“Everyone gets knocked down. Champions get back up”

Resting HR (average): 55

Injury status: (L) low back 1/10, (R) shin 3/10, (L) shin 3/10,
(R) Calf gd 1 tear 6/10

It is not a year to go until Comrades 2010. Preparation was not good this week. Monday was a tough 12km as i’ve been battling with my shins. Tuesday and Wednesday I was not up to form mentally and didn’t train. It’s the hardest aspect I find. If i’m not in tunementally the motivation to train is harder than the physical pain. I’ve been struggling to sleep lately, getting up a few times during the night and needing to eat once or twice too! It’s not good for my recovery, nor my waistline! In the end i’m often not rested enough to get up and train.

Thursday and Friday were all about trying to get back into a groove again with some light sessions.

Saturday disaster struck as I was just doing an easy 6km. Half way in I tore my right calf. I couldn’t run on it and it was a struggle to walk. Considering I never tear muscles I was extremely disappointed and frustrated. It was pretty sore the rest of Saturday and it’s going to take some time to get right again. At least Saturday night I was able to watch the rugby and get inspired by the champion Bulls! It meant no sleep Saturday night and Sunday was just a walk and starting to manage the calf.

For awesome coverage of the Comrades marathon 2009 check this out:

“When I get stuck, I restart myself by focusing on
one goal I can finish in the next seven days
– something simple.
I don’t think about anything else
– that usually starts my momentum again”

Explorer John Goddard

“This is my story”
Comrades Marathon slogan 2009

Resting HR (average): 56

Injury status: (L) low back 1/10, (R) shin 3/10, (L) shin 3/10

This was a bad week in terms of training. I had wanted to have another big week. Monday was a reasonable 12km, and then Tuesday morning I woke and it was pouring with rain. I procrastinated for 90 minutes, coming up with every excuse why I shouldn’t run…It’s raining, my legs are sore, i don’t feel so good…The previous day I listened to an audio of “the mindset of a champion” by Canadian sprinter Mark McKoy. He said that the difference between a champion and an also ran, is a champion trains when he doesn’t feel like it. So out I went. It was probably one of my hardest runs this year. All I could think of was I can’t run another 15, 10, 5km…but I can do another few steps. Over and over and over again…till I struggled home.

Wednesday my resting heart rate had climbed quite significantly to 59, probably a result of pushing hard the previous day, and possibly from running in the rain. It was a short, sharp session.

By Thursday, I decided I needed to take a day or two off and recover as my resting heart rate was up at 60. I took a couple of days off and then the next 2 were simply lazy days! With the Bulls rugby semi to prepare for and following the Comrades marathon 2009  on sunday I struggled to find time to train!

The Comrades 2009 was a great run, with Stephen Muzhingi beating the defending champion Leonid Shvetsov in a dramatic finishing.  In the womens race the Nurgalieva twins once again came first and second. For the top 10 results in Mens and Womens click here.

“You’re not a runner unless you’ve run Comrades”
Every Comrades runner

“Run, eat, sleep, repeat.”

Resting HR (average): 53

Injury status: (L) low back 1/10, (R) shin 2/10

This week was supposed to be an easy week and allow my legs some recovery time. It certainly hasn’t turned out that way, as I struggle not to keep pushing!
Monday was only 10km, but I am just not use to hills. It left my shins a bit sore for the remainder of the week. Tuesday was a decent 15km and my pace reflected the fact a progressive drop over the previous few days. By Wednesday I was looking forward to having a day off running!

Thursday was a 6km tempo session and I managed to run faster than I have all year. Whilst it is still not great or particularly fast, my calfs and shins were a bit sore again afterwards. In the afternoon after some weights, I did the 8 min tae bo again and an 8 min ab workout that I really struggled with. Plenty of work to do there!

Friday morning I had a aim of 26km, and was out at 4am. Other than a slightly tender shin I fel quite good, and was able to go a bit faster for a longer run. I was quite happy with the pace and felt pretty good at the end of it. If I had to run another 10-14km, I think I could have done so fairly comfortably.

Saturday and Sunday I needed to recover so I have only had the 1 session per day. Saturday was total trainer, and Sunday was a slow, easy 15km.

Next week i’m like to have another high mileage week but if i’m feeling the strain midway through the week i’ll take it easy and get more rest. I’ve pushed harder than I need to over the last couple of weeks and now my easy week is getting up to 70km, which i’m not quite used to. Comrades is still quite some time away, but i’m mindful that i’ve got the Gold Coast marathon in 7 weeks.

“The whole secret of a successful life
is to find out what it is one’s destiny to do,
and then do it”
Henry Ford

“90% of running is half-mental”

Resting HR (average): 54

Injury status: (L) low back 2/10, (R) calf 1/10

It was time to step up the training this week and push my limits a bit more. Monday was a slightly quicker 12km, even though my quads were feeling it. Tuesday I ran 18km which was quite comfortable,  even though my back was slightly sore afterwards. Wednesday was a total trainer session in the morning followed by a physio session with Amanda at Performance rehab who is doing a great job at managing me. Although I still have ongoing muscle balance/instability and nerve tension issues, i’m feeling so much better than I have in ages.
 Then I did some cardio work in the afternoon and more of my rehab exercises, the list of which keeps getting longer and longer!

Thursday was a 7km tempo run which was not as fast as I hoped, but around the pace I have been doing for these sessions. In the afternoon I did Billy Blanks 8 min Tae Bo session. I may be fine with straight line movements, but I can feel since I have stopped hockey and team sports, my ability to deal with lateral forces has diminished considerably. A bit of work to do there.

Friday morning I was out at 3am for my long run. The goal was 34km, although I wanted to do 36. As it has been a bit cooler I wasn’t sure what to wear, so I decided on my Nike pro compression singlet and arm warmers with a t-shirt over the top. I don’t believe in compression garments eg skins, altering performance, I simply use it because I got it free and it keeps me warm. Actually it’s so tight, I can’t take it off myself! After 5km’s of flattish running I was getting a bit warm! Damn too many clothes! It was then into some undulating terrain as I was running along Old Cleveland Rd, and my pace started to drop. I turned around after 9km, and was now really hungry so I stopped at the service station at 11km for a museli bar and powerade.

It was reasonably comfortable until 15km, when I could start to feel my (L) hamstring starting to tighten up and become a bit sore. They might have been sore from me doing some eccentric hamstring work on Thursday, a variation of these Nordic exercises. By 20km’s I started to notice my quads tiring, and thankfully I turned around from having run to St Lucia after 27km. 11km to home, I decided I was now doing 38. I now cranked music up a bit and I was starting to get a few odd looks from the grunting and occasional singing  I was starting to produce. At 30km the pain in my legs was starting to get more intense and making running quite difficult, and now my neck was getting sore too. After 34km my feet were starting to get sore, yet mentally I felt quite good. Decided to push a bit more and ended up doing 40km. At the end of that my hamstrings and butt were pretty darn sore! Still it feels good knowing I could have pushed to marathon distance if I needed too. A mini mental milestone.

Saturday I felt a little stiff but did a 2 hour total trainer session in the morning and a cycle/crosstrainer in the afternoon. Sunday I surprisingly felt quite good. It’s always a good test of your fitness to see how you can back up 1 or 2 days after a long run. I did another 18km, and ran faster than tuesday’s run. The last 3km was run at 4:57 pace, and overall was 5:11. I was very happy with that. In the evening, we did the Biggest loser calorie killer workout. Boy that was tough, we only did half of it!

Next week it’s an easy week and a chance to let my legs get some recovery…

 
“Anyone can run 100 metres,
it’s the next 39900 that count!”
Sanjay Deva

“A bend in the road is not the end of the road
unless you fail to make the turn”

APR 2009

Resting HR (average): 52
Resting HR range: 48-55

Average weekly mileage: 34km
Average training load: 80

Running time:km range: 4:57 – 5:49

Weight: 69.2-69.3kg
Fat %: 19.4-20.0%

“The real key to success and to reaching your potential
lies in your ability to continually improve”
John C Maxwell

“Somewhere in the world
someone is training when you’re not.
When you race him, he will win”

Tom Fleming

Resting HR (average): 52

Injury status: (L) lower back 2/10, (R) calf 2/10

This week was spent trying to get back into my routine and complete a full week of training. Monday was a gentle 10km and Tuesday morning I felt the effects of it! The quads and right calf were a bit sore! I managed to push through that and complete 16km. The weather has been getting quite cool lately, although Rheanna laughed when I said i’d need to get out my polyprops and gloves! But the last 5km on Tuesday my nipples were very sore as a result of the cold and subsequant friction.

Wednesday was an easy day (well there was no pounding involved!) as I had a strengthening session, physio and then a cycle in the afternoon. Thursday I was quite tired and my right calf was still a little tight so it was a very easy day on the crosstrainer and some weights.

Friday I wanted to do 2 hours, and I felt quite good except my quads started to get quite sore after 6km. I pushed through and by 12km I just wanted to give up and walk. I kept myself going, focusing on 2km at a time and even though I was quite tired and sore, mentally I felt better after 16km. I pushed further than I set out to do and was actually able to run a bit faster even though my legs were quite sore. I averaged 5.33/km, but ran the last km at 5:00/km pace. I wore armwarmers the whole way and was glad I did, it was quite cool (for me anyway), and the nipples were fine even though they were a bit sore all week as I use nipguards for my longer runs. (I don’t use them on shorter runs as it gets a bit expensive)

Saturday was an easy total trainer session, and Sunday was simply a 5km walk. Next week I aim to step up the lieage and have a pretty tough week…

“Unsuccessful people can always find reasons
for why they’re not doing well.
But successful people don’t make excuses,
even when they could justify them”

John C Maxwell