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Showing posts from May, 2013

Relax

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After 4 good races in 5 weeks it was time to take a break from focusing heavily on race preparation. My mind needed to move away from constantly making sure every session had a target, analysing paces versus effort and pushing to hit difficult target times. Plus various parts of my body could do with a break from the higher volume of faster running. So I took that mental break and went out for a few easy runs with the idea just to enjoy them. If I didn't want to run, then I didn't, if I wanted to go longer then I did. I also snuck in a swim and returned to some basic weights. As the week progressed all the niggles I had been developing from racing dissipated and my body was feeling recovered. Interestingly over the week I still covered 84km, and it felt a lot easier than my recent 70km weeks. On these runs I made a point of venturing off my usual routes. I found a couple of extra links between some of my favourite trails. One run I enjoyed especially was a long effort ba...

Great Train Race 2013 - Race Report

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Hoping my hamstring would hold up for the race. With most of the week off, and just 30 and 40 minute runs over the last two days, I really had tried to ensure healing. Yesterday it didn't feel quite right, but was probably good enough to race. The big problem is that this course is all about hills. The same style of race where I injured myself in the first place. So I had the idea that I would race hard and take full recovery afterwards. No other races planned in the near future means I also have the mental space to truly take the required break. Anyway, onto the race itself. 13.2km of hills racing against the famous Puffing Billy steam train. The elevation profile: So far I've beaten the train in my attempts over the years. I'd like to keep that record intact. Check out the following video for an idea of what the race looks like. Weather was perfect, minimal wind, a bit of cloud cover and cold (but not freezing like it gets here). A tentative warm up gradually ...

M2M Recovery

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Maybe it was a bit of luck out of bad luck that I didn't get to race the second run of Marysville to Melbourne.  Good news is John has recovered well from his bike crash. The reason for my luck is I ended up with a pretty stuffed hamstring from the first run. I would probably have done more damage running the extra 12.5km. Guess that is the risk when you make a point of running the long and steep downhills as fast as you can. I was very sore on the Monday and went out for a very, very slow 11km, that I thought would just get the blood and lymph flowing, aiding recovery and not adding a load. What I hadn't realised yet was the amount of pain wasn't just beaten up legs. The bruising along the back of my right leg eventually indicated there was more. This was soon accompanied by a lot of reduced movement and ability to contract the muscle. As a result, I've taken three complete days off running, and will definitely be continue on the cautious side so I can still race the G...