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Welcoming in the New Year will be a darn sight better than last year. This time last year I was laid up with a prolapsed disc L5-S1 and had not run for about 4 months which is enough to send a guy up the wall !

Now, fingers crossed, I have made a good recovery and have been training pretty much since May. Tomorrow the training starts in earnest in preparation for the first Kilomathon in March. Quite a stange distance at about 16.2 miles so I thought I’d give it a go. The distance is approximately the distance that a lot of people will ‘hit the wall’ meaning the bodies glycogen stores have been exhausted so it will be interesting if I can make it. I should do but you never know.

I’ll write a weekly update here of how the training is going and as a personal trainer I should be able to put a program together !

Big year for all the family so hopefully it’s going to be a crackerjack year for all of us.

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2010…Personally can’t wait !

Was speaking to a very good friend of mine the other day who said his Brother did not leave a gym session until his cotton training top was 100% covered in sweat. So today I thought I’d give it a go ! Using my Def Leppard 2006 tour T-Shirt as a training top I gave it a go.

75 mins of what I would call ‘full on cardio’ consisting of treadmill and X-trainer, I’ll sidetrack here and say that the x-trainer is a pretty deceptive bit if equipment as full on exercise certainly gets the old ticker going, back to the training I can attest to the fact that both the T-Shirt and myself was dripping sweat but 100% – I’m afraid it wasn’t.

I am pretty sure part of Peter’s training included martial arts which would probably make a difference as prior to my back operation part of my training included boxing which was utterly fantastic and probably would have guaranteed complete sweat cover. Bottom line that much effort equates to a really good positive workout.

Bad news is that post training my right hamstring is very tight, tried stretching it but as I sit here writing this it’s quite painful. Hopefully couple of days rest should be ok.

Yours in exercise.

As I sit here watching the football my mind wanders back over the last 9 months. On the 23rd January 2009 I had an operation on my back to hopefully correct a prolapsed disc L5-S1…For those who don’t know this is where the nerves extend down the leg and includes the main sciatic nerve….The actual prolapse happened in September 2008 and as no improvement occured over the following 4 months, indeed there were times when I could not move due to the pain. As someone who has been involved in sport throughout my life it was a bitter blow.

I have been fortunate with general health and the only, what I would consider, significant injuries was the disclocation of my left knee 3 times !

The operation took about 2 hours and when I came round the Consultant indicated the operation had been successful….Recuperation then followed which began with a simple walk down the corridor holding the hand of the Physio…the need to have support was indeed strange.

Wind on 3 months to 23rd April, St Georges Day, and a visit to the Consultant to get that all important all clear. This duly happened alongside the little nugget “It would be better if you did not run again”. After all  of 1 second my response was that I actually needed to run…it was part of who I am and without it would impact my raison d’etre.

So that out of the way I found a gym in Wooburn Green and signed up for a recovery programme, being a fitness trainer I could have done it myself but it always works better if someone else does it ! The first couple of months was all about “core” fitness to protect the back together with some light treadmill,x-trainer and weights.

Now 6 months on training is going very well I am usually in the gym at least 4 times a week and have kept up the programme increasing intensity as  have become fitter. The added bonus is the swimming and I always end the session with 10-15 mins in the pool which aids the flexibility. In terms of my back…fingers crossed at present but I make sure to stretch post the session, I am fairly convinced it’s this stretching that is keeping any potential sciatic issues under control. I now know what my body can cope with and as long I keep the training within reasonable limits, fingers crossed, touch wood (just have) it’s looking good.

So if you are in a similar position don’t give up hope and focus on the day you’ll be back exercising.

Yours in running………