Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Doing my best to get back to normal but not quite ready to get there as yet. Quads improving to the point that they were only a minor nuisance, and therefore failed to provide a distraction from overall sluggishness in the way they had for the last few days. I've got a bit of a sniffle which may explain that. Not a disastrous run (and a little bit longer than planned on), but I'd just about had enough by the end of it. A couple of days behind where I'd like to be in the post-marathon process, but then I tend to be pretty unforgiving on myself (as is apparent in another orienteering context at present).

The first half was the Capital City Trail loop from the Fairfield end, partly to pick up something (small) which I thought I'd left in the changerooms at work and hadn't (subsequently found it in the bottom of my bag, which will teach me that 11.30 on a Friday night isn't a great time to check one's bag for things). Came back through the CBD and the inner north-east suburbs without too many traffic interruptions. A very pleasant day for all sorts of outdoor activities (and less smoky than yesterday), and plenty of people were taking advantage - although it was a little on the warm side for a run in the middle of the day.

The 2020 summit has had one positive impact already - Andrew Bolt is threatening to emigrate. (I didn't nominate for the summit, partly because my travel schedule at present is already heavy, but in any case David Karoly and Amanda Lynch are representing the world of climate science more eminently than I could have).

Thanks to everyone for their AP logs - I'm currently writing my Easter report for the AO and your comments have saved me from having to ring everyone up and find out where the decisive breaks were made in the chasing start, and why.

C • Perhaps we could all chip in 7

Still plenty of soreness but running with much more strength and freedom than I was yesterday, on a significantly hillier course (around Eaglemont) than anything I've done in the last three days. Didn't see too many local swelled heads (or wallets) from the glowing review the suburb got in this morning's 'Age' real estate section (that said, when was the last time a newspaper real estate section said of a place 'this place is a dump and no-one with any brains would even think about buying real estate here'?). A sunny morning but with heavy smoke haze, presumably from burning off. We might be stuck with this for a while as there doesn't look to be any significant wind in the forecast until late next week.

The Essendon and St. Kilda supporters last night could agree on one thing - they booed Connex en masse when it was announced 'Connex have advised of lengthy delays...'. It was allegedly due to a 'police operation', but there's been no report in today's news of any significant crimes anywhere near the City Loop so I'm still at a loss as to what was going on (and even if it was a suicide you wouldn't expect it to take all evening to sort the situation out).

Saturday morning at Ivanhoe, which was a pretty regular session for me back in 2002 and early 2003 when I wasn't running much. Doing laps here in this timeslot one feels rather out of place, mainly because the demographics of the crowd are those one more normally associated with a Wiggles concert. The instructors do a pretty good job of keeping them in the bits of the pool they're supposed to be in so it doesn't usually cause any trouble.

Still not the easiest of sessions - not kicking especially freely - but being in the water will do me good. Making progress, very slowly.

This was hard work - probably a bit more flexible than yesterday but no less painful. Definitely progressing more slowly than I was in 2005. A long stop at a railway crossing wasn't hugely helpful in the circumstances, but did handle the hills OK when they came.

As mooted yesterday, going through a massage this morning was challenging.

Noticed on the ranking list yesterday that four of my five scoring events at present are state long distance championships (ACT, NSW, SA and Vic). The fifth, strangely, is the Oceania long - which was probably my worst race of 2007 (although everyone else stuffed it up too, which is why I got reasonable points out of it).

C • act champs weekend 7

Gradually building back into things. Still sore and without much maneouvrability from side to side - I suspect I've got the turning circle of a Mack truck at the moment - but able to run reasonably normally without short-striding as I was yesterday. (I had a bit of knee soreness after yesterday's run, probably through running with an unnatural stride, but no sign of a recurrence today). Coped better than I thought I would with the descent through the west side of Macleod (a prerequisite to the very nice gentle downhill finish through the Rosanna Parklands).

Still no real power in the quads, which makes hill-climbing on a bike challenging. I haven't tried to do the full ride home (with a reasonably solid climb out of Darebin Creek) yet - the La Trobe Street bridge past the PhoneDome is enough of a challenge at present.

The masseur will earn his money tomorrow morning - two marathoners to deal with in successive timeslots. (Lisa Jane Weightman, who narrowly missed Olympic qualifying in London on the weekend, usually fills the slot before me).

C • My speed 1

C • Lisa JW 4

First attempt to run - very slowly. As expected the first kilometre was highly unpleasant; after that it was still hard and rather painful going, but gradually loosening up (slightly). Not exactly the most enjoyable half-hour I've ever spent in my life, but on the evidence of past post-marathon weeks it will do me a lot of good.

Further progress was that I can now go down stairs forwards and get up from chairs without needing to use my arms :-)

Swim at Fitzroy. Hard work initially, given that I wasn't generating much power in my legs, but got better the further it went on. Good to get some exercise into the system (and then rode from Fitzroy to work which will also have helped).

Considered taking some Harden Up (some would say I don't need any extra supplies of Harden Up) and going out for a token run, but it was apparent from the first couple of steps (as well as from my near-total lack of uphill power on the bike) that I'm not yet ready to do so. Hopefully tomorrow. I feel about one day behind where I was last time; can (sort of) handle stairs now.

Expecting to ride past a media scrum tonight - my route home takes me past the front of the building in which the AFL Tribunal sits.

Couldn't even think about running today - walking to and from the station (normally 6 minutes, more like 9 today) was enough of an effort. Having a fair idea ahead of time that I would be like this today, I cooked for the MFR crowd instead.

I'd be interested to know what's going on physiologically with my quads, and whether there is something I can do about it or whether it's an inevitable consequence of a long road race - I doubt the latter as plenty of people with no more training background than I have handle races longer than 42.2km (about 15% of yesterday's field went on to do 50).

Will attempt to swim tomorrow (and if that doesn't work out, at least spend some time walking in the pool) - might attempt a short run or might not. Last time I "ran" on Tuesday - it was agony for the first kilometre but did my recovery good - but I'm not sure I can face it at the moment.

I did get the chance to match shuffles with one of the others at work (sprained ankle playing soccer in her case).

C • Quads 8