I couldnt eat my meal last night and didnt want to even get out of my sleeping bag. I was just curled up with stomach pain. Mark said if I didnt even try and start I would regret it, which is true. The antibiotics didnt seem to have worked but I did sleep better. I started the stage and an immediate river crossing after 200M, then about 20 more including one stretch of 500m. Big stones under fast flowing water, and it was freezing cold. Legs like lead boots with the water. After CP1 I went downhill. I got to just before the half way stage, just before a very big climb. I took my oack off in a patch of shade and realised I was too weak to attempt the climb. My energy has just been sapped. A group of about 15 came past and i explained was going back to Cp1 to retire from the race. They wished me well and left I turned around started to walk back to cp1. I stopped after 100M and thought that I mjust try and make it to CP2 to retire. I walked slowly up the hill, feeling awful. I got to a point where itwould have been hard to extract me so I knew i had to get myself out of trouble. I ran out of water, and had to beg 3 different competitors for more. A German girl gave me some lucazade powder to mix up, and it revived me enough to complete the climb. Then there was a long climbing ridge walk, followed by a 200M high dune descent. I got to CP2( a mile more than advertised) feeling a little better and the doc checked me out and said I was ok to continue. CP2 to CP3 I felt better, but deteriorated just before CP3. I got there and rested for about 20 mins eating two energy bars, the only food I had eaten. I knew I would not make the last 6 miles to the finish otherwise. I set off with more stomach pain and inevitably 2 more bouts diorreah. I was forced to rest under a tree for 10 mins a couple of miles from the end. The finish was muchfurther than it was supposed to be, total above 44k. I was in a pretty sorry state when I crossed the line and went straight to medical. Doc gave me the same meds as last night, but also 4 doses (1 gram) of a more powerful antibiotic. Lets see if it makes any difference. I dug as deep as I ever have to finish today. I dont have any reserves left if the sickness continues. All the enforced walking has left me with some painful blisters. The outside of my right heel has a nasty blood blister, which may be infected. The doc is looking at that in a minute. Sorry no good news todas. Starting tomorrow once more hangs in the balance. My back has chaffed and sunburned to add to my problems. Not much is going right is it. If Im still sick tomorrow I am out. It took me well over 9 hours. That is a long time in the desert. Lets see what tomorrow brings. Lots of email today, thankyou to everyone. Off to the docs now.
Races across the major deserts of the World, and the training events along the way - Richard Weremiuk
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Monday, 30 March 2009
sick
Im pretty sick. Last night there was a meal at camp but I have no idea if this was to blame, one of the docs thinks so. Quite a few people had diorreah in the night. No one coulld sleep as it was too cold either. In the morning I thought I was ok. The stage started with the hardest 1 mile of any event I have ever done. Climbing up to about 3350M, with some all fours scrambling. The altitude really hit me, but I also lacked energy. I got to CP1 in just over 2 hours. A soon as I left the CP I had got less than half a mile when I suddenly felt very sick and promptly was. Straight after I had the diorreah too. I felt so bad I didnt even think Id get to cp2. I was walking the whole way and the doc at CP2 said there was an epidemic of it. Some had it last night and were fine by the morning. It has hit me late and quite hard. They gave me some meds at CP2 and I rested for 15 mins until I felt a little better. I left for CP3 feelinga little better, even doing a little running, but on a long 3 mile climb I had diorreah again. I took more immodium and dioyalyte and got up to CP3. The doc there had been told to look out for me. I cant fault the organisation for their support to both well and sick people like me. I walked from CP3 to the finish with 2 guys from my tent. It took my a very slow 7 hours 40 mins, near the back of the field, but the fact I got to the finish surprised me. I really thought I had had it. I have eaten and rehydrarted but I still dont feel well. The doctoe has just given me a collection of pills; an antibiotic, antacid, anti nausea and something else I cant remember. I took them all anyway. If I dont improve overnight I cant even start stage 2. I ran out of water between every CP as I needed so much to get back what I was loosing. I cant do that againtomorrow. There is normally no staff between CPs, so I am on my own for the whole time between CPs, not a place to get sick and need help. I need to sleep well and get rid of this bug. Its very windy now, I hope it is warmer in the night. To be taken down by this sickness is really demoralising, not a way to start the week whatever happens. The weather is hot but I can take it,my legs felt OK after the stafe, it is just the tummy. I hope I feel better tomorrow but It isnt looking very good. My knee has caused me problems too, but it was the least of my worries. Thanks for the emails Wendy. Needless to say I found the message in my pack!
Sunday, 29 March 2009
Sick
Im pretty sick. Last night there was a meal at camp but I have no idea if this was to blame, one of the docs thinks so. Quite a few people had diorreah in the night. No one coulld sleep as it was too cold either. In the morning I thought I was ok. The stage started with the hardest 1 mile of any event I have ever done. Climbing up to about 3350M, with some all fours scrambling. The altitude really hit me, but I also lacked energy. I got to CP1 in just over 2 hours. A soon as I left the CP I had got less than half a mile when I suddenly felt very sick and promptly was. Straight after I had the diorreah too. I felt so bad I didnt even think Id get to cp2. I was walking the whole way and the doc at CP2 said there was an epidemic of it. Some had it last night and were fine by the morning. It has hit me late and quite hard. They gave me some meds at CP2 and I rested for 15 mins until I felt a little better. I left for CP3 feelinga little better, even doing a little running, but on a long 3 mile climb I had diorreah again. I took more immodium and dioyalyte and got up to CP3. The doc there had been told to look out for me. I cant fault the organisation for their support to both well and sick people like me. I walked from CP3 to the finish with 2 guys from my tent. It took my a very slow 7 hours 40 mins, near the back of the field, but the fact I got to the finish surprised me. I really thought I had had it. I have eaten and rehydrarted but I still dont feel well. The doctoe has just given me a collection of pills; an antibiotic, antacid, anti nausea and something else I cant remember. I took them all anyway. If I dont improve overnight I cant even start stage 2. I ran out of water between every CP as I needed so much to get back what I was loosing. I cant do that againtomorrow. There is normally no staff between CPs, so I am on my own for the whole time between CPs, not a place to get sick and need help. I need to sleep well and get rid of this bug. Its very windy now, I hope it is warmer in the night. To be taken down by this sickness is really demoralising, not a way to start the week whatever happens. The weather is hot but I can take it,my legs felt OK after the stafe, it is just the tummy. I hope I feel better tomorrow but It isnt looking very good. My knee has caused me problems too, but it was the least of my worries. Thanks for the emails Wendy. Needless to say I found the message in my pack!
The eve before the race
Just arrived at the startline camp at 3000M. Spectacular scenary; snow capped volcanos all around, never seen anything like it.Just walking around I really notice the lack of oxygen, and thus everything seems more difficult. My headache has gone (for now). Everyone is saying start slow because of the altitude. It would be easy to push too hard and ruin things from the start. It is already quite cold and it is only 5:30pm. Glad I bought a down jacket, as well as my helly hansen and windproof jacket. I am wearing them all now. This is in contrast to the hot daytime desert temps. My foot seems ok, but Ive not started yet of course. I should know how it will be by the end of tomorrow. First stage has been shorted to 35km, but the last stage has been lengthened to even it out. Tomorrow includes a 500M actually wading through a river, canyon sides all around I believe. So, wet feet from the start, how cruel! I am looking forward to getting started now. Lets see how I feel after stage 1! Thanks for the email already Ali and Wendy. Remember you can send me a message by going to http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing then choosing multimedia from the top, and email a competitor from the drop down menu. number 82 Richard Weremiuk.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
How to send me a message
From http://www.4deserts.com/atacamacrossing choose multimedia from the top and select email a competitor. I'm number 82 Richard Weremiuk
Friday, 27 March 2009
Arrival in Chile
After a 30 hour journey, 3 flights and a taxi. I arrived in san pedro de Atacama. 10 hours later me and my friend mark met a guide at 8am. He drove us 1 hour up to just over 5000m altitude to Toco volcano. The air was so thin just putting on our packs was hard work. From sea level to 5000m in 24 hours is not what you are supposed to do! We trekked upwards for 1.5 hours
Frequently stopping feeling light headed. My pulse over 130 only walking at snail pace. It was very cold too. We stopped at 5350m, 250m from the top, still more than an hour to climb. We both had mild headache, the first sign of altitude sickness so we took lots of photo's and decided to descend. It took us barely 15mins to descend! I'm less worried about the race altitude which is only up to 3500m but i know it will be tough. I still have headache 5 hours and lots of painkillers later. Admin day tomorrow. Race starts sunday.
Frequently stopping feeling light headed. My pulse over 130 only walking at snail pace. It was very cold too. We stopped at 5350m, 250m from the top, still more than an hour to climb. We both had mild headache, the first sign of altitude sickness so we took lots of photo's and decided to descend. It took us barely 15mins to descend! I'm less worried about the race altitude which is only up to 3500m but i know it will be tough. I still have headache 5 hours and lots of painkillers later. Admin day tomorrow. Race starts sunday.
--
Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone
Arrival in Chile
After a 30 hour journey, 3 flights and a taxi. I arrived in san pedro de Atacama. 10 hours later me and my friend mark met a guide at 8am. He drove us 1 hour up to just over 5000m altitude to Toco volcano. The air was so thin just putting on our packs was hard work. From sea level to 5000m in 24 hours is not what you are supposed to do! We trekked upwards for 1.5 hours
Frequently stopping feeling light headed. My pulse over 130 only walking at snail pace. It was very cold too. We stopped at 5350m, 250m from the top, still more than an hour to climb. We both had mild headache, the first sign of altitude sickness so we took lots of photo's and decided to descend. It took us barely 15mins to descend! I'm less worried about the race altitude which is only up to 3500m but i know it will be tough. I still have headache 5 hours and lots of painkillers later. Admin day tomorrow. Race starts sunday.
Frequently stopping feeling light headed. My pulse over 130 only walking at snail pace. It was very cold too. We stopped at 5350m, 250m from the top, still more than an hour to climb. We both had mild headache, the first sign of altitude sickness so we took lots of photo's and decided to descend. It took us barely 15mins to descend! I'm less worried about the race altitude which is only up to 3500m but i know it will be tough. I still have headache 5 hours and lots of painkillers later. Admin day tomorrow. Race starts sunday.
--
Sent using a Sony Ericsson mobile phone
Monday, 23 March 2009
Send me a message of support in the Atacama - 28th March to April 5th
The main website, where I hope you will find a link (towards the end of this week) to write to a competitor is here.
I am number 82 Richard Weremiuk. Daily messages more than welcome! (My friend Mark, number 13, I am sure would appreciate lots of support too!)
You can sign up for breaking news of the race here.
The daily results will be posted here.
I am number 82 Richard Weremiuk. Daily messages more than welcome! (My friend Mark, number 13, I am sure would appreciate lots of support too!)
You can sign up for breaking news of the race here.
The daily results will be posted here.
Atacama Packing list
Before I post my list, just a brief update about today. I'm trying to take positives where I can here. My foot felt marginally better today, in that it doesn't hurt as much when I press into it. That's the first improvement I've had, lets hope that's a pattern forming.
I went to the hospital for the pre-operative assessment, for my knee surgery, to be carried out on 21st April when I get back from the Atacama Crossing. I told the surgeon that the front of my knee (the patellar Tendinosis) has been giving me less trouble, so he's agreed not to include shaving my kneecap as part of the operation, and just focus on removing the torn cartilage. That was a bit of a fib, the patella tendon does still hurt, but he told me the recovery time for shaving the kneecap was 3 months+, and I still live in hope it will go away on it's own once the tear problem was been sorted.
Anyway, the Meniscus cartilage tear is still giving me trouble, it even hurts when I turn over in my sleep! Still, I've put plenty of miles through my legs whilst I have had the tear, and I want to believe this injury won't be a limiting factor to me completing the event. I have to believe that. I was assessed by a nurse afterwards, checking my medical history and suitability for aesthetic. I have requested an epidural, I just can't face a general anaesthetic. I hope the anaesthesiologist will agree to this, I will find out when get back. My Blood pressure was 106/60, which is fine, perhaps a touch low she said. 100% oxygen reading in my blood and a resting pulse of 47. Even I was somewhat surprised at that, since I had been up a few hours already and it was still that low, despite the added stress of the hospital visit. I'm taking a positive there, that I am still pretty fit, despite the lack of training since Christmas. The nurse has asked for copies of my ECG, to show to the anaesthesiologist as I have the "athletes heart" pathology, in that my parts of my heart have enlarged and thickened in response to my endurance training. I have no idea if this affects my suitability for a particular anaesthetic, but they were keen to see the ECG. So, I go in at 7:30am on 21st April. I can't drive for 3 days after the operation, and must stay off my feet as much as possible for 2 weeks afterwards.
I did ask the consultant about my latest foot problem, but he was very busy and not really that interested. He just suggested getting some gel insoles to ease the pressure. I bought some but I'm not convinced.
So, Atacama Packing list.
Here is everything, except my sleeping bag and Thermarest bed roll, which I am airing out.
First my food. I have an almost identical menu every day, just the main meal changes, and the energy bars I eat are various flavours.
The rules state we must have 2000 kcals per day, or 14000 for the week. I'm taking well over that; 17500. The last day, I haven't actually packed a breakfast, I've actually just got a load a snacks, which I may well eat during the other stages if I need more food to supplement the 2900kcals approx per day. I figure I can run 10k on a empty stomach on the last day if I really had to.
I am using 2 Endurolytes (electrolytes) per hour, and the Perpeteum powder also has electrolytes in, as well as carbs. I usually use SIS Go, but the Perpeteum seems fairly pleasant and apparently very easy on the stomach. So food weight total is 4.8kg. Sounds heavy, but I know from past experience I seem to need more calories than people twice my size on these events. I have no fat stores to carry me through. I was weighed in at 65kg today, which is slightly heavier than normal, due to the lack of training I guess. Here are my daily food 'bricks', all vacuum sealed.
We have been warned by the organiser that at the airport Chilean customs officials can be very strict. This could spell trouble. No idea what I'll do if they decide to confiscate my food.
Next, the clothes I am wearing. Everything shown in bold print is mandatory kit.
I am wearing both a compression top and tights, both white, Under Armour. What a picture I'll look. At least I'll be good for comedy value to the other competitors if nothing else. I'm using the standard Raidlight gaiters which just attach to my shoes with an under-shoe strap. No glue, sewing or Velcro this time, that keeps out every grain. I am gambling there is less soft sand in the Atacama. I have heard it gets windy every day in the Atacama, so I'm back using my Wiley X sunglasses that also turn into goggles, courtesy of a snap-on seal. Same socks as I wore in the Kalahari. A pair of Asics, then a pair of Smartwool over the top of them. I'm carrying a few spare pairs of each, as you will see below. I will also be wearing some Leki gloves when I use the walking poles, which I suspect will be often or always in my current state!
Ok, my backpack contents.
Once more the bold items are mandatory, totalling 1.8kg. I'm using an Aarn Marathon Magic 30l pack, for the first time on this event. I can just about get all the equipment inside. I have always previously used a Raidlight R-Light pack, so this will be interesting. I've played around with the settings to try and get it as comfortable as possible, but the jury is out. I'll know by the end of day 1 anyway! No other surprises in the rest of the kit, it is all tried and tested. I've opted for the lightest sleeping bag, rated to 8C, but I have included a PHD minim Ultra vest (150g) rated to -5 that I could supplement if I get too cold at night, as well as the ever-handy bin bag (refuse sack) as an emergency layer of warmth. A hat and gloves you'll note are mandatory too here.
My optional kit weighs in at 1.7kg, so luxury indeed but I want it all. Extra socks, slippers and a Thermarest pillow are my extravagances here, but creature comfort makes the difference sometimes. I've taken advice of past competitors and the Leki poles are coming with me. Even if I was injury free they are recommended due to the many salt flat and river crossings that make this altitude event so tough.
So, my total pack weight on the start line with be 8.2kg, then 1.5l of water on top of that. I'm happy enough with that. I've not done any training with a pack of that weight. I did one run with 5kg a month ago, and that is where I got this foot injury. The weight is a worry, but I have carried it before, so I'm not unduly stressed. Here it is, all packed, bed roll and sleeping bag were inside at this point too. So this is fully loaded, ready to go.
So, that's it. I've not finished packing yet, so I won't have time to post again before I fly out on Wednesday. I arrive in Calama on Thursday, Chile, 3 flights and 29 hours after I take off. On Friday I had planned to go up a Volcano. I hope to still do it, we'll just have to see. Saturday is the admin day. Sunday 29th March the Atacama Crossing starts. I'll make a brief post on how to send me messages of support. I need them more than ever this time. I'm trying to remain upbeat in the face of some injuries, and lack of training that most would consider show-stoppers. You know I'm going to try my hardest to do it. The goal is simply to finish this time. I'm not going to be able to make a good show like I did in the Kalahari, coming came 6th out of 21 starters. If I came last, but completed, I'd be happy this time. I will post nightly updates I hope, to this blog. The next blog post I make will have all the event organiser website details on it.
Speak to you from Chile.
I went to the hospital for the pre-operative assessment, for my knee surgery, to be carried out on 21st April when I get back from the Atacama Crossing. I told the surgeon that the front of my knee (the patellar Tendinosis) has been giving me less trouble, so he's agreed not to include shaving my kneecap as part of the operation, and just focus on removing the torn cartilage. That was a bit of a fib, the patella tendon does still hurt, but he told me the recovery time for shaving the kneecap was 3 months+, and I still live in hope it will go away on it's own once the tear problem was been sorted.
Anyway, the Meniscus cartilage tear is still giving me trouble, it even hurts when I turn over in my sleep! Still, I've put plenty of miles through my legs whilst I have had the tear, and I want to believe this injury won't be a limiting factor to me completing the event. I have to believe that. I was assessed by a nurse afterwards, checking my medical history and suitability for aesthetic. I have requested an epidural, I just can't face a general anaesthetic. I hope the anaesthesiologist will agree to this, I will find out when get back. My Blood pressure was 106/60, which is fine, perhaps a touch low she said. 100% oxygen reading in my blood and a resting pulse of 47. Even I was somewhat surprised at that, since I had been up a few hours already and it was still that low, despite the added stress of the hospital visit. I'm taking a positive there, that I am still pretty fit, despite the lack of training since Christmas. The nurse has asked for copies of my ECG, to show to the anaesthesiologist as I have the "athletes heart" pathology, in that my parts of my heart have enlarged and thickened in response to my endurance training. I have no idea if this affects my suitability for a particular anaesthetic, but they were keen to see the ECG. So, I go in at 7:30am on 21st April. I can't drive for 3 days after the operation, and must stay off my feet as much as possible for 2 weeks afterwards.
I did ask the consultant about my latest foot problem, but he was very busy and not really that interested. He just suggested getting some gel insoles to ease the pressure. I bought some but I'm not convinced.
So, Atacama Packing list.
Here is everything, except my sleeping bag and Thermarest bed roll, which I am airing out.
First my food. I have an almost identical menu every day, just the main meal changes, and the energy bars I eat are various flavours.
The rules state we must have 2000 kcals per day, or 14000 for the week. I'm taking well over that; 17500. The last day, I haven't actually packed a breakfast, I've actually just got a load a snacks, which I may well eat during the other stages if I need more food to supplement the 2900kcals approx per day. I figure I can run 10k on a empty stomach on the last day if I really had to.
I am using 2 Endurolytes (electrolytes) per hour, and the Perpeteum powder also has electrolytes in, as well as carbs. I usually use SIS Go, but the Perpeteum seems fairly pleasant and apparently very easy on the stomach. So food weight total is 4.8kg. Sounds heavy, but I know from past experience I seem to need more calories than people twice my size on these events. I have no fat stores to carry me through. I was weighed in at 65kg today, which is slightly heavier than normal, due to the lack of training I guess. Here are my daily food 'bricks', all vacuum sealed.
We have been warned by the organiser that at the airport Chilean customs officials can be very strict. This could spell trouble. No idea what I'll do if they decide to confiscate my food.
Next, the clothes I am wearing. Everything shown in bold print is mandatory kit.
I am wearing both a compression top and tights, both white, Under Armour. What a picture I'll look. At least I'll be good for comedy value to the other competitors if nothing else. I'm using the standard Raidlight gaiters which just attach to my shoes with an under-shoe strap. No glue, sewing or Velcro this time, that keeps out every grain. I am gambling there is less soft sand in the Atacama. I have heard it gets windy every day in the Atacama, so I'm back using my Wiley X sunglasses that also turn into goggles, courtesy of a snap-on seal. Same socks as I wore in the Kalahari. A pair of Asics, then a pair of Smartwool over the top of them. I'm carrying a few spare pairs of each, as you will see below. I will also be wearing some Leki gloves when I use the walking poles, which I suspect will be often or always in my current state!
Ok, my backpack contents.
Once more the bold items are mandatory, totalling 1.8kg. I'm using an Aarn Marathon Magic 30l pack, for the first time on this event. I can just about get all the equipment inside. I have always previously used a Raidlight R-Light pack, so this will be interesting. I've played around with the settings to try and get it as comfortable as possible, but the jury is out. I'll know by the end of day 1 anyway! No other surprises in the rest of the kit, it is all tried and tested. I've opted for the lightest sleeping bag, rated to 8C, but I have included a PHD minim Ultra vest (150g) rated to -5 that I could supplement if I get too cold at night, as well as the ever-handy bin bag (refuse sack) as an emergency layer of warmth. A hat and gloves you'll note are mandatory too here.
My optional kit weighs in at 1.7kg, so luxury indeed but I want it all. Extra socks, slippers and a Thermarest pillow are my extravagances here, but creature comfort makes the difference sometimes. I've taken advice of past competitors and the Leki poles are coming with me. Even if I was injury free they are recommended due to the many salt flat and river crossings that make this altitude event so tough.
So, my total pack weight on the start line with be 8.2kg, then 1.5l of water on top of that. I'm happy enough with that. I've not done any training with a pack of that weight. I did one run with 5kg a month ago, and that is where I got this foot injury. The weight is a worry, but I have carried it before, so I'm not unduly stressed. Here it is, all packed, bed roll and sleeping bag were inside at this point too. So this is fully loaded, ready to go.
So, that's it. I've not finished packing yet, so I won't have time to post again before I fly out on Wednesday. I arrive in Calama on Thursday, Chile, 3 flights and 29 hours after I take off. On Friday I had planned to go up a Volcano. I hope to still do it, we'll just have to see. Saturday is the admin day. Sunday 29th March the Atacama Crossing starts. I'll make a brief post on how to send me messages of support. I need them more than ever this time. I'm trying to remain upbeat in the face of some injuries, and lack of training that most would consider show-stoppers. You know I'm going to try my hardest to do it. The goal is simply to finish this time. I'm not going to be able to make a good show like I did in the Kalahari, coming came 6th out of 21 starters. If I came last, but completed, I'd be happy this time. I will post nightly updates I hope, to this blog. The next blog post I make will have all the event organiser website details on it.
Speak to you from Chile.
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Is someone trying to tell me something?
I fly to Chile on Wednesday to take part in the Atamcama Crossing. In December I was diagnosed (through MRI) with a cartilage tear on the back of my left knee, and also with Patellar Tendinosis on the same knee. After consulting an orthopaedic surgeon, it was deemed that I would need corrective surgery, but I would not recover from the it in time to take part in the race, if I had it done at the start of the year. So, I decided to get the survery done in April (the 21st, two weeks after I get back from Chile), but cut back my training, and just do what I could, and try and keep the knee in good enough shape to make the start line. My training since December has been well below what I would deem an acceptable amount to take on the Atacama Crossing.
Exactly 1 month ago, I experienced foot pain during a 12 mile training run, which I confidently said I knew was a minor problem with my Peroneus Brevis, where it attaches to my fifth metatarsal. I took a week off running, but still attempted a 30 mile event 2 weeks ago. I failed to complete, having to short-route because of the foot pain. Since then, I have not run a single step. Even walking hurts. Strangely, it has been getting worse, not better in the last week. The pain, though in the same area, is now on the sole of my foot, underneath the fifth metatarsal head. I had some physio treatment this week and a painful lump was found under my foot. A pretty small, very localised spot, which is causing me all the load-bearing pain. No one has been able to tell me what it is. The two best guesses are either:
a) A callus formed over a healing stress fracture.
b) A ganglion; a kind of cyst that forms on tendons; sometimes after an injury.
It could be either one, or it could be neither. Whatever it is, I can't walk far without discomfort. When I say not far, I mean a couple of hundred metres.
This last week I have only been able to use the cycle machine in the gym. Even then, I have had to adjust the toe clip to stop my foot going well onto the pedals, ensuring that all the pressure was through the ball of my foot. Any further back was too painful. I once tried to use the cross-trainer, trying to keep the sole of my foot planted on the device, but even doing that, after 20 minutes I had to stop. I've done quite a bit of the bike this week, a good few hours in total, plus yoga, and my usual strength training, but not load bearing running or even walking. So, not only am I horribly undertrained, right now I'm not sure I could make it to the first checkpoint on day 1. Oh I forgot to add, this foot injury is the opposite leg to the meniscus tear.
So, just to add insult to injury tonight, I've spent most of the evening in the bathroom, I assume courtesy of food poisoning from the restaurant I ate at about 8 hours ago, celebrating Mothers day. No one else ate the 'Penne Arrabiata', so I hope everyone else is ok. I feel sick as a dog now still, so it may not be my last visit to the bathroom tonight.
So, I think someone is trying to tell me something. Along the lines of 'stay at home'.
Tomorrow I have an early morning appointment with the knee surgeon, to discuss my operation. I might beg and plead that he take a quick look at my foot (as well as the knee of course) and give me his best guess at a diagnosis. Either injury (if it is one of those guesses) means trouble to be honest, but I am hoping that it is the second one, or something similar. The fact that is has been steadily getting worse for a month doesn't bode well though. Stage 1 of the Atacama Crossing will be over this time next week, so I don't know how much improvement (it could always get worse of course) I can expect.
Oh, I mentioned I'd ask my doctor for Diamox, the altitude sickness drug to help since I sleep so badly at the best of times on events, the last thing I need is altitude induced sleep apnoea. Anyway, the doctor has refused; Diamox is not licensed for use as an altitude sickness drug in the UK. So, everything is stacking up against me at the moment. I've weighed out my kit and checked it fits my bag etc. I'll make another blog post, maybe tomorrow with the details, assuming I feel up to it. I'm sure this food poisoning will be purged by the morning.
EDIT: It's now 'the morning' and after some doses of immodium, and a good nights sleep I'm fine, so I can fairly conclusively say it was food poisoning.
If you are taking part in the Marathon des Sables and flying out in the next few days, the very best of luck to you. I'll send me wishes to a few of you personally of course. If it helps you, just think, you could be as rough as I feel!
Have a good week. There is always someone worse off than you are! I'm looking around frantically for that someone, I need the psychological boost!
Exactly 1 month ago, I experienced foot pain during a 12 mile training run, which I confidently said I knew was a minor problem with my Peroneus Brevis, where it attaches to my fifth metatarsal. I took a week off running, but still attempted a 30 mile event 2 weeks ago. I failed to complete, having to short-route because of the foot pain. Since then, I have not run a single step. Even walking hurts. Strangely, it has been getting worse, not better in the last week. The pain, though in the same area, is now on the sole of my foot, underneath the fifth metatarsal head. I had some physio treatment this week and a painful lump was found under my foot. A pretty small, very localised spot, which is causing me all the load-bearing pain. No one has been able to tell me what it is. The two best guesses are either:
a) A callus formed over a healing stress fracture.
b) A ganglion; a kind of cyst that forms on tendons; sometimes after an injury.
It could be either one, or it could be neither. Whatever it is, I can't walk far without discomfort. When I say not far, I mean a couple of hundred metres.
This last week I have only been able to use the cycle machine in the gym. Even then, I have had to adjust the toe clip to stop my foot going well onto the pedals, ensuring that all the pressure was through the ball of my foot. Any further back was too painful. I once tried to use the cross-trainer, trying to keep the sole of my foot planted on the device, but even doing that, after 20 minutes I had to stop. I've done quite a bit of the bike this week, a good few hours in total, plus yoga, and my usual strength training, but not load bearing running or even walking. So, not only am I horribly undertrained, right now I'm not sure I could make it to the first checkpoint on day 1. Oh I forgot to add, this foot injury is the opposite leg to the meniscus tear.
So, just to add insult to injury tonight, I've spent most of the evening in the bathroom, I assume courtesy of food poisoning from the restaurant I ate at about 8 hours ago, celebrating Mothers day. No one else ate the 'Penne Arrabiata', so I hope everyone else is ok. I feel sick as a dog now still, so it may not be my last visit to the bathroom tonight.
So, I think someone is trying to tell me something. Along the lines of 'stay at home'.
Tomorrow I have an early morning appointment with the knee surgeon, to discuss my operation. I might beg and plead that he take a quick look at my foot (as well as the knee of course) and give me his best guess at a diagnosis. Either injury (if it is one of those guesses) means trouble to be honest, but I am hoping that it is the second one, or something similar. The fact that is has been steadily getting worse for a month doesn't bode well though. Stage 1 of the Atacama Crossing will be over this time next week, so I don't know how much improvement (it could always get worse of course) I can expect.
Oh, I mentioned I'd ask my doctor for Diamox, the altitude sickness drug to help since I sleep so badly at the best of times on events, the last thing I need is altitude induced sleep apnoea. Anyway, the doctor has refused; Diamox is not licensed for use as an altitude sickness drug in the UK. So, everything is stacking up against me at the moment. I've weighed out my kit and checked it fits my bag etc. I'll make another blog post, maybe tomorrow with the details, assuming I feel up to it. I'm sure this food poisoning will be purged by the morning.
EDIT: It's now 'the morning' and after some doses of immodium, and a good nights sleep I'm fine, so I can fairly conclusively say it was food poisoning.
If you are taking part in the Marathon des Sables and flying out in the next few days, the very best of luck to you. I'll send me wishes to a few of you personally of course. If it helps you, just think, you could be as rough as I feel!
Have a good week. There is always someone worse off than you are! I'm looking around frantically for that someone, I need the psychological boost!
Sunday, 15 March 2009
The simple life
Well, since last weeks gastric issues, I've been good to my pledge and lived on a very basic diet. I have not eaten any meat (or animal produce of any kind), or dairy. I've stayed away from any high fat or spicy food too. I have eaten a huge amount of fruit and vegetables; more than I have in my life! I've eaten (or juiced and drank):
48 apples
16 oranges
2 punnets of strawberries
2 punnets of blackberries
1 bunch of red grapes
1 large pineapple
2 packets of carrot batons
1 packet of organic carrots
9 peppers
1 pack of mini corn
1 pack of mange tout
2 large packets of spinach
1 head of broccoli
2 sweet potatoes
1 bunch of asparagus
2 bunches of salad onions
1/2 bag of new potatoes
I've written that down because I won't believe it myself otherwise!
I have had no normal tea or coffee at all either.
For breakfast I've eaten a bowl of mixed fruit, washed down with a herbal tea of aniseed, fennel seeds and liquorice (good for digestion, apparently). Normally I would have the same bowl of fruit, but with a little low-fat granola, some fat-free vanilla pro-bio yoghurt and skimmed milk, with a cup of normal tea.
For lunch I've either had wholemeal pasta with passata, or a homemade Quorn mince, carrot, onion, sweet potato topped cottage pie, or steamed vegetables with plain wholemeal rice. I would drink it with juiced apples or oranges. My typical lunch is usually pasta with pesto and sundried tomatoes, so this wasn't too much of a change.
For my evening meal I ate more steamed vegetables with rice, perhaps with a sweet and sour or lemon sauce. I also made so much of that cottage pie, I had that in the evening too a couple of times. Again I would have juiced fruit to drink, and several cups of the herbal tea throughout the day. Normally I would have a stir-fry in the evening, usually quite spicy, and include free range chicken, or tuna. So, I did crave the meat loss at times this week, though Quorn mince is really very good; I have eaten it for months now, and don't eat meat-based mince anymore anyway. I rarely eat red meat now either.
I've impressed myself by sticking to this, though I am looking forward to relaxing it tomorrow! My stomach pains still persisted a little during the week, and are not entirely gone. I feel generally a little tender, like my insides have done 15 rounds in a boxing ring. My blood test results came back normal, as I expected. Ok, there is a small possibility that it could be gall stones (ultrasound in 3 weeks or so, after the event), but I hardly fit the profile of a typical sufferer (over 40, female, and overweight), so I am inclined to stick with what I assumed it was, which was a very nasty gastric virus.
I do feel better for sticking to this diet all week. I don't really buy into the whole 'detox' nonsense, but all the fruit and vegetables this week have left me feeling healthier, not to mention a little lighter. I'm at 64.5kg which is about what I would like to be at for the event.
The foot pain sadly has not gone away. Even today I got pain from walking just a couple of miles. I will have more physio this week, and I can only hope it clears up. I said last week that I may not be able to run another step before the race, and that it certainly looking to be coming true.
I didn't do anything at all on Tuesday as the pain was too acute. On Wednesday I cycled for an hour in the gym and then spent some time in the sauna. On Thursday, I did a 20 minute sprint on the bike in the gym, followed by my normal strength and stability workout. I also went into the sauna again. On Saturday I did an hour on the bike, covering 35km, then 45 minutes on the cross trainer, target heart rate of 140. I did a random hill profile on both machines, so my HR sometimes peaked out at 150, but overall I maintained a steady endurance 140bpm. Following that I again went into the sauna, which I aim to do every day now until I leave for Chile in 10 days time.
I have pretty much finalised my entire backpack list, and will be weighing and measuring it all this week. I'll post my kit and food list in next weekend’s final post before the event. I'm looking at around 8.2kg pack weight, plus the 1.5l of water, on the start line. My food is around 2900kcals per day, and weighs a total of 4.6kg. The mandatory kit items weigh 2kg. So that's 6.6kg in essentials. I therefore have 1.7kg of what you might call 'luxuries', but this includes items such as a bed roll, extra socks, foot tape, warmer clothes for the evening, and a digital camera; most of which many people would consider necessities. Since I am a blogger, the digital camera is pretty much a necessity!
I have had to fork out an additional $50 to the event organiser today, so that I can send and receive emails when on the event. This was a bit of a shock, since every event I have ever been to so far provides this service free of charge! I usually use the email facility to send an email to my blog so you all know I am still alive each day. Generally the organisers come and give out any emails you receive on paper each night. Not at this event though, you have to log in and read them yourself by the looks of it. I've been impressed with Racing the Planet as an organisation so far, with plenty of gold stars earned, so this is the only thumbs down they have got from me so far for anything. I guess when you are so used to getting something for free, you begrudge paying for it! $50 isn't going to break the bank I guess. I'll sulk in silence!
I am in two minds as to whether I should ask the doctor to prescribe me some Diamox tablets this week. These tablets can help some people with altitude sickness; helping you to get more oxygen into your body basically. They have the disadvantage of being a diuretic (making you need the bathroom more often!), so it is important to keep up hydration. There is also a local herb available in Chile called Chachacoma that you can mix up with water to produce a similar effect, but I imagine the Diamox is more effective. The race is mostly around the 3000M mark, going up to around 3500M on the first day, so it is not massively high altitude, but most people can expect headaches and nausea. Excursion makes altitude sickness worse, so I figure running across a hot desert with a pack almost 10kg in weight qualifies. Now, I arrive in Chile only 2 or 3 days before the race starts, whereas some competitors are arriving well in advance to get used to the altitude. I simply can't afford to take more time off work, since I don't get paid for time off. So, Diamox is sounding like a good idea right now.
I have more cause to need Diamox that any of the other racers I suspect. 2 days before the race (the day after I arrive in Chile) I have arranged an excursion to a nearby volcano. The vehicle and my guide will park at 5200M (!) and there is apparently as easy 2 hour walk to the summit at 5625M (almost the height of Kilimanjaro). I carefully specified that I wanted an easy ascent, nothing strenuous as I wanted to save my strength for the race itself. If I think it is too tough, I'll just spend a few hours at the car park altitude, and suck in some thin air before going back to San Pedro. I'm looking forward to the view (photo's for my readers!), and maybe a little time at that height will acclimatise me (even a tiny bit). My guide is bringing along some Chachacoma and carries oxygen in the event of acute mountain sickness, so I should be ok.
That's it for preparation news. I will continue to cycle this week, and hope the foot gets better.
Have a good week.
48 apples
16 oranges
2 punnets of strawberries
2 punnets of blackberries
1 bunch of red grapes
1 large pineapple
2 packets of carrot batons
1 packet of organic carrots
9 peppers
1 pack of mini corn
1 pack of mange tout
2 large packets of spinach
1 head of broccoli
2 sweet potatoes
1 bunch of asparagus
2 bunches of salad onions
1/2 bag of new potatoes
I've written that down because I won't believe it myself otherwise!
I have had no normal tea or coffee at all either.
For breakfast I've eaten a bowl of mixed fruit, washed down with a herbal tea of aniseed, fennel seeds and liquorice (good for digestion, apparently). Normally I would have the same bowl of fruit, but with a little low-fat granola, some fat-free vanilla pro-bio yoghurt and skimmed milk, with a cup of normal tea.
For lunch I've either had wholemeal pasta with passata, or a homemade Quorn mince, carrot, onion, sweet potato topped cottage pie, or steamed vegetables with plain wholemeal rice. I would drink it with juiced apples or oranges. My typical lunch is usually pasta with pesto and sundried tomatoes, so this wasn't too much of a change.
For my evening meal I ate more steamed vegetables with rice, perhaps with a sweet and sour or lemon sauce. I also made so much of that cottage pie, I had that in the evening too a couple of times. Again I would have juiced fruit to drink, and several cups of the herbal tea throughout the day. Normally I would have a stir-fry in the evening, usually quite spicy, and include free range chicken, or tuna. So, I did crave the meat loss at times this week, though Quorn mince is really very good; I have eaten it for months now, and don't eat meat-based mince anymore anyway. I rarely eat red meat now either.
I've impressed myself by sticking to this, though I am looking forward to relaxing it tomorrow! My stomach pains still persisted a little during the week, and are not entirely gone. I feel generally a little tender, like my insides have done 15 rounds in a boxing ring. My blood test results came back normal, as I expected. Ok, there is a small possibility that it could be gall stones (ultrasound in 3 weeks or so, after the event), but I hardly fit the profile of a typical sufferer (over 40, female, and overweight), so I am inclined to stick with what I assumed it was, which was a very nasty gastric virus.
I do feel better for sticking to this diet all week. I don't really buy into the whole 'detox' nonsense, but all the fruit and vegetables this week have left me feeling healthier, not to mention a little lighter. I'm at 64.5kg which is about what I would like to be at for the event.
The foot pain sadly has not gone away. Even today I got pain from walking just a couple of miles. I will have more physio this week, and I can only hope it clears up. I said last week that I may not be able to run another step before the race, and that it certainly looking to be coming true.
I didn't do anything at all on Tuesday as the pain was too acute. On Wednesday I cycled for an hour in the gym and then spent some time in the sauna. On Thursday, I did a 20 minute sprint on the bike in the gym, followed by my normal strength and stability workout. I also went into the sauna again. On Saturday I did an hour on the bike, covering 35km, then 45 minutes on the cross trainer, target heart rate of 140. I did a random hill profile on both machines, so my HR sometimes peaked out at 150, but overall I maintained a steady endurance 140bpm. Following that I again went into the sauna, which I aim to do every day now until I leave for Chile in 10 days time.
I have pretty much finalised my entire backpack list, and will be weighing and measuring it all this week. I'll post my kit and food list in next weekend’s final post before the event. I'm looking at around 8.2kg pack weight, plus the 1.5l of water, on the start line. My food is around 2900kcals per day, and weighs a total of 4.6kg. The mandatory kit items weigh 2kg. So that's 6.6kg in essentials. I therefore have 1.7kg of what you might call 'luxuries', but this includes items such as a bed roll, extra socks, foot tape, warmer clothes for the evening, and a digital camera; most of which many people would consider necessities. Since I am a blogger, the digital camera is pretty much a necessity!
I have had to fork out an additional $50 to the event organiser today, so that I can send and receive emails when on the event. This was a bit of a shock, since every event I have ever been to so far provides this service free of charge! I usually use the email facility to send an email to my blog so you all know I am still alive each day. Generally the organisers come and give out any emails you receive on paper each night. Not at this event though, you have to log in and read them yourself by the looks of it. I've been impressed with Racing the Planet as an organisation so far, with plenty of gold stars earned, so this is the only thumbs down they have got from me so far for anything. I guess when you are so used to getting something for free, you begrudge paying for it! $50 isn't going to break the bank I guess. I'll sulk in silence!
I am in two minds as to whether I should ask the doctor to prescribe me some Diamox tablets this week. These tablets can help some people with altitude sickness; helping you to get more oxygen into your body basically. They have the disadvantage of being a diuretic (making you need the bathroom more often!), so it is important to keep up hydration. There is also a local herb available in Chile called Chachacoma that you can mix up with water to produce a similar effect, but I imagine the Diamox is more effective. The race is mostly around the 3000M mark, going up to around 3500M on the first day, so it is not massively high altitude, but most people can expect headaches and nausea. Excursion makes altitude sickness worse, so I figure running across a hot desert with a pack almost 10kg in weight qualifies. Now, I arrive in Chile only 2 or 3 days before the race starts, whereas some competitors are arriving well in advance to get used to the altitude. I simply can't afford to take more time off work, since I don't get paid for time off. So, Diamox is sounding like a good idea right now.
I have more cause to need Diamox that any of the other racers I suspect. 2 days before the race (the day after I arrive in Chile) I have arranged an excursion to a nearby volcano. The vehicle and my guide will park at 5200M (!) and there is apparently as easy 2 hour walk to the summit at 5625M (almost the height of Kilimanjaro). I carefully specified that I wanted an easy ascent, nothing strenuous as I wanted to save my strength for the race itself. If I think it is too tough, I'll just spend a few hours at the car park altitude, and suck in some thin air before going back to San Pedro. I'm looking forward to the view (photo's for my readers!), and maybe a little time at that height will acclimatise me (even a tiny bit). My guide is bringing along some Chachacoma and carries oxygen in the event of acute mountain sickness, so I should be ok.
That's it for preparation news. I will continue to cycle this week, and hope the foot gets better.
Have a good week.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Foot pain, hail, and gastric ills
Sorry for being so late to post. It's not been a good week. This was supposed to be my peak mileage week, including a 30 mile event but things didn't go at all well.
I posted last week that my Peroneus was causing me sufficient pain that I couldn't walk properly, let alone run. By Tuesday it had not quite improved sufficiently to run, but I did still go to yoga.
On Wednesday it did feel mostly ok, and I decided to chance a run. I did a local 10k trail route, but towards the end, the pain came back. As a result I dared not do the 3 mile tempo run on Thursday; hoping to allow maximum time to heal before Sunday’s event. I did still do an hour in the gym, and a little time in the sauna afterwards.
On Friday I had more physio on my knee, but also had some attention on the Peroneus. It was painful when worked on, as I expected it to be. Stretching and rest were ordered, but I had to do the event 2 days later of course.
On Sunday I packed 5kg of weight into my pack and drove to Greetland in Yorkshire to take part in the 30 mile 'El and back LDWA event. I packed a lot of warm clothes because the forecast had given out heavy snow. On the way there I had to stop a couple of times in motorway services, lets just say I had an upset stomach. By the time I got the event, I felt a little better. There seemed to be no official start, and I hadn't realised people were just drifting out of the door, whilst I sat patiently and waited for 9:30am. Below is the route I followed, with my speed and distance shown. You'll note that it's 20.5 miles and not the 30 mile route, for reasons you'll discover later. The route I took ended up being a hybrid of the 30 mile, and a 15 mile shorter route.
I set off at 9:30am, the last person to start and obviously the one running at the slowest pace with the pack weight I carried. I soon lost sight of the few runners ahead, and followed a route I found on the internet for the event on my GPS. I knew the route had changed slightly due to a footpath closure, but was on autopilot and ended up coming to a dead end, adding half a mile on in the process and putting me further behind everyone else. The route then joined a canal for the next 4 miles, so nice easy running. I ticked along about 6mph, probably a little faster than I intended. I had left my time/distance GPS watch at home, so I was guessing my pace.
The weather when the event started was fine, but it started to cloud over as I ran along the canal.
I exited the canal checkpoint 1, and because it had already started to sleep and hail, plus got much colder I decided at that point to put on my waterproof jacket, hat and windproof gloves. I did so, and then set off up the hill, walking, pretty much most of the next 2.5 miles as it was a steep ascent; fist up an old cobbled road, and then stone steps before turning into a rough track, then moorland. I took this photo after CP2 at the top of the ascent, around the 9 mile mark.
At that point the hail had stopped, or was coming in short showers. You can see some rougher weather over to the right in that picture. I took one photo looking back, and into the last of the nice weather dissapearing.
My foot had ominously began to ache after 4 miles, but got substantially worse by the time I got to 10 miles. Running on it was painful, walking less so. Still, I did run whenever possible. There was a short moor section, including some farm paths and then road before a descent into Ripponden at 12.5 miles. At this point those doing the 15 mile section went down the hill. I said goodbye to a few people I had caught up and been running with for a couple of miles, and then made my way sharply up the hill. My foot was really very painful now, and I had half considered taking the 15 mile route before I headed uphill, but I don't like accepting defeat without any effort.
The wind picked up, sending the temperature well in minus figures, and it alternated between a heavy hail storm and stinging sleet. At this stage, going uphill on a farm track I was beginning to get cold. My windproof gloves were wet through, and my hands very cold. Despite having a mid layer and waterproof on even my torso was cold. I was wearing compression tights, which were already wet through, and with the icy wind my quads were getting cold too. I've never had cold legs before on an event. I think my slowing pace, due to the foot injury was to blame. Usually your legs are warm because they are always moving, but not this time. I nipped into a farmers cow shed to shelter from the weather. It was a dry stone wall structure, with a roof offering excellent protection. I stripped off my jacket and gloves. I put on of my two extra fleece jackets, before putting my waterproof back on. I then put on my Gore-Tex ski gloves and hat again, pulled up my hood and set off. That little stop had probably lost me 10 more minutes, but you only have to get caught out by the cold once (as I learned in Tenerife once) to be extra cautious.
I glanced across and up to the hills on Rishworth Moor. I knew that later in the route was a 7 mile pretty miserable moor section up there. The hill tops already had a light snow covering and were lost in cloud, so I imagine it was pretty miserable up there for those 40 or 50 people already running or walking through it.
The terrain levelled out, and I started to run again, but my foot was hurting a lot with every footfall. It felt pretty hopeless. I could struggle on another 15 miles, with pain every time I put my foot down and could potentially make this injury a lot more serious than it is already. I continued on, running down to the nearby checkpoint, on the damn at Baitings reservoir, just before the long moor section. I was greeted with a warm drink from the guy at the CP. Full marks to all the CP staff, who manned those CP's all day incidentally. I asked him what my options were for short routing, as I had decided that I needed to stop the foot getting any worse. I was at the 15 mile mark, and was directed back into Ripponden to pick up the 15 mile route. I glanced up at the moor before I went and it looked like it might brighten up, but I looked down at my foot and knew that wouldn't. Decision made, I thanked the guy at the CP and set off down a main road into Ripponden.
The weather did brighten up for about half an hour but on the sharp climb back up the other side of Ripponden the hail came down once again. I picked up one of the 15-miler route CP's and then headed up and over the last couple of mile short moor section.
The moor was predictably fairly muddy and slippy, but the softer ground was easier on my foot. The moor section ended at then I retraced my steps as the route joined a section at the start along a green lane, just as the hail pelted down again.
I made it back to the start in little over 5 hours; so just 4mph average for the 20.5 miles completed. It included 3000ft of ascent, so it wasn't a total loss, and I know I made the right decision to short-route with the foot injury getting worse. Unusually for me, I ate a meal at the finish; which was a Yorkshire meal of pie with mushy peas and mint sauce! Also on the way back I was hungry so I bought a chocolate bar. Neither of these things is in my normal diet. To compound things I got back and decided to eat a Chinese beef curry meal, again something I rarely eat.
An hour after eating the meal, I got a terrible pain below my right ribs that lasted most of the night, and into the next morning. It was a very small focused place, so I was a little concerned, and saw the doctor. He said it could be anything from some gastric virus right through to gall stones. Because I was seriously ill in 2000 with acute pancreatitis, he ordered a blood test (to test liver and amylase levels) and I'll get an appointment through for an ultra sound in a month’s time (to check for gall stones). I really hope it is just a virus. The blood test should rule out my pancreas pretty quickly, by the weekend I hope. Believe me, I remember what pancreatitis pain was like, and this isn't it. Gall stones, I'll have to wait a while longer to find out. I was still pretty sick all day Monday, and still last night. Today I feel quite a lot better, but I'm still under the weather. I'm only eating fruit and vegetables, pasta, potato and rice this week; plain food. No meat, dairy, spicy or fatty food. I eat a low fat diet as it is, so cutting out extra fat is easy, but I do eat chicken, fish and have skimmed milk. Just herbal tea's, and whatever fruit I juice myself, to drink. So, if it is anything nasty this should give my body some time to recover. If it's just a virus, then nothing has been lost either way.
I've had some extra physio on my foot today (Tuesday), but I'm still limping around. It could well be I have run my last step before the race, and I'll have to cycle instead to retain what little fitness it feels like I have gained in the last few weeks. I won't go to yoga tonight either, and I will definitely cycle Wednesday, Thursday and probably Saturday. So, not great news all round this week. Hope your week is going better!
I posted last week that my Peroneus was causing me sufficient pain that I couldn't walk properly, let alone run. By Tuesday it had not quite improved sufficiently to run, but I did still go to yoga.
On Wednesday it did feel mostly ok, and I decided to chance a run. I did a local 10k trail route, but towards the end, the pain came back. As a result I dared not do the 3 mile tempo run on Thursday; hoping to allow maximum time to heal before Sunday’s event. I did still do an hour in the gym, and a little time in the sauna afterwards.
On Friday I had more physio on my knee, but also had some attention on the Peroneus. It was painful when worked on, as I expected it to be. Stretching and rest were ordered, but I had to do the event 2 days later of course.
On Sunday I packed 5kg of weight into my pack and drove to Greetland in Yorkshire to take part in the 30 mile 'El and back LDWA event. I packed a lot of warm clothes because the forecast had given out heavy snow. On the way there I had to stop a couple of times in motorway services, lets just say I had an upset stomach. By the time I got the event, I felt a little better. There seemed to be no official start, and I hadn't realised people were just drifting out of the door, whilst I sat patiently and waited for 9:30am. Below is the route I followed, with my speed and distance shown. You'll note that it's 20.5 miles and not the 30 mile route, for reasons you'll discover later. The route I took ended up being a hybrid of the 30 mile, and a 15 mile shorter route.
I set off at 9:30am, the last person to start and obviously the one running at the slowest pace with the pack weight I carried. I soon lost sight of the few runners ahead, and followed a route I found on the internet for the event on my GPS. I knew the route had changed slightly due to a footpath closure, but was on autopilot and ended up coming to a dead end, adding half a mile on in the process and putting me further behind everyone else. The route then joined a canal for the next 4 miles, so nice easy running. I ticked along about 6mph, probably a little faster than I intended. I had left my time/distance GPS watch at home, so I was guessing my pace.
The weather when the event started was fine, but it started to cloud over as I ran along the canal.
I exited the canal checkpoint 1, and because it had already started to sleep and hail, plus got much colder I decided at that point to put on my waterproof jacket, hat and windproof gloves. I did so, and then set off up the hill, walking, pretty much most of the next 2.5 miles as it was a steep ascent; fist up an old cobbled road, and then stone steps before turning into a rough track, then moorland. I took this photo after CP2 at the top of the ascent, around the 9 mile mark.
At that point the hail had stopped, or was coming in short showers. You can see some rougher weather over to the right in that picture. I took one photo looking back, and into the last of the nice weather dissapearing.
My foot had ominously began to ache after 4 miles, but got substantially worse by the time I got to 10 miles. Running on it was painful, walking less so. Still, I did run whenever possible. There was a short moor section, including some farm paths and then road before a descent into Ripponden at 12.5 miles. At this point those doing the 15 mile section went down the hill. I said goodbye to a few people I had caught up and been running with for a couple of miles, and then made my way sharply up the hill. My foot was really very painful now, and I had half considered taking the 15 mile route before I headed uphill, but I don't like accepting defeat without any effort.
The wind picked up, sending the temperature well in minus figures, and it alternated between a heavy hail storm and stinging sleet. At this stage, going uphill on a farm track I was beginning to get cold. My windproof gloves were wet through, and my hands very cold. Despite having a mid layer and waterproof on even my torso was cold. I was wearing compression tights, which were already wet through, and with the icy wind my quads were getting cold too. I've never had cold legs before on an event. I think my slowing pace, due to the foot injury was to blame. Usually your legs are warm because they are always moving, but not this time. I nipped into a farmers cow shed to shelter from the weather. It was a dry stone wall structure, with a roof offering excellent protection. I stripped off my jacket and gloves. I put on of my two extra fleece jackets, before putting my waterproof back on. I then put on my Gore-Tex ski gloves and hat again, pulled up my hood and set off. That little stop had probably lost me 10 more minutes, but you only have to get caught out by the cold once (as I learned in Tenerife once) to be extra cautious.
I glanced across and up to the hills on Rishworth Moor. I knew that later in the route was a 7 mile pretty miserable moor section up there. The hill tops already had a light snow covering and were lost in cloud, so I imagine it was pretty miserable up there for those 40 or 50 people already running or walking through it.
The terrain levelled out, and I started to run again, but my foot was hurting a lot with every footfall. It felt pretty hopeless. I could struggle on another 15 miles, with pain every time I put my foot down and could potentially make this injury a lot more serious than it is already. I continued on, running down to the nearby checkpoint, on the damn at Baitings reservoir, just before the long moor section. I was greeted with a warm drink from the guy at the CP. Full marks to all the CP staff, who manned those CP's all day incidentally. I asked him what my options were for short routing, as I had decided that I needed to stop the foot getting any worse. I was at the 15 mile mark, and was directed back into Ripponden to pick up the 15 mile route. I glanced up at the moor before I went and it looked like it might brighten up, but I looked down at my foot and knew that wouldn't. Decision made, I thanked the guy at the CP and set off down a main road into Ripponden.
The weather did brighten up for about half an hour but on the sharp climb back up the other side of Ripponden the hail came down once again. I picked up one of the 15-miler route CP's and then headed up and over the last couple of mile short moor section.
The moor was predictably fairly muddy and slippy, but the softer ground was easier on my foot. The moor section ended at then I retraced my steps as the route joined a section at the start along a green lane, just as the hail pelted down again.
I made it back to the start in little over 5 hours; so just 4mph average for the 20.5 miles completed. It included 3000ft of ascent, so it wasn't a total loss, and I know I made the right decision to short-route with the foot injury getting worse. Unusually for me, I ate a meal at the finish; which was a Yorkshire meal of pie with mushy peas and mint sauce! Also on the way back I was hungry so I bought a chocolate bar. Neither of these things is in my normal diet. To compound things I got back and decided to eat a Chinese beef curry meal, again something I rarely eat.
An hour after eating the meal, I got a terrible pain below my right ribs that lasted most of the night, and into the next morning. It was a very small focused place, so I was a little concerned, and saw the doctor. He said it could be anything from some gastric virus right through to gall stones. Because I was seriously ill in 2000 with acute pancreatitis, he ordered a blood test (to test liver and amylase levels) and I'll get an appointment through for an ultra sound in a month’s time (to check for gall stones). I really hope it is just a virus. The blood test should rule out my pancreas pretty quickly, by the weekend I hope. Believe me, I remember what pancreatitis pain was like, and this isn't it. Gall stones, I'll have to wait a while longer to find out. I was still pretty sick all day Monday, and still last night. Today I feel quite a lot better, but I'm still under the weather. I'm only eating fruit and vegetables, pasta, potato and rice this week; plain food. No meat, dairy, spicy or fatty food. I eat a low fat diet as it is, so cutting out extra fat is easy, but I do eat chicken, fish and have skimmed milk. Just herbal tea's, and whatever fruit I juice myself, to drink. So, if it is anything nasty this should give my body some time to recover. If it's just a virus, then nothing has been lost either way.
I've had some extra physio on my foot today (Tuesday), but I'm still limping around. It could well be I have run my last step before the race, and I'll have to cycle instead to retain what little fitness it feels like I have gained in the last few weeks. I won't go to yoga tonight either, and I will definitely cycle Wednesday, Thursday and probably Saturday. So, not great news all round this week. Hope your week is going better!
Monday, 9 March 2009
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Peroneus Bravis, ouch!
This week has gone well, all up until Saturday.
On Tuesday I did a 10k trail route. I had hoped last week would be my last head torch run, but starting at 6:30pm it was already dark so once again I headed over the local fields and woods by torch light. I'm always hopping over stiles on the routes I run, some areas near my house being quite rural. If you are reading from abroad and have no idea what a stile is, don't worry I'll explain later in the post. Anyway, for once I counted how many I had to negotiate in the 10k route. 17! Even I was shocked at that. The route is pretty typical of the ones I run most days too. I did start the run wearing a hat and gloves, but soon took them off. It was warmer than I thought. Not long after I ended up removing my windproof jacket and putting it around my waist as I got too warm for even that. After the run, I went to my 1.5 hour yoga class. No toes touched yet, but I will let you know when I can manage it!
On Wednesday I did another 10k trail, but this time arriving home with just enough daylight to see, so no torch required. I chose one of my favourite routes; a challenging woodland trail with some steep ascent and ankle-twisting paths, the woodland floor littered with exposed tree roots. May sound a little risky to be deliberately choosing such tricky terrain this close to the Atacama Crossing, but I know the ground well and it keeps my mind sharp, scanning the ground ahead. I have also built up good ankle strength over the last few years with specific exercises in my core stability workout. I wore my knee brace again this evening, after my patellar tendon felt sore. It has flared up a little again, but it's not too bad just yet. Both Tuesday and Wednesday routes had around 7-800ft of ascent and were very uneven.
On Thursday I drove to the gym, warmed up for 10 minutes as usual then went outside and ran my 3 mile tempo run on the road. Last week I ran it in an average 7:20 minute mile; well down on my best. I failed to start my GPS this time, but judging my the overall time the route took me, it looks as though I managed to shave 3 or 4 seconds per mile off that time. A small improvement is better than nothing at least. I did a solid hour core strength and stability work in the gym afterwards, and then 15 minutes in the 80C sauna. In the week before I leave for Chile I will once more use the sauna nightly. I typically do 3 x 15 minute sessions each night, with a 5 minute cool-off in between them. I do this because there is anecdotal evidence that it ca help to acclimatise to a warmer country; increasing your sweat rate and reducing the amount of salt that you secrete. I don't know if it works or not, but it can't really do me any harm can it?
Friday, I rested, and then on Saturday planned a 12 mile trail route. I added 5kg of weight to my racing backpack as well. The first time I would run with that much weight since taking part in the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon back in September 2008. The route would take in 1300ft of ascent and a mix of terrain. I started, as all of my training runs do, with a mile on the road, gaining a couple of hundred feet. I then cross my first stile and head up over fields to a local Cleopatra's needle style landmark called the Wedgwood Monument, built to honour a local mining colliery owner at his death. It used to be 20M high, but a storm in the 1970's blew it down. It was put back up, but now stands just a quarter of it's original height. I took this photo from the top of the hill, with view looking across Staffordshire and into Shropshire (there's probably a little Cheshire in there too!).
You can see some off looking earthworks in the photo. The area I was standing on was right on top on an old colliery, over 150 years ago, so I guess that it was something to do with that.
I then ran down the other side of the hill. I took this shot looking back up; you can just make out the monument at the top.
I turned back to continue the route and took a photo of a stile for those abroad who have no idea what I am talking about when I keep mentioning them.
If you read the stile Wikipedia entry they do appear to be a UK phenomenon. They allow you to cross between fields, without letting any livestock escape. Cows and sheep haven't yet learned to climb these. I still trip over the odd one, so neither have I it appears. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, just keep me on my toes.
I then cross a high bridge over a long-abandoned railway line; a line that used to link the many mines in the area. I then hit a road, for a 3/4 mile stretch on a narrow country road. Then I join that very same abandoned railway line, but a 2 mile section of it has been turned into a cycle path now as you can see below.
So, nice easy flat running for 2 miles before then crossing another road and coming into the old Minnie Pit area.
These small monuments there, tell their own sad story.
Minnie pit has long gone, the area returned to nature. It looks much prettier now than it did back then, I am sure.
The area has been turned into a nature reserve, with a lake and some pathways, even a bridal way for horses too. I ran through there for the next couple of miles, before heading up a fairy mucky country lane.
I wish I would have taken a photo 100M further back, as I had to run ankle-deep through liquid silage. The things I do for my art eh? There are a few brief seconds when I wished I lived in London and could trot along the manicured paths of Richmond Park for training runs. However, I quickly come to my senses and realise just how ill prepared I would feel to take on these extreme challenges if I only had nice paths and tarmac to train on. I'm lucky to live where I do I think.
The mucky path later turns into a much nicer one though.
However, there was a lot of bricks and rubble buried on that road, probably to fill in pot-holes to make driving easier. It was along this stretch that I started to get foot pain on the outside of my right foot. If it wasn't for the fact I knew exactly what the pain was, I would have been very concerned. Now at around the 7.5 - 8 mile stage, the pain began to get worse, but it was manageable. The route emerged on a busy country road and I ran down it for 1/4 mile. I then tried to turn into a familiar footpath around the site of the old Silverdale Colliery, but it the foot path had been fenced off and closed. It looks like they are building houses on it. There was a notice up announcing the temporary closure (probably for a few years), and that there was no path diversion. So, now at the 9 mile stage, I had to backtrack and follow an earlier footpath, before crossing some access land (well, I hope it was access land) and rejoining my planned route. This tagged an additional half mile and more ascent onto the route.
There are a few fierce climbs between 9 and 11 miles, but running on my toes, as you do when running uphill actually eased the foot pain. This was confirmation of the self-diagnosis I had already made. I then headed into Apedale country park for some final undulating terrain and joined a road for the last mile home. I ran 12.5 miles, at an average of 6.1mph, so just faster than 10 minute miles. Not bad considering I was wearing the backpack.
I stretched out as I usually do, and took my trainers off. I couldn't put the flat of my foot on the ground it was so painful (and still is). I can walk on my tip toes fine, on the right foot, but not the sole. I have had this pain a couple of times, and only once as bad as this. The first time it happened I swore I had fractured my foot. I was almost sick with the pain, and actually went and had an x-ray done at Accident and Emergency. They even gave me crutches, even though there was obviously no break. After researching and getting the same problem again, including a milder case during the Kalahari marathon I know what the problem is.
It is acute inflammation of the Peroneus Brevis. Here's a picture to illustrate.
The tendon runs down the lower leg and attaches to the fifth metatarsal. It attaches just behind that little lump half way down the outside of your foot, and it is precisely there where the pain is felt. This is a fairly common running injury, and those that have had it will testify how much it can hurt.
It is now a day and a half later, and I still can't walk properly; only moving around on my tip toe of that foot. I have been icing it frequently, and apart from rest and some anti-inflammatory medication there isn't a lot that can be done. I can have some ultrasound on it, but chances are by midweek it will have settled down. This is why I am not too concerned. It is pretty unpleasant pain, but I've had it before and I know it will go away by itself. I may not be up to running on Tuesday; we'll just have to see. I suspect a combination of the very uneven tracks I have run on this week, along with wearing some actual trail shoes (less cushioning), and the 5kg pack have conspired to inflame the tendon. Stony ground always sets this injury off with me. This is one reason I am dreading the razor sharp uneven salt-flats in the Atacama Desert. It is pretty much a given that this injury will reoccur in Chile. It is just a question of how bad I get it. I can't run 100 miles on one tip-toe (it messes up your whole running gait of course), so I hope I don't get it this bad.
So, other than this little hiccup it has been a successful week. I hope to enter the 30 mile hill run/walk next Saturday, but it all depends on how this foot heals.
Have a good week.
On Tuesday I did a 10k trail route. I had hoped last week would be my last head torch run, but starting at 6:30pm it was already dark so once again I headed over the local fields and woods by torch light. I'm always hopping over stiles on the routes I run, some areas near my house being quite rural. If you are reading from abroad and have no idea what a stile is, don't worry I'll explain later in the post. Anyway, for once I counted how many I had to negotiate in the 10k route. 17! Even I was shocked at that. The route is pretty typical of the ones I run most days too. I did start the run wearing a hat and gloves, but soon took them off. It was warmer than I thought. Not long after I ended up removing my windproof jacket and putting it around my waist as I got too warm for even that. After the run, I went to my 1.5 hour yoga class. No toes touched yet, but I will let you know when I can manage it!
On Wednesday I did another 10k trail, but this time arriving home with just enough daylight to see, so no torch required. I chose one of my favourite routes; a challenging woodland trail with some steep ascent and ankle-twisting paths, the woodland floor littered with exposed tree roots. May sound a little risky to be deliberately choosing such tricky terrain this close to the Atacama Crossing, but I know the ground well and it keeps my mind sharp, scanning the ground ahead. I have also built up good ankle strength over the last few years with specific exercises in my core stability workout. I wore my knee brace again this evening, after my patellar tendon felt sore. It has flared up a little again, but it's not too bad just yet. Both Tuesday and Wednesday routes had around 7-800ft of ascent and were very uneven.
On Thursday I drove to the gym, warmed up for 10 minutes as usual then went outside and ran my 3 mile tempo run on the road. Last week I ran it in an average 7:20 minute mile; well down on my best. I failed to start my GPS this time, but judging my the overall time the route took me, it looks as though I managed to shave 3 or 4 seconds per mile off that time. A small improvement is better than nothing at least. I did a solid hour core strength and stability work in the gym afterwards, and then 15 minutes in the 80C sauna. In the week before I leave for Chile I will once more use the sauna nightly. I typically do 3 x 15 minute sessions each night, with a 5 minute cool-off in between them. I do this because there is anecdotal evidence that it ca help to acclimatise to a warmer country; increasing your sweat rate and reducing the amount of salt that you secrete. I don't know if it works or not, but it can't really do me any harm can it?
Friday, I rested, and then on Saturday planned a 12 mile trail route. I added 5kg of weight to my racing backpack as well. The first time I would run with that much weight since taking part in the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon back in September 2008. The route would take in 1300ft of ascent and a mix of terrain. I started, as all of my training runs do, with a mile on the road, gaining a couple of hundred feet. I then cross my first stile and head up over fields to a local Cleopatra's needle style landmark called the Wedgwood Monument, built to honour a local mining colliery owner at his death. It used to be 20M high, but a storm in the 1970's blew it down. It was put back up, but now stands just a quarter of it's original height. I took this photo from the top of the hill, with view looking across Staffordshire and into Shropshire (there's probably a little Cheshire in there too!).
You can see some off looking earthworks in the photo. The area I was standing on was right on top on an old colliery, over 150 years ago, so I guess that it was something to do with that.
I then ran down the other side of the hill. I took this shot looking back up; you can just make out the monument at the top.
I turned back to continue the route and took a photo of a stile for those abroad who have no idea what I am talking about when I keep mentioning them.
If you read the stile Wikipedia entry they do appear to be a UK phenomenon. They allow you to cross between fields, without letting any livestock escape. Cows and sheep haven't yet learned to climb these. I still trip over the odd one, so neither have I it appears. They come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, just keep me on my toes.
I then cross a high bridge over a long-abandoned railway line; a line that used to link the many mines in the area. I then hit a road, for a 3/4 mile stretch on a narrow country road. Then I join that very same abandoned railway line, but a 2 mile section of it has been turned into a cycle path now as you can see below.
So, nice easy flat running for 2 miles before then crossing another road and coming into the old Minnie Pit area.
These small monuments there, tell their own sad story.
Minnie pit has long gone, the area returned to nature. It looks much prettier now than it did back then, I am sure.
The area has been turned into a nature reserve, with a lake and some pathways, even a bridal way for horses too. I ran through there for the next couple of miles, before heading up a fairy mucky country lane.
I wish I would have taken a photo 100M further back, as I had to run ankle-deep through liquid silage. The things I do for my art eh? There are a few brief seconds when I wished I lived in London and could trot along the manicured paths of Richmond Park for training runs. However, I quickly come to my senses and realise just how ill prepared I would feel to take on these extreme challenges if I only had nice paths and tarmac to train on. I'm lucky to live where I do I think.
The mucky path later turns into a much nicer one though.
However, there was a lot of bricks and rubble buried on that road, probably to fill in pot-holes to make driving easier. It was along this stretch that I started to get foot pain on the outside of my right foot. If it wasn't for the fact I knew exactly what the pain was, I would have been very concerned. Now at around the 7.5 - 8 mile stage, the pain began to get worse, but it was manageable. The route emerged on a busy country road and I ran down it for 1/4 mile. I then tried to turn into a familiar footpath around the site of the old Silverdale Colliery, but it the foot path had been fenced off and closed. It looks like they are building houses on it. There was a notice up announcing the temporary closure (probably for a few years), and that there was no path diversion. So, now at the 9 mile stage, I had to backtrack and follow an earlier footpath, before crossing some access land (well, I hope it was access land) and rejoining my planned route. This tagged an additional half mile and more ascent onto the route.
There are a few fierce climbs between 9 and 11 miles, but running on my toes, as you do when running uphill actually eased the foot pain. This was confirmation of the self-diagnosis I had already made. I then headed into Apedale country park for some final undulating terrain and joined a road for the last mile home. I ran 12.5 miles, at an average of 6.1mph, so just faster than 10 minute miles. Not bad considering I was wearing the backpack.
I stretched out as I usually do, and took my trainers off. I couldn't put the flat of my foot on the ground it was so painful (and still is). I can walk on my tip toes fine, on the right foot, but not the sole. I have had this pain a couple of times, and only once as bad as this. The first time it happened I swore I had fractured my foot. I was almost sick with the pain, and actually went and had an x-ray done at Accident and Emergency. They even gave me crutches, even though there was obviously no break. After researching and getting the same problem again, including a milder case during the Kalahari marathon I know what the problem is.
It is acute inflammation of the Peroneus Brevis. Here's a picture to illustrate.
The tendon runs down the lower leg and attaches to the fifth metatarsal. It attaches just behind that little lump half way down the outside of your foot, and it is precisely there where the pain is felt. This is a fairly common running injury, and those that have had it will testify how much it can hurt.
It is now a day and a half later, and I still can't walk properly; only moving around on my tip toe of that foot. I have been icing it frequently, and apart from rest and some anti-inflammatory medication there isn't a lot that can be done. I can have some ultrasound on it, but chances are by midweek it will have settled down. This is why I am not too concerned. It is pretty unpleasant pain, but I've had it before and I know it will go away by itself. I may not be up to running on Tuesday; we'll just have to see. I suspect a combination of the very uneven tracks I have run on this week, along with wearing some actual trail shoes (less cushioning), and the 5kg pack have conspired to inflame the tendon. Stony ground always sets this injury off with me. This is one reason I am dreading the razor sharp uneven salt-flats in the Atacama Desert. It is pretty much a given that this injury will reoccur in Chile. It is just a question of how bad I get it. I can't run 100 miles on one tip-toe (it messes up your whole running gait of course), so I hope I don't get it this bad.
So, other than this little hiccup it has been a successful week. I hope to enter the 30 mile hill run/walk next Saturday, but it all depends on how this foot heals.
Have a good week.
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