September 18, 2016
After another 100 mile week I am now faced with the prospect of going for a three-peat or having a ‘down week’ to let my body recover. But does my body need time to recover or has it adapted to the new mileage and has this then become the norm. ? This links to the top 3 Golden Rules I abide to regarding distance , pace and not getting injured. Juggling these three is a fine balancing act and get it wrong you’ll be spending time on the sidelines watching all your fitness drain away, a runners worst nightmare.
I’m a big ‘listen to your body’ believer and also adding distance is possible if you have easy runs and avoid two hard sessions in a row. Raf Baugh, the Running Centre owner, ( http://therunningcentre.com.au )is a big advocate of big distance and doesn’t consider any mileage to be ‘junk miles’. As far as he is concerned they are all good, even the slow recovery ones. Taking this onboard I have made my second run of the day (how did this become the norm?) a slow one and must admit to enjoying the freedom of just running on heart rate rather than chasing pace and being constrained by the 1k Garmin splits. To this end I have managed a massive block of training since June but understand I am on a tightrope. This is sustainable for the moment as I train for the Perth Masters in October/November this year but must admit to looking forward to a month or two of ‘normal’ 100k a week running later in the year. (and maybe even a glass of red for Christmas)
This tightrope of distance, pace and avoiding injury is one all runners must walk and I know so many who have trained so hard for events and at the last minute been struck down with injury. Truth be told I don’t even like typing the word injury. !! Damn that’s twice I’ve typed it in one paragraph but it needs to be discussed. Every runner, in my opinion, has a distance where they can safely operate in, be this 40k, 100k or more. This is limited by their running gait, general genetics, weight, surface they train on, shoes etc. the list really is endless. Spend too much time outside the ‘safe zone’ and eventually its time to pay the piper.
155k for the week, 6 short of a 100 mile week, never not going to run the final few k’s needed. Ran 8k for a big 38k day but more importantly a second 100 mile week. Of course this was shared with the Strava community. How did runners survive without Strava ? As I said before if it ain’t on Stava did it happen? The old tree falling in a forest type statement.
What did we do before GPS watches and the internet? How could we share our running exploits with the world? Write a letter or ten to keep everybody informed of your training highlights? Like the good old days of going out for a meal and not taking photos of the tukka and sharing with the world.
These days there are two types of runners , those who Strava and those who run for the love of running, with no watch or GPS devices and no Internet connection. I’m a Strava-addict and admit it. Probably explains my four Garmin watches!! Last time I ran with no GPS watch I hated it, a sad affair really but that’s the way it is.
Remember Strava is life, the rest is details. Is my watch charged….?
Sunday morning is long runs with the gang. Anything from a few runners to unto 10 depending on who’s training for what. Always a 6am start, which means some running in the dark in Winter, but overall the best part of the day. This morning my mate Dean who is training for Chicago in 3 weeks wanted a 30k at a good effort. After my 5k park run yesterday I wasn’t that keen but kept him honest for the distance. Finished in just over 2 hours at 4:05min/k average. Probably pushed harder that I would have liked but the 2hrs on my feet was more important. Leaves me marooned on 155k for the week, 6k short of the magical 100 mile week. I’ll try and find time tonight to put that right. Took some shots of the pancakes and the lads relaxing at the end of a great run. As always Perth put on perfect conditions.
This long run was probably too fast but normally it’s all about time on feet. Getting your body use to the extra time needed to run and race a marathon. It can be an enjoyable experience if you’re after time and distance rather than pace. Today, thanks to Dean, it was all three. Nice when you finish but the last 10k is challenging. Overall though you know it’s doing you some good and it’s all about paying your dues now rather than on the big day.
