As the NHS finally whirr's into action this week with the cardiology tests I reflect on a good week in the more fun parts of my running life!
Usually on a Monday evening I would be track side stopwatch, clipboard and whistle but the recent health worries have put pay to that. Thankfully Don is standing in for me and making sure the runners get their weekly interval training fix!
Wednesday was the Royton Trail which is Royton Road Runners annual club race, along time ago I offered to help with the timing so was hoping to get there! Brian Moore our stats man organises the results and on this occasion we were going to use the parkrun timer in an effort to make the front of the funnel a simpler job for the stopwatch folks.
It went very well and the import process to the spreadsheet fairly straight forward, we will continue to see if the parkrun model has any merit going forward... Who knows barcoded race numbers???
Friday saw the first gathering of all the organisers for parkruns in the North West. Paul Sinton-Hewitt and Tom Williams (www.marathontalk.com) gave us an update on all things parkrun now and in the near future.
PSH started with an impassioned history of parkrun right up to date. Manchester has grown its numbers since Bramhall started followed by Heaton, Woodbank, South Manchester, Oldham, Bolton and Pennington Flash.
Liverpool has started its own story at the Princes park and will surely mirror Manchester's growth in the coming years
After the meeting some of us went out for a meal and we headed off in convoy, when the lead car pulled in at a MacDonalds were were somewhat confused as we should have been at the Curry Mile in Rusholme. It turned out the lead car was the Liverpool team who never intended going for a curry and were grabbing a quick burger on the way home!
My everlasting vision will be of PSH, Tom and 6 other parkrun leaders enjoying a post-meal Vimto lolly... surreal!
On Saturday it was Sandra's first time as race director and as we met in the park, the heavens opened!
Last week had been good weather but Bev's first RD experience had its own issue... vans driving around the park.
Sandra delivered a great run brief, managed volunteers and could not have done a better job. The ladies did so well I can relax knowing that Oldham parkrun will continue to grow and grow. parkrun is all about community and as I was chatting to Sandra at 8:30am it reminded me of discussions the night before. There are now over 80 parkruns which means hundreds of parkrun leaders and volunteers having the same emotions as they head in to a park on a Saturday morning! Thousands of runners some for there first time, happy and excited about meeting fellow parkrunners the chatter can be deafening!
Well I hope that the doctors can get to the bottom of whatever is making me unwell and I can get back to running soon.
Regards
Mark
Monday, 18 July 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
The worst week of my life
Not only does my left knee keep me from running, it seems my heart is having a bad spell!
Monday night before my usual coaching duty I warmed up with Dave E and could not believe it 0.65 miles in and bang, excruciating pain in my left knee. So back to square one and Robin Hood looks out of my league.
For the last couple of months I have noticed the tendency to utter the words 'oops got up to fast' and feel a touch dizzy.
Well early on Thursday morning I passed out after presumably going to the loo! I was taken by ambulance to Oldham Royal Hospital and one of the tests indicated a condition known as "postural hypotension" this is where your systolic blood pressure drops when sitting up from lying down or standing up. Mine drops around 20 which is enough to make you light headed at the best of times. I was later discharged as an outpatient from Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and began immediately to rest and recuperate (my fall was bad enough!).
On Saturday morning I rolled out of bed feeling much better and proceeded to setup Oldham parkrun as usual, this week being dubious as there was a 'Dragon Boat race' in the park lake.
During a pre-event risk assessment, Sandra (one of our regular runners and volunteer) suggested that if too many vehicles were seen on the course, then cancel the run either before or during the race.
On the route a coffee van was using part of the path, the owner "Liam" turned out to be a heaton parkrunner!
He moved his signs to make the gap a bit wider, so on we continued.
I briefed the runners accordingly and set them on their way, sure enough after one lap Sandra reported far too much traffic, so I got on the radio and advised marshals to warn runners to stop and return to race HQ!
By 9:30 we had packed away and I headed with my Eldest son as he was in one of the Dragon Boat teams!
I felt great and for no apparent reason started to get light headed, breathing was difficult and sat on a low wall feeling very unwell.
A first-aider was close by and soon recommend getting to Hospital, which thanks to one if the leaders of our boat race team , drove me promptly to A&E where I just made it as my condition worsened!
I must had a panic attack and was struggling to breathe, the ECG showing a very fast heart rate. The doctors administered all sorts of drugs including aspirin to thin my blood. A am very grateful to Brian for staying with me and helping to calm me down. Our conversation about car park wardens in rip-off Britain will remain with me for ever!
I was sent back up to the MAU ward and spent all day staring at either the clock or the ceiling. Thanks to my Wife and Sister for spending time with me it really helped keep my spirits up.
Finally I had my second blood tests at 10:45pm and just over an hour later the results can back confirming that my heart had not been damaged in the morning's episode :)
So at 12:30am I arrived home discharged again as an out-patient and now await further tests.
Because of my knee I could not take part in the Freckleton Half, so my revenge on it's punishment on me last year will have to wait!
Happily though Colin G who was on top form at Edinburgh with a 3:07 came 34th (1:26:40) out of 650 runners at today's Freckleton. If I can get him back to the track I am sure I can get him sub 85 and 3:00 for his half and full marathons!
I am now on full rest which means no work, no coaching on Monday's (I hope Don can step of retirement for a while), parkrun race directing, volunteer co-ordinator for now. Fortunately the poppy-run is not until October 30th and I have a fair bit of the work done anyway.
I hope your week as been much better than mine!
Mark K
Monday night before my usual coaching duty I warmed up with Dave E and could not believe it 0.65 miles in and bang, excruciating pain in my left knee. So back to square one and Robin Hood looks out of my league.
For the last couple of months I have noticed the tendency to utter the words 'oops got up to fast' and feel a touch dizzy.
Well early on Thursday morning I passed out after presumably going to the loo! I was taken by ambulance to Oldham Royal Hospital and one of the tests indicated a condition known as "postural hypotension" this is where your systolic blood pressure drops when sitting up from lying down or standing up. Mine drops around 20 which is enough to make you light headed at the best of times. I was later discharged as an outpatient from Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) and began immediately to rest and recuperate (my fall was bad enough!).
On Saturday morning I rolled out of bed feeling much better and proceeded to setup Oldham parkrun as usual, this week being dubious as there was a 'Dragon Boat race' in the park lake.
During a pre-event risk assessment, Sandra (one of our regular runners and volunteer) suggested that if too many vehicles were seen on the course, then cancel the run either before or during the race.
On the route a coffee van was using part of the path, the owner "Liam" turned out to be a heaton parkrunner!
He moved his signs to make the gap a bit wider, so on we continued.
I briefed the runners accordingly and set them on their way, sure enough after one lap Sandra reported far too much traffic, so I got on the radio and advised marshals to warn runners to stop and return to race HQ!
By 9:30 we had packed away and I headed with my Eldest son as he was in one of the Dragon Boat teams!
I felt great and for no apparent reason started to get light headed, breathing was difficult and sat on a low wall feeling very unwell.
A first-aider was close by and soon recommend getting to Hospital, which thanks to one if the leaders of our boat race team , drove me promptly to A&E where I just made it as my condition worsened!
I must had a panic attack and was struggling to breathe, the ECG showing a very fast heart rate. The doctors administered all sorts of drugs including aspirin to thin my blood. A am very grateful to Brian for staying with me and helping to calm me down. Our conversation about car park wardens in rip-off Britain will remain with me for ever!
I was sent back up to the MAU ward and spent all day staring at either the clock or the ceiling. Thanks to my Wife and Sister for spending time with me it really helped keep my spirits up.
Finally I had my second blood tests at 10:45pm and just over an hour later the results can back confirming that my heart had not been damaged in the morning's episode :)
So at 12:30am I arrived home discharged again as an out-patient and now await further tests.
Because of my knee I could not take part in the Freckleton Half, so my revenge on it's punishment on me last year will have to wait!
Happily though Colin G who was on top form at Edinburgh with a 3:07 came 34th (1:26:40) out of 650 runners at today's Freckleton. If I can get him back to the track I am sure I can get him sub 85 and 3:00 for his half and full marathons!
I am now on full rest which means no work, no coaching on Monday's (I hope Don can step of retirement for a while), parkrun race directing, volunteer co-ordinator for now. Fortunately the poppy-run is not until October 30th and I have a fair bit of the work done anyway.
I hope your week as been much better than mine!
Mark K
Sunday, 12 June 2011
1st mile knee pain-free in 2 months
Yey, at last after 2 months of rest I managed 4 laps of the track knee pain free! my fitness is wiped out of course but a good sign in any case.
The bike work however is helping to get my cardio work back on track and I hope that I can get fit in time to complete the robin hood marathon. Finishing the marathon rather than any PB goal of course and this marathon was only ever for... FUN.
Oldham parkrun was a great success this week not just for the super turnout but from the buzz before and after the event.
The weather was great, sunny, light breeze and around 9 deg Celsius. As we processed the results the temperature dropped rapidly and by the time I pulled up at home it was hail-stoning! Talk about fickle weather systems...
So this week I will try and stick a couple of miles down on the track and kick start a short marathon training plan.
I hope you have had a good running week and I should think my next race will be the Sale 10 mile in a couple of months time, or perhaps a parkrun as they are every week ;)
Mark K
The bike work however is helping to get my cardio work back on track and I hope that I can get fit in time to complete the robin hood marathon. Finishing the marathon rather than any PB goal of course and this marathon was only ever for... FUN.
Oldham parkrun was a great success this week not just for the super turnout but from the buzz before and after the event.
The weather was great, sunny, light breeze and around 9 deg Celsius. As we processed the results the temperature dropped rapidly and by the time I pulled up at home it was hail-stoning! Talk about fickle weather systems...
So this week I will try and stick a couple of miles down on the track and kick start a short marathon training plan.
I hope you have had a good running week and I should think my next race will be the Sale 10 mile in a couple of months time, or perhaps a parkrun as they are every week ;)
Mark K
Sunday, 5 June 2011
The road ahead
Tomorrow I am supposed to start my 12 week programme for the Robin Hood Marathon (RHM) in September... so today I went on a bike ride to kick start at least a bit of fitness! Over 15 miles and my knee never once complained.
So tomorrow I will head out on the track and complete a mile, I hope. All being well I can start to get back to marathon fitness in good time, the RHM is not a major target so if I can not get ready in time then its no big loss.
Oldham parkrun was a great success this week with 64 finishers, quite a few of which turned out in fancy dress as it was the "runfree" event promoted by Lucozade. It was a very welcome site to see runners re-hydrating after a very warm 5K event. I hope to get a photograph from Saturday and publish on this blog, my fancy dress outfit was... warm to say the least!
So sorry it is a short post but hey if I run 1 whole mile tomorrow night it could mean a return to lots of running!
Have a great running week
Mark
So tomorrow I will head out on the track and complete a mile, I hope. All being well I can start to get back to marathon fitness in good time, the RHM is not a major target so if I can not get ready in time then its no big loss.
Oldham parkrun was a great success this week with 64 finishers, quite a few of which turned out in fancy dress as it was the "runfree" event promoted by Lucozade. It was a very welcome site to see runners re-hydrating after a very warm 5K event. I hope to get a photograph from Saturday and publish on this blog, my fancy dress outfit was... warm to say the least!
So sorry it is a short post but hey if I run 1 whole mile tomorrow night it could mean a return to lots of running!
Have a great running week
Mark
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Back to exercise... on a bike
Sorry I have not been blogging for some weeks, a project at work is taking up all my spare time that is normally filled with running! My injury woes refuse to abate but fear not, I took to the trails on a bike for the first time in... years. Needless to say I feel a little saddle sore but I am assured my butt will "toughen up" after the miles roll on!
The twinge in my left knee I felt on my last long run before the VLM has returned and no matter which running shoes, running surface (Track, Grass or road) or pace... has manifested into agony. The furthest I can managed is 1/2 mile then my knee gives me pain that stops me in my tracks.
My good friend Rick Bennett, Manager of the Sweatshop store in the Manchester Arndale and Event Director at Heaton parkrun, mailed two photo's he took of me at the VLM 2011, which has cheered me up.
Standing at around mile 13 you get to see runners on the way back (mile 22) from the same spot.
In the first photo I appear to be holding my nose, this is probably due to tipping water over my head at mile 12 and it dripped down through my shades onto my nose!
on the second photo you can clearly see my running style is shocking, I am sloping forward as highlighted by the speed camera directly behind me. Since becoming a running coach I seem to always pick holes in my running pictures!
The twinge in my left knee I felt on my last long run before the VLM has returned and no matter which running shoes, running surface (Track, Grass or road) or pace... has manifested into agony. The furthest I can managed is 1/2 mile then my knee gives me pain that stops me in my tracks.
My good friend Rick Bennett, Manager of the Sweatshop store in the Manchester Arndale and Event Director at Heaton parkrun, mailed two photo's he took of me at the VLM 2011, which has cheered me up.
Standing at around mile 13 you get to see runners on the way back (mile 22) from the same spot.
In the first photo I appear to be holding my nose, this is probably due to tipping water over my head at mile 12 and it dripped down through my shades onto my nose!
on the second photo you can clearly see my running style is shocking, I am sloping forward as highlighted by the speed camera directly behind me. Since becoming a running coach I seem to always pick holes in my running pictures!
More upsetting is that I still have no pictures with me "keeping up" with Nell McAndrew...
In a week or so I should be starting my marathon training for the Robin Hood in September, I hope my knee starts to strengthen soon, the lack of running is becoming to be a bore.
Please enjoy your running, as I cannot!
Mark Kelly
Monday, 2 May 2011
A great Easter break
Following a marathon the general recommendation is to take a rest and let your body recover. As a keen runner this is tough to do, helped or not by being injured I have been restless to say the least!
The hundred pushups app on the iPhone is a great way of focusing on exercise with a swim session later in the week planned.
I am already planning for the next marathon (Robin Hood, Nottingham in September) not so much the race but how to condition my body better.
The lack of miles in the last few weeks in the build up to London, the injury cost me at least 5 minutes and will no doubt take me longer to recover for sure. There are many things that I am reflecting on right now, my pacing, nutrition, core body strength to name but a few.
Reading in this weeks 'Athletics Weekly' that in 2010 the average cost for a runner to kit up, travel and so on costs around £450 pounds to take part in the London Marathon... I can vouch for that.
One thing I can count on for Nottingham is a quieter Saturday to rest my legs. The standing around on tube trains and walking around the expo in London was horrendous on the runners who should by all rights be taking it easy.
I am considering a better strategy for next year including a proxy collection!
I just about managed 53 push ups on Thursday over 5 sets with just 60 seconds of recovery, the app works like interval sessions on the track... Push you body hard, recover and push again. I followed that with my first swim in over a year and made 30 minutes before my calf tightened and shoulders ached (pushups then swimming... Not good combo)
The swimming went well and after 30 minutes I felt the calf tighten slightly and my right knee did a classic "Give it up man" as it has always has! So I will be looking to do one swim session a week in my new look training plan in readiness for the Robin Hood Marathon.
A windy Saturday morning saw a great turnout at Oldham parkrun with 49 finishers and 24 PB's which was a great result. As you can see I was well wrapped up against the cold wind, complete with hat, shades and 5 o'clock shadow... meanwhile runners we in shorts and t-shirts!
I will be back at the track this week to give the legs a test and hope to start basic training if all goes well!
Have a great running week
Mark K
The hundred pushups app on the iPhone is a great way of focusing on exercise with a swim session later in the week planned.
I am already planning for the next marathon (Robin Hood, Nottingham in September) not so much the race but how to condition my body better.
The lack of miles in the last few weeks in the build up to London, the injury cost me at least 5 minutes and will no doubt take me longer to recover for sure. There are many things that I am reflecting on right now, my pacing, nutrition, core body strength to name but a few.
Reading in this weeks 'Athletics Weekly' that in 2010 the average cost for a runner to kit up, travel and so on costs around £450 pounds to take part in the London Marathon... I can vouch for that.
One thing I can count on for Nottingham is a quieter Saturday to rest my legs. The standing around on tube trains and walking around the expo in London was horrendous on the runners who should by all rights be taking it easy.
I am considering a better strategy for next year including a proxy collection!
I just about managed 53 push ups on Thursday over 5 sets with just 60 seconds of recovery, the app works like interval sessions on the track... Push you body hard, recover and push again. I followed that with my first swim in over a year and made 30 minutes before my calf tightened and shoulders ached (pushups then swimming... Not good combo)
The swimming went well and after 30 minutes I felt the calf tighten slightly and my right knee did a classic "Give it up man" as it has always has! So I will be looking to do one swim session a week in my new look training plan in readiness for the Robin Hood Marathon.
I will be back at the track this week to give the legs a test and hope to start basic training if all goes well!
Have a great running week
Mark K
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Calf injury is very angry with me taking part in the VLM
After my first marathon last year I experienced elation, tiredness and constant hunger! It was no surprise to me after the Virgin London Marathon that these sensations would re-appear. An extra challenge was presented to me "the morning after" to navigate the tube and get a train to Slough.
The training course I spent the next three days on was interesting but not helped by the constant tiredness and aching legs, it was great however to eat like a pig all week!
Upon my return to home late on Wednesday I emptied my case to discover in horror my Brooks Ravenna 2's that had dutifully got me round the VLM had not made it back with me :( I must have left them behind when changing into my Adidas training shoes, so someone is now either the happy owner of a pair of shoes with just 96 miles on the clock... or they have been blown up by the police as a suspicious un-attended bag!
By Thursday my legs had eased up and blisters largely gone, so I strapped my angry calf up and headed up to the club to take my group out for a run. But alas my calf started giving me grief almost straight away and 2 miles in my knee was in agony. One of the runners, Lisa had a stitch (to which we can find no reason why they keep happening) and we walked back to the club whilst the rest of the group finished the run.
So as a good coach would tell me "give running a break" I have to take recovery as the only option to ensure the injury heals. Therefore the next race in my diary is out of bounds (Chester Half Marathon) though I will be there with the family to enjoy the race as a spectator.
I am now booked onto the sports first aider course with the St Johns ambulance folks on the 6th May so Chester will be my first club race as "Coach" complete with first aid bag!
I have yet to get a photo from the race, there are plenty on the marathonfoto website but at £50 for one digital download or £75 for all all them that is daylight robbery... so here is a picture of my time stuck to the fridge-freezer instead!
Oldham parkrun had a good turnout despite a number of our regular runners on holiday... or warm weather training as I call it! In the mornings my calf is at its angriest so strapped it up and got their early with Stephen and enjoyed a kick about with the football. Jason Chapman from Sweatshop was back this week and had the timer role whilst Stephen did both marshalling points (Involved a bit of running for him!).
The training course I spent the next three days on was interesting but not helped by the constant tiredness and aching legs, it was great however to eat like a pig all week!
Upon my return to home late on Wednesday I emptied my case to discover in horror my Brooks Ravenna 2's that had dutifully got me round the VLM had not made it back with me :( I must have left them behind when changing into my Adidas training shoes, so someone is now either the happy owner of a pair of shoes with just 96 miles on the clock... or they have been blown up by the police as a suspicious un-attended bag!
By Thursday my legs had eased up and blisters largely gone, so I strapped my angry calf up and headed up to the club to take my group out for a run. But alas my calf started giving me grief almost straight away and 2 miles in my knee was in agony. One of the runners, Lisa had a stitch (to which we can find no reason why they keep happening) and we walked back to the club whilst the rest of the group finished the run.
So as a good coach would tell me "give running a break" I have to take recovery as the only option to ensure the injury heals. Therefore the next race in my diary is out of bounds (Chester Half Marathon) though I will be there with the family to enjoy the race as a spectator.
I am now booked onto the sports first aider course with the St Johns ambulance folks on the 6th May so Chester will be my first club race as "Coach" complete with first aid bag!
I have yet to get a photo from the race, there are plenty on the marathonfoto website but at £50 for one digital download or £75 for all all them that is daylight robbery... so here is a picture of my time stuck to the fridge-freezer instead!
So for the next few weeks it will be a case of cross training and start the "New Me" working on my core, swimming and get this on Friday I started the http://www.hundredpushups.com app in the iPhone. So come the Robin Hood Marathon in September I should be a lot fitter, injury free and be able to not necessarily be faster than at London, but be better prepared, run more even paced and finish without loosing my shoes!
Saturday parkrun
Oldham parkrun had a good turnout despite a number of our regular runners on holiday... or warm weather training as I call it! In the mornings my calf is at its angriest so strapped it up and got their early with Stephen and enjoyed a kick about with the football. Jason Chapman from Sweatshop was back this week and had the timer role whilst Stephen did both marshalling points (Involved a bit of running for him!).Simon Lake doubled up as registration and photographer, he took loads of great photos and here you can see me doing the race brief... calf neatly tied up!
I truly relaxing Easter Sunday with no long run to do... something inside would rather a LSR for sure :(
Have a good week
Regards
Mark K
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