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Showing posts from May, 2012

Kate Writes: New day

Monday was the start of my new exercise plan from my coach. It was raining, I was tired but I was going to go home and then run. Yea right! I know how bad I am at doing that, but after all I had paid the money and I needed to start. Well an angel had been watching me, as I was on the way home the text went. I stopped (as we all should do) and checked who it was from. Well it was from Mark my running buddy. I had not run with him all year, but today he asked if I was running. Yippee! I went and changed at New World, they have a good clean toilet. Got to the car park and meet up with Kevin as well. There were 5 of us and they all had coughs and said they would run slow. Well I was fit and healthy and had to breath very hard to keep up with them. It started raining, it was dark and slippery. I made it around the golf course and then ran back down the road. I could just imagine falling and splitting my arm open. It was a good first back run. 

Karen writes: Good intentions underway

Super Triathlon Diary - made the first entry in it today... it was "DAY OFF".  Not quite the most exciting start. Healthy Eating - No V today after an exercise in magnificent self control (there is spare V in the office fridge).   But there was leftover chocolate coated ginger in my office, that would have been sacrilege to throw out.  Hmmm...better day tomorrow. Shoulder - went to physio.  Have been doing exercises and it hurts.  Time for an ultrasound...excellent idea... so I left the ultrasound referral form sitting tidily at the physio reception waaaay over in Parnell on the other side of Auckland.   Clever.

Karen writes: Good intentions...Monday

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Kate has a new plan.  I'm planning too.  I have given myself a severe talking to, it is a month exactly since the Rotorua marathon, and only 13 weeks out from our next marathon.  It is time to stop treating myself like a precious wimp, and even if my arm isn't 100% yet, there is no reason why I cant take action to drop some weight, do some leg strength training, and make the running I am managing more useful. So I have purchased a diary.  This one is meant to be especially for 'triathletes'.   It has lots of little boxes to fill out and spaces to record weights and goals and achievements, and something called a 'key session' record where you do the same thing (eg, 10km run) again, just better. It is surely guaranteed to make me a better athlete!   The diary starts on Monday, I plan on keeping it beside my bed so I can reflect (good word that) on my training activities.   Tomorrow is my last long run taking the current lazy approach, and after tomorrow I am det

Kate Writes: new plan

My coach rang yesterday and we have set up a new plan. I am an organised person and i need the plan. It starts tomorrow so today is my last day of rest. Mind you I've just been for a two hour walk on west coach beach with Rach and the dogs.

Karen writes: Lovely run

It was a perfect evening for a run and I went to work early so I could come home a bit earlier especially to take advantage of the lovely weather.  I started by running alongside Maraetai beach, there were children playing on the sand, people walking and talking and enjoying the weak warmth from the sun at the end of this beautiful winter day in Auckland. I ran a bit further to where there is a picture-perfect crescent shaped bay fringed with massive palm trees.  In the distance I could see at the apex of the bay two people, both seated on chairs.  As I got closer I could hear strains of music, and see that one had a keyboard instrument of some sort, the other brass.  Their sheet music was arranged on a stand in front of them, they were facing out to sea as though they were playing to an invisible audience.  My heart lifted with pleasure at the strange sight, and with the anticipation of beautiful music. Sadly it wasn’t, but I kept running and in the next bay there was a scream

Karen writes: Crocks

Goodness, me and Kate are a pair of crocks at the moment.  I was lucky enough however to get out for a run on Sunday.  The run itself felt pretty average, in spite of it being an absolutely gorgeous morning.  I ran at first with the Te Puru runners along the Omana and Maraetai waterfront, then headed off by myself through the country towards Clevedon, marvelling at things like clumps of very early jonquils, gorgeous Autumn leaves, cold looking cyclists, and drivers feeling the need to speed past me stirring up choking clouds of lime dust from roadworks. I was in no hurry to go home though and just meandered along, eating my favourite coca cola flavoured energy gels and thinking about nothing much.  You see there was no shower at home due to urgent and unplanned renovations happening in the bathroom.  It was found on Friday that the bath was threatening to descend through the floor of its own accord, not good.  On Saturday night I had suggested that if the there wasn’t a usable

Kate Writes:lazy weekend

I had my operation on my arm last Monday so we are day 6. I did think about going out for a bike ride but I turned over in bed and the arm hurt. I think the stitches had caught. So I decided to stay at home and get that assignment done. Its a pharmacological paper at Auckland Uni. I'm hoping to get prescribing rights later in the year so all this study is good. I'm actually enjoying it. Some of it even makes sense. My hand is a bit swollen so I might have been doing too much so a rest is needed.  Roll on next week when I should be back to normal, well what ever that is!

Karen writes: Long may we run...

Official clearance for light running!  I'm happy now.   But am taking today off after the physio session, my shoulder hurts, but I can't dispute that things continue to improve. I still can afford to be a little bit nice with myself right now, when the training kicks in again properly for the next challenge I need to be fully recovered because barring injury the work wont be stopping for...oh dear...9 more long months.  What is the next challenge? Why, another marathon of course.  We have signed up for the next one at the end of August, just 15 weeks away. I was sent a useful article recently.  I have harbored the secret dream to be running and participating in events for many years to come.  Every time I go to an event, I look at the senior members of the sporting fraternity, sigh when I see how much faster they are than I am, but also their continuing success reassures me because they represent tangible evidence that being very fit is possible even into the 8th decade for s

Karen writes: Its a small country...

I injured myself.   It is the latest in a long line of injuries and grumbles sometimes impacting on (this time), or at other times caused by my sporting efforts. I have been getting treatment however, and even been doing the prescribed exercises.  Those exercises are a bit strange, I had made the assumption that exercises need to have uncomfortable weights or endless repetitions or make you sweat or feel miserable to do any good.   These exercises are strangely delicate and very focused and highlight hither-too unnoticed weaknesses. For the first 2 visits to the physiotherapist I asked "when can I run", the first visit I was told "in 10 days", and the second visit I was told "perhaps Monday".   I forgot to ask on the third visit, perhaps subconsciously not wanting to be told I couldn't run after-all.  So I ran, taking it easy, ready to stop at the first sign of trouble.  I felt ok, in fact I was more than OK.  While I ran I made every excuse under th

Kate writes :surgery

Today I have had more of my arm removed for pre melanoma. I kept my eyes closed. It feels ok,but then the local anesthetic is still working.The doctor says no swimming for 2 weeks, but did not mention running or spinning. But I will be good 1 week + 1 day off until my next spin class and I will take it slowly. After all I do not want split wounds. It seems strange saying to people that I am an endurance athlete and need to have extra stitches put in for security. Is that me I'm talking about or someone else? I'm not sure if I will ever think of myself as an athlete but what else would you call it , unless its total madness!  

Karen writes: Ah, this must be true!

Don't you just love it when you read something you badly want to believe in?   I KNEW chocolate had to be good for training.  Well, it is actually chocolate milk, but close enough. See what Ironstruck has to say about the topic.

Kate writes: Chaffing

You would have thought I would have worked this one out by now! loads of cream stops you chaffing. But I went swimming on Friday, nothing new in that, we did a lot of work with a buoy between the legs to get the hips up. nothing new. But I was a bit slow so I thought I would cheat and kick the legs a bit. Well when I got out of the water I had sore areas on the legs, I mean red raw! My coach said, full of sympathy , you wont do that again. No I will not next time band on no movement at all!  

Karen writes: Last weeks news

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Last weekend's injury drama is starting to look like just that, last weeks news.  Saw the physio again today, the arm is a bit weak, but the range of motion is almost back to normal, and that horrible pain is pretty much gone, raising the questions as to what on earth it was in the first place?  It was most likely to have been some sort of rotator cuff damage, but to recover so quickly from being so debilitated...strange. It is possible that the 40-odd thousand arm swings from the marathon a week before, and the 12km run the morning of the injury might have made the muscles a bit vulnerable.  I was also told I have some over-development of arm and shoulder muscles at the front, and need to build up the strength at the back to balance things out.  Such an imbalance is apparently easy to get and makes you more at risk of injury.  So obviously I keep learning, keep making mistakes...and it looks like will continue to do so. But what a relief.  I had visions of months of recovery,

Kate writes: back to normal

I'm sorry that Karen's suffering with her shoulder. Its a relief to me that my injury has gone. I have a normal week and went to spin last night. I could get my heart rate up to 90% I was very impressed. I will get another spin in and a swim this week and then its 2 weeks off with my arm. Probably not a bad thing, rest is good.

Karen writes: Optimism

I think sometimes one of the most important things about treatment of injury can be instilling a sense of hope, or optimism that things will get better.  Obviously there could theoretically be a point where optimism is unreasonable, or perhaps even professionally irresponsible, but today, on my first visit to the physio, when I was secretly convincing myself that my Ironman hopes were escaping...surely coming out with a renewed sense of optimism is a pretty precious thing. I went to Kate's physio.  It involved a trip into Parnell, not an easy place to get to from South Auckland I have to say, but it is silly to ignore a good recommendation.  A history was taken, a check starting at head level identified firstly that my shoulder problem wasn't from my neck, but then "oh, how long haven't you been able to turn your head more than 45 degrees to the right?"  "Um...probably about 25 years" was the answer.  Some gentle pressure and I felt like I was about to

Karen writes: Sore Arm

I am paying for my crack about trying all sorts of other things before medical science, but to be fair, at that point I was talking about sports injuries which may or may not respond to things other than the standard treatments of stopping running and taking pills. Anyway, on this occasion my brush with medicine wasn't for a sports injury, but boy does it impact on my sport. Yesterday we spent the day with my brother and his whanau doing the 7yo birthday celebration thing.  On the way into town in the car I reached into the back seat to pick something up off the floor, and my right arm hurt a bit.  By the end of the day I was holding my arm close to my body, couldn't lift it or move it without using the other arm, and was in tears with the pain.   Today the sympathetic GP thought it was likely to be either (best option - recovery in months) rotator cuff tear, or (worst option - recovery in years) 'frozen shoulder'.  I came out with a prescription for voltaren, referr

Kate writes: week off

I have had a busy week with the national diabetes conference on and a couple of days at uni. But I have lost 2 nails on each foot, so they have been a little sore. No running or swimming or biking. Wherever did I find the time to do it all? Any way I am back to training this week with a couple of swims and spin I hope and a little run. Just for starters. It sounds a bit intense but I am having more surgery next week on my arm and that will stop training for a few weeks.   I have been sacked by my physio. He said if I can run a marathon with no problems my Achilles is mended. Its a shame, quite enjoyed the physio.    Once my arm is healed I will have no excuse to not train. Watch out Karen I'm after you :)

Karen writes: first run after marathon

Last night I went out for a short run, partly to check that the legs still work after last weekend's marathon efforts, but also to take a look at the promised perigee moon.  Now I don't recall hearing the word 'perigean' in common usage before, however a friend mentioned it in an email, and since then it's been bandied about on the radio, repeated in the TV news and has appeared in the newspaper. So I had high(ish) expectations as I trotted off into the chilly night, heading east, looking for that larger, brighter 'super-moon'. Sadly the moon didn't look any different from usual.   Happily however the legs worked fine, and rather unusually, I showed some sense and came home after a brisk 5km, feeling that I could have gone much further.   Tomorrow morning it's time for the Sunday catch up with the Te Puru runners.  I feel really good, and the only leftover sign from spending all those hours on the road less than a week ago is a propensity to eat ev

Karen writes: Magic

Endurance runners have to believe in magic.  Otherwise you would be terribly sensible and give up what is essentially a pretty insane sort of activity.   Many of us believe in the magic of supplements which are sure to make you feel great and perform better.  How about the magic of ritual and routine, or that of creams and lotions and potions and stretches and carbo-loading and compression and miracle fabrics.  The only magic you may try to avoid for as long as you can is that of medical science with it's nasty habit of recommending things like giving up running when something hurts, or providing frightening forms of pain relief with lists of consequences and contraindications which don't make the effort seem worth it. It is nice to always have one thing in the magic spectrum which even for a runner seems a bit 'out there', however you don't dismiss it because after all, one day it might be the only thing you have left to try before you have to finally do what the