2015

Finally back into this blog. Unfortunately I feel like this is a bit of a cliché, but hopefully this is a new beginning. 2014 was far from my best year in running. It started with the big goal of running a sub-3 hour marathon. I chose Traralgon in early June and tried to hit the training hard. Unfortunately I struggled to get the mileage up and couldn't seem to absorb the training I needed to. On the day I ended up injured with some hamstring issues that had me essentially out for three months. Since then I haven't been able to get back to the level of running I enjoy and am used to. Part of the reason is that a lot of my time was taken up in other activities, in particular was the ongoing industrial dispute at work. For the most part that is settled and has already seen some historic changes. That leads into now.

Right now I almost like I'm starting from scratch. Over the last couple of months I've had trouble stringing together runs. Each run takes a lot more recovery than I am used to. The trap here is that I can still hammer out a hard individual session, and feel pretty good while doing it. However, doing that seems to aggravate some lingering issues in my hamstrings.
 
So what are my running goals this year?
 
I am looking towards heading back to the Surfcoast Century in September, hopefully another PB with my eye on the 11 hour mark. As usual I am starting with a goal that will push my boundaries. Plus it is a very long way to go from my current fitness level. I will likely need the full nine months to reach the level of fitness and specific preparation required.
 
 
 
To get there I need to rebuild a good slab of fitness and injury resistance before I get too race specific. Consistency will be the key. I need to hit a level where I can comfortably roll out plenty of kilometres each week. Without that, the extra long runs required to prepare for a 100km race will break me down, rather than improve my fitness. Starting on the conservative side I will aim for the staple daily run to an easy 10km over varied terrain. This will be interspersed with a faster, steady run starting at 10km and building by about 1km each week up to 20km. Plus an long run, starting at 20km and building by 2km each week. These two key runs will occur every 3 to 5 days depending on recovery. I aim to run every day, having a much lower acceptance of skipping any session compared to last year. The running will be supported by a more substantial strength program. As with the running, the strength training will be focused on consistency and start out conservatively.
 
That is the basics of my program. It is well removed from any complexity and doesn't aim to include a bit of anything. It should allow me to build a good bank of running kilometres to set up future progression. I'm back running and back blogging.

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