Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Thought I'd have a 5am start this morning for the tail end of the IOF meetings but got a message that they'd finished early, so slept a bit longer and ended up heading out a bit after 8 - northeast through Ivanhoe and Bundoora to pick up the Ring Road path, then back through the industrial bit west of Reservoir. Fairly hard work early - the first third is quite hilly, and a stiff easterly (unusual here) was an added element. Felt quite tired in the legs later on, probably under-employed muscles, although better right at the end.

Hip continues to improve and I think I'll try at least a fitness-test run on it in the morning.

I must be settling into the area: they now recognise me at the cafe I most often frequent (no doubt assisted by my frequent recent TV appearances). Also spotted in Station Street was someone wearing a shirt from one of the Porto Alegre football teams, which is a nice counterpoint to my 2014 sighting of a Melbourne Victory shirt in Porto Alegre. I thought I might have found the other end of a World Cup shirt swap (one of the Australian games was there), but it turned out its owner's mother was from there.

Hip continuing to make progress (by the afternoon the soreness was only at nuisance level whilst walking), but still not ready to run on, so took to the bike for a shortish spin on Yarra Boulevard (ahead of something longer tomorrow assuming I'm not yet up to running). Took some time to get into it but felt pretty reasonable in the second half. Predictably got overtaken by plenty of people (most of them on considerably more sophisticated bikes).

Obviously the Garmin didn't think I was trying very hard because it said my recovery time would be 0 hours. (This may reflect the flat finish and a couple of traffic stops in the last 500m).

Gave the Grange Road level crossing a miss, though a wander round there afterwards suggests that there isn't that much work happening there today. (The line is currently closed for five days for works but I suspect that this time round most of the action is up around Rosanna).

Still a bit of pain in the hip this morning, although not as impeded as yesterday afternoon, so took to the water. More of a crowd at Fitzroy than I normally expect at this hour (although nowhere near as much as it would have been later on a 40-degree day). Sun glare an annoyance, but workout was OK (and hip didn't hurt in the water).

With a change expected mid-afternoon I thought I'd be able to hibernate until it stopped being hot, but that was until I got a request to do an interview at the ABC studios at Southbank (the global temperature numbers for 2017 came out overnight). With the only practical ways to get there involving either riding or a decent walk from Flinders Street, I was a bit worried I'd look as if I was melting once I was on camera (I rode, slowly), but it seemed to work out OK.

Seemed to be good news for a lot of it. Stiff and sluggish at the start (done from Fishermans Bend before dropping the car off for a service), but was moving reasonably well by the end of the first kilometre and continued to be steady throughout. Out early enough in the morning that the wind was still cool, which was a blessing (certainly wouldn't have wanted to have been taking on the hills of Greensborough tonight).

The bad news, though, was that my right hip twinged reasonably sharply around 5k. It seemed to settle down within a couple of minutes and I didn't think much more of it on the run, but it tightened up post-run - not something I needed. It was uncomfortable to walk on for the remainder of the day (perhaps less so in the evening) and feels significant enough to be of concern. Will have to see how it feels in the morning.

This was the 'see if my legs still work' run, and the answer was 'sort of'. Went to street-O at Camberwell, but dropped down to C course because I didn't want to do potentially close to an hour on a hot day as a first run back (even without considering the issues I've had with evening runs lately).

Definitely a struggle, but my quads did gradually loosen up during the course of the run, which gives me some confidence I'll be able to launch back into things from here. Climbing was hard work but back somewhat better than on most recent attempts at evening runs.

Quads still felt some way from being runnable, but was functioning reasonably well in the water, so good to get at least something under my belt. Hoping to be running again tomorrow, although the first steps probably won't be terribly pretty.

DOMS central today - getting out for a run would have been a reasonably painful exercise had I attempted to do so, which I didn't. Went for the indoor pool this morning because I thought the warmer water (normally too warm for my liking) would be better for recovery. Once again a slow swim, but no surprise this time why.

The masseur definitely earned her money today (even if the quads were untouchable).

And, much as I (along with much of the rest of Melbourne) have been ridiculing the idea that people are too scared to go out for dinner in the evenings here, I've discovered today that there are times and places where it might be true: it was reported today that the ersatz Munich beer hall near our office is where the local Nazis (one of the most prominent of which has brought my name into disrepute) go each April to celebrate Hitler's birthday.

C • Hitler's birthday 22