General day to day ramblings
Starting to feel the fatigue in the legs recently and today was a tad warmer than it’s been of late. Must start to get use to the heat as I know it’s coming like a freight train ! In Perth the average temperature is 18 and in summer 35+ days are common. Not a big fan of the heat when it comes to running in it so I always suffer in Perth’s scorching summers. Today was 20 and for the first time in quite a while it felt warm. I started slowly and ran by myself for 7k before meeting my mate Jon. We then ran together for 8k putting the world to rights and just generally chatting about ‘stuff’. Before I knew it my 10k run had turned into 15k and the time had slipped away. Funny men ain’t known for chatting but when we run in groups we’ll happily chirp away for hours, or maybe that’s just me. ? Anyway the point of this post is running alone can sometimes be what you need but generally a bit of company helps; especially on those long runs on the weekend. I would also recommend a running group if you’re starting out as like minded people enjoying (suffering) together will encourage you to keep turning up and improving. If the group has a shared goal, like a marathon, this bond is even stronger and you’re more likely to succeed with a bit of peer pressure.
Finally if you are feeling unmotivated a call out to a friend can sometimes be what you need to get you ‘out there’……
I’ve been running in Kings Park for 16 years but always find new and interesting trails or parts of the park I haven’t visited for some time. Like all things in life we get caught in ruts and do the same old thing day in, day out. Running is similar and you can map out the week of runs which can then turn into months and eventually years of running the same runs. This lunchtime I just went out with the premise of not actually having a plan or destination, just find some new trails. This I did and had a great run. My 10K turned into a 11.5k but whose counting. Hardly looked at the Garmin, hardly.
So whats the point of this post. Sometimes you just need to go for a run, no objective, no distance and no destination, just run for the sheer joy of running, puts a smile on my face just typing it. Tomorrow though it’s back on, structure, pressure, numbers and probably some pain. Wouldn’t have it any other way….
Legs are feeling ‘goosed’ and I know I’m now walking the tightrope of injury and distance benefit gain. Due to No3Daughter deciding we should swap beds at 1am last night it made deciding to get up and go for a run all that more difficult. As I discussed yesterday the conditions were calm but cold so once I put on the skins and wind-cheater I was off in the dark. Best part about an early morning run is you get to see a sunrise and that alone makes the effort of getting out of bed worth it. No matter how many times you see a sunrise or sunset they are all special. Maybe it’s because as I near 50 I realise that my days of viewing these are limited. Hell, I could be over half way to the finish and this is one race where I will not be increasing my pace.
Skins were yet again useful for keeping the legs warm initially but also helping in taking some of the fatigue out of the legs which , in my view, is certainly helping keep calf knots or strains away. We’ll see….
I must admit to wearing my Skins on my second runs in the evenings. I find they just help keep my legs ‘tight’, if that’s the right word. I went through a stage when I first got them (in 2010) of wearing them for all long runs and even in races. I even wore them in a 10k once, what was I thinking ? I remember starting a few debates on cool running back in the day on how much of an advantage I thought they gave you in a marathon. ( http://www.coolrunning.com.au ) My 4-5 minutes was met with much debate at the time. I suppose what made me stop wearing them was no professional athlete ever worn them. After that they became my ‘recovery’ apparel and the odd long run when it was cold.
Now in their sixth year there are holes in all sort of places, which is why I always wear shorts over them. (and I believe this is a must at all times!!) but they still server to protect tired legs and I stand by my statement that they are worth a few minutes in a marathon, in a similar way a light pair of trainers can make a big difference if you can get away with wearing them.
The calf socks seem to be very ‘in’ currently in the triathlon world, must have something to do with the extra strain those athletes put on their legs because of the cycling and swimming ? Not sure but they certainly seem to be a ‘go-to’ piece of apparel for the triathletes. I have a pair and again if I do feel a calf knot coming on these socks seem to keep injuries at bay. All good then.
The one final comment regarding skins (or any compression tights) is they must never, ever be white. There was the time my good friend Dr. Geoff Reynolds embarrassed a state when he ran for WA in the Melbourne Marathon, beside me, in WA colours wearing white skins. This is akin to bowling underarm and Athletics WA has never really recovered. Worse, we both made the Marathon Booklet for that year; I’m surprised we were let back in WA airspace.
I’ve found a photo of the start. Please remember what is seen cannot be unseen. Me and Geoffa are wearing the WA State Colours as in 2010 the Melbourne Marathon was the State Championships. The only time I was so close to the African winners, the first 10m.!
Lunchtime run and we’re faced with a headwind straight from hell. After a brief discussion we all decide to run away into Kings Park and hide on some trails out of the wind. Makes me wonder how I’d clock the K’s in a climate not so ‘runner friendly’. I’ve mentioned a few times that I consider Perth to have the friendliest runner climate globally. Three seasons of the year it’s perfect all day, while in Summer you get to get up nice and early and still get great temperatures while hiding from the heat for the rest of the day.
We’re also blessed with great trails, hundreds of kilometres of great shared bike paths (though cyclists can sometimes get confused with the ‘shared’ bit of that quote), great parks built for running and lots and lots of space. All makes for some great running.
Could I run twice a day in a British Winter ? I suppose with the right protection, clothing wise, it would still be just as satisfying. An excuse for a whole new wardrobe of running attire, but for the moment I’ll stick with my singlet, shorts and suntan cream.
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….?
My Wife takes No 3 Daughter to a party, no 2 Daughter fancies a power nap and no 1 Daughter is relaxing with her laptop. Oh well, might as well sneak out for a relaxing 10k. One of the benefits of the girls growing up is Karen and I are getting our lives back which means more running for me. Actually it’s probably just me getting my life back as Karen still seems to be busy as. So the lesson here is if you can find 45 minutes you can get out there….
Day number 12 of two runs a day and for the first time I felt fatigued on a recovery run with Mike and Steve. Had this feeling a few times over the years and it feels like the legs are made of lead and you just want to stop and walk. Ran through it of course and the last 5k was slightly better , finishing with a progressive type pace for the 10k.
Ran through Elizabeth Quay which is relatively new to Perth, less than a year old. Nice bridge to run over and great views of the city. Will see if I can manage another run after work.
I run a lot and have for many years. This has resulted in improvement in all distances but a lot has to do with just improvement over time, over distance. i.e. keep running and building on your foundation fitness and you’ll keep improving…. until…you reach a tipping point where either age beats you or your training stagnates and your times stop improving. This happened to me in 2014 after a stella 2013 where everything went right.
I decided in 2015 to talk to Raf Baugh, the owner of The Running Centre (TRC) in Perth and he gave me a program, my first training program and coach, at 48 ! It was a shock to the system but I feel his work laid the foundation for the great year I’m having in 2016. Raf is infectious and in his eyes age really is just a number. He opened my eyes to all sorts of different terms and running pace, tempo, threshold, VO2max, recovery; etc. Before I was just running, no real goal, just running. This new approach has set me up for another tilt at the sub 2:40 dream. Thanks Raf, you really are a legend.
So the reason behind the post, if you feel you have plateaued go jog down to your local running shop and ask about a coach or group runs. It’ll be the best thing you ever did, period.