Go Hard

Running this year has brought a good amount of success. I haven't been setting any personal bests so far. Instead, I have had some good training, I am as over any injury as I'll ever be and I have had some races that I am very happy with. That excitement I use to get from running has come returned. Amazing how that happens once my base fitness reaches a certain level. That level is when you go out for a solid run and it actually is relaxing, plus the legs find it easy to run. This is where I hoped to be by this time of the year after I suffered through the Two Bays Trail 56km in January. I'm not in my early twenties any more and my body doesn't let me get away with just training hard over and over until just before race day. Getting close to forty and the therapeutic region for training has narrowed. Since January I have made a concerted effort to learn how my body now responds, adapts and what causes problems. It has been interesting. There are two key elements...

Having a Sunday morning off work means I had to find a race to do. It was good to see one of the Coburg Harrier's fun runs was on offer. So the King and Queen of the North 12km it was. I always enjoy these events. Low key and a simple focus on get the basics spot on. Earlier in the week I had less than great running, and a few days off. However, I definitely filled up the remainder of the week with plenty of kilometres. So the legs took a little extra time to feel ready through the warm up. By the time the starter's gun was fired I was feeling pretty good. The course is two out-and-back laps, with a bit of a hill on each that you get to climb from both sides. The remainder is fairly flat with some claiming the undulations take more out of you than you think. Maybe they do if you compare to the athletics track. Not much wind today, just enough to make you feel like it is slowing down even though it probably isn't. A cool but sunny morning, almost perfect. With a p...

I wish I had time to exercise. So many people have said that me over the years. I don't find the time. I make  the time. Importantly, making the time isn't at the expense of other important aspects of my life. It is part of my life. My structure won't apply to everyone, but hopefully it can give others ideas on how they fit exercise into their life. There may be a few things for the shift workers out there too. I assume my life is like many people who have a family. Having a wife, 2 kids, some pets and working full time goes alongside the extras that come up in life. Importantly, running shouldn't take away from family. This is key a consideration as I am a shift worker on variable rotating shifts. This means at times I have to sleep during the day, work some nights and plenty of weekends. This already means I miss some weekend time with the kids, so I'm not missing the other time I have available. The biggest impact shift work has on me is that it takes me ou...

A spectacular thunderstorm had me awake through 3am before this race. I did wonder if I was going to be running in it. The storm moved on and I was able to get back to sleep. A couple of fallen trees on the streets were a reminder of the night, but it was otherwise a relaxing drive out to the hills with my mate Dazzler for the Great Train Race . We got there extra early and were able to kick back and relax and catch up with some others before the day got under way. Looks like the weather was being quite friendly for the race. A bit chilly, but in a good way for running. Lucky to be seeded in the front group gave me a somewhat smooth opening once the whistle sounded. Straight into a downhill I made sure I went out fast. This is quite a unique race. It's 13.5km of hills which by themselves create quite a challenge to pacing. Then throw in the fact you are racing against a steam train with four rail crossings that if you are caught at will suck out time as you wait for the train to ...