Thursday, June 20, 2013

Physio

So I got back to the physio again to see where my Achilles recovery was at. Overall it is looking good. I got given the go ahead to start running some longer runs, of which I wussed out on my first run and only went half way, but it pulled up fine so I'll now head out for the full length today. This run comprises of 5min slow warm up, 3x(10min run at moderate pace (130 - 140bpm), 2min walk/slow run recovery), 1x5min recovery, 3x(10min run at moderate pace (130 - 140bpm). This should end up at about total 10km. So I'll see how this goes and then step up to marathon training again in the next week or so.
So while at the physio, amongst all of the exercises and recovery stuff we went through, I had acupuncture on my calf muscles as they were ridiculously tight from all of the eccentric heel dips that I have been doing. The other reason they have got so tight is that I have a nerve issue in my heel which makes stretching my calves really difficult (which is a result of the inflamed Achilles). So I didn't cope so well with the acupuncture cos I hate needles, but it did make a huge difference, immediately releasing a lot of pressure on my Achilles and ankle, and I could really feel that my calves weren't as tight. A pain that had started occurring in the front of my ankle disappeared, it was amazing. Anyways, I'm still on with the same old exercises, but hopefully full time running is a lot closer now.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Fastlane

Today was the first day of the Fastlane swim club at Kitsilano pool. Being a member of the Fastlane swim club is a unique experience because a) it is held in Kitsilano pool which is salt water, is 137.5m long and is really wide with no lanes and b) the club meets at 5:45 in the morning so we get to see the sun rise over the beautiful Kitsilano Beach while we are swimming. Anyways, this morning was a bit chilly outside, so I wasn't totally stoked on the idea of swimming outdoors not in a wetsuit. However the pool was beautifully warm. The instructors are very helpful and I can see that I am going to get a lot out of being a member of this club. My stroke now feels butchered as I try to think of improving a few key elements of my stroke to try and ensure I avoid injury. Anyways, this keeps up twice a week for the next couple of months, I'm really looking forward to it :-)

Achilles Recovery

My next day of training has come and gone, uneventfully. I incremented my walk/run repeats by one and have now given it at least 36 hrs and all is good. So it looks like I am good to continue with riding and incrementing my Achilles recovery by one walk/run set every two days. Hopefully I will also start increasing pace as I increase these sets and start feeling more confident.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Bike Riding and Running

So my second day running and the achilles is still feeling good. I also took a slow ride around Stanley Park to spin the leg in and see how it goes. The run walk training went well, so if it pulls up well tomorrow I will be starting to increment my sessions each day by one extra set until I hit ten or so, then I'll start doubling up runs until I start hitting 5km, at which point hopefully I'll be able to move seamlessly into my next marathon training.

Unfortunately it looks like my riding is going to suffer this year with just not enough time spent on the bike due to this injury to get to where I hope to, as well as to maintain the level of running training that I need to hit a sub 3hr marathon. But I do hope to be able to complete the triple crown ride again this year, I just need to make sure that the Achilles will hold up for it. I'll be aiming to race the Vancouver Triathalon, so hopefully if all goes well that will be my first triathlon.

Vancouver At Night

We spent Saturday Night out and about in Vancouver. First I took Kate to get some macaroons that I owed her from all the whining that I have been doing with my achilles injury. We then attended the VFOF to see a new documentary with emphasis on stopping and raising awareness about the proposed oil tanker route through the inside passage area. Afterwards we went to a friends BBQ in GasTown area, and took some nice photos of False Creek along the way.

Science World, False Creek

False Creek, Cambie Brisge

Vancouver Festival Of Ocean Films

Macaroons

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Running and Achilles Update

So the day after my first test run, the culprit Achilles feels great. My exercises of eccentric heel drops and hop scotch all went well, so I'm having a rest day with just some stretching and core work, and will head out for another run tomorrow and a bike ride and see how it all goes. It's nice to finally see some positive progress, I just need to make sure that I keep it at a slow and steady rate of progression and don't get too carried away and do too much too soon.

Friday, June 7, 2013

First Run

So today I went for my first run in a month, since the BMO Marathon. Today was a trial run for my Achilles to get a feel for how the injury is recovering. It was a simple session of 5 min warm up walk, then 3x(3min jog,3min walk), then 5 min cool down walk. Everything felt great during the run. I finished up with some light stretching and now I will continue my exercises and wait for 36hrs before my next run walk session and hope that I don't get any negative symptoms from this run. If not, I will start increasing the reps by one each time until I start feeling confident to link runs together, with the aim of just easing back into longer running again in a manner that will really let me monitor the progress of the injury. Lets hope it pulls up well, otherwise it will be back to taking it easy for a few more weeks.

More Recipes

So I have been making some delicious healthy food lately to feed my training and ridiculously large appetite. So recent winners have been buckwheat pancakes (from the Thrive Diet book) with a date paste instead of say maple syrup. These pancakes are so filling, and two medium sized pancakes will keep me going from brekky at 8am the whole way to lunch without needing munchies.

Buckwheat Pancakes

And for lunch today, I roasted some Pemberton Organic potatoes that we got from the farm last weekend, put these together with a dressing made up of flax seed oil, tahini, hemp seeds, dill and nutritional yeast. I then wrapped them in collard green leaves with a bunch of fresh veggies and dulse strips to get a whole range of great vitamins and minerals, not to mention unprocessed carbs and protein.

Lunch

Aquarium

Last night was the Vancouver Aquarium Adults Night. It was pretty cool with the aquarium open till 10pm with lots of shows, food and drinks. I think the jelly fish, huge octopus and the dolphin show were the stars. Anyways, a great night was had by all who attended.

Jelly Fish

Jelly Fish

Octopus

Green Tree Snake

RIPD

I can't believe that I haven't blogged these trailers yet. Working on Elysium and RIPD has taken up a good part of my life for the past few years. Anyways, here is the trailer from RIPD which has finally been released for me to show friends and family. Image Engine produced some amazing creature work for this show, and it was awesome to be a part of the project.

Elysium

Probably the biggest thing I have been involved in recently, other than getting married, is Elysium. The trailer is out so I am finally able to share it with my friends and family which is awesome. Image Engine has worked so hard to make this look amazing, and I am really proud to have been involved in such a cool project. I can not wait to see this on the big screen. Check it out.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Last Weekend

Kate and I had an eventful weekend. Fri night we headed to Nairn Falls campgrounds for our first camping trip. It was really cold so we didn't have the greatest nights sleep, but it was really nice to be out of town and to wake up to the rainforest and to cook up an epic breakfast. We then spent the day out and about in the region, doing some hiking and checking out Pemberton!

Lillooet River

Sunday comprised of some exercise and a friends birthday BBQ down at Second Beach in the afternoon. See posts below for some of the healthy goodies that we took along for the grill. The afternoon was amazing with good crew and amazing sunny weather. Anyways, it made for some nice photos as the sun set.

Daniels Birthday Second Beach

Second Beach

Daniels Birthday Second Beach

Jericho Beach Swim

Well, another early morning session our at Jericho Beach. It was a beautiful morning with super calm oily water. We swam 1.7km and afterwards Donald had his epic mix of Almond chocolate milk for a warm up drink. Once again the new wettie was amazing, and I am slowly getting used to the differences between lap swimming and open water swimming in my wetsuit.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Swimming at Second Beach

So on Sunday I hit up Second Beach pool for the first time! It was amazing, blue skies, warm sun, crystal clear water. The pool is amazing, it juts out into the water of False Creek at Second Beach, so on one side you have an amazing vista over the water, and on the other the beautiful rainforest of Stanley Park. I swam 3km just feeling in the zone with the beautiful conditions. Such a great way to start off Sunday. My swimming is starting to feel much more solid, thanks in part I'm sure to swim smooth which has some amazing advice for novice and experienced swimmers alike, and I am now able to get in a zone where I can just swim for ages. A big part was getting my breathing correct so I didn't feel like I was hyperventilating the whole time I was swimming. Introducing some body roll helped reduce shoulder fatigue and enabled me to utilise way more of my lats and pectoral muscles rather than just my shoulder. Since doing this I have noticed next to no shoulder pain while swimming, and rather only muscular fatigue, as would be expected.

Second Beach Pool

Healthy BBQ Lunch

So we headed out for a BBQ lunch the other day. We whipped up some healthy food to take along so that we could stick to healthy eating but still get some nice food on the grill and hang out in the sun. So we took a strawberry smoothie for a drink, overripe strawberries blended up with soda water and some lemon juice. A salad with kale, raisins, grated golden beets, walnuts quinoa and a tahini, nutritional yeast and olive oil dressing. For the grill I made a stuffed portobello mushroom, stuffed with red lentils, cooked up then mixed with nutritional yeast and thyme.

Stuffed Portobello

Salad

Fresh Strawberries

Achilles Injury

I have found this great blog on Achilles Injuries. Going through recovery it is interesting to read up on others experiences in recovering from a similar injury. Anyways, there is some gold information here!