an hour of painful treatment before heading home in the dark, wet and rain.   

10 Done...10 to Go.......

I was a wee bit suprised to discover that my training schedule rewarded my 16.2 mile long run last Sunday with an 8mile run on the Monday!  I was expecting a wee 3mile recovery run!!  I did get a wee 4mile one on Tuesday though; a 30min Tempo run on Wednesday and a rest on Thursday.  Another 8mile run on Friday and I was ready for my 4mile run on Saturday.  

My 10th Strathclyde parkrun

When the gorgeous Couper Twins, Claire and Louise, told me that they were coming down to Hamilton on Saturday and would be taking in the Strathclyde parkrun I, of course, agreed to join them.  I was feeling good as I made my way to the lochside location and, after a warm up, I joined with 150 others for the free 5k.  



Claire Couper

With little if any adieu the bumper turnout were set on our way at 9:30am.  It was cold and a bit windy too but I decided to run with just my shorts and a vest on.  I settled into my pace as Claire shot off towards the front of the pack.  I was a bit surprised to find that, regular Edinburgh parkrunner, John McGlynn was on my shoulder.  I glanced at my Garmin as we reached the 1k marker to discover that we were running at 4:12min/k.  I was happy enough with thatnbut noticed that John dropped off the pace a bit, perhaps saving something for his testing 12.5k race on Sunday.  A beep of my Garmin, indicating 6:52, confused me until I remembered that I changed the laps from kilometres to miles.  The organisers had chosen to use the alternative route this week and I kept to my task until reaching the turn around point, where I increased the pace a little.  A caught a runner after a few metres but then found that there was someone pushing me on.  It took him a while but a gut in a yellow top eventually overtook me and slowly opened up a gap.  Garmin beeped to reveal a 7:08min/mile. "Not good enough" I thought and I made chase after 'yellow vest' (Iain Crawford).  I managed to catch him and was happy to sit in just behind him for a while but I noticed that he was slowing, so with about half a mile to go, I overtook him and, keeping up my pace, caught another runner (Pat Smith) before crosing the line in 29th place with an, initially dissapointing, time of 21:54.

I say dissapointing because I know that I could run faster but I was holding myself back for my planned 17mile run on Sunday.  I was hoping to get a Seasonal Best though and I did, by some 22secs.  After a warmdown back to the cafe and a quick change, I joined the Coupers and a few of the regulars for a coffee and a bacon roll, courtesy of the women's race runner.  Claire had run a new course PB of 18:23 and had placed 4th overall.  Julie Beveridge also ran a PB to place 2nd in the women's race in 20:09, with Jill Logan placing 3rd in 20:51.  In the men's race, Steven Lawley was streets ahead finishing 102 seconds in front of his nearest challenger, in a new PB of 16:32.  Anthony Edgar beat his brothers, sisters, father and almost everyone else to place second in 18:14, with Hamilton's Neil Robbins completing his 40th parkrun in a time of 18:19, to place 3rd.

Louise had placed 9th in the women's event in 23:45.

Although it was only my 10th Strathclyde parkrun, the regulars always make me feel very much at home and I always enjoy participating in the event.  The free coffee and bacon roll, was just the icing in the cake.

I'll Drink to Running





NDA @Sammies

As the hours passed away, I started to think about my regular Saturday nights out which I had missed for a few weeks now as training took precedence.  However a quick poll on Facebook showed that there was significant support for me going to the pub AND doing my long run.  I enjoyed my night at Sammies, there was a new band and a few new faces too.  A good night's sleep, a bowl of porridge and I was rteady for my long run.  With my Garmin playing up, I had sketched out a route of three figure of eights around Pollok and Bellahouston Parks, which meat that I could park at Cartha RFC and have regular access to my supply of sports drinks and jelly babies without having to carry them.   I saw Carole Spy and her friends entering Pollok Park as I parked my car.  Jimmy Irvine was doing his usual run on the grass to protect his joints as I started off along Dumbreck Road. I continued onto Haggs Road and towards Pollokshaws Road.  I met Eleanor O'Rourke running in the opposite direction. "Didn't you go to the pub then" she asked.  "I did indeed" I replied.  Although "I'm Proud to be an Ayrshire Atheist"   the Calvanist in the Scottish Psyche required me to pay for last night's sins.......

I continued along on to Pollokshaws Road, where a right turn took me into Pollok Park, along the riverside walk, past the House and Lochinch and I was soon running past my car, a couple of left turns and I was making my way along Mosspark Boulevard.  A right turn down Corkerhill Road took me onto Paisley Road West, where I headed east and then took a right back onto Dumbreck Road and back to the car for a refuel.

It was a good morning for a run. I ran the second lap anti clockwise to freshen things up a little.  The slow release carbohydrates from the porridge, boosted by the sports drink and jelly babies kept me both physically and mentally strong but there was no getting away from the fact that my legs were beginning to tire and ache.  However I kept to my task and completed my run, with a slightly faster pace than last week's.  A warmdown walk back to the car, some stretches and a recovery drink and I was on my way back home for a cold bath, a hot meal and a lie infront of the box watching the rugby.

Summary - 10 Weeks to Go

I had run my 10th Strathclyde parkrun with an SB and clocked up my 98th parkrun overall;  I had completed my 8th week of my VLM training schedule and although my legs are still sore and tired, there is still another 10weeks of training to get them ready for the big day.  Remember you can keep me motivated by sponsoring me here:

Strathclye parkrun results