Cycling – My Journey to Kili and Back

Training – Jun/20 – No progress and holiday mode

2 heinäkuun, 2020 Ei kommentteja

The only good part about June was that I was on holiday. We had fun with the kids camping by lakeside. Weather was perfect until we got a quick thunderstorm but the tent stayed dry inside so nothing to worry! It was almost midsummer so there was daylight practically through the night which is a bit weird when sleeping outside always. Feature image is from the campsite beach after midnight. We went to an amusement and a water park which both were practically empty as they had just opened up after corona. I also managed to catch up some sun and this sudden heatwawe felt so warm! I really enjoyed the short holiday, but training front has been as quiet, or even more quiet, than previous months (if that is even possible??)

Week 23 total is easy, complete zero! I do not know when has been the last time in my life that this has happened, but yes absolutely no exercise whatsoever. Week 24 so second week of June I did a bit more and then it backfired again and my knee started hurting so week 25 was easier again. Thought I would give it a try again week 26 and of course it backfired again after the long walk so back to square one every single time I try to do something.

So thought I would do upper body training instead and have gotten familiar on the muscles I need concentrate on with this ”runner’s knee” problem thinking I will do those then on my spare time and upper body at the gym and maybe, maybe one day the pain will not come back again…

I can assure you I am very frustrated, but try to not think about it too much. I see people running and walking passing by my house every day as it’s a very popular route for exercise and I look at them with envy thinking maybe I can do that one day again, but push the thought aside and try not to think about the fact that

I have not been able to run for four months now!

It makes me sad, but like I said I try not to think about it too much. Did I say I try not to think about it!!!

Truth is, it’s hard. Really hard when you are used to exercising and now cannot do anything practically. I did get referral to MRI and result is the same old ”runners knee”. So nothing broken and no surgery needed, but it does not seem to heal either. Orthopaedist gave referral to physiotherapy and now I’m trying to figure out who or how to pay for it as the insurance as such does not cover it unless it’s after a surgery which I was told I do not need.

Training plan

Whatever the cause or outcome I am tired of fighting against this injury and have been thinking that maybe I am not meant to run anymore. Simple as that. So no plans, no huge enthusiastic goals. Just waiting.

Total June

14 activities, 9 h of training
6 km running, 18 km walking, 11 km cycling 3 h gym and 1 h pilates

Week 23

0 = Nada = Niente = Nil = Nothing

Week 24

3 Walks = 6 km –> 3,25 km, 1,66 km and 1.38 km
1 Run 2,8 km
1 Cycle ride 5,6 km

Week 25

1 Walk 3,8 km
1 Gym training 1h 25min

Week 26

1 Walk 6,36 km
1 Pilates class
1 Gym training 35 min

Training

Training – W20-22 Slowly does it

8 kesäkuun, 2020 Ei kommentteja

I’ve been thinking how to finally get back to training so I would not overdo it again. Decided to try cycling a bit first and then walking and add slowly a bit of running with max two times a week and max 3 kilometers at a time. I clearly have lately had the need to get more exercise and exhaustive enough to actually sweat properly. Never thought I would say that, but yes I miss sweating like a pig!

Thought that maybe if I go cycling I might get enough speed to get a bit of heat up but no, with my old granny bicycle the only time I got a bit warm was this one small hill I found. On the contrary I was freezing because with my luck it had been sunny the whole day, but when I left for my ride a storm came with first hail and then sleet. I had my rainproof gear on so I wasn’t really wet (apart from my ankles and shoes as naturally the water and sleet kept dripping down when I cycled), but it was freezing cold… So much for spring…That was though three weeks ago. We got a bit better weather now.

Two weeks ago I thought I’d be brave enough and do a good warm up with 4.9 kilometer walk and the run a bit. I also stopped over at the gym on the way back to check it out since it had just been opened after covid-19. Lots of stretching on top and lots of foam rolling few days afterwards and it was OK so decided to try some more running the following week.

Bought new running shoes too as the old ones were way too old and had seen over a thousand kilometers already. First run of the week 3 kilometers was fine. Went for another run 4 kilometers and still fine. Decided that no more running that week, but the weather was so beautiful that I felt like I needed to get out so went for a bike ride again. Accidentally it became 21,3 kilometers because I got a bit lost which was apparently too much. My leg did not agree and got that numbing feeling on it later in the afternoon, but went quickly inside and did some foam rolling and stretching and it actually passed so not really sure what is causing what anymore.

Three week total

Cycling 60,3 kilometers
Walking 16,9 kilometers
Running 8 kilometers

Week 20

Cycling twice altogether 22,3 kilometers. One 13 kilometers and one 9 kilometers
Walking twice altogether 8 kilometers. One 3 kilometers and one 4,9 kilometers

Week 21

Cycling once 16,7 kilometers
Walking once 4,9 kilometers
Running once 1 kilometers
Quick visit to the gym…

Week 22

Cycling once 21,3 kilometers
Running twice altogether 7 kilometers. Once 4 kilometers and once 3 kilometers
Walking twice altogether 4,1 kilometers Once 1,6 kilometers and once 2,4 kilometers

Am I better now?

Continuously there seems to be pinching, numbing and strange sensations on the leg which come and go so I am pretty sure it’s not caused by any inflammation anymore but some sort of entrapment on my left glute or thigh/calf muscle. We shall see if it gets worse or does not pass with foam rolling/stretching and even if it does I might need to call the doctor again. This is clearly not ”normal” and prohibiting me from exercising the way I wanted to.

Anyway I am back to doing something which is so much better than doing nothing. I have been very exhausted after each exercise which is not what normally has happened after only three kilometer run so clearly I am recovering from ”something”. There is a long way back to 10 k runs, but it feels good to exercise and I’m looking forward to being able to increase the distances hopefully. I have missed it so much!

Aiming to do two more 3-4 kilometer runs next week and then maybe increase the length by one kilometer per week for two week at a time gradually. Let’s see, wish me luck!

Training

Training – Year 2019 totals

9 tammikuun, 2020 Ei kommentteja

Since the year has changed I thought it would be nice to look back and examine what did I do on the exercise front.

I know without looking at any statistics that I exercised more this year than the last, but how much? Well the amount of individual activities year 2019 was 236. Compared to year 2018 and only 140 it’s a massive increase. I have exercised almost twice as much as the year before so approximately every second day. Impressive I think!

One reason for this is of course that I had a plan. Plan that had target amounts of activities and type. I kept to my plan pretty meticulously apart from when I got sick or injured. What this has taught be is to think big, aim for something you never thought you could achieve and you might just get there, BUT keep the target tangible.

I had my targets through out the year. Targets like Best cooper’s test distance, Best 10 k time, Best average speed, One chin up, More than 5 kilos on squat each side, 10 kilos more on leg press and so on. I was competing with myself and it seems I am quite competitive after all. Especially if I am competing with me 😉

So let’s look at the totals first…

Total year 2019

Running total 610 kilometers of which trail 307 kilometers and basic 303 kilometers. Year 2018 total 440 k’s total, trail 190 k’s trail and basic 250 k’s.
Hiking 179 kilometers, Year 2018 56 k’s.
Orienteering 66 kilometers. Year 2018 zero.
Walking 63 kilometers. Year 2018 47 k’s.
Gym 27 times. Year 2018 18 times.

I am very happy with the results. There is more running and orienteering as a new one which could sort of be added to trail running. This would make running in the forests for me 373 kilometers which is a long way if we start thinking how far I would get I if I now started running towards Lapland. I would not get near Lapland but to Seinäjoki or Kuopio. If I add all my running together I would actually get to Kuusamo or Kemi. Still not above the Arctic Circle so I might aim to run enough k’s to get past Rovaniemi next year…

Anyway, there is a clear increase in hiking also which is natural having been exercising for Kili and visiting Norway and Lapland. Increase in going to the gym eI am especially happy about and there results can be seen in the form of more muscle mass, strength and toning.

How about my targets? How did they improve?

Best cooper’s distance: From 1600 meters to 2000 meters
Best 10 k time: From around 1:44 to 1:10
Best average speed: From around 6,4 km/h to 9,4 km/h
One chin-up: Yep did achieve that on straight legs and with a rubber band I can do 3-5
More kilos on all the equipment at the gym in general.

I have learned in year 2019 that I need to measure to be able to reach for something. When I measure I can see the difference. Consistency is the key here 🙂 First I wanted to reach for example 1800 in Coopers test and next time tried to beat my last record so very much competing with myself.

2019 was a good year in exercise front and after Kili I will continue having a training plan and logging what I do. I like to follow the progress and looking back to last year also motivates me. When I can see the numbers I know that all the hard work has not been for nothing since there is clear progress!

So back to it I say!

Training

Training W38 – Injuries again and rest days

24 syyskuun, 2019 Ei kommentteja

You know how it goes… what goes up must come down. Well W37 was the highlight and made my day for months to come so it was bound to change. Went to gym the next day after those two days’ of 10 k’s and did my normal workout but did notice that it felt pretty hard and exhausting.

My body was clearly tired of the running the previous week (35,2 kilometers instead of about 20…) so I had a few rest days. On Thursday went running to the forest again and did a short run.

On Friday decided to go for another trail run as I felt like I lacked trail running practice after all this basic running and record breaking so headed to another close by forest about 1,2 kilometers away.

Running there I noticed there were check points tied to trees so started looking at local orienteering schedule and noticed they have one event the next day in that area. Found 7 check points on my trail run and decided I have to do the orienteering the next day as it’s so close and besides I had found most of the check points anyway already!

It turned out not to be that easy after all although I had found them the day before as you come from different direction towards them. All went though fairly well, no major ”getting lost” events. My time was 1 hour 27 minutes for the 5 km route with actual 8,1 kilometers. BUT 20 meters before the finish line I tripped on a branch and fell down so that another branch sticking from the ground hit my right thigh pretty bad.

I bit my tongue and cycled home almost crying as my thigh was hurting so bad. Could not walk properly and the bruise was massive. So again a few days off exercise and time to lick my wounds at home.

As long as this heals by the time we go to the Lake district challenge (three peaks) in 1,5 weeks I am happy, but I have to admit it sucks. I am mad at myself for being so reckless that I did not notice the branch and only because I was trying to beat to finish line this one girl I had passed by earlier once!

Me competitive?… No… 😉

Total

Trail running 9,6 kilometers
Orienteering 8,1 kilometers
Cycling 5 kilometers
1 Gym training
1 nasty fall and a bruised thigh

Target

Would you like to support my cause?

Training

Training W36 – Overseas ventures

13 syyskuun, 2019 Ei kommentteja

I was trying to get back on track with training this week, but time simply has not been on my side lately. I have been struggling with trying to find time even for a short run and it seem like time is flying so fast I can’t keep up with it. Normally my amount should be around 20 kilometers of some sort of running, but now I am struggling to get there. This week my long run was at Frankfurt, Kronberg up Alt König, but as my HR monitor was being repaired and my mobile ran out of battery around 2’ks before the end I did not get the full training recorded. Calculating that missing 2 k’s I did reach pretty close to the 20 kilometers after all.

The run at the top of Alt König was really good training and I felt like had for once done something strenuous but not too strenuous to wear me completely out. I have a tendency to run too fast when I get too excited and then few hours after exercise my ”battery” runs out like from an old winding clock. When that does not happen after a long run I know the pace was not too bad and the exercise was good and this is what happened in Germany on the route up and down the peak.

I also cycled more than normal. Neighborhood trails are getting boring so cycled to another forest close by with lots of trails. It had very good hills up and down so need to remember that for future uphill training.

Week, by week I feel like I am finally progressing all the time. Mornings do not feel so tiring anymore and on the runs high hills are easier than before. Generally I feel like I have so much more energy and at the gym I feel like a super woman! So people (read women) check your iron storage values, you never know as iron deficiency seems to sneak up on you in time.

I am also planning on adding some meditation/mindfulness/yoga or similar to my training plan to help on those long nights in the tent and controlling breathing. Now I know I breathe too superficially, not deep enough and it would also help with singing (and running and climbing in high altitudes). The more hectic life is the more you tend to just take quick breaths and not breathe deep enough.

All this of course is just a waste of your lung capacity so I have decided to see if I can improve it. Got this app designed for meditation on my phone which I intend to use in the evenings so let’s see!

Total

3 times Trail running altogether 14 kilometers
1 time Basic running 3.5 kilometers, this was my HIIT training for the week
2 times Cycling altogether 14 kilometers
1 gym session

Target

Would you like to support my cause?

You can do that through my JustGiving page. Or by clicking the Sponsor me button below. Every euro helps me to achieve my target of 2000 EUR which will go directly to help children through Unicef UK. Thank you in advance <3

Training

Training W34 – Bad news and good news

25 elokuun, 2019 Ei kommentteja

Week 34 started off good with really intense gym session after which I felt like I can do anything! Managed to do chin-ups easily. Still only one at time but multiple times with short 20 second breaks.

On my lunch break I did my usual running route and managed to improve my 12 min ”coopers test” distance by 100 meters to 1700 which is average but still good enough for me and improvement. In real test environment and flat surface I am sure I could squeeze a bit more, but have used this route close to our house to measure since we moved here. This was my HIIT session at the same time.

So feeling has been good, I mean a bit tired but good and that is the good news.

So to bad news. As we will be going to high altitudes doctors approval is needed and basic checkup that all is ok and I had mine this week. Doctor did the basic checkup and lab took the usual blood tests. Results though were surprising and even a bit worrying. My hemoglobin was only 106. Other values were ok though.

Obviously this is not good going to high altitudes (or even on flat ground) so I will need to take some iron supplements for a while. Luckily our three peak challenge in North England early October only has max 900+ meters peaks so this does not affect that and I did get the approval from the doctor to go there, but for Kili we need to get it back to where it was at least a few years ago which was 135.

And again to good news, we caught this on time so I will be pumping iron in a little bit different form for the next few months!

After soaking it in that there is actually a reason behind me being so tired and sometimes a bit dizzy without me knowing why, it was time to get back to business. Decided to go orienteering after all again promising my husband I will take it easy and not faint on the way.

This time the start was pretty close to my house in Vuosaari and the route itself in Mustavuori Nature reserve area so cycled there (around 7k’s one way) and back because the parking spots are limited. Did half an hour better time than last time and 3 k’s less on 5 k route finding all the check points so very happy about my achievement. I am clearly getting the hang of this sport and starting to understand what the maps are all about.

And back to bad news. It’s been raining here in Finland for a few days really heavy (even our central metro station is closed due to flooding) so the forest is also very wet. You know the saying slippery when wet? Well check point 14 was down this cliff with moss on top and even though I got pretty good trail running shoes my heel just slid down and I hit my bum, head, right elbow and left little finger pretty hard on the rock.

I was aching everywhere and there was just a tiny bit of bleeding from the finger so I was able to continue to the end and cycle back home. Next day though I noticed that the aching was worse and my neck was really sore so I will need to monitor it and no exercise the next day anyway.

Good news about me getting hurt is that I am alive and did not hit my head badly.

Good news about the hemoglobin being down is that if I have been able to improve my performance and do all the hikes in Norway even with so low hemoglobin, imagine how awesome I will be after I get some more iron into me! 🙂

I think the good outweighs the bad this week and am looking forward to next week and training again as soon as I can.

Total

Cycling 14, 3 kilometers
Gym training 1
Running 3,7 kilometers HIIT
Trail running 2,5 kilometers
Orienteering 7,0 kilometers
1 fall in the forest around check point 14