Go Hard

It feels really good to be back into the routine of running. Everyone has different things that just click for them, and running is something that works for me. I've managed to put together two 58km weeks. The volume itself doesn't seem a problem. I've reached a long run of 2 hours and nothing feels particularly hard. As predicted it is trying to push the speed that creates problems. The slightly faster runs are where the hint of problems show up. During the runs are fine, but once I get down to anything faster than 5:00/km I'm getting some swelling and a bit of that awkward feeling around the injured ligament afterwards. Nothing major and it subsides quickly, but it is an indicator that's where my current limit lies. The good news is if I hold the pace I seem to be able to keep adding distance. When preparing for ultramarathons that's the main priority. I'll keep my focus on that and let the speed follow up behind as my body allows. At least I'm n...

Over more than two decades of endurance racing and I've had relatively few injuries. In my younger days I would stress about lost fitness and get frustrated when I was injured. Now I've chilled a bit more. Which is handy since my ankle injury is taking a good chunk of time out from running. It's easy to say it's just running and there are more important things in life. It's true there is. That approach never seemed to take the disappointment and frustration away when forced out of action. Maybe I'm getting older and wiser, or I don't care as much, but I'm definitely in a better mental place than with previous injuries. It's a bit of a chance to focus on other things. It's been over a week and for the most part I'm comfortable with the situation. Complaining won't get me anywhere, and self pity is only detrimental. Plus my wife had did more damage to her ankle earlier this year. At least we get to share moonboots. Best just to focus on ...