Filed under: running | Tags: back pain, glutes, hip flexors, osteopath, simon griffiths, thatcham
Reading iliketocount’s list of ailments, I thought I might have been a bit of a wimp about the pain in my bum but, after a couple of low-impact sessions at the gym this week, – exercise bike/cross-trainer/stepper on Tuesday and a spinning class yesterday – my back/bottom was feeling worse than ever.
So I traipsed off to Thatcham first thing this morning to see Simon Griffiths, an osteopath who’s effectively treated a couple of running- and ski-related knee problems in the past. I’m not necessarily a fan of all types of alternative therapy, but I really believe in osteopathy. Unlike the experience I’ve had with physios in the past (where they tend to look at the muscles in isolation) osteopathy covers all the bases – bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other connective tissues – and helps them to work together better.
Before laying a finger on me, Simon typically diagnoses the problem by asking a series of questions, then fixes it with a combination of massage, ultrasound and prescribed exercises and stretches. He’s got the most phenomenal memory (unless he keeps very comprehensive notes on the personal lives of each of his patients) of which I am just plain jealous, as I am in possession of a head like a sieve. He’s also sports-mad himself, so he doesn’t tut and shake his head disapprovingly when you tell him you’re a runner.
So, what was his verdict? Well, it turns out that the root of the problem isn’t in my back or bottom at all – but in the hip flexor. This acts as the opposite muscle to the glute (like the triceps to a biceps) and is incredibly tight. That’s resulting in pain in the other areas, and also causing a tendon nearby to rub against my pelvis – creating that grinding sound when I do sit-ups.
It’s not terminal – or even that much of a drama. Simon contorted me into various positions, yanked me about a bit, made lots of things crack, gave me a bit of a massage and dispatched me with a few exercises aimed at stretching out the hip flexors and glutes. I’m in some degree of pain now, but it always feels worse before it gets better!
The only things he suggested I avoid doing between now and my next appointment are golf and vigorous hoovering. I’m truly awful at golf and anyone who’s been near my flat will agree that I’m not much better at cleaning – so that’s fine by me.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: back pain, osteopath, simon griffiths, thatcham
The rest of the weekend was a write-off exercise wise. I wasn’t even hungover, having taken the decision to drive to the wedding on Friday – but Phil was feeling peaky and my back got a little worse, rather than better.
Standing in the spa pool on Friday, I directed the water jets in various places around my back and legs to see if I could find the pain points. Despite the stiffness being in the left-hand side of my lower back area, I was surprised to find a real area of tenderness deep into my left buttock! It actually feels bruised. Whether that’s a contributing factor to, or a symptom of, the back problem – I’m not yet sure.
Anyway, I have finally booked an appointment with an osteopath – the wonderful Simon Griffiths in Thatcham, who has treated a couple of unrelated knee injuries in the past – and will be seeing him on Thursday. Must ensure my biggest pair of pants are clean.
Until then, I won’t be subjecting myself to British Military Fitness classes. Shame, as I was getting into a good routine twice a week.
I found myself at the gym slightly later than usual on Friday morning. I had a day off for a wedding later on, and thought I’d get an exercise unit in before I hit the wedding vino. I didn’t feel much like running but I’d missed the early spinning class so – with the spinning studio to myself – I decided to DIY it.
Good fun it was too – I plugged myself into my iPod, found some tracks with varying tempos and off I went. One of the instructors came in after about ten minutes and insisted on putting on the demo track and virtual reality graphics, which was just a bit distracting. I don’t need to pretend I’m cycling through the streets of London when I’m patently not even outside, and the soundtrack sticks roughly to the same tempo, whether it’s Walk Like An Egyptian or Acceptable In The 80s. I turned up my iPod and carried on in my own little world. My back didn’t feel too bad – certainly not as stiff as it did after running and British Military Fitness earlier on in the week. After 45 minutes, I was pretty much spent and just did a few upper body weights before heading to the sauna and spa.
The gym demographic changes as you go through the day – the frantic pre-work crowd has disappeared by 9am, to be replaced by the blue rinse brigade. Watching them cavort around in the pool to aqua aerobics while I sweated some more in the sauna wasa sight to behold. I think there was only one person under 60 in the entire pool.
Filed under: British Military Fitness | Tags: back pain, British Military Fitness class, Mr Motivator
A combination of an afternoon in Londinium and some residual stiffness in my back stopped me from going to British Military Fitness on Monday. Mr Motivator and his bergen were apparently on duty, and it sounds like I missed a treat – NOT – virtually everyone was grumping about him when I turned up yesterday.
Steve punished us for our impertinence by making us run repeatedly up a hill with a foul-smelling dog turd at the bottom of it. Naturally at least one person managed to step in it and was ostracised by the rest of us for the duration of the class.
After the water break, we moved over to the football pitches for more sprint-burpee-press-up combos. I was ok for the first half of the class, but my back was a bit achy for the second half. Weird, because it didn’t feel that bad afterwards. It seems to be more of a niggle around the left-hand side of the lumbar region than a proper injury – but it’s the same bit that makes a funny noise when I’m doing sit-ups. Did I say I would book an appointment with the osteopath? Hmmm, still haven’t. Maybe I’ll get to it tomorrow when I have a day off.
Filed under: running | Tags: A4, Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit, running, Waltham Green, White Waltham
I realised when I reviewed my Juneathon stats that I haven’t actually been doing a lot of running recently.
Whereas when I lived in Bath, my “standard” weekly run was seven miles around the Skyline route, my regular run is now only four or five miles. That happens once a week. I also do the odd 5k challenge here and there at the gym, and I run about quite a lot at British Military Fitness, but it’s not like doing a proper long run. One of the key reasons for that is not having entered any long races since the Reading Half in March, for one reason or another.
So after my 5k challenge on Friday, Phil and I decided to do two runs over the weekend. The first – on Saturday – was the standard Dinton Pastures/river run; a distinctly average plod of around 53 minutes.
On Sunday, we contemplated getting the train to Reading or Henley before running home, but Phil spotted the Knowl Hill Bridleway Circuit marked on the O/S map so we pottered off in the car and parked somewhere off the A4 near a slightly dodgy-looking pub called the Seven Stars. The bridleway is apparently 20 miles in length, and goes north of Knowl Hill through Warren Row, Burchett’s Green and Littlewick Green; and continues south of the A4 around Waltham St Lawrence and White Waltham. We stuck to the southern part of it; and very nice it was too. Well signposted, clear of overgrowing bushes and not too much horse poo. In fact, we didn’t see a single horse the whole time we were out and, in fact, not many people at all. We ran for around eight miles – very slowly, it has to be said, particularly towards the end when my lower back stiffened up.
Good to do a slightly longer run, though my back wasn’t very happy. Nothing serious: it doesn’t feel too bad at all today. But perhaps I should see the osteopath like I’ve been meaning to for ages before I do any significant damage.
At the end of last year, I made some sort of sweeping statement about getting my 10k time down below 50 minutes. I haven’t made much progress in this respect.
Instead, I’ve been using my sporadic visits to the gym when I’m not spinning to monitor my 5k times (historically a lazy 30 mins). My last attempt was on Friday, and I did the 5k in 25:41. I was sweating profusely by the end of it, and I’m pretty sure a few people actively avoided coming anywhere near me.
My times are going in the right direction, but would probably get there a bit quicker if I went more often…
- 28 May – 28:02
- 5 May – 27:24
- 8 May – 27:01
- 29 May – 26:01
- 17 July – 25:41
Filed under: British Military Fitness, running, running gear | Tags: British Military Fitness, Inov8 Roclite 295, Fitness Footwear, off-road, running shoes
Inov8 Roclite 295 (source: Fitness Footwear)
Firstly, an apology: to the lovely Adam Smith at Fitness Footwear, who approached me some time ago to see if I would review a pair of shoes that I got to keep afterwards. Let’s just say it was considerably cooler when he asked me, so my review is extremely tardy. However, that has given me time to give them a proper road-test. So here’s my review…
I’ve had mixed experiences when buying running shoes in various stores in the past. I have quite wide feet, and shoes that are too tight can be immensely uncomfortable. But, last year, I found a pair of Saucony road running shoes that I’m really happy with, and wasn’t inclined to waste my Fitness Footwear opportunity on another pair of road shoes that may or may not fit.
Added to that, I’ve been doing a few more off-road races lately, and noticed other competitors wearing specialist off-road shoes – generally lighter weight with less cushioning and bigger tread on the soles. Though I’d come across the likes of Salomon – notable for their extensive sponsorship of various off-road races around the country – I didn’t really have a clue where to start looking for the right off-road shoes. I asked Adam for his advice, and he suggested I try the Inov8 brand. Completely unknown to me, but apparently quite good for people with generously proportioned plates of meat.
I ordered a pair of the Inov8 Roclite 295s from the site – based more or less on what they looked like (I’m not a big fan of flourescent yellow) and waited for them to arrive. Sure enough, they appeared within a couple of days – great service from Fitness Footwear.
My pair (source: me)
They felt quite lightweight with a much deeper tread than normal running shoes – as expected – in fact, slightly more like walking shoes (I normally buy Merrells) than running shoes. I’d ordered a size 7 (my normal shoe size is a 6/6.5 and I wear size 7.5 Sauconys to run in), but they felt quite large when I put them on. Certainly they were wide enough, but they actually felt longer than necessary for my feet. Nonetheless, I had nothing to lose by giving them a go and it is true that your feet swell once you get going.
My first run in them was a 4.5-mile loop from West Hampstead up and around Hampstead Heath and back. And they felt terrible on the road – like running on planks – a bit like when your running shoes need replacing. The cushioning is absolutely non-existent and my feet felt like they were slopping around inside the shoes. But, then something happened when I got off the road and onto the woodland paths on the outskirts of the Heath: suddenly my feet felt super-grippy on the gravelly and sandy surface.
My next excursion was to a British Military Fitness class… and one of my class-mates was wearing an identical pair. More to the point, he was a man. Turns out the Inov8s are unisex shoes. Hmmm, surely men and women have different anatomies and therefore different requirements? Anyway, I carried on regardless, and found – once again – that the Roclites came into their own on grass. Their grippiness gives you confidence on slippy grass, particularly on inclines and descents, of which there are plenty in the average BMF class!
A subsequent class in very wet conditions confirmed their ability to deal with damp as well as uneven or rough terrain. However, my feet did get very wet indeed – the lightweight uppers are not in the slightest bit waterproof.
I haven’t done much in the way of off-road racing over the past few months, so I haven’t tested them in a race situation. But I would only use them if the race was entirely off-road rather than a mix of road/off-road terrain, and wouldn’t attempt a long run at all; 10k is about their limit because of the lack of cushioning. But the shoes have become my default British Military Fitness footwear of choice – and are standing up to the beating they get twice a week much better than my normal shoes, which were destroyed within the first six months. Even the fit has improved over time with a small amount of adjustment in the laces department. Just tonight, I was reminded of the edge they give on grass: as my class-mates gingerly picked their way down a steep bit of the park, a bit frightened of slipping, I hurled myself down the hill with complete confidence.
I wouldn’t suggest readers use any online store to buy running shoes for the first time – I think it’s vital to get face-to-face advice from an experienced runner who can help find the right fit. For that, my store of choice is Runner’s World in Eastcote – hands-down the best guys to talk to. I’ve had poor experiences everywhere else.
But, if you’re buying a second pair of the same brand/model, or want to try out some off-roaders where fit is less crucial, then Fitness Footwear’s Inov8 range is a great place to start.
Filed under: British Military Fitness, circuits, food, recipes, running, spinning | Tags: banana and ginger bread, banana bread, British Military Fitness, circuit training, food, Hastings, Pulse8, running, spinning, West Hampstead
I was told off this evening at British Military Fitness for not updating my blog for nearly a week. Ooops. Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t been sitting around being a lard-arse – honest.
- Friday – spinning with Matt at Pulse8. Best instructor there by a country mile, because he really uses the music to motivate the class.
- Saturday – DIY circuit training in West Hampstead. The teenagers doing community service are still painting the railings and they’ve made staggeringly little progress since last time we were there.
- Sunday – down in Hastings, a very uppy-downy four-ish mile run around the cliffs breathing in the sea air. Hard but good.
- Monday – British Military Fitness with Dan
- Tuesday – rest day
- Today – British Military Fitness with Hayley
So, rather than bore you with the finer details of those exploits, I’ll make a suggestion as to what to do with over-ripe bananas. Although I love greeny yellow young bananas, I can’t stand them when they start going brown – they actually make me want to vomit – so I frequently end up with one or two looking forlorn in the bottom of my fruit bowl. Last night I had two manky ones, and time on my hands to do some baking.
Banana and Ginger Tea Bread
- 175g self-raising flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 40g butter or margarine
- 50g soft brown sugar
- 50g stem ginger, chopped
- 60ml milk
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line and grease a 1lb loaf tin.
- Sift flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter/marg until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
- Add the ginger, milk and mashed bananas and mix to a soft dough.
- Spoon into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes. Run a palette knife around the edges to loosen them, turn the tea bread onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
Easy peasy. And the result went down a storm among my team-mates at work today.
Haven’t been to the gym for ages, but went Wednesday morning as I couldn’t make my normal British Military Fitness class in the evening.
Swerved spinning because the instructor taking the class wasn’t one of the best ones, and had a bit of a go on one of the X-dream bikes – until I got cross because it wouldn’t move me up a level and I couldn’t find a member of staff to sort it out. My legs were still aching after the piggyback experience on Monday night, so I thought I’d just do a short stint on the treadmill.
This month’s Runner’s World suggests trying a “treadhill” workout – which is apparently good for the knees. I did the following at a steady 10km/hour:
- 2 minutes @ 2% gradient
- 1 minute @ 4%
- 2 minutes @ 2% gradient
- 1 minute @ 6%
- 2 minutes @ 2% gradient
- 1 minute @ 8%
- 2 minutes @ 2% gradient
- 1 minute @ 10%
- 3 minutes @ 2% gradient
So that was 15 minutes in total – and harder than it sounds, particularly on the 8 and 10% gradients. Looking back at the magazine, I think I was supposed to progressively increase the “recovery” gradient as well, but that was enough for a first go. I’ll try that again – it seems like a good way of getting more out of a short work-out.
Also in this month’s magazine, FitArtist and eatingtrees giving their advice on how to treat achy muscles. Available at a newsagent near you now.
Filed under: British Military Fitness
I had a weekend of excessive drinking and not nearly enough sleep at a hen weekend in Bath, and spent Sunday firstly hungover then in a state of general excitement at the Take That show at Wembley (yes, it was great – and no, I’m not in the slightest bit embarrassed by that statement). So it was with some trepidation that I went to British Military Fitness on Monday evening. Three instructors had turned up – Dan loves teaching us so much that he came along when he wasn’t even supposed to – and he took the reds while Hayley and Steve took the blues and greens respectively.
I felt weak for the duration of the session. It didn’t help that we were working in pairs for most of the session, and that included doing press-ups while in the wheelbarrow position; and squats with the partner in a piggyback position. As my partner remarked, it’s quite odd to be in such close proximity to someone that’s almost a complete stranger. I was just embarrassed to be the one causing her to stagger around under my weight (I view myself as being quite “densely” built).
Anyway, here’s a gratuitous shot of Take That to help relieve the embarrassment.
Take That on the Circus tour
