Go Hard

Rotating shift work. Long hours, constantly changing sleep patterns, a different cycle than most others and plenty more reasons shift work isn't appealing. Sounds like there's a lot to overcome to get in any sort of reasonable training. Over the last month I had the opportunity to get into a more normal  work week. No night shifts, following the usual seven day week and having weekends as my days off. As it turned out I couldn't wait to get back on shift . After 13 years of shift work it is definitely what I am used to. I know it isn't for most people, but Monday to Friday doesn't quite work for me. Now I am back into the rotating shifts I feel like I have a better handle on how I can fit my training together than I did over the previous month. Taking 8-9 days for a training cycle has always made more sense to me than seven days. Even before I was a shift worker I believed this. Round peg, square hole. Now it's a matter of getting the system working. Keeping on ...

Back into racing. Picking a local event, the Hurstbridge Fun Run  to get a low key, 12km hit out. The goal was as simple as race hard and see where my fitness is at. Not surprisingly it wasn't my best race. I definitely felt like an ultra marathoner trying to run a short race. What I liked about the event was that it had a country town, community feel to it. I almost felt like I was in some Australian television series. The wife put in an appearance in the 3km event and took second place for the open women's, plus my dad ran his first fun run. Not too bad in retirement age. Perfect weather. A course that was a mixture of gravel trail, cross country grass and mud, plus a hilly road section meant times weren't going to be people's quickest. Not knowing the field, and not knowing if I was capable of pulling out any speed, I just settled into a fairly normal start for me. I went a little quick, but nothing extreme. This allowed to get a gauge of the front runners over the...

Erring on the conservative side, the kilometres covered this week were about the same as last. The progression came from a some more hill work and a longer and better quality long run. It feels good finishing runs feeling stimulated rather than destroyed. In the aftermath of running 100km I've noticed people make assumptions about you. The biggest standout is that I don't think highly of other peoples achievements at shorter distances. Another is the labeling of fitting into a specific category such as a trail runner versus a road runner, or an ultramarathoner. Apparently I must think marathons are short now. My views aren't exactly what is assumed. If I was to put any label on myself, it would simple just a runner . Running goes beyond just enjoyment. It is hard to explain, but the best I can offer is it just seems right when I run. There are plenty of other things I enjoy too. What makes me tick if often different to other people. It works the other way too. One main thin...

These guys have brought out some amazing running videos in the past. Every now and then they just nail it in providing the style of inspiration that works for me. I'm keen to see what season 3 brings.

My first week of training  has been knocked off. For the first three weeks my work roster actually gives me a more traditional 7 day week. That's a rarity for me. The week definitely is conservative. Total distance run was 53km. All easy kilometres except on Tuesday where I ran hard for a single rep up the Yandell Hill. It only takes 1:50 to finish, but it is steep.  This was followed by some more moderate hill work in the same session. It is a starting point. Thursday and Friday were complete days off as I needed the sleep, plus I had accumulated more fatigue in my legs than I was comfortable to carry into another run. Sunday I finished with a very comfortable 2 hour run into the trails. Then focus was mainly fun, but unpicked the more technical trails to help re-establish the trail agility that has dissipated from my legs over the last few weeks. Plenty of rock hopping, twists, turns and river crossing. Out on the comfortable runs I often solve plenty of life's problems in m...

Even managed to get myself into one of the promo pics. 56km of fun. Details here.

It's only two weeks since my 100km race, but it feels like a year ago. In that time I wouldn't say I've done any training. I've exercised as I've felt like, but only to a level that has me feeling good. In there have been a bit of weight training, a swim and four very easy runs. The body and mind feel even better than rested. I'm ready to start what I consider training. Trying to take on lessons of the past, I'll endeavour to base the training on how I respond. It is easy to quickly feel awesome and ramp up the training in a short time after a big race. I have done this multiple times previously and the result is a false start followed by a substantial slump and extended down time. I want to avoid that this time. So I need to be alert to how I am truly absorbing the training. How quickly does fatigue accumulate? Does a low grade, but deep pain persist into the next run? Does the connective tissue tighten? Do imbalances increase during a run? Do I...