Amazing recovery

My legs feel so much better today. I can't believe that I could hardly walk on Monday. I feel like I could break in to a run now. The bruising under my left foot has all but gone too. I still have a bit of a cold hanging around so the rest this week should help to clear that up.

The traffic on my blog has gone up considerably in the last three days, thanks I think in part to George at SARRC who mentioned the blog in the news and notes section (incidentally, this is a great place to catch up on news and gossip about running and walking in SA and beyond). Thanks everyone for your interest and please feel free to leave comments.

HobbleDave

Legs - still feeling very sore but a bit better. Foot - feeling much better. Anti-inflammatories are my friends. Feeling a bit congested too, cold might be still lingering a bit. I think I'll be having the week off with a possible 10km run with SARRC on Sunday. Walking to the bus stop is hard enough at the moment!

Too darn hot! - Marathon PB... just!

Woke up on Sunday morning to a stinking hot northerly, this was a bit of a worry as it seemed to be a bit too hot. Found out after the race that the minimum was 19 degrees! Anyway, I went out really hard for the first 10km or so with a couple of guys who were aiming for sub 3 hours. We were running at just over 4 min kilometers which was obviously way too fast for me. I went through halfway in about 1:28 then really started to slow down with the heat, it was going to be a huge struggle all the way to the end. Thankfully I had put heaps of sports drink out on the course, and I drank almost all of it. I got a second (third?) wind at about 10km to go but it didn't last long. I even had to walk up a couple of steep little hills near the end. It was looking like I might not even get a PB with 2-3km to go so with 2km to go I put in one final effort and sustained it to the end, coming in around 3:19.20 - a PB of exactly 6 minutes! I had hoped for a much faster time of under 3:25 which may have been a bit too ambitious, but the heat definitely shelved that idea. The cold from the week leading up to the race may have played a small part too, but I felt pretty good by Sunday morning. So under the circumstances, I am pretty happy with the result.

The aftermath. After the finish I almost collapsed as I left the finishing area, I steadied myself, got a few drinks and went and laid down for 15 minutes. I went and chatted with a few SARRCs and CRs after my lie down, watched the presentation, then went back to my parents house to recover for the rest of the day. I went and picked up RunCarly from the airport last night then went home and relaxed some more. I managed to get a fair bit of chafing and a couple of minor blisters, but I have also sustained some bruising or muscle damage to the outside of my left foot. I'll have to monitor this injury, it is very tender at the moment and is preventing me from walking comfortably. Other than that my legs feel quite good today.

Sore and happy,
RunDave.

Stay Calm!

Started to develop a sore throat on Monday afternoon, which led to a sore throat all yesterday. I took affirmative action having early nights last night and Monday night, and taking lots of vitamins, fruit and water. The throat feels much better this morning but I am a bit congested now. I will keep being very cautious with sleep, nutrition and NO RUNNING! Fingers crossed I'll be alright for Sunday. I'm pretty confident I will be.

Easing up / Race plan?

Went for an 18km run this morning with SARRC. I was 5 or so minutes late so I went out at a solid pace to try and pick up with everyone else. Caught up with them about half way and then ran back at a good pace with Mandy. Everything felt really good, so I left it at that rather than doing the extra 5km that I had intended, I don't want to overdo things a week out from the Marathon.

I feel like if I can get through this week smoothly, then I will be able to have a crack at 3:05 or faster. I'm not sure about my race plan yet. Should I go out hard and see what I've got left at the end? or should I go out at a steady pace and then try to get an even split or negative split? All my running so far has been to go hard and then see if I can limp home not too slowly. I'm not very good at monitoring pace, so even if I do try to go out slower, I might not get it right anyway. I wouldn't mind anyones thoughts on this.

LL, I don't mind running in the current weather, I find the rain and cold exhilarating. The treadmill is so that my wife can run without having to get someone (me) to mind the kids. I may use it next week as a recovery from the marathon though.

New stuff = no money

Ran into work yesterday. Legs were sore to start out with, then loosened up towards the end. I'll run home tonight to get the rest of the soreness out then do a faster run home tomorrow night.

After buying a treadmill on Saturday, we have very little money at the moment. We'll have to be very thrifty for the next couple of months. We have a few things we need to sell on ebay or the trading post which may help a little.

Thankfully I bought a new pair of my favourite runners on Sunday (Mizuno wave mustangs). They were on special at the athletes foot. I ran in them yesterday and they were just as good as usual. Hopefully I'll have them broken in in time for the marathon.

Well done Mottram

Didn't stay up for the race last night, but woke up this morning keen to hear how the race went. Very glad to hear that Craig Mottram got a bronze medal in the 5000m at the World Champs. What a great effort. Hopefully the significance of this result is recognised by the Australian media and public. He didn't win, but he has shown that he is one of the world's best runners.

I didn't run on Friday or Saturday due to some knee soreness. I did my long run with Phil on Sunday from CP1 to CP3 of the trailblazer - 27km. This section involves four very big climbs and three ascents with no flat stuff to speak of. It was a tough workout and took just over 3:15. Legs didn't get too hammered though and they feel really good today. I'll be tapering fairly heavily now for the marathon, which I'm feeling really good about.

I have established a new blog for my Trailblazer team to log and discuss training, tactics, fundraising and any other issues. Check it out if you're interested. http://trailblazer2005.blogspot.com

Sore legs

Legs were really sore on the run home last night and had a little soreness through the ITB. Probably a combination of older shoes and the higher mileage over the last month. I think I'll retire a couple of pairs of runners now, I was trying to milk a few extra kms out of them. I had a run planned for today but I will give it a miss so that the legs recover for the weekend long run and so that I don't overdo it for the marathon. This weekend I will be doing CP1 to CP3 of the trailblazer = 27km with some big hills. After that, some serious taper for the marathon.

I epilated the legs the other night (ouch) to make massage easier and less hair pulling (and to get the legs looking good for the marathon : ). Seems timely now seeing that the soreness from extra km is really starting to show.

Also, can anyone tell me how I can insert some text into any of the coloured boxes at the top of this page. I'd like to put a description of the blog up there like I've seen on other blogs.

SOLD!

We have a contract on the block of land we were selling. The cooling off has finished and now we have the long wait until settlement. It's not subject to any major conditions so we are confident that it will go ahead. What a relief! After that, the fun begins - building a new house.

Ran into work 6km yesterday and the legs felt like bricks. Let's hope they feel better on the 10km run home tonight.

Mondayitis

Don't you just hate those Monday mornings when nothing seems to go right. Woke up an hour late (at least) this morning, rushed to get the kids ready for childcare, battled all the other late risers to get the kids to childcare and wife to work, only to get a phone call from RunCarly 30 seconds after dropping her off saying that we have to go back and pick up the kids because they have "school sores" which are highly infectious. Finally got to work and now have to finish off an urgent report. Didn't have breakfast this morning but did have one of my favourite snacks when I finally got to work: a Nana Divers Oven baked Yoghurt and Apricot Mini Meal.

Enough about Monday. Yesterday I had a huge workout on my long run. Ran 35km over hill and dale around the Normanville-Myponga region. Let me just say that the run down to and back up from Myponga Beach would have to be one of the hardest runs around. 20 odd minutes down, 35 odd minutes back up and that was in the early part of my run. Back up the top of the hill it started pissing down and I got soaked through. Finished off the run well, struggled towards the end a bit, but got an excellent 3:05 workout with some huge hills included. This makes me feel much more confident about doing the marathon in a good time. Not too sore today either.

Update: RunCarly just called from home, our son just chucked up everywhere.

Never playing golf again!

Or not until the next time someone asks me to come along and have a bash. After Sunday my legs have recovered from the 34km run, but my back and shoulders still haven't recovered from hitting 70-odd golf balls at the driving range. Doesn't affect the running though, which is going well. If I don't get a blog in before then, I plan to do a 35-36 km long run around the Normanville area on Sunday morning. This will be my longest run before the Marathon on the 28th. http://tinyurl.com/a2688

Sore all over

Went out for the first trailblazer training run yesterday, about 34km from Pinky flat to Morialta bottom gate. The run took over 3:30 but it was a good run and it kept me on my feet for a time well over what I want to run the Marathon in, so that is a good sign. The weather was beautiful and the track was quite good given all the rain we've had. Later in the day some friends came over and we went out to the driving range. I don't play golf, but I can hit the ball OK from my hockey background. However, I haven't played hockey for almost two years now, and I have lost a lot of that hitting strength. Consequently, I am very sore in the oblique abdominal muscles, my shoulders and my forearms. My legs are pretty sore and heavy from the run too. No run today, but I'll have to get a recovery run in tomorrow. I haven't caught the flu from my daughter either (edit: I don't think she had the flu anyway)! Woot yay!