Cycling is bad for your health!

Hi everyone, hope you are all fit and well!

Just when I thought I was getting into half decent shape again, I spoiled it all by having my worst ever crash on the bike. For the gruesome details and pictures, check out my cycling blog...

http://gonecycling.blogspot.com/2010/07/hospitalised.html

http://gonecycling.blogspot.com/2010/07/injury-update.html

Keep up with the blogs!

Esholt 5k #1 - back from injury

It was 50 weeks since my last race (Esholt 5k #3 2008). Since then I've had 7 months off injured and 4 and a half months trying to get some sort of fitness back. First step was trying to get my muscles and connective tissues back up to strength. Have tried to be patient as last time I tried to do too much too quickly and ended up pulling all sorts of muscles (you'll be surprised how many different muscles you can pull in the backs of your legs). Have tried to build my mileage up slowly but have found each run a real effort even though they are all supposed to be slow! Squeezed 3 lonely track sessions in so didn't expect too much from the Esholt. The only indicator I had was 5 x 1 km reps with 200m walk. Total time for running bits was about 19 mins. What could I manage without the rests?

On the day of the race bumped into lots of familiar faces and was pleasantly surprised by the genuine goodwill shown by those that knew I'd been off injured. Told myself to start off conservatively but did the 1st km in 3-45. Well it is downhill. Felt easyish for the 1st km but that's what you get in 5ks. The pain kicks in after 1.1 km. Felt pretty cream crackered but think I paced it reasonably OK as I probably overtook more runners than vice versa. Worked harder than I wanted to but the problem with races is that I can't resist the competetion.

For the record I finished in 19-50 but that is really irrelevant. The main point is that I don't seem to have suffered any reaction. I feel healthy and should be able to continue my recovery. I have a benchmark and will be able to judge my progress over the next couple of races.

For results see earlier post from Gareth here

The worlds ugliest toes?

All that fell running takes it's toll on your feet, and my wife says that I have the ugliest toes in the world. Of course, I believe she's mistaken, and that they are indeed things of great beauty!

So here's a current snapshot of a few so you can decide for yourselves who's right and who's wrong (kids, cover your eyes)

I can't actually remember the time I last had a full complement of toenails. Shoes too small, too big. I've heard them all, but it makes no difference. My cross country spikes seem to be the worst offenders, but I've had bruised toenails in all types and makes of shoes.

Anyone else think they have "better lookers" ? Come on then, prove it!

What do you think the ladies should do with theirs? Show them off with pride and gain respect amongst their running peers, or should they disguise them with bright red nail varnish?

INJURIES with Myles Chandler

Trusty tips / catchphrases which have kept me clear of injury over the years include: ’Warm ups? - It’s a mugs game’, ’Cool downs? - It’s for wimps’ and ’Stretching? - Get out of my face’. I find that this attitude combined with a very tough training regime will always see you at the sharp end of good class races.

The one time I did get injured it was more due to accident than anything else. It was the Yorkshire steeplechase championships and my bold front running tactics were stretching defending champion Mick Hawkins to the limit. Then disaster struck at the penultimate water jump, I slipped on the barrier and went plunging into the freezing wetness, twisting my ankle and breaking my leg as I landed. Then I felt Hawkins’ spike plant squarely into my back, tearing the skin and dislocating several vertebrae. After a few seconds of nauseating pain, I managed to will myself to my feet but in my pained efforts to regain the lead I lost direction slightly and found myself in the hammer throwing sector……………….I came round a few seconds later and realised that I had helped to create a new stadium hammer record by adding an extra few metres to the throw, staggering backwards with the hammer embedded in my face. Fully blinded by the impact but still with thoughts of glory filling my mind, I used my acute hearing to get myself back onto Hawkins’ shoulder in the ideal attacking position (by sheer luck I had come back onto the track where I had left it, hence avoiding disqualification). The rest of the race is a pained blur but the gold medal above my mantelpiece is a tribute to my ability to shrug off minor injuries.

Within a few days of discharging myself from hospital I was back into my special training regime involving cold baths at 4 a.m. every morning, rubbing hot gravel into my bare chest and running a barefoot marathon (usually the three peaks) all before breakfast.

TOP 20 EXCUSES FOR …….producing a poor performance

- I’ve tried to come back from injury too quickly
- I haven’t been doing enough mileage
- I’ve been doing too much mileage
- I was just using it as training
- I wore a brand new pair of shoes
- I still had Thursdays track session in my legs
- I just had nothing in my legs
- I felt something twinge just after the start
- I didn’t put long enough spikes in
- I fell in that ditch
- My shoe came off in that sticky muddy bit
- I had about five too many ales last night
- I got spiked
- I hate cross country racing in these conditions
- I got off to a bad start and lost interest
- I was just doing it for the team
- It was longer than I expected
- It was not as far as I thought it was going to be
- I didn’t get any sleep last night
- I never really expected to finish anyway



"I hate cross country running"