Since I'm off work finding time to run is held back as expected. Likely a good thing however still a hassle. I'm back to being tied to kids between 6am and 8pm Monday thru Friday at the very least. Those fantastic run commutes to and from work aren't happening which sucks. They really boosted my weekly mileage and also allowed me to keep to a regular sleep schedule for the most part. Now I'm back to tip toeing around in the early hours racing to be back on time or worrying about getting angry looks as I slip out the door once the kids are in bed, both situations compromising sleep. No work commute and limited free time is likely good though because it will hold me back from doing too much too soon coming back from injury.

I recently committed some money to a new pair of shoes. I've been a long time fan of the shape of Altra shoes but most recently had been running in a pair of Hoka Clifton 6. I ended up really liking the boat load of cushioning in the Hoka however the shape just wasn't nearly as nice for me as the Altra. I wanted to combine the two shoes, obviously that's impossible, however Altra have a shoe I tried on last year called the Duo 1.5. It was a fairly soft, flexible, maximal cushioned shoe, with the Altra foot shaped toe box. It has a very minimal upper so was very light too. I liked the sample size when I tried it on and it peaked my interest. Unfortunately Altra UK never imported it so I didn't have access to it.

I had intentions of finding them in the US when I was home for a visit but that never happened, just too busy as always. After a recent eBay search I found out they were brought in to Spain, possibly all of Europe, just not the UK. I ordered a pair from a store outside of Barcelona. They didn't cost much more than a normal pair of shoes and had free shipping. Kind of a gamble not having ever tried them but I figured worth the risk.

I've only been out once in them as they arrived yesterday, and only a short 3 + miler, but so far so good. Reviews I read people complained about the paper thin upper and tongue. The thin heel wrap "cut into my achilles," and " "the tongue kept bunching up when I put them on"  were common complaints. The tongue I agree with 100%, it's really thin, but if you take a moment to get it lined up correctly when you put your shoes on it's no big deal, patience, do it right. The heel wrap was a bit noticeable at first but after messing with the lacing tightness my heel locked in nicely to the heel pocket and I had no issues. I normally wear my shoes fairly loose and with very little padding around the heel/achilles some people will not get along with these. I do prefer to wear crew length socks which provide a bit more coverage too. Obviously 3 miles is no true test but so far so good. I'm excited to get out in them more!

Read an article about a guy who has been running a marathon a day for a long time with no intent of stopping. I'd LOVE to have time to do that! He's got mental illness and it helps him a lot so I don't want to say "must be nice" and get all jealous, but I dream of being able to run for four hours day. Time. There is time to do things like this. I have the time to do this. But, holy shit would I be grumpy due to lack of sleep!

Anyway, just chuggin' along trying to keep happy.             

I’d say I’m at 80%. Small amount of injury discomfort after running but slowly starting to regain my running fitness. Sometimes I think it’s just me getting old too! Real creaky in the morning first thing, it takes a couple miles to warm up. 

No sitting. 

More and more I’m realizing how important the post run or even nightly foam roller/stretch sessions are. It’s not hard to do or time consuming, it’s prioritizing it. Just a little work on my quads, hips, and glutes helps my knees and back feel much better. Ever since Thames Path 100 my left knee has been painful first thing, then once I warm up it normally gets better. I’ve been trying to stretch and massage my quad and also ice my knee more to improve this and it’s been working. A good routine for minor things like this is massage (foam roll) above and below the injury site to loosen everything up. 

Sunset

Sunrise 

Considering a double digit run on Sunday, it will be nice to be out longer so fingers crossed my legs are up for it! 

Managed to escape for a bit on Easter. Ran a loop I’ve only done once before. It follows a disused railway to an old overgrown train tunnel. I’d stumbled upon this tunnel in the past researching the “wrinkles” on a map. The geography didn’t match up with a flat railway so I figured there has got to be a tunnel! Maps, so fun to explore the “wrinkles.” 

Severn Way vegetation starting to blossom. 

Sandstone carvings colored with chalk. “♥️ NHS” paying tribute to the National Health Service.

The approach.

Would love to relax around this fire.

Out the other side. 

Always fun to find spots like this. It’s amazing that it’s not more of a hang out for kids. Obviously there’s a makeshift seat and fire, a little graffiti, but you’d think this would be a party hot spot. I think the culture is different here to where I grew up. Kids, even at my age, weren’t very outdoorsy. It wasn’t a party without a DJ and turntables spinning shitty (in my opinion) dance music. I wonder if a drinking age of 18 had an influence on it as well? 

Decent run though. Easy 5 plus miles, longest I’ve ran in a while, let’s hope it keeps improving as I’m really enjoying getting out alone. 

We are churning along. Running every other day 3-4 miles. Trying to hit the bike on the non-running days. Still doing a lot of strength work which has been great. Squeezing in whatever martial arts I can all day long and usually a virtual class every other day. Definitely keeping personally busy which is good. 

Injury is ok. I’m not sure if I’m weak getting back to it but I feel sluggish. Should be expected I guess. Pain is tolerable, nearly unnoticeable, until about 4 miles. Then it’s very mild. So I’m heading in the right direction, and it’s sure nice to be out there! 

With the two weeks of home school the stage was set for no iPads during school time for the kids so despite officially off from school on Easter break for two weeks iPads are being kept off limits for those times. I’m still not happy with the amount of time they spend on these things but at least some sort of limit has been set.

The kids have difficultly occupying themselves, I have to be involved it seems, so I’m busy all day. It can be frustrating but I think it is just what kids are like these days. Very dependent on others or other things to immediately satisfy their boredom. Boredom doesn’t exist it seems, devices, internet, tv have set a standard of you get what you want now. Parents are guilty too. We’ve fallen for it. The “can I have” or “I want” is fulfilled with next day delivery. It honestly sucks. But the standard is set. 

Sun is out, temps are warming. Perpetual November is going away! 

Creeping back to life. Got on the treadmill out of curiosity the other night and ran three real easy miles. I wasn’t in pain but could tell the injury site was still there. It was good to see a significant improvement though! 

Went out this morning for an easy three miles on the road. It went alright. Same as the ‘mill, mostly pain free but I had lost confidence in using my quad. After a couple miles I felt better loading it but still was going easy, just as I should be. Trouble with the brain -leg connection is other injuries can evolve by overcompensating elsewhere. 

It will be a slow climb back up and I’ve still got work to do; massaging, etc, but it’s another positive. I have however really enjoyed riding the bike. It would be great if I could incorporate it into by commute to work in the future but we shall see,

Future race plans? I’ve been looking at fall races, which are still unsure if they be on, but there are options.