Recovery frustrations

Another week in and my hamstring still isn't right.

I went to see John Barton the Physio on Saturday. I haven't torn anything but I need to take it easy and gradually build back up over the next 10 days to full volume again.

I managed to get a 5k in on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I did the boxing day relay run, which was a mistake.  I should never have started but I didn't want to let my team down.  I pulled up after 2k with a very sharp pain and walked back in.  I managed to jog the final kilometre.

I managed another 5k this morning to make it up to a 20k week.

Rather than leave this as a dull blog entry, I will tell you how I got into walking.

We used to stay in Wales as a family, same farm each year, family friends.  When I was 10, my Dad announced he was doing a mammoth walk the following day to raise money for the local church roof.  I asked to go along but was told I was too young.

My Mum persuaded them to let me go on the first leg, which was three miles.  The walk was 32 miles right around the Gower starting in Swansea.  There were about 40 people who started out, plus a keen as mustard 10 year old.  There were support cars set up every few miles to bail people out or to give refreshments / socks etc.

After we got to three miles, they suggested I get in the car with my Mum.  I refused.  I wanted to go to the next support stop.  This kept happening all day and I made it to the finish along with only three of the other starters.

I was then greedy for walking!  In my head it was my "thing".  I used to go for long walks with my Dad, we did the Millennium way in all directions, bagged all the hills in on Island, then did the lakes and bagged loads of them and then Scotland and bagged loads of them too.

I lived in Douglas near the (now) NSC.  I often saw Murray and others training down there when I was about 12 years old (1982).  I'd park my bike and try to keep up with them, managing about 100 yards.  Looking back, they probably thought I was taking the p1$$.

Then we did race-walking at school (1984).  They made the whole class do 3k.  In my head it was still my 'thing'. I tried to copy the style of Murry and the other guys training down the NSC and absolutely blasted it.  Lap after lap I flew round.  I managed to do 17:02.  The games teacher was pretty impressed and took me down to Graham Young's house (two times Parish Walk winner and Commonwealth walker).  Graham took a look at me walking and agreed to be my coach and get me ready for the English Schools trials.  I would go there every day straight after school religiously for several years.

I got quite quick.  I can't remember my old PBs any more, but I do have a few newspaper clippings from when I was 15.

Round 6 1985/86 winter league at the Hawthorne Pub.

There are a few names in there that some may recognise. Including the Chief Judge at the 2012 London Olympics!

Round 5 1885/86 winter league at Ballakermeen.

Few more in this one including at least two Parish Walk winners and many more well known finishers.

Peel to Douglas Walk 1986.

Last piece of memorabilia for today.  The 1986 Peel to Douglas walk when I was 16 years old.

That is how it all began for me.  I left the Island in 1989 to go to university and I stopped walking.  We came back a few years ago when Jessica was school age.  

So I decided to take it back up again, and here we are...

Recovery from Injury

Not a lot to report this week.  I have been resting my hamstring entirely.  I wanted to give it a full week before I tried any real training on it.

I went out this afternoon, a full week after I picked up the injury.  I went at a very easy pace and let it warm up slowly.  After 2.5k it felt fine, no niggles so I decided to push on and see if I could manage my 8.5k loop.  My Mum lives at about 6k in so I knew I could bail out there if it flared up.

Made it back to the house with only a tiny hint that I had picked up an injury at all.

I am positive I will start to get some mileage in again in the Christmas week.

So my full weeks training in one session, easy to report.

8.5km avg pace 6:17

The best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray

The Scottish bard was quite right.  My last two weeks have sent me a series of unexpected challenges which torpedoes my training plans.  My advice is expect the unexpected.

The trick is to try and stay positive, no point in letting your head drop.  It is still 2013 and there is plenty of time to get things right. 

After my last post I got a bout of man flu.  I recovered slightly at the end of the week and raced 10k in St Johns in the Up and Running Winter League.  It is a tough little course and the wind picked up which made it harder.  I managed to get a time of 52:50 which was far from the sub 51 that I was hoping for.

Still, I did manage to clock up a weekly total of 55kilometres.

Then I was sent to London with work and spend four days off the Island. So I missed three of my planned days training, including speed work at the track in Leeds. (more on that in a later post)

I knew I would make up for all of the as I had a 3 hour 30k planned today.  I arranged to meet Steve and Tom Partington, Marie Jackson, Adam and Alex, Dale, Alan and Michelle.  The plan was to do a group 20k which usually end up speeding up and becoming (ever so) slightly competitive in the final 5k. 

As I was doing 30k I got there an hour early to get a 10k in while they slept.  I felt my left hamstring going tight at about 3k but it didn't seem to get worse.

After the 10k I met the others and we set off as a group.  After 2k I was reminded of my hamstring again.  Then within 20 seconds it got sore quickly, a sharp stabbing pain.  I though I must have a small tear and I was forced to pull up and walk back to my car.

So, not good.  Man Flu, trip away and then a hamstring pull.  The formula for muscle strain is RICE,  (R)est, (I)ce, (C)ompression, (E)levation.  So I need to put my feed up and watch TV with a bag of peas and a compression sock for the day.  Worse things have happened.

Weekly total this week was a mere 24k.  Lowest volume for me since April.

The trick is to forget that and think positive about next week, I will be rested, recovered and itching to get out there.

Entered

It is December 1st.  Entries opened today.  I have officially entered the 2014 Parish Walk.

I will try and give a weekly training log to show you what I am up to.  Will give you the type of session, distance and average pace - all in Kilometres.  I strongly urge everyone to work in kilometres and not miles as the maths is SO much easier:

5:00/km is a 50 minute 10km
5:30/km is a 55 minute 10km
6:00/km is a 60 minute 10km
6:30/km is a 65 minute 10km

Not a brilliant weeks training, was tired from the Syd Quirk Half Marathon last weekend so it didn't quite go to plan.

• Monday: 8km recovery with Michelle Turner 6:08/km
• Tuesday: 7.1km Tempo Intervals on the track in Leeds with Tom Bosworth, Quentin Rew, Ellie Dooley, Jasmine Nichols and Alana Barber.
• Wednesday: 13km around Leeds with Alana.  Felt tired still 6:15/km
• Saturday: 10km - 3x3km with 5min recoveries - speed endurance session with Michelle 5:22/km
• Sunday: 21.2km (half marathon) with Michelle, Alex Eaton, Adam Cowin & Dale Farquhar.  Good pace. 5:49/km

Weekly total 59.4km

Who? Why? What?

My name is Richard Wild.  I'm 43 and originally from Kirk Michael and now living in Bride.

I was a racewalker as a junior, here are some old newspaper clippings from 1986 when I was 15 years old.  The photo was at the NSC, the start of the Parish Walk, where it all began.

I had a go at the Parish Walk in 2008, the year it rained terribly.  I hadn't race walked for 20 odd years.  I was rather overweight, did very little training and walked very slowly indeed to Andreas which was just too close to home so I stopped in time for last orders.

I took up race walking again in 2011 and have slowly improved and lost the weight.  I feel I am now fairly competitive and enjoy racing in the UK over 10 and 20 kilometres.  I am lucky to work in Leeds and so I get to train at the UK National Racewalking Centre in Leeds on Tuesdays with some world class walkers.  This has helped me improve my speed and technique.

I have decided it is time to test my mettle and join the ranks of the Ultra Distance walkers that are bred on the Island.

My goal, therefore, is to try and race competitively in the 2015 Parish Walk.  I know I have a lot to learn and quite a journey ahead.  Part of the journey is learning about the Parish.  This is why I am going to go part of the way as fast as I can in 2014.

This blog is all about the first part of that journey, Parish 2014.

I will share that with you as it unfolds.