Well, I'm back! It's been many weeks since my last blog post but upon the suggestion of my Son I will attempt to put into words the things that have happened since my last communication.
The truth is that post operative complications put my running aside as I had to spend my energies getting well and awaiting the result of a biopsy which was taken several weeks after my operation. The biopsy has shown that the tumour had been successfully removed and that there was no residual abnormal cells left behind. I have to have another Cystoscopy at the end of November and the at 6 monthly intervals to make sure there are no changes to the bladder wall.
Meanwhile since the middle of September I have been getting on with my life and particularly my running.
Taking the first steps was hard as the general fitness I had achieved had all but disappeared and it was almost like starting all over again. Luckily I have kept some notes on training as memory wouldn't be accurate enough!
For the first week or so the daily schedule was walking with the odd short burst of slow jogging. With me getting into oxygen debt almost immediately this left me feeling somewhat down.My persistence eventually paid off though as the recording of my training/racing since that time will attest.
Wednesday 19th Sept 3 kilometre jog.....19 minutes
Thursday 20th 3 k 18.05
Saturday 22nd 4 k 26.53
Friday 5th Oct 2 k 10.27
Monday 8th 3 k 17.02
Wed 10th 5 k 29.08
Friday 12th 3 k easy
Sunday 14th 5 K race (WAMC) time 26.52 & 103rd from 293 athletes. first in age group (60)
Tuesday 16th 7 k Easy jog as it's been many years since running that distance!
Thursday 18th 6.3 k easy paced
Sunday 21st 5 k race (WA Masters) with a time of 25.40
My rapid improvement has been way beyond my expectations as I was being hopeful of a time around 27.30 by Christmas I'm almost two minutes quicker than that already!
My average times for 5,000 metres when I was in my late 20's was 17.15 with a PB of 15.40 It's taken a while for me to come to terms with the fact that I'll never be that fast again. Joining the WA Masters Athletic Club where one competes with athletes of a similar age has helped me separate then (1970's) and NOW.
Next week I will be competing in my first track race for 32 years when I step up to the starting line for a 3,000 metres. Later in the year and beyond I hope to be able to re- live old times again and front up for that most gruelling race of all, the steeplechase. All this is providing I keep my health, and that's not for me to decide, unfortunately.
Stay Safe..
Monday, October 22, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
A bump in the road...
It's been several weeks since my last report and there is a good reason why. .
A couple of days after my last write up I was diagnosed with bladder cancer, a probable consequence my Surgeon tells me of inhaling paint fumes over a prolonged period. For a professional Painter to some extent this is unavoidable. A few days after the ultrasound that confirmed the worst I was checked into The Mount Hospital for an operation to remove the tumour. This has been done and now three weeks later I am allowed to train once more. Results from a biopsy at the end of August and any other follow up treatment aside, I am back to running. Although it has to be said with such a long break I'll have to practically start again! Yesterday I fast walked for 6 kilometres, with the occasional 150 metre jog.....it's going to be a few weeks to get back to where I left off, fitness wise.
This has been a bit of a shock for me and my Family but I still have the tenacity to carry on to my original goal and that is to discover over the coming months and years how close I can get to my (average) race times of 35 years ago when I was in my twenties. Tomorrow I'm hoping to don my running gear for a more serious workout, we shall see what happens. Another blog post coming your way mid week!
Stay safe.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
After the HBF run the weather turned sour so training was just in the form of walking, not as good as running but still beneficial. We departed for our NZ holiday a few days days later, where I had 'visions' of having at least half a dozen endurance improving training runs over the famous undulating terrain.Sadly, it turned out to be two training sessions, one whilst we were visiting the lovelyArt Deco Town of Napier .which is situated on Hawkes Bay on the North Island. It was over a week since my last run & so I didn't expect to feel at all good with it. The day was cool, not cold with a light breeze and I managed to run, with some walking 6 kilometres along the Napier Esplanade this took 39 minutes and I felt pretty exhausted by the end of it! I blamed it on the 5 hour bus journey we endured the previous day from Wellington. Five days later after we had returned to Wellington I thought another run would be advisable as I didn't want to leave it too long between training sessions, particularly at this early part of my 'come back' It was cold and blowing a gale but I wasn't to be deterred! I left the Hotel and jogged down Lambton Quay to the Waterfront.
There I was met with a very strong wind with gusts up to 35 knots plus it was only around 8 C not conditions that would encourage one to venture outside, let alone run a along an unprotected waterfront.
I was feeling very stiff and sore, no doubt the weather conditions didn't help. I walked away from the City in the direction of Oriental bay with the wind behind me. I just kept walking, running wasn't an option as my legs were too cold and I didn't want to risk an injury.I carried on for 2 1/2 kilometres turned round to run back and literally ran on the spot! The wind strength was truly amazing. so strong in fact, that very afternoon an elderly man (not me!) was actually blown into the harbour. He wasn't a swimmer so luckily for him some people walking past saved him from drowning.The end result of this silly foray into a Wellington winters afternoon was a very heavy cold which put a dampener on the rest of my holiday, in fact it took me over two weeks to shake it off completely.We arrived back in Australia mid June and with a heavy cold I didn't feel up to any hard work outs so after a couple of days rest from the journey I jogged for a couple of kilometres and felt terrible. Back, it seemed, to where I was at fitness wise, weeks ago.
Cheers Michael
There I was met with a very strong wind with gusts up to 35 knots plus it was only around 8 C not conditions that would encourage one to venture outside, let alone run a along an unprotected waterfront.
I was feeling very stiff and sore, no doubt the weather conditions didn't help. I walked away from the City in the direction of Oriental bay with the wind behind me. I just kept walking, running wasn't an option as my legs were too cold and I didn't want to risk an injury.I carried on for 2 1/2 kilometres turned round to run back and literally ran on the spot! The wind strength was truly amazing. so strong in fact, that very afternoon an elderly man (not me!) was actually blown into the harbour. He wasn't a swimmer so luckily for him some people walking past saved him from drowning.The end result of this silly foray into a Wellington winters afternoon was a very heavy cold which put a dampener on the rest of my holiday, in fact it took me over two weeks to shake it off completely.We arrived back in Australia mid June and with a heavy cold I didn't feel up to any hard work outs so after a couple of days rest from the journey I jogged for a couple of kilometres and felt terrible. Back, it seemed, to where I was at fitness wise, weeks ago.
Cheers Michael
Monday, June 25, 2012
Welcome to my Blog.
I have taken up running again after a break of 30 years and for those who may be interested in athletics I will be posting my progress once or twice a week.
In October 2010 while watching my Son run in the Fremantle half Marathon I began to wonder the possibilities of running again. Could I run competitively once again? as I did as a Club Athlete all those years ago. Unfortunately I kept talking myself out of it so it has taken 18 months to pluck up the courage and do it. One of the reasons for my reluctance was the fact that around 12 years ago I had a back injury which left me unable to walk or stand for more than a minute or two at a time, slowly the nerve damage healed and I regained normal movement even though cold weather does make the back twinge a little.
As I'm on the wrong side of sixty I had a medical check up before I commenced training.
My training at the start was walking! Yes, two years of retirement had left me feeling torpid and so I thought a few weeks of brisk walking would lay the foundations for a sound fitness regime.On top of this I reduced my alcohol intake from around 10 standard drinks a week to as few as 2 now and boy do I feel better for it!
The first run was ACTUALLY a stagger! brisk walking with the odd 50 metre jog. I was in my third week of this when my Son suggested I run in a WA Marathon Club event over 5 kilometres. I was extremely nervous but did it with a time of 29.57 Not exactly world class but considering the preparation I was quite happy.
A week or two later at the end of May we had the HBF run for a reason over 4 kilometres where I finished in the top 19% with well over 7 thousand in that race it was a struggle trying to get past the folk actually running slower than me! My time for that was 23.59.
In a couple of days I will write about my training, how I've progressed and the level that I am up to now.
cheers, Michael
I have taken up running again after a break of 30 years and for those who may be interested in athletics I will be posting my progress once or twice a week.
In October 2010 while watching my Son run in the Fremantle half Marathon I began to wonder the possibilities of running again. Could I run competitively once again? as I did as a Club Athlete all those years ago. Unfortunately I kept talking myself out of it so it has taken 18 months to pluck up the courage and do it. One of the reasons for my reluctance was the fact that around 12 years ago I had a back injury which left me unable to walk or stand for more than a minute or two at a time, slowly the nerve damage healed and I regained normal movement even though cold weather does make the back twinge a little.
As I'm on the wrong side of sixty I had a medical check up before I commenced training.
My training at the start was walking! Yes, two years of retirement had left me feeling torpid and so I thought a few weeks of brisk walking would lay the foundations for a sound fitness regime.On top of this I reduced my alcohol intake from around 10 standard drinks a week to as few as 2 now and boy do I feel better for it!
The first run was ACTUALLY a stagger! brisk walking with the odd 50 metre jog. I was in my third week of this when my Son suggested I run in a WA Marathon Club event over 5 kilometres. I was extremely nervous but did it with a time of 29.57 Not exactly world class but considering the preparation I was quite happy.
A week or two later at the end of May we had the HBF run for a reason over 4 kilometres where I finished in the top 19% with well over 7 thousand in that race it was a struggle trying to get past the folk actually running slower than me! My time for that was 23.59.
In a couple of days I will write about my training, how I've progressed and the level that I am up to now.
cheers, Michael
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