2 Weeks of Progress

2 weeks since my last blog post and for the first of these weeks I was making very good progress. I managed a gentle 6km run in a little over 30 minutes without any immediate issues. The knee was a bit stiff the following day but not painful. Earlier this week I decided to do the same run again on Monday of this week (Week 2) but to run it slightly harder. For 5km I felt great and was running much better than the previous week, but in sight of the finish my right calf suddenly went very tight. I hadn't twisted or turned anything and wasn't sprinting, but it just went. I finished the run (yes, I know, I should have stopped) and by the end the calf was very sore. The following day was, fortunately, a rest day. Work commitments prevented any more phys until today, and I headed off to the CrossFit gym for the planned session. It promised to be a tough one:
200m run
20 pull-ups
400m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups
800m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 75 sit-ups
1 mile run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 7 sit-ups, 100 squats
800m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups, 75 sit-ups
400m run
20 pull-ups, 50 press-ups
200m run
This was an absolutely nails session, but the calf let me down as early as the first 400m run. Maybe I should have stopped but found that the Ironman Shuffle style of running allowed me to plod on without too much difficulty. It wasn't fast and it wasn't pretty but it got me to the end. I can't remember the exact time but I think it was a little over 55 minutes to complete. Very disappointed about the calf so will lay off the running for a while. On the positive side, I had no adverse reaction whatsoever from my knee - I'll take a positive from anywhere!

Looking ahead, we're off on Tuesday for a 3 day visit to France to visit some of the WW1 and WW2 battlefield sites and memorials; should be very interesting.

All the best.

Another Week of Progress

3 weeks ago, when I started my 8 week course at Shrivenham, I set myself the target of running a mile before the end of the course. After a couple of weeks of good progress I decided that this week I would see whether my knee was up to running. So on Monday I went out and did 25 minutes of gentle jogging, with no ill effects. I backed this up on Thursday with a 6km run in a little over 30 minutes and whilst I had no ill effects at the time the knee was very stiff on Friday morning. Today I was back at the CrossFit gym for a session of 4 minutes of squats tabata (!) followed by a one mile run. Coach Michelle thought I should use the rings to assist with my squats, taking a bit of weight off the knee whilst maintaining proper form; it was a good call as my squat form was (I am told) much improved. After the squats I started the run very easy, waiting for the legs to loosen up after the squats, and fell to last place in the group of 4. After a quarter of a mile or so I felt good and relaxed into my running and worked my way to the front of the group. I could hear one of the runners just behind me (my eldest lad, a mere 30 years younger than me!). About a quarter of a mile from the end there is a sharp left turn before an uphill run to the finish, and I worked hard up the hill and was surprised as I made the last turn to see I had opened out a gap of some 30 seconds or so. My one mile time was 7:17, so still some way off the 6 minutes I was recording before the injury, but proof that I am returning to fitness.

We followed this up with an 8 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 4 handstand push-ups, 8 kettlebell swings and 12 sit-ups. All in all a very enjoyable session.

Train smart folks.

Still Improving

Another good test today, the 'Fran' WOD at the CrossFit gym. Fran is:

21 thrusters
21 pull-ups

15 thrusters
15 pull-ups

9 thrusters
9 pull-ups

I used a 15kg bar with no additional weight, and am still on the thin purple band for the pull-ups. No issues with my knee and my form was apparently quite good.

Very happy with progress.