Taper...Time to Panic

Week 10: Monday March 30, 2015 - Three weeks to Boston (58 km)

Monday - hill repeats & gym, a total of 4km with 15 short and fast hill repeats. Another gloriously warm morning and a chance to run in bare feet on dewy grass. It really is the most beautiful feeling. I wish I could do all  my runs with such joy and freedom.

Tuesday - rest, my old friend has returned,  left hip and hamstring insertion pain. Damn I have not had any problems with it for some time.  Lots of stretching and foam rolling to release back tension. Made an appointment to see the physio for a  tune-up.

Wednesday - mid pace run. A terrific thunderstorm was raging when I woke up. So I waited for the worst of the storm to pass before I set off for what should have been a 90 minute pace run. After about 20 minutes, the hamstring pain was so acute I decided to turn around and head back. A disappointing run - a total of 7km at a slower then marathon pace. My back just feels like it is completely out of whack. 

Thursday - physio. I was scheduled to run   2*2km intervals today but  ended up visiting the physio instead. So pleased I did. An hour later I was moving freely and with advice on how to reduce the muscle tightening. Also got to visit my favourite cafe...a win win..

Friday - social run on Good Friday. Having missed the scheduled interval session yesterday I thought I would squeeze it in before an easy social trail run in the morning.  I set off in an unfamiliar street, in the dark with  light drizzle falling.  Undulating terrain and very dark streets spooked me a little and I ended getting lost and  running at a slightly quicker pace just to get back in time to meet the rest of the group. So the intervals were kind of not done. Met the rest of the group and we headed off along Perimeter Track then onto Long Track in Kurringai National Park. Great to run with friends and chat while the kilometres ticked over.  We ran to the lookout over Cowan Creek before turning around. The return lap ended up being a fair bit quicker for me as I was running with a much faster runner. All good I thought, a kind of mid-long threshold run on return. 

Ended up being a very tough morning workout for me. Running on no breakfast beforehand and no water during the run - finished completely dehydrated.  A total of 22km, at a quicker pace than I was planning on running this morning. The trail was great for a group run and the lookout over the creek was quite nice. I wish I had brought a camera.  A great catchup afterwards over some hot-cross buns while a light drizzle continued to fall. Great start to the Easter holidays. On reflection, it is nice nice to be tested - to step outside our routine. So a change of pace, unanticipated distance and no fuel beforehand were all challenging in different ways.  (Photo Credit: Friends) 

Saturday - race 10km, woke up to heavy rain and strong winds. It was dark, the last morning of daylight saving, not very inviting conditions in which to head out to Lane Cove to race in the Sydney Striders 10k.  I knew I had to run, as I wanted to have a gauge of my current fitness to use to set my marathon race pace.  Hammer agreed to come with me. We arrived at Lane Cove, pouring rain with runners sheltering under the few picnic shelters. It was a relief top find that at least the air temperature was pleasant. As Ii did not have breakfast before the race - I ate a Gu Chump in the car on the way there. This I realised later was a big mistake. A 10 minute warm-up, a quick stretch under a picnic shelter and we were off. It did not take a long for me to realise that it was going to get quite ugly.  I was off my planned pace before the first kilometre ticked over and I knew I just could not go any harder. My stomach was revolting and I wanted to throw up. Thoughts of stopping, or ducking off into the  into  bushes kept me occupied until the turnaround at the  Rangers Hut.  At this point my legs were so heavy I felt like I could barely lift them. Had a stop for a drink and huge burp  - this flipped a switch and  I was back in the race. Focused on holding form till I crossed the finish line in 51.52.  A bit disappointed with my time but happy to have had a strong second half where I felt like I was actually running at my planned race pace. (Photo Credit: Surf 2 Summit Photography)

Sunday - LSD at Sydney Striders Roseville Ripsnorter. Daylight saving has ended, it was going to be a sparkling Easter Sunday and somewhat optimistically I headed out for a 20km run hoping to cram some more kilometres in before I fly out.   The course has been revised and is all on road. A challenging course which starts with a short hill, then a bigger and longer hill, then a bit of downhill then more uphill, a bit more downhill and then more uphill. I  stayed with the group till the first short-cut,  my glutes and hammy were revolting - and I ended up cutting it short to head back to the start along Warringah Rd. A total of 15km, not sure what it achieved in terms of training benefit. But so happy to be out and moving on such a beautiful sparkling Sunday.  And got to have plunger coffee with hot cross buns at the end.