Robert Pradys Running blog

been on holiday for a couple of weeks. Zante and aback to the homeland (Kernow) Blody hot in Greece and bloody cold in Cornwall. I'm back running altough slowly! I'm going to build up the base a bit. My ribs are better but a little sore in the mornings. Running doesn't seem to make them worse. I ran a bit in Greece, but nothing worth posting, I have run in Cornwall but again not worth logging really, just half hours or so every day. My next post will be 1/8/05 where I'm going to start a winter build up, as this seasons pretty much over.

Ran dead slow kept HR below 150. Ribs fealt ok probably going to run 3-4 miles today at the same pace, if I build up again slowly I'm much less likely to encounter problems I think.

Did you know the people in the 'middle ages' did not think the world was flat, it was a lie made up by a 19 century Italian historian.

The anti-inflammation are working a treat, Going to go for a gentle one today and see how it feels. The cough has all but cleared up, it's just a pain in the arse a night but not as frequently as it was. My rib pain is 5% of what it was; still tender on a very deep breath, but should be ok to run without making it worse. The Gp I went to se yesterday (as advised) gave me the strangest look when I said i'd been diagnosed with plurisy but that my chest x-ray and breathing where completly normal. He went on to say It's more likely a rib strain, and the cough at night is likely hayfeaver.??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I ran the 5k (sort of) After the race my ribs hurt so much, I went up to A+E assuming I must have cracked a rib... No, not me i've got ....Pleurisy, not a medieval disease associated with lepers but an inflammation of the lining of the lung caused by anything from a virus to lung Cancer. My chest x-ray was normal, I have had anti-biotics, so by process of elimination it must be viral. The doctor (who pronounced my surname correctly, PRAY-D) prescribed strong anti-inflammation tablets and said to see my gp if it didn't get better in the next 4/5 days. The good news is that I should be running much faster after this, because it reduces lung capacity and 02 uptake. Oh and for those of you who are laughing at my affliction, enjoy it because laughing hurts alot.

Done some research, found this:

% VO2MAX---------%MAX PULSE------ACTUAL PULSE
35 (jog)-----------------55------------106
50 (easy)---------------60------------116
60 (steady)-------------73------------141
70 (slow marathon pace)80------------155
80 (fast MP)------------88------------170
(Aprox lactate threshold)
90 (10k)----------------93------------180
95 (5k)-----------------98------------190
100 (3k)---------------100-----------194

Points to note i)There is no point using a heart monitor during a race you will be up by 10+bpm due to adrenalin.

"It is the boarders of pain and suffering that men are separated from the boys"-Emil Zatopek

Running at Tilsey park tommorow, 5k. Under instruction to take it 'easy' for the first 2k and then to run strong and aggressive. Suits me down to the ground, I'm not going to wear a watch and just worry about running the race feeling that i had a bit left, almost to feel as if I want a few more laps to run. Cough is finally on the mend, but my bloody ribs hurt like someone stamped on them. Mr.T is of for his job interview with the boys("and girls") in blue today, "why do you keep going on about women stan"?Good luck mr.t -some of you will get the comedy.

Short warm up and down due to work. plus 20min at tempo pace 165bpm. Good run but chest is very phlegmy still!!
Race on Saturday 5k again. Hopefully I should be in reasonable nick (chest permitting) I've got no niggles atall Running against reading ac which could prove energetic. I ran in the Adiddas flats today, very good loads of traction in the wet, they are light yet feel like trainers, In other words my Achilles feel fine. I think they will make a very good half marathon shoe. And realistically are more suited to 10ks for me than the New balance are.

"I'm going out a winner, even if I have to find a high school to race my last"-Jon Grey

Addidas racers designed for the Athens Marathon, bought them very cheap £15!! They have a slightly raised heel compared to most racers, so they feel more like trainers which should suit my Achilles on the longer races. They compare in weight to my Ekidens but have lots of ventilation in both the sole and the tongue of the shoe.I'm quite interested in Heart rate training now, I've looked up various methods to test you true max. The 220-age can be wrong by up to 20bpm. A better formula is 218-(agex0.7). But the general consensusss(?) is that your max will be hit during either 2x400m flat out with 20sec recovery; or 2x1min up hill. In my opinion theses are essentially the same session. I'm going to talk to the coaches and find out wether they want me to test my max or stick to the formula i'm using.The run tommorow is a tempo, but this time its at 165bpm average. The run should go something like this tommorow. 20 min warm up(140) 20min(165) 20min(140). Planning to go to Dinton pastures to run if It's nice weather. May run with Gorrila if he get in touch.

Question for all readers that will puzzle great minds for years to come.
Is it a great feeling to have won the Olympics for 2012 or are we as a nation euphoric just because we beat the frogs?

Also you may be aware I by nature am a bit of a pessimistt, don't get me wrong the Olympics in London Could be the best ever. But can you foreseee the homeless people being put up in hotels for a couple of weeks like they where in Sydney, without the Mail and Sun type readers having an eppy fit? Also driving on the M25 could be even more fun than usual for the next six years. Still I think long term (maybe the government will now) To sort the traffic out its a great thing.

1hr at an average of 154bpm, strong wind. I was wrong about it being 7min miles it's closer to 6:40s.Getting used to running at that rhythem, could almost do it without monitor. My chest was very phlegmy today,I've had this for three weeks now, by all accounts a cough can follow a 'viral infection' for up to a month.

Interesting that I'm feeling better last night and this morning, pollen counts have droped down to moderate, looks like they are back up tommorow thou. :(

Warm up 5x800m 4min recovery. 2:33,31,33,33,35+ 15min cool down. Ran the warm up/down in the frees and the reps in my new balance. Not a bad run considering how windy the track was down the back strait, I put in the same sort of effort as last time but anything faster than 75sec laps was murder(?). Slept ok last night I think my cough may be on the way out at last. Chest was a little tight on the runs so I'm going to try some anti-histamines today and see if they make a difference. Very pleased with yesterdays run I averaged around 154, still a little to high but the run had a few gradiants where my pulse went up to 160+ before I could react to it(therefore bringing the average up). 155 works out at about 7min miles, which is considerably faster than it feels (it feels like 830s).The good thing is you don't get tired, feels like I could run forever at that pace. If I can shift the cough I think I can start getting somewhere.

Going to try and keep heart rate right down today, following advice from Martin. My aim is to not go above 155bpm atall. Going to run the loop from Craigs house plus prospect park. Cough is still about, feeling it in my throat and ears (my throat is kinda itchy(?). If these anti-biotics don't do anything I'll ask the gp if I should try some anti-histamines. Obviousy not a good idea for anything other than hay fever, so good idea to get it confirmed first.

Just looked up my heart rate values and re-adjusted them based on current resting heart rate and my ever increasing age (ie I've deducted 1 beat from max)The method below is slightly more accurate than just working out percentages of your maximum.

Rest 43bpm
Max 194bpm
Working heart rate =151 (194-43)
To get percentages eg 70%- 151 x0.7 =105.7 +43 =148.7bpm
-as a percentage of maximum 194 x0.7 =135.7bpm-(considerably lower)
60%-135bpm
70%-150bpm
80%-165bpm (aprox threshold pace)
85%-172bpm
90%-180bpm

Slow run using HRM, trying to stay below 165. Cough finaly starting to clear up (I hope)Ran from home in random loups, fairly flat 1hr20. Total for the week about 47miles, not to bad considering. Must get up to a consistant 60-65mpw.

"Stadiums are for spectators, we have nature, thats much better"-Juha'the cruel'Vaatainen

800m Warmup in Nike Free's
4 x 1k, 2 minutes recovery, in NB 150's
[3:19, 3:17, 3:15, 3:14]
Looks like I was dying a death compared to the last session of 4x1k, but my hamstrings where shot due to being a bit keen on the 'good mornings', so shot in fact that my glutes hurt this morning (Sunday) they must have been assisting my hamstrings big time yesterday. This alone made me feel like I had no bounce in my legs. Glad I got faster through the session, and I was being cautious because of my chest, which incidentally wasn't to bad last night.

"Men, today we die a little"-Emil Zatopek

Bloody hell, This is getting to be a pain in the ass now. Spend most of the day feeling ok,lungs clear within an hour of going to bed i'm coughing for England, and i'm waking up unable to speak (the wife is pleased) because my vocal chords are all stuck together (nice) Tha anti-biotics don't apear to be doing much, so it must be some sort of hay feaver? Especialy as the doc said my lungs sound fine and ive had it for the best part of three weeks now.

Easy run from Craigs using HRM again. Kept well below 160bpm for most of the run, going up to 168 on the most severe of the hills (my pulse was roughly the same as Craigs which suggests that the cough is nothing sinister).Martin e-mailed me about weight training and suggested a exercise called Turkish get-ups? Not one I've come across before, so I looked them up on the net; let just say they are considerably harder than they look. Many thanks for the tip Martin. Planning to go to the track tomorrow after work to run 4x1k (2min rec). I'm not going to worry to much about the times cause I want my chest to hold out for the session. I've e-mailed Martin to get his thoughts on having Brighton 10k as my main target race for the year. Looking forward to wiping Craig from the Reading road runners archives (Hes been there long enough. :¬}