Self diagnosed injury and yoga

Once again with the increase in my running I have the dreaded lateral knee pain and hip pain on the right hand side. I am considering biting the bullet and going and getting a biomechanic/gait assessment done as this will impact on my preparation for my first marathon in 4 months time.

In the meantime I am going to try taping the leg as I figure that from the symptoms I have it is a case of iliotibial band syndrome. I attribute it to the increase in training miles and the fact that I probably have weak glutes/core and so am over pronating as I run to make up for the muscle imbalance. Will need to work on this in the gym. I am getting pain in the Vastus Lateralus towards the end of the long run as well. Am going to strap the knee tonight by running tape from iliac spine down to the lateral knee and see if this provides relief. Really hope it does as Thames half marathon is only a few days away.

I have also found out that I am really really inflexible so have taken up trying to do some yoga each day. Just trying the cobblers pose last night had my inner thigh so sore and my knees no where near touching the ground...not sure if this is going t0 help with running but figure more flexibility can't hurt. Will be interested to hear if any other runners have tried increasing flexibility and whether this had any benefit.

Quince, coconut and white chocolate dessert

One of my major downfalls is that I have a bad sweet tooth. Which tends to undo a lot of the good work I do in the gym. I haven't really tried to get it under control yet because I just enjoy dessert too much.

This weekend I at least gave a passing nod to being healthy by not using processed sugar (white sugar) in my latest "play" in the kitchen ( I know ...its merely a technicality).

So last night I busted out this wee creation. It was a biscuit crumble with a firm quince jelly and a coconut, vanilla and white chocolate custard served with strawberries and grated chocolate. The tartness of the quince and the creamy smoothness of the set custard really worked well together. The Quinces were just blended and had gelatine added to them and the custard was made with coconut cream instead of milk which gave it a delicious flavour. I added a little bit of gletaine to the custard as well to help it set and then just layered it over crumbled biscuits and shredded coconut witha drizzle of honey and placed in fridge.

on the downside...it means I have to smash it that little bit harder today n the gym. But this time I almost think it was wortth it

15kms of fun

Yesterday (Saturday) was a lazy lazy day where i ate bad food choices ( lots of bread) and did no exercise at all. SO I was feeling really gross today. Everyone else was going to a first birthday party and I had the choice of continuing to water blast my deck or heading out into a cloudless day and smashing out some kms.

Obviously I chose the latter and busted out a quick ( well not so quick) 15km loop. Was great to be out in the sunshine but I didn't take hydration with me so was pretty fatigued by the time i got in the door.

Ran round in 1hr 19 so it was a cruisy pace but its the longest run I have done in a while and with the Thames half marathon in 7 days it was nice to get a longer run in.

This week will be continuing to work through my gym programme for definition of upper body and doing distance running at night in prep for Thames. I have to say it again...I love summer

Summer Running and training

I love Summer. Although its not technically summer yet I am loving being able to go running at night without 3 layers and hi vis gear. Just a singlet, shorts and running shoes and out onto the roads...with the warm sun at my back. Bliss.

This week has seen me ramp up the training. I have been given a new programme at the gym and so this week I have been doing running at night and gym work outs in my lunch break from work. I love the feeling I get when I smash out a work pout during the day. Gives me energy for the afternoon. Back down today for a leg and core work out then will be hitting 10kms after work to keep up the preparation for the Marathon on 05/03/2011.

Also have a half marathon next weekend in Thames. Not feeling uber prepared for that but will be nice to go for a jog and won't be worrying too much about my time. Just using it as a good training run.

Summer running...it really is one of life's pleasures