“No one ever drowned in sweat”

Resting HR (average): 54

Injury status: General lower leg soreness

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 37; Afterwards 31

Training is always tough. It’s worse you are not fit, because the recovery between sessions is lower and it’s always harder to start the next session.

Monday was an easy 10km.

Tuesday my legs needed a rest from running and I took 3 days off to give them a break. It always feels good to freshen the legs, but once you start running again, it’s like they’ve never rested at all!

Training in the Brisbane summer is tough. It’s so hot (but it’s not the heat that kills). When running you need small water stops to just stop the mouth from being dry, and your clothes just get drenched in sweat. They get heavy, and it’s annoying having to wipe off the sweat constantly.

Friday I was out at 2am and the rest had helped my legs. For the first 15km anyway! After that I started to get progressively slower…and slower. I ran out 19km to St Lucia and turned around. My battery in my mp3 died. There would be no music to keep me occupied on the way back, I’d have to listen to myself!

I started to get sore feet about 22km, and had a second drink stop at 26km. From there I struggled.

It hurt to run, but it hurt even more to stop. When I stopped I’d get a burning, tightness type of pain down my legs. The last 6km were a struggle, although I did run the last few km a bit quicker.

Once again I was very stiff and sore afterwards.

That night I had to have a bath to try and ease the muscle fatigue. There was just a deep ache all through my legs! I guess I’ve been pushing hard and increasing the mileage faster than I should do. But I had wanted to get back to marathon distance by the end of January.

Saturday and Sunday were fairly easy recovery sessions.

Next week will be a big week as I aim to get back to marathon distance! It hurts already!

“Pride lasts longer than pain”

“What will determine the course of your life
more than any other one thing is whether or not
you’re willing to tolerate necessary discomfort”
Barbara Sher

Resting HR (average): 58

Injury status: Low backstrain 5/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 33; Afterwards 28

Pain. Lots of it!

This week was a tough week, and required pushing through the pain barrier!

Monday through to Thursday I was feeling tired! It’s been tough getting back into normal training again but at least it was a full week with decent mileage for a change.

The midweek longer run on Tuesday started to get more comfortable, but it was still very tough. I can feel how tight I am neurally by the fact it takes 6-8km to warm-up and feel looser. Running those first 6-8km is painful, especially through the shins and thighs!

Friday I was out by 3am. I can’t believe I felt so sore. Every step caused immense pain in my shins, hamstrings, everywhere! At 7.5km I sat down and was ready to ring Rheanna to come and pick me up. I figured I’d just run 500m more and do 8km at least. I kept thinking I can’t give up, otherwise I’d be just like most other people!

At 8km, I thought, just get to 10km. At 10km I was not too far from a service station and thought, get some food and have a powerade, then see how I feel. I paid for 2 powerade’s (so I’d pick up the second one on my way back), it’s amazing what spending $3 does for you! I struggled through to 16km and my turnaround point, focused on the fact I had to at least pick up my second powerade which I’d paid for!

Then it was just get to 20km, 22km, 23km, 24km…etc

There was a lot of stopping at traffic lights and intersections on the way back. I was so grateful just to stop and try rest my legs.

When I got home, at 32km I could barely stand. My feet and legs were so sore! As I said to Rheanna “this was one of the hardest runs I’ve ever done.” I say that fairly regularly, but I am sure this ranks as one of the toughest! (They all do, not sure why someone would voluntarily do this so often!)

Saturday and Sunday were fairly easy days. Next week I need to build on this week’s training, hopefully it’ll get slightly easier, but I wouldn’t count on it!

“Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence,
is the key to unlocking your potential”
Sir Winston Churchill

“Resilience is the ability to
come back and keep trying,
even when you fail or things are tough”

Resting HR (average): 58

Injury status: Low backstrain 3/10

Neural stretching (knee to nose. averages in cm):
Baseline 37; Afterwards 31

With a new year, it was nice to re-evaluate and set new goals. 2009 produced a good beginning before being derailed with neural pain and frustration at not knowing to handle it. After numerous specialist consultations and investigations it was up to me to deal with it, and I finally feel I now know how to handle it.

2010 is more about training consistently and reaping the rewards that brings. The 10kg I need to lose will hopefully happen as I build up and regain more intensity.

It was nice to start off with a fairly solid week. One knows one is not fit when 24km is a long run and leaves you knacked! I took it fairly easy over the weekend, but next week brings the chance to build on some decent sessions and push to the next level…

“Resilience is having faith that you will succeed
and the knowledge that each failure
is a learning opportunity and experience”

“The key to success is failure”
James Dyson

DECEMBER 2009

Resting HR (average): 56
Resting HR range: 49-64

Neural mobility: 39/34cm

Average weekly mileage: 10km
Average training load: 37

Running time:km range: 5:09 – 5:38

December was a poor training month, it has been hard to get back into a routine since moving. The hot weather, and lack of slep havent made it any easier, but they are poor excuses!

As someone who thrives on routine, the Challenge for January is to just get some solid training days under the belt and the results will come. 2010 will hopefully be a much better year, I have 10 kilos to lose and a lot of fitness to gain! Bring it on!

“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal.
The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach”
Benjamin Mays