Iron

If you remember, a couple of months ago I used an oximeter and found a rather low reading for the oxygen saturation of my blood. I'm perfectly aware that this was not an official diagnosis and I'm definitely not a doctor but I reckoned some iron supplementation was worth trying out.

I took the liquid iron supplement that I had used at some point in the past, which I know I tolerate without any issues, and I just took a daily dose. I tested again the other day and my reading has returned to a normal value. However, what is much more important is that I am feeling so much better these days! I don't notice much difference in day-to-day life, that was always going fine anyway, but I sure notice the difference when I'm running. I am running about 30 seconds per mile faster than a couple of months ago for the same effort level, and running feels much easier, definitely after covering a few miles. Running to or from work used to feel rather long and sometimes I wasn't really looking forward to it but all of a sudden it feels much easier.

On a couple of days I had the feeling of floating over the road without effort, which is what running used to be like but stopped at some point.

Was all of the slump over the last 2 or 3 years just down to me being anemic? I don't want to get my hopes up that I found the issue, and it's not just getting old, but somehow I can't help think there might be a glimmer of hope I might get back up to a better level, maybe not quite where I used to be but better than what the last few years were like.

It got rather cold, but I actually love that, and it got dark, which isn't quite so great but I got my new headlamp and hopefully I'll get through this winter without falling over and injuring myself.

And of course, well done to all finishers in the Dublin marathon, I'm sure sooner or later I'll be back to that race again myself, and to all the athletes who participated in the 24 hrs world champs in Albi, I'm pretty sure I won't be back for those.

Upwards And Onwards

A bit of increase in mileage this week, a bit over 50 miles, which felt astonishingly easy. I guess the deep endurance that I have gained over the last 15 years doesn't just disappear, even if the old legs aren't what they're used to be.

On Saturday I had the distinctive feeling of effortlessly floating along, no bother whatsoever, and running just felt so easy. It's an all too rare feeling these days, I don't think I had more than 3 of those days this year but it's still fun when it's happening.

I measure my resting HR again, it went back down to 45, which seems to indicate that the recovery from the EcoTrail race is going very well, at least as far as the cardio-vascular system is concerned. I'll keep the effort easy enough for a while, there's no need for heroic workouts for quite some time yet.

I put my bike into the shop for a service and it will take a few days because he has to order a new derailleur first, apparently Cube use their own version and he doesn't have that in stock. I'll take the bus a few times, not my favourite way of getting to work but I'll cope.

Since I started running into work again last week, I'll do more of that. It means I don't have to rush our for a quick 30-40 minute run at lunchtime, which makes things easier, and much more relaxed.

Work seems to be going very well indeed at the moment, which is good, it makes your life outside running so much easier, which obviously helps with your running life as well. I can't quite believe the years I wasted at bloody Fe*co - don't do what I did. When your managers are a group of bullies, get the hell out of there, even if it means having to relocate. Don't waste years hoping things will eventually improve. Bitter, me? Nah. Just glad to have left the cesspit behind!

Same as in running - upwards and onwards!

Easy Rider

It's been 2 weeks since the Ecotrail and while I feel fully recovered I know perfectly well that it takes more than 2 weeks to recover from an effort like that. I only did 32 miles last week and haven't gotten into double digits for my daily run yet.

In a way it's good that work is really busy at the  moment, I barely have time to sneak out for a few miles at lunchtime, and on Tuesday I didn't even manage that, so there is no real opportunity to do too much at the moment. On the downside I tend to run a little bit too quick whenever I have only a short window because I feel the pressure to be back in time, so a few runs at 7:40-ish pace did occur, and that's definitely a bit fast for recovery.

Since I'm not yet running into work I'm cycling a lot because that's how I commute, so there's definitely plenty of exercise, which I guess is a good thing, and the way things are just happening.

Oh, and I managed to transfer my club membership from my previous local club in Kerry to my new local club here in Bray. I have to say, the transfer process is just ridiculous, it required no less than six (SIX!!!!) signatures on a paper form, which in the 21st century is just a pathetic way to do business, and just yet another sign how utterly useless the sporting bodies are here in Ireland, there is never anyone to take the initiative to change things, no drive for improvement, and a depressingly closed mindset.

Then again, it make me happy to work in a totally different work environment and really makes me appreciate the difference.

I'll stop before I start ranting even more - a 32 mile week doesn't deserve a longer post anyway.

Postrun Blues

Very much as expected, my legs bloody hurt for quite a few days after the race. On Sunday I was pretty much totally useless, even more so than usual, and I spent the entire day on the sofa trying to move as little as possible.

Reluctantly things had to change on Monday because I don't think my manager would have looked on too kindly had I stated I was too tired to come into work, so I did (awkwardly) get onto my bike and slowly made my way into the office - which was actually a good thing, the legs felt a lot better after a bit of gentle exercise, as I knew they would. They were still sore, mind, and in fact as far into the week as Wednesday my calves were still tender to the touch, so I didn't run all week, just cycled in and out of work (which still added up to over 90 miles) and on Saturday took my first steps back out onto the road, just for a short and easy 4 mile jog, but that went much better than I could have hoped for, so I guess recovery is going reasonably well.

I did about 6 on Sunday, which was fine but just about as far as I could have gone while still feeling fine, but with work being manic at the moment only got another 4 on Monday and a big fat 0 on Tuesday, so I'm definitely on the easy side of things, if not entirely by choice.

Instead of writing more, I just put on some photos from the race. I only found one of me but some of the scenic shots are just spectacular and really deserve to be seen.