I'm hoping to run two marathons in 2010, London and New York, all for Children with Leukaemia
If you want to sponsor me, you can do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JamesRunsLDN-NYC

All donations, both great and small, are hugely appreciated, and all funds go direct to the charity (I'll be paying for NY flights and accommodation myself)

Friday 29 January 2010

Diagnosis: Tibialis posterior strain

Yes, the diagnosis is in and it comes in Latin: tibialis posterior strain.

If you want to be dramatic, you can call it tibialis posterior pain


And no, that doesn't mean I've strained my posterior, thank you.

Unfortunately this condition also travels under another name, which is significantly less impressive and dramatic; Acquired flat foot pain. This makes me sound like i have hobbit feet, so I'm less impressed with this terminology, and shall be referring to my condition in Latin for full dramatic effect.

Tibialis Posterior pain is basically a running injury where the Tibialis Posterior tendon (the one which runs down the back of your calf) can become inflamed, (or partially torn or ruptured in worse case scenarios), causing pain behind the bony prominence on the inside of the ankle.


For those 'not in the know' when it comes to your bio-mechanics, the purpose of your Tibialis Posterior muscle is to make your calf muscles push the foot down during the 'toe off' phase of walking and running, and also to turn the foot inwards. So if a person has a heel that turns out at the bottom (as I do), causing the foot to roll inwards (pronate - see earlier blog on pronated gaits), then more strain is placed on the tendon and it can become prone to injury. Which is how I find myself in this situation. Harumph. Hind sight is a wonderful thing.


Apparently a lot of football players suffer from this as a direct kick to the Tibialis Posterior tendon which can trigger the same condition, something which I am thrilled about. (At last I have something in common with the world of football).


But anyway this problem is more commonly found in runners and is usually a result of over-use.


I've overused my ankle. (This is coming from the guy who used to sit on the side line in Sports and wait for the ball to come to him).


So.. how to cure?


Well, my lovely physio has given me some wonderful advice, and this is where we come back to bio-mechanics.


Bio-mechanics (I am discovering) is increasingly interesting. Bio-mechanics is basicaly the mechanics of your body. it's how all the bits work together.


But the really interesting thing about bio-mechanics is that the problem is never where you think it is. Because of the way tendons, ligaments and muscles criss-cross over your body, often if there's a prob in one area, chances are the solution is in a totally different place.


So i'll give you one guess as to where the real problem is?


Oh yes, you guessed it... it's my butt. My Glute-meds, to be precise.


Now i know my 'glute-majors' are the muscles at the top of my butt / lower back which power my legs, but I had no idea glute-meds even existed, which would problem explain why the physio said mine are in a state of 'deep relaxation'.


So your glute meds are those little muscles which sit on the side of your butt rather than the back of it, and they help control your thighs and stop your knees from wobbling side to side every time you walk / run and your foot hits the floor.

Here they are:

Don't underestimate them just because they're small. You wouldn't be able to walk very far without them.


So, if they're a bit useless, in a coma-related sleep and you're on your 8th, 10th, 13th mile, you can imagine how it might result in a slightly wobbly knee and the ankle beneath it being jarred every time the foot 'hits the ground running'.


So there we go. Mystery solved.


And finally, to build this lovely muscles - which are very important to runners - I have to do exercise like this in the gym.


Oh joy.


but with a little bit of luck, not only will I be able to run without any more pain in the ankle, but I'll also end up with Glutues Medius like this...



Saturday 23 January 2010

2 nurofen and a cup of coffee


It's amazing what you can achieve on 2 nurofen and a cup of coffee.

Some of my best friends will know that this concoction has pretty much been my solution to many of life's problems since the early days at Univeristy when every morning started with a hangover.

Feel like shit? 2 nurofen and a cup of coffee. Got an exam to sit? 2 nurofen and a cup of coffee. Got an early lecture to make? 2 nurofen and a cup of coffee.

In fact I actually remember getting through a funeral of a great
old relative on 2 nurofen and a cup of coffee. Hmmm...

Fortunately over the years I managed to work out that sometimes a good nights sleep, lots of water, not getting drunk every night and a good breakfast is slightly better for the soul that relying on pain killers and caffeine to get through the day.

And so to marathon training, which -as faithful followers of last year's adventures will know- I discovered you just can't do on a crap diet. Caffeine alone will only get you so far (mile 2, to be precise).

And now that Christmas is over, I've finally shaken off that annoying flu bug and I had my little January winter-sun break to Morocco, I no longer have any decent excuses or reasons not to get off my lazy arse and start training again for the London Marathon on 25th April...

Slight problem though... I've buggered my ankle. My left ankle to be precise.

Not sure how i did this, but i think it has something to do with running for the bus in crap (but really rather beautiful) shoes. Probably Ted Baker shoes, to be precise. And I think it's fair to say that Ted Baker shoes were not built for running in. Ted Baker shoes are the kind of shoes that look great but let your feet freeze in winter and get too hot in the summer and are certainly not made for running after buses in.

But my Ted Baker shoes look fab, and that's the important thing. See:
Oh no, wait, hang on, wrong pair...
That's better.

Anyway, I digress. It's January and time to get back into running. So my first attempt at proper training was on monday evening, which had to be cut short thanks to the pain shooting up my left leg from the ankle. Not a great start. I limped home feeling rather fat and more than a little pathetic.

At this point I decided to take the very good advice of my friend who's a personal trainer and told me to raise it when possible, rest it as much as possible, cover it in an ice pack if it's swollen and generally don't run on it until it's healed.

So being completely impatient person that I am, I translated this as "rest it for 5 days and then attempt a 12mile run on saturday". Clever eh? Bravo.

Now someone told me last year when I was first training for the marathon that the one thing all runners dread is completely dying (or 'hitting the wall' as it's known) miles from home, or spraining an ankle or pulling a muscle and having to limp miles home

And considering that this could happen half way during a 15 or even 20 mile run... well, that's a long limp / walk home, isn't it?.

Apparently there are a couple of ways of avoiding this, and they are:

a) always carry reserve energy gells on you to drink if you 'hit the wall'

b) plan your running routes so you're never more than 2 mile short cut from home

and c) take 2 nurofen with you on every run in your back pocket, in case of muscular or joint pain.

See where I'm going with this? Nurofen saving the day again.

So today I did exactly that. I did my stretches, drank loads of fluids, ate loads of oats for breakfast, charged up my iPod... and popped 2 nurofen into my back pocket.

And then I did what I often do when I need a kick-start of energy to get me going on the first 2miles... I glugged a shot of coffee and set off.

Unfortunately I got to about mile 3 when i decided to leap (heroically) over a muddy puddle and landed on my left ankle. OUCH. Or, as Homer would say, 'Doh,".

A couple of minutes of pretending i couldn't feel the pain, I had to stop and admit that sometimes I'm a bit of a puddle-leaping fool.

Fortunately though I had those 2 nurofen in my back pocket, not to mention an energy gell. Together they made an interesting mix.

But -amazingly- they dulled the pain down a sufficient amount that I was able to finish my planned run (despite the odd twinge), and do it in a good time too.

12.8miles in 1hr 40 (roughly), averaging just under 9mins per mile and using up a total of 1,600 calories (Garmin fore runner watches are wonderful things, v clever).

Hoorah for Nurofen, that's what I say. Unfortunately as I'm writing this I can feel them wearing off, which is unfortunate. And with it comes a slight throbbing feeling (and not in a good way).

Suspect i might be on the phone to my personal trainer friend again later, who will no doubt tell me to ice it, raise it, rest it and don't run, which I'll interpret as "let's go clubbing and dance to Lady Gaga, yaaaaay".

Which I'm sure will be fine, as long as I take my nurofen with me.