Day 20: Legs are working, brain is not working

RUN: 2.6 miles

It's not the most exciting Saturday evening I've ever spent, but tonight I put in a few miles.
My legs felt the best they have for ages, so hopefully things are looking up.
I set off straight up a big hill, which was rather ambitious at this early stage. I admit I had to have a little rest halfway up.
But I used the taking of this picture as an excuse...

What a lovely place to live

Anyway, I took the photo and carried on. Halfway round my route I realised I hadn't had an update from the lady in my ear (the MapMyRun lady gives me an update every five minutes - "Time: five minutes. Distance: 0.6 miles" or whatever) so it turned out that my timer had stopped when I did. Oops. Bit of a user error.

Here's the route that went a bit wrong

Here's the proper route I did, made on MapMyRun.com

Day 19: Putting the legs to the test

RUN: 2.5 miles

My legs have been feeling good for the past few days - hardly any pain from the shin splints - so I thought I would break out of my 1-mile rut and try a longer route this lunchtime, just from home.
So off I went around the roads and paths of High Royds.
I'm not aiming for speed at the moment but I had quite a good pace for me (8.5 min/mile). It would have been even better if I wasn't faffing about trying to take a photo of all the wild rabbits in High Royds. They're quite quick... I missed them. So I took this instead. The ground is still quite boggy from all the rain.

Here's today's map and information

Day 18: No pain, and a little gain

RUN: 1.1 miles

What a difference a few days makes. My legs are feeling so much better. Although I don't want to jinx myself, so shhh.
On a late shift today, so went out in the morning and did a short one because I was a bit short on time and also aching quite a bit after yesterday's spin class. Shins felt good though - not even a single twinge.

Click for the map and info on today's run

Day 17: First spin class and a 'long' run!

RUN: 1.7 miles

Well today has been a good day. If you can count getting up at the crack of dawn to go to a cycling class as 'good'.
I went to the 7am class at the gym and apparently we got lucky and got the 'easy' instructor. Although it wasn't exactly easy, it wasn't as painful as I imagined.
So, having done that, the legs feel quite strong today and I feel like the shin splints are easing off a lot. So this evening I went for 1.7 miles! It's still not very far, but it feels good to be able to go further and not have to spend longer stretching than actually running!
Got home late and needed a quick tea before my run. So guess what...

The tea of champions!

(I do not normally eat like this, by the way)

Here's the details of today's run

Day 16: Good morning miserable weather!

RUN: 1.0 miles (again!)

This morning I went out for a run very early doors - but not early enough to fit in more than a mile, like I thought I might. It was very damp and dreary - a lovely July morning (!)
It was quite refreshing to go out nice and early, and before I was really awake I was back on the doorstep, one mile done. So dying to run further - I don't feel like I'm improving my fitness at all just doing the mile each day. But I must be patient - body knows best and all that.
Spinning class in the morning... argh!

Click here to see proof of today's same old mile route

Day 15: Back to work - running after hours

Run: 1.0 miles (again!)

Well today I went back to work after two weeks off and it was down to earth with a bump. Really busy with one thing and another, so worked 14 hours - and still needed to run! So it was a bit of a late one. I'll just say it was my first run in the dark.
So here I am, just before midnight icing my shins and writing my blog. I need to get up early tomorrow to run because I've got another busy day ahead. Then it's the dreaded spinning class at 7am on Wednesday!
I knew it would be half the challenge just to fit running into my packed schedule, so I can't complain.
It wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy.

Click for today's route details (same as past few days - might try a bit further in the morning if the shins are feeling brave)

Day 14: Two weeks in, only 27.7 miles done

RUN: 1.0 miles

I've just been on my one-mile route again, soaked in Epsom salts and iced my shins (what a palaver for a 10-minute run!) and my legs do feel rather ok. I might try go a bit further again tomorrow. I'm going to spinning (cycling) class at the gym on Wednesday to try to strenghthen my legs up a bit. It's going to be difficult... think I might die.
The weather is much better now, a big improvement on the monsoon conditions we've had lately. Although the ground is still a bit muddy and the fields still a bit waterlogged.

I was hoping to have more miles than this done by this point, but really it is sensible to gradually increase my mileage. So it's not too bad, really.

Click for map and details of this run

Day 13: Still stuck on the one-miler

RUN: 1.0 miles

Today I returned to the one-mile route. So wish I could go further. I've also invested in some full-foot 2mm Noene shock-absorbing insoles (to try instead of the heel-only ones I've been using) because I think I land more on my toes, rather than my heel. Fingers crossed still!

I've also got some tubi-grip to help give some compression to my shin splints.

Click here for map and details of today's run

Day 12: Frustrated with a few steps too far?

RUN: 1.4 miles

Today my legs felt a little bit better so I dared to run a bit further. I did 1.4 miles by just extending The one-mile route I've been sticking to recently.
Well that was a big mistake! Now they've never felt worse! I'm dying to run further. I don't want to get really far behind with my miles, but I'll just have to stick to this short distance and cross my fingers they feel better soon.
Ice and elevation it is!

Click here for a map and other information on today's run

Day 11: How to get rid of shin splints?

RUN: 1.0 miles

So today's shin splints remedy is...

Epsom salts in the bath. I got these today from the chemist. It does say they're for constipation, but I put them in my bath water for a 10-minute soak to see if it helps my legs to heal (I have read up on it, it's not just random!)
These are the things I'm doing to try heal my shin splints...
- wearing decent trainers suitable for my over-pronating feet
- warming up and stretching well before I run
- now soaking in Epsom salts when I get back an massaging my shins
- putting ice packs on my shins for 20 mins at a time
- keeping my legs elevated when I can
- running just short distances for the time being
- keeping off hard surfaces when I can
- using my Noene heel insoles
- doing fifty foot-tap exercises every so often to strengthen my shins and calves.
Now if all that doesn't help, then I despair!

Today I just ran the same one-mile route as yesterday, with a tiny add-on section. I think I'll actually be glad when I am able to run further. Never thought I'd say that. The sooner I can make it more interesting, the better.

Click here for a map and details of today's run

Day 10: A little damage limitation with Noene insoles

RUN: 1.0 miles

Today I ran my first one-miler. I just went up through Tranmere Park estate and down Thorpe Lane.
Not sure how much point there is in getting ready, doing all the stretching and going out to run just one mile, but I had to do as little as possible to help stop these shin splints getting any worse.

Today I went to the Sportsshoes.com shop in Bradford (which is sadly shutting down on July 22nd, but will still have the online shop) to get some advice on my shin splints.
I explained my problem and we settled on some 4mm Noene Shock Technology heel pad insoles.
The information on the box says they absorb shocks and vibrations to protect your back, joints and tendons - which the man in the shop said was what I need to stop my "connective tissue coming away from the tibia bone". Yeesh!

Here they are:

I tried them out today, along with my velcro-type shin support, and my legs felt so much better than yesterday. Maybe it's all psychological, watch this space...

Click here to see today's route details

Day 9: A bad day at High Royds

RUN: 3.2 miles

Technical and physical glitches today. I set off to do about four miles, just locally, but my apps and my legs weren't having it.
I started out throught the High Royds estate, but by the time I'd turned the corner towards the main old hospital building (below), the GPS voice was telling me through my earphones that I'd done two miles and the map was all zig-zaggy. Two miles would be nice, but unfortunately not true!

So I reset it from there and ran round menston - half way down Cleasby Road, across Menston Park, along the sandy paths of High Royds, past the cricket pitch and back to where it all went wrong. Then I started it again to record the run home from there properly, so I could double it.
I meant to do a longer route than I did, but sense prevailed and the aching feeling in my shins made me cut it short.
I think I'll try to do the bare minimum for a few days from tomorrow to give my 'beginners'' legs chance to sort themselves out. I've been stretching well, icing my shins and taking ibuprofen after running, but rest is the only option really. So a one-mile 'rest' it is.

Click here for the circular route
Click here for the straight run home (which I doubled as the opposite way didn't record properly)

Day 8: A circuit of St Ives, Bingley

RUN: 2.4 miles

Today I drove over to Harden to the St Ives Estate. I've walken the route around the golf course and down past Lady Blantyre's Rock and Coppice Pond, many times, but never ran it before.
It is the hilliest and hardest route I've done so far, but it was fun, actually, and it's a nice place to run. The weather wasn't all that cracking, though. A bit wet and miserable.
Here's a pic of Lady Blantyre's Rock I took as I passed - it's where Lady Blantyre, the mother-in-law of one-time owner of the estate William Busfeild Ferrand, used to sit to read her book in the 1800s, and there's a wooden sculpture of her nearby.

Click here to see the details of my route

Day 7: Rocking round the block

RUN: 1.8 miles

Just another short local run tonight to see how far 'round the block' is for me. It's 1.87 miles.
Out along Bradford Road, down Park road towards Guiseley then back along (appropriately enough) Back Lane.
I went on my own, too, so a good chance to get some tunes on my iPod to keep me going. I didn't stop once, by the way.
So at the end of my first week, I've done 16.7 miles and I'm feeling good. My shins are slightly sore, but I've been trying to take it easy on them - running on softer surfaces, and flatter where possible, and putting ice/ running cold water on them afterwards.
I'll gradually pick up my miles in the weeks to come until I reach my target of 20 miles per week.

Click here to see the map and stats for today's run

Day 6: A rainy day back in Yorkshire

RUN: 2.9 miles

I arrived home from Ibiza at about 5.30am and slept until lunchtime, but still very tired today.
Had a little nap this afternoon before my run and was woken by the sound of heavy rain on the roof.
Great.



But actually the wet weather it is preferable to the Ibiza heat (for running purposes only), so off I went.

I set off towards Menston, through High Royds, down to Menston Station and up the main road past St Mary's school and back home. Just a little 2.94-mile route for a rainy, tired day. Made it home in just under 33 minutes - a slower time than I was doing before my 'shins' rest, but a sub-half hour time is something good to aim for on this route I guess.

Turning a corner on my way through the High Royds estate, I was greeted with this... not such bad conditions after all.

In other news, I have changed my comments settings so anyone can comment on my posts (subject to my approving the message) and I've also added some photos to the Ibiza posts.

I can now use MapMyRun too, so I'll post a link to my run information on there from now on, in case anyone's interested.

Click here to see the map and stats for today's run

Day 5: Last day in Ibiza sun

RUN: 1.8 miles Well today is our last day in Ibiza and again we got up early to beat the heat. Yesterday was the hottest day of the summer so far here, so running is definitely not high on the agenda for most people. Today we set off just after 7am again and ran through Cala Llonga, up the hill to the main road. Another short one, as I´m concerned about my shins, but hillier than yesterday. The route was 1.8 miles long. I'm rounding down my distances, by the way, to the lower tenth of a mile. So 1.86 miles counts as 1.8 miles. I'm sad my holiday is over, but a bit relieved that my runs will be in a cooler climate from now on - and that I won't have to get up at the crack of dawn to run! Sky News this morning was showing torrential rain and floods in England. This could turn out to be one extreme to the other... Hasta la vista, Ibiza!

Day 4: Short run to beat the Ibiza heat

RUN: 1.7 miles

This morning we were up and out a little earlier than the past few days (only by minutes) - about 7.10am.
I decided on a fairly short, flat route to the Amante Beach Club and back - 1.74 miles.
The road there is a bit boring, but the view once you get to the clifftop above the beach and the club (posh restaurant place for weddings and things), there is a beautiful view that more than makes up for it.
So just a short one to try to give my shins a break of sorts.

Here is sweaty me and some of the lovely view...

Day 3: Lost in Ibiza

RUN: 3.1 miles

Today we decided to tackle the steep hill on the opposite side of Cala Llonga bay to where where staying (Fiesta Cala Llonga). Except we couldn't find the steps that we can see from our hotel... so we turned back and did the Day 1 route backwards. Much better - tackling the steepest hill first and then gentle downhill (mostly) for the rest of the way. 3.1 miles overall.
Here's a pic I took of the empty beach as a jogged past...

It´s been quite a bit warmer the past two mornings than on Day 1. Maybe we´ve been slightly later setting off and those few minutes make all the difference.
We've seen quite a few people running in the midday heat over the past few days. They must be mad. Any later than 7.15 and I´d be collapsing I'm sure!
Might try a shorter run tomorrow because my shins are suffering a little bit.