Go Hard

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...

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 ...

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...

What a race. Things definitely didn't go as expected. More on that later, but I'll start from the first leg. It's been quite a while since I've competed as part of any sort of genuine team. Being part of a relay was an intriguing venture. Used to being reliant on myself for the overall result, it was good to be in the different situation. I welcomed the concept of the extra pressure of putting in for a team brought with it. Fighting not to be the weakest link  was a big motivation. Full details about the race are on the website Marysville2Melbourne.com.au . Our team 'MidYoungYounger' was in the open, 3 person relay category. I was doing the two run legs, we had John on the double bike leg, and Alan hitting the final two legs of paddling. The other two had both their legs back to back. My runs were on either side of the bike. That gave me the honour of starting on the gun and hopefully setting up the team. Then I had 2.5 to 3 hours while John hammered the p...

What to do with the two weeks between races? The original plan was take 2-4 days recovery as needed after the half marathon. Next would be a session of very steep hill reps, a long run of about 30km at a relatively low intensity compared to the long runs over the last couple of months, then hit a moderate to high volume session of hill reps. After that, take it easy for 3 days leading into Marysville to Melbourne. The plan seemed good. Focus in on getting the technique specific fitness for the hills (both going up and down), revisit a bit of basic endurance without adding too much to fatigue and keep a good general volume of training before backing off to be race ready. Of course there is always a spanner to throw into the works. I felt good for the first two days after the half marathon. The easy runs felt very easy, the heart rates seemed about right, but the speed was a little quicker than I usually run the easy runs. On day three, I was had the start of a cold/sinus infection so ...

Out of the four races, this is the main one I've had my eyes on. A half marathon in around the Steve Moneghetti Track, Lake Wendouree . The course dead flat, a mixture of gravel and bitumen path. Starting with a 3.1km out and back, then 3x6km laps around the lake. No where to hide on this one. A liquid breakfast, and coffee on the way for the 1.5 hour drive. For the first time the weather was brilliant, brisk morning, little wind and great sunshine. Some rubbish talk and a relaxed warm up I was feeling pretty good. The original plan was to be in 1:22:00 shape, and of course hopefully faster. Time for execution. Plenty of space up front from the starter's gun. I was in 3rd with the winner of last weekend's 10km cross country striding out ahead and fellow ambo, Adrian splitting the difference for 2nd. I wanted to keep the leader roughly in sight over the first few kilometres in the hope it could somehow keep me in contention. That didn't last as long as I wanted, ...

With four races in five weeks there is the enjoyable challenge of trying to find a way to improve from race to race. Having one week between the 10km cross country and the half marathon, doesn't leave much opportunity for a big session if I want fresh legs on race day. So what's the approach? Sunday : Race, 10km Cross Country Monday: Relaxed 14km over some of the more technical trails in Plenty Gorge. Keeping the intensity down, should help move the blood and lymph through the legs, but the difficulty of terrain should provide a technique challenge and stimulus for the smaller, intrinsic muscles used on more difficult trail that will come into play at Marysville and the Great Train Race in following weeks. Tuesday: Easy 14km, but reasonably quick run back into different trails in Plenty Gorge. The legs were showing a fair bit of soreness carried over from the cross country, but they were flicking over nicely over the rocky ups and downs. Again general condition and techniqu...