Go Hard

Two weeks of recovery and I'm in much better condition than I thought I would be. Despite a blow out in the 100km race, I came away injury free and healthy. I kept all my running easy to very, very easy since and looks like I've had my most consistent bout of training in a long time. Slightly ironic for a recovery period. It's set me up to be in a position to take a lot of fitness gains from the race itself. I've still raced a 100km over tough terrain recently so there will be some carry over issues for the next few weeks. Some smarts will be required on the training front if I'm to continue making gains. The body needs to be pushed to get fitter, but pushing too hard can break. The weeks after a big race it is easier to push too hard, but more difficult to see it before it happens. Today was my start back to training . The next big goal isn't until May next year at the Wilson's Promontory 100km, but with a cohort of intermediate goals I'm not loo...

Even after many years in endurance sports I still have a lot to learn. That's part of the appeal. Last week's Great Ocean Walk 100km served up plenty of lessons. As the ability to move like a normal person has returned I look back on the event and see what I can use to improve. The best thing I learnt is I can push myself harder than I knew. My mind can be strong and I have the ability to override a lot of my body's defence mechanisms. This can be a double edged sword, and I hope I do temper it with enough wisdom not to do any harm. I believe I can take away an improved ability to get more out of myself in select moments. It is the muscles and connective tissue that seems to be the most susceptible to fail. While there are plenty of other potential weak points, the muscles can just stop doing what you require of them. Smashing the legs early by going out too fast or running in a style that creates big eccentric loads is a good way to disrupt the muscles. I rediscove...

The Great Ocean Walk 100km (GOW100) chewed me up and spat me out. I went into this race deliberately low on training kilometres to ensure I arrived at the start healthy. I wondered if I was under done, but better than being over done. I believed I had done my due diligence and had a good idea on what the course was like. I went in with the plan to respect the distance and course. Turns out I was way off. This is how the day unfolded. Start Apollo Bay to CP1 Blanket Bay 0-20km In contrast the the lead up weather we were lucky to have mild conditions with some slight winds. A rarity in the area. First light reached as we assembled around the starting anchor. I made sure I could hear Andy give his final pre-race words. Inadvertently this put me at the front of field as everyone else assembled behind. The countdown began and no one moved forward. I'd commented to my family that I wouldn't go out crazy fast like I've seen others do. Go ... Cruising over the gr...

About two weeks of taper for me, some may say three. The lack of definition is because I really haven't been doing big kilometres, so there isn't a significant change in my training. Instead, the running has gradually morphed into being more race specific while ensuring I am not breaking my body down. The specific training is slower than almost all my other runs. It has included carbohydrate depleted runs, plenty of power hiking, hill techniques (finding a comfortable way not to blow myself up on the early climbs) and down hill tolerance. It all adds up to some fairly slow kilometres in the training log. I've spent most of this time feeling like I haven't done enough. Which might be the case, but I have made sure I erred on the conservative side so as not to aggravate older injury issues. I feel like that has been achieved. The question is have I trained to the level I need to achieve my goals? Only race day will answer that. I have a few goals tabled out for the ra...