Core strength I

Core what now?

Now I've messed up my back so that running is off the menu for a while, I now have more time than is healthy. For instance, it lets me do things like this.

It also means I need to both adjust my training, and work out how I can avoid doing any more damage.

I've always had back problems of one sort or another, but for some reason last year it wasn't really a problem.

Obviously, that's no longer the case, so as well as getting it fixed, I need to make sure it is up to the hundreds of miles I've got ahead of me.

According to the quack, I need to work on my “core strength”. That sounded a bit like tree-hugging zen chi nonsense to me, then google put me right.

So this is the first of three posts on the joys of core strength training.

The gist is: core strength training makes your core muscles stronger.

Wow - I could have guessed that much myself.

Further reading revealed they're important to provide a base for running. To me “base” means bottom. Not bum, but lowest part i.e. feet. In this instance it's base as in the solid platform for running.

Also, stronger core muscles mean better running economy, speed and power. I think that means I'll be able to run faster with less effort.

Cool!

Only thing is, as you could probably have guessed, I've got no idea what my core muscles are.

Thank god for Google.

Basically the “core” includes muscles of the torso, back, and abdominal, hip and thigh muscles.

I always believed the hip was a bone, but I did spend most of biology trying to hide stuff from the teachers desk, so I may have missed some of the salient details.

So, it looks I need to do lots of boring sit ups etc, as well as weird legs things to both strengthen and take pressure off the bit of my back that keeps messing up.

Oh joy.

Given I can barely stand at the mo, the prospect of sitting up like that is about as appealing as cheese-grating my face.

No doubt, once I can actually walk more than three yards, I'll try it out, and soon have a ripped six pack. Ideally, it will be ripped in the “easy on they eye” way, rather than the “what I've just done to me back” way, otherwise this could all go so horribly wrong.

Best foot forward - getting the right trainers

Since my back's buggered so there's no running on the cards in the near future, I thought I'd spend some time sharing a few thoughts I'm hoping to take on board for the 09 race.

If there's one thing running the London Marathon teaches you, beyond the fact a leg shouldn't hurt that much, it's that pretty much anyone can do it.

Old, young, whatever. All you need is time to prepare, and stuff to wear.

Yes the preparation is a pain in the ass, but the kit you need to get round is pretty straightforward – t-shirt, shorts, sock and trainers.

Obviously you add some more layers to this when you're training in January, but that's essentially all the kit you need to run 26.2 miles.

The most important, and - rightly - the most expensive, item you need are a decent pair of trainers.

These are trainers in the literal sense - training shoes. None of the playground showing off and taking the piss out of the poor kid whose parents can only afford a pair of cheap knock-off's from the market.

When I started training for the 08 marathon, I had a pair of off-road Reeboks, that were fine for a bit. But I soon realised that off-roading wasn't gonna be ideal training for a 26.2 mile road run. My legs wouldn't be used to the stiffer surface, and my shins would get completely sh***ed.

So, I thought it might be an idea to get some proper running shoes and got myself some Asics 1120's.

These seemed groovy to me, but they're coming to the end of their life, so I'm in the market for another pair.

I've been doing some research using this interweb thing and there seems to be more to trainers than the pretty colours.

There's durability, weight and support for the different ways you run. The first two seem pretty straightforward, but, apparently, not everyone runs with one leg moving in front of the other!

It would seem that how your foot strikes the ground dictates the type of trainer you need. It depends if you over-pronate, supinate (under-pronate) or are a neutral runner.

Now I recognise some of the words in that last sentence, but I'll be honest, there's some new ones in there for me. I like to think I'm a pretty fair-minded chap, and not likely to declare war on anyone, so my gut tells me I'm neutral. Sort of like a more fun Switzerland – I do like Toblerones, but cuckoo clocks get on my tits.

Sadly, according to people who know stuff about running, that's not the right kind of test.

To find out what kind you are, the best way is to go to a proper running shop and get tested by the staff there who will tell you the right type for you. Sadly, I don't live near a proper running shop, and when I mentioned pronation in JD sports, the girl said she'd heard his stuff, but liked those fellas on X-factor better.

So, the DIY test involves:

1. Looking at your current trainers and seeing where on the sole has worn down most
2. Stepping with a wet foot onto a clean surface and looking at the impression your foot makes.

Runnersworld.ltd.co.uk has a good guide to what you're looking for, and according to this, I'm an supinator.

Upon further investigation, this means I trained for hundreds of miles, and ran/hobbled around the last marathon exactly the wrong trainers.

This may explain the blisters and severe pain.

So, I've bought a cheapy pair of neutral cushioned Asics to keep me going, but come the new year I'll be in the market for something like the Nimbus range. Ideally they'll have a new model out so the older one, which still works, will be massively cheaper as they're not exactly cheap when compared to food etc.

I'll also probably need to get a couple of pairs as with five and a bit months to go, I don't want to have them fall apart the week before the race, and have to run it in brand-spankers.

So, if you're a rich person who wants to make a benevolent gesture, or work for a sports company who want to give stuff away – email me!

Ow! Bum! and other profanities

I'm beginning to get the feeling I'm not meant to be a marathon runner.

An not just because I despise running.

With the place to myself on Sunday aft, I thought I would indulge my manly needs and proceeded to my man-cave (the garage). I emerged armed with wheelbarrow, various garden tools, and the grin of a man who knew he had at last got time to get on with some manly pursuits.

After a couple of hours digging, hoeing (*schoolboy titter*) and generally being manly, I'd given the front garden a much needed tidy up, and had avoided killing many of the plants I usually inadvertently destroy when weeding.

I put the bag of weeds/garden waste in the wheelbarrow and wheeled it back around to the garage, and put things away in a manly way.

With the place to myself for another couple of hours I thought it'd be the perfect time to get going on an 8-miler I'd been promising myself - just to show I could get round it.

So I went in, got changed and bent to put my trainers on.

Then my back exploded.

Not in the "incendiaries-aplenty-on-Normandy-beaches" way, but in the "oh-christ-I-think-a-vertebrae-just-tried-to-climb-out-of-me" way. Which is still not nice.

I tried not to move as my brain was reliving bits from tv shows where the patient needs a spinal board to avoid further injury. Then I remembered I was still bending over to put on a shoe, so even if I could remain in this pose until someone found me it would be pointless as the paramedics would need a C-shaped spinal board. I don't watch much Casualty, but I think I'd have remembered seeing one like that.

So, I rolled sideways onto the bed and inwardly cursed at the pain.

I also outwardly cursed as it f***ing killed, but I was also doing it inwardly.

I went to the quacks yesterday morning, who after bending me painfully into a variety of poses (not for medical reasons, I just think she liked the control) has got me taking it easy and has prescribed diclofenac and diazepam.

So I got home, took them, and got comfortable. I then realised I'd taken too many of the painkillers, which, when combined withe the diazepam, led to some strange results involving a camera, a soft toy, and a drug-induced imagination.

Needless to say, the training is on hold until I can, you know, walk properly again.

Would be easy to say "screw it" and drop out, but the fact I've got so much against me makes me just want to do it even more. It was always gonna be hard, just now it's gonna be harder.

Deal with it

This aint no walk in the park

Just been out for a 4-miler and I'm still struggling to get going properly.

I've not forgotten how to start running - it's essentially walking, but your legs move quicker - but I'm jsut not getting into the running properly, and it's a real chore, even though it's not actually tiring.

When I first found out I'd got into the marathon next year I got up to 5 miles again relatively quickly, but after a bit of a break, I've completely lost it.

Not in the "committed to asylum, stir up inmates, end up smothered to death by a pillow attached to the end of a massive Indian" way, more a "can't find my running mojo" way.

Which is probably preferable, once you think about it.

I don't know if it's new trainers, running in trackie bottoms, or the fact I've only got one song to listen to on m phone*, but I just can't seem to get the consistent pace at low miles.

It's prob more likely my general unfitness and lack of motivation, but blaming other things is much easier on my fragile ego.

Just gotta try powering through, and hope it picks up again soon, otherwise, these next 20 odd weeks are gonna be even more hellish than they would be anyway.

So, rest tomorrow, then try again on Friday.

*Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger - I know that puppy word for word now. It's deep...

Worst run ever

Went out for a nice simple run last night as I've at last got some new trainers that don't injure me.

It was horrible - couldn't get into a rhythm, legs just didn't seem to be interested, and my form was lousy.

Kept trying to tweak little bits to make a difference - find different tempo etc - but it didn't make a difference.

Even my usualy berating of myself for being pathetic didn't work - and that's normally a wonderful motivator for me.

Perhaps I'm mellowing with age?

After fuming to myself for a bit I'm now motivating myself for another go tonight. With any luck someone will piss me off at work today so I can channel my anger.