Knee replacements and running

[mr brightside]

Thanks Mr B
Had a crack at the Lowther trail race on August 11th and felt steady, 2hr 36m, this was 5 mins faster than my 2022 time. Although slightly miffed that my (and many others I suspect) arch running metric Wendy D cruised past on the final hill.

Next up this month some shorter trail runs: Great Westmorland and Thornthwaite,so will be working on speed and then the Hadrian half marathon next month to increase distance. If all goes well I'm looking forward to the Really wild boar, a test for my knees on some rough downhill bog and tussocks.

Currently I do not see myself doing Borrowdale, the 3 peaks and many other fell races that punctuated my running year in the past. However I intend to progress and find the new edge of my envelope without pushing beyond too soon.

See you around too hopefully. Jim.

Remember to go the right way at RWB, its very easy to head off too far left on the way down.

[Jim]

That went better than I thought, especially after getting the number 13 at registration.
How some races seem further than you remember them, this one did. But I still had fuel in the tank at the end.
Avoided going over-revs on the final down hill road, running with Mizuno shoes to reduce impact made some muddy bits slippy but no drama.
So 39 out 0f 66, 18 minutes slower than my 2018 time.
No pain and could get out of the car on arriving home, things are definitely looking up.
2 weeks steady before the Wainwrights around Whinlatter, my first try at it so hope not to get lost.

[Jim]

Yes I recall in the cloud one year it happened to the leaders.
The opposite problem is dropping into the valley where it's heavy going.
Take a due north track and it works fine, if lucky the farmer has been up with his quod and left the perfect groove.

[Jim]

Thornthwaite, what a little gem.
Great organization by Keswick and hosts St Mary's Church.
I came first last and kept telling the sweeper to go past, she was very patient especially when I took a creative route off Whinlatter Fell.
My legs kept going without pain, so no worries there. The next day everything aches which is good that my knees are not hogging the limelight.
Will see how I get on next year, definitely will be back.

[mr brightside]

Great. If you get any niggles or soreness lingering around your knee, try rubbing comfrey oil. It's particularly effective on connective tissue complaints.

[Jim]

Thanks Luke.

Yes good old comfrey (aka knitbone) has so many advantages over ibuprofen gel.

Combination of swiss ball work, foam roller and the static bike all help compliment the off road running.

Looking forward (which is a great feeling) to the M/2 in 12 days. Should be soft going on the Wall but has a bit of road as all races tend to.
Using the Mizunos for a comfy ride.

[Jim]

I guess it was not going to be a pb half marathon with the muddy conditions on the wall. But I was hoping to better my 2hr 14min 2 years ago with sore knees pre op. I came back in 2hr 22min, but jogged back to the car with no feelings of put me down now as I stood outside the Vet's like I did in 2022.
OK some soreness in the knees the day after but now 2 days on feeling fresh again. In hindsight I could have put the hammer down but I can bide my time as just going out running is a pure joy.
To put this in context when I turned 60 I put in a 1hr 39min at the great scot (Glasgow half).
Next half will be less cross country with hopefully "soft" road and relatively flat because I want to go sub 2hr.
Hey I'm not complaining and will see what can be achieved next.

http://www.timingupnorthresults.co.u...-3365-3-187901

[Jim]

Missed the RWB partly because it looked a bit too wild. Chickened out of the Nine Standards at New Year for same reason.
Ran the Slaley Hall m/2 and came in at 2hrs 19min, it was soft going so my legs appreciated it. Ran the Hex Hobble before it took place with a buddy came in under 2hrs, but chickened out from the event (next year).
Well this last w/e ran/jogged in the High Cup Nik, did it 20 mins slower than 2022, but have been having a sore left achilles and it flared up during the race. The mud was deep in places causing some hyperflexion that was sore.
So now gentle walk trot for the tendon and will be looking for the next outing.
We had some snow this winter and it was good doing cross country trail skiing around home, excellent low impact quad building exercise.

[Jim]

Carrock Fell, what a slog up Carrock! It showed how unfit I am.
Enjoyed the rest of the race, needed to self navigate being so far behind but the route was still logged in my head and no low cloud. What a cracking day, wall to wall sunshine and skylarks at full volume.
The achilles is still sore and you guessed it, those bogs after Carrock made it worse. Time for some ice again.
Booked in for the Coledale so yet another slog up hill to get me puffing.