I injured my leg, thought it was Shin Splints, but it turned out not to be and actually to be something to do with muscles around the shin (which is slightly differeny I’m told) then the leg got better after a lot of rest, then I played badminton and it started hurting again. Bugger.

Since I hurt the leg at Badminton on Thursday night I have been staying off the leg as much as possible and trying to stretch the muscles around the shin out as much as possible. It’s not sore to walk on or anything, it’s only sore now if I put pressure on the particualr point where the muscle is damaged. I was seriously tempted to go for a run anyway, but I kind of know from the last time this happened what happens then (severe pain and weeks off training) so instead, I’ve just stopped and done nothing with a view to giving it a few days to heel, not putting too much load through it and stretching and icing it until it is freed up.

On Monday I’m going to get back into the gym, still not running for another week, but doing some cross training and cycling and weights and MORE stretching of the legs. I need to organise a massage too, because the muscles are all knotted up around the injury and Orla’s mum has offred to do it. That’s not creepy right, it’s only a leg massage!!

So, 3 more days sitting on my hole doing nothing. For those keep score at home, thoes days are starting to really add up!!

My Days Are Off Are Starting To Add Up!!

Spin1038 DJ Ryan Phillips is training for the Dublin City Marathon on 25 October 2010. For the last 3 days however he has been sitting on his bum because of an injured leg! Days 123 – 125 was Friday 26th to Sunday 28th of February 2010

According to my plan, in was supposed to go for another run in Marlay Park, but all the muscles that have been causing me problems were tight and sore today, so I decided fairly early on that a run was not going to happen, nothing to do with the rain you understand!

The backup plan was to go to the Wyckham Point Gym and do some cross training and a cycle with some abs work and some weights. What I actually did was fall asleep on my bed, and no exercise. I got home late from spin (at about 3.30) and was shattered tired, fell asleep on the couch then just lost all motivation.

This is a load of bollocks, I don’t need to be told that. I’m a third of the way through my available training time and can’t even get off the couch to go to the gym. Does everyone find it this difficult or am I just a total sham of a man?? Don’t answer that, I know the answer and I will delete your comment!!

More badminton tomorrow, that’s exercise right??

Spin 1038 DJ Ryan Phillips is training for the Dublin city marathon on 25 October. Day 120 was Wednesday 24 February. It did not go well…

Indeed....

Anyway, after swimming yesterday I was scheduled to hit the cross trainer and the weights again today. My arms weren’t able for the weights, so I just did the cross trainer for half an hour. Is it just me or does anyone else find it quite difficult to keep any level of fitness up? About 3 weeks ago I was doing 40 minutes on the cross trainer and not being too bad afterwards, then I take a week of with injury and I am close to death after 30 minutes. I guess some of it depends on the day and how tired you are when you start off and all of that, but it’s still always a bit of a leap into the unknown when I get onto the gym gear as to how far or how long I wlil go before I need the conside a lie down.

Today, that was 30 minutes.

Spin1038 Radio DJ Ryan Phillips is taining for the Dublin City Marathon 2010 – Today was Marathon Training Day 92 – Wednesday 28 January 2010

I don’t really see any point in waffling on trying to fill up more space here. I’m injured and very disheartened. I could still be doing exercise that doesn’t involve my legs (like weights and situps and the like for example) but I can’t be arsed. I know that’s terrible, and not the spirit at all, but there you have it, I’m a bad person, bite me!

My diet has also gone to hell, but I’m in a place (where I’m moaning and sulking about my shins) that I can actually enjoy it at the moment. So I’m stuffing myself relvatively guilt free, though of course I know that this is fairly short sighted of me!

If you’re looking for whover ate all the pies, it was me…..or this bloke

When they do a statue of me, it will look like this!!

I got a bit depressed about the whole thing today. It’s a horrible helpless feeling to be sitting on your hole and waiting to be able to start training again, especially when, like me, you’re only at the very start of training to begin with. I mean, the most of run is 4 miles and already I’m out with an injury. The guy in amphibian king did warn me that this was likely to happen at the start if I went at it too hard, but I hardly think that 3 and 4 mile jogs is too hard? Or at least I didn’t think it was, but I’ve a bad case of shin splints that beg to differ.

I’m due to go for another run tomorrow, but I don’t think that’s going to work out. I may try a bit of cross training or cycling depending on how the legs are and what my physio friends say is the best thing to do. If I don’t do that, I’ll still go to the gym to do some weights or something, because I need to do bloody something!

I accidentally cut off the top of my head in the video and I’ve noticed that it’s not in youtube as widescreen so the caption is off the screen, it was a bad day overall

Ryan Phillips training blog for the Dublin City Marathon 2010 – Day 86 – 20 February 2010

I suspect that anyone any way sporty or fit would read this blog and think “Oh shut up and do some proper exercise, 3 miles is nothing”, and I can relate to that. When I was fit, that’s what I would think. But now, the reality is that I am fit enough to run further, but my body isn’t. And if I push it, like I have in the past, then I’ll end up injuring either my knee or my ankle or both, which will put my out of action for a few weeks.

But the ankle definitely needs some more help. I turned to the obvious person (no, not either of my physio friends), google, for some advice. I found an article on www.about.com which gave some exercises for strenthening the ankle and recommended a wobble board to build up strenght and motor responses and stuff, so off to ebay I went….

The reality is that despite what the training guide said, I had decided to go an do 30 minutes on the cross trainer, some weights and the whole 8 minute abs thing. Then I got in a bad mood and couldn’t face it so I ate a tin full of biscuits instead, hurrah!

With the benefit of hindsight (20×20 vision as it is) I am glad that my bad mood got the better of me, because during training on day 78 my ankle was very sore, but I’ll leave that until day 78′s entry I guess…

It’s a funny thing this training. All through my life, from school to college I was what my dad sometimes calls “a last minute merchant” where every project and college work I’ve ever had was always handed in on the last day. And so with the Marathon so far away, I haven’t got that sense of urgency I work best with. I still subconsciously (and sometimes a bit consciously too) think that I can just train harder next month or whatever and still get up to pace and fitness in time. It’s as much a psychological thing as anything else this running and marathon training. And I’m rubbish at these psychological games, which is awful news!

If it's good enough for Ferris....

According to the plan, you shouldn’t run two days in a row. That makes sense. What I’m a little bit unsure about is whether I should do some other form of exercise on the days I’m not running, like cycling or cross training or swimming, or perhaps weights? Thoughts or suggestions welcome?

Anyway, today was a real test, because I had to do a 4 mile run, and because of the snow and ice and what not, I decided to do it on the threadmill (which I’m trying to avoid because it’s not good for my knees and ankles). I was a bit worried, because I’ve skipped the first two training programmes on the website (total beginner and 5km run) and I dont want to start off too hard and injure myself. Also, I wasn’t entirely sure whether I’d last 4 miles. Thankfully I did, relatively easily, but running off what I would like to be my marathon pace. I’m aiming for a pace of 12km/ph (the threadmills are in kilometers in the gym) which would mean a time of 3.5 hours. I ran the 4 miles today at 10 km/ph (a marathon time of 4 hours 12 mins if run consistently).

So I need to pick the pace up a good bit, but I was still happy to have at least gotten the ball rolling and be back in the gym and back on some sort of a proper schedule. Unfortunately, I could feel my left ankle complaining a little bit having gotten off the threadmill. That’s disappointing having gone to the effort and expense of specifically buying proper training shoes to try and prevent injury. Still, I was on a threadmill instead of grass where I’m supposed to be, and I probably have started training a bit harder than I’m supposed to.

All in all, I did about 1/6th of a marathon in not appalling pace, and there’s 286 days left to train, so I’m actually reasonably happy!

That was more or less the story of day 30 of Marathon training. Everything was a bit sore and I was conscious that I had a badminton match to play on Thursday so I decided to go wasy easy on the training. In actualy fact, I managed to do pretty much a full session, 20 minutes on the cross trainer (which I might add is 20 minutes of properly going for it, I also do 2 minutes warm up and warm down….in case you were doubting my awsomeness….) and 15 minutes on the bike (likewise).

That’s more than I thought I’d get done today. Result.

Nice Boobs....not me, obviously

Blood, sweat and tears

You probably (a) can’t make out what’s in that photo, and (b) once I tell you will wish you hadn’t found out. That is a little baby puddle of sweat. I know this principally because it’s mine and because I was watching it grow as I cycled my now customary 7km cycle on the sitty down bike thingy. Incidentally, that proper name for a sitty down bike thingy is actually a “recumbant exercise bike”.

I know it’s gross, and I know everyone will say (and many will mean) that they REALLY don’t want to see pictures of my sweat, but nonetheless, I present it as evidence to you, dear reader, that despite having bad days where I binge on junkfood (see Marathon Training – Day 28), when I get my act together, I really do work hard in the gym. Today, I needed to work off a fair few extra calories put on yesterday, so I peddled and strode my little socks off and managed to dump 500 odd calories and a few pints of sweat.

Thankfully, I was in the gym on my own, as for the first time in a long time I had to do some weights. The Wyckham Point Gym has some machines and things so I eyed them all up suspiciously and gave many ago, in the process exercising some muscles that have been dormant for quite some time. It’s embarassing how weak my arms are, it really is. I’ve always said I was built like a kangaroo (big feet, powerful legs, weedy little arms), but even by my own standards, I was embarassed. It’s going to be a long old road before I’m attending any Gun Shows, let’s put it that way. That was only 7 hours ago now, and already absolutely everything hurts. I’d imagine the pain tomorrow is going to be un-ruddy-bearable! If I didn’t think it would push my man credentials over the edge of the cliff they are currently hanging on to, I’d seriously consider a long soak in a bubble bath!!

Tomorrow is a swimming a cross training day (hopefully) and then there’s a badminton match on Thursday to look forward to.

Day 29 – Done