Knee Getting on Well

I am on day 4 of my rest. My knee is doing pretty well and tiny little torn muscles are all healing up, leaving me feeling like superman. A rest is good for this brother. Coz he is so angry.
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Knee Acting Up

My knee is acting up so I am taking a break. Maybe as long as a week. Its probably long overdue anyways. Till then.
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400m in 1:14

I did speed runs yesterday, doing 400m in 1:14, which is an improvement of 1 second from last week's time. We tried reducing the rest periods in between to one minute and managed five laps and wanted to die.
It went well. We are getting better. Lets see what results we will have in the coming weeks if we stay consistent.
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20K in 1:42

I did 50 laps yesterday at a sort of relaxed pace. The track is dusty but soft on the body and there were several runners. My legs are a bit sore but
I have no injuries.
I realized that I was being quite ambitious and sort of unrealistic to expect my 10K time to change every week. The more realistic time period is three to five weeks. So I will keep up the spirit and also plug in the weaknesses of my exercise routine.
I will do the following:

1. Add 2Kms every week. Either in the warmdown on Mondays or on my long runs on Wednesdays.

2. Do the speed runs properly. I rest too much between the repeats. I should strive to rest for a minute or less beween the repeats.

3. Incorporate interval runs and tempo runs in my speedwork.

Seek to reduce the 20K time to 1:30.

I was looking at this blog - it kinda inspired me in several ways. This girl is fast and she is dealing with her challenges bravely and her passion and love for running is encouraging. And she is faster then me!
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10K in 46:31. This is not Good

I did 10K yesterday in 46:31. I was interrupted by one of my running mates. An interruption that broke my rhythm and concentration. So that messed me in a way even though I still should have registered a better time despite the interruption. It was also very windy and dusty and some dudes blocked my way. But I was strong and I know I pushed myself all the way. I never relaxed or made myself comfortable. But I am sure I could have done better with a running mate.

Bottom line is that I am not seeing any improvement in my speed over my 10K time and I know I have a lot of room for improvement. So I have to shake things up a bit.

Let's start with the good news.
My right knee has fully healed and I have no injury to worry about.
I have stronger legs and a stronger body.
My cardio is good but can be better.
I am still hungry and full of psyche. Ready to die.

The bad news.
My speed is not showing a marked improvement.
I have a pain in my right leg. Its similar to shin splints but not exactly.

What Do I gotta Do?

1. I have to start increasing the weekly mileage. Right now I am averaging 35Kms per week. I have to start increasing it gradually. Add 2Kms per week.

2. Improve my speed runs with 2000m and 800m repeats.

3. Kit myself for more running. So more socks and trucks.

4. Lose 2-3Kgs.

Cheers.

400m @ 1:15

I did speed runs on Friday and managed to do 400m in 1:15. It is an improvement of 1 second from last weeks time over the same distance. I could probably have done 1:12 if I had a training partner but oh well...
At any rate, I should be going for a 10K speed test today. My aim is to dip below 46 minutes for now. Still have some shin pains but my knee appears to be out of the woods.
I was in a seminar for the whole of last week so this week I am back on my desk and may sort some writing issues.
Cheers.

18K

I did 18K yesterday. Legs are sore, especially the lower parts. I am just glad its no longer the knee but they are pretty sore though its not an injury.
Lets see how today goes. Tomorrow I hope I can go for speed runs if the soreness reduces.
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10K in 46:14

I did 10K yesterday in 46:14. I was incredulous at first but had to accept it. I did not believe I could be slower this week compared to last week. The good thing is that my last two laps were faster compared to my previous two attempts - in effect, it was an almost negative split. Secondly, my slowest lap was 116 seconds as opposed to 117 in the two previous attempts. And my last lap was the fastest I have run so far so maybe I am developing a strong finishing kick.
My strides have improved and I am somewhat stronger. My weight progress is good because I am losing slowly. My knee is much better and I believe in 5 days or so, I should be able to know whether its over or not.
Meanwhile, I have realized setbacks will occur. It doesn't mean I am worse: maybe it means I was not at my best, needed a pacesetter or someone to pull/push me etc. So next week I still intend to go sub 46 mins and say goodbye to 46 mins. Hopefully once and for all.
Tomorrow, I intend to go for 20K (50 laps) for endurance..
Cheers

400m in 1:16

I did speed runs yesterday. My knee is better and I managed to do 400m in 1:16. That is my best so far. My best last week was 1:20 and I hope to lower this to 1:10 in the next few weeks.
Today and tomorrow I rest then I assault my 10K PR on Monday.
Cheers

I have decided to start writing my first book

After endlessly dithering, habitually vacillating, regularly entertaining distractions, majoring in minors and minoring in majors, keeping the main thing the non thing, making lame excuses, entertaining inane issues, erecting subterfuges, non-conscientiously procrastinating, shamelessly copping out and burying my bead in the sand - and shaking it in that sandy cave - for many years, I have decided to embark on writing my first book.

It will be about being the best that we can be. I need to develop a plan and work on it. More later. It starts with a decision, right bro?

12Kays easy

I was stuck in a jam yesterday and so arrived at the pitch late and had to settle for 30 laps instead of the intended 48. In retrospect, it was good because that introduces some kind of periodicity into my training plan. So maybe I do 40 or 50 laps next Wednesday.
My right knee is totally weird. Its sorta painful but I can run without the pain getting worse since it appears the "injury" is not connected to my running muscles. The thing I cannot afford to forget is never to touch the knee under any circumstance.
Anyways, the 12Kays went well. Tomorrow I will do speed runs.
Hopefully, the knee problem will clear by itself.
Cheers

10K in 46:05

I did 10K in 46:05 yesterday. I was strong throughout and my speed was better. But my, am I heavy! I don't feel the weight but the scale is showing it and I have decided to embark on losing 3 to 4 Kgs. My right knee felt a little weird and I am a little worried about my shins which feel better today.
I did speed runs alone last Friday. My best was 1:22 over 400m. I hope I can reach 1:10 sometime soon but I am working on it. I did some pylometric exercises too.
Tomorrow, I would like to do 19Kays, nice and easy and I hope to shatter 45:55 for 10K next Monday. Lets see how it goes.
Cheers

18K

I did 18K yesterday at a slow, comfortable pace. It took me about 1hr, 32 minutes. It went well. My legs are a little stiff, presumably from lactic acid and whatnot. Otherwise, so far, so good. My knee has not acted up and I am beginning to think I am out of the woods as far as that is concerned.
My weight is steady but I am working on three things: speed, strength and endurance. I will focus on those and treat weight as a secondary issue. Friday we will be doing speed work. I may have to try the timed 25K on Tuesday since I may not be around on Monday.
From next week, we may start bounding leaps as part of the pylometric exercises for explosive power, stride length and speed.
Cheers.

10K at 47:11

I ran 10K yesterday at 47:11. The 5K was at about 22mins. Not good, yes. I know. But at the same time its not so bad because I am coming back from an injury and my last 10K run, which was on 10th Dec 2008, took 44:55 and I believe I can slash more than a minute in 7 days off this 47:11 though I am about 2Kgs heavier.
So, yeah, if I don't incur an injury, in 2 weeks I should be able to run a sub 45mins 10K then I concentrate on slashing off the remaining time to reach a sub 40 mins 10K.
So far, so good. The training continues.
Every week I will attempt a 10K run and record the time carefully to determine areas of improvement.
Cheers.