Working Hard

It's been a long week and I'm coming out of it with mixed emotions. Running wise my shin is painful when I apply pressure to it, feels exactly the same way in that respect as the stress fracture did before the 6 weeks out. The crucial thing is, though, that it doesn't hurt when I run. Whilst that situation continues I will continue to train. On the home front we had a very stressful and scary time this week when Lisa, my fiance, was caught up in some riots in the Ugandan city of Gulu where she was doing a teaching exchange with a local school. Hearing gun shots going off (rubber bullets and tear gas canisters) in the background when you're on the phone to your loved one who is trapped in a hotel bathroom 1000s of miles away and being totally helpless is not the greatest feeling in the world. Thankfully she is on her way home in the morning in one piece and with some stories to tell.

April 14th riots in Kampala and Gulu, Uganda (c/o of www.theresolve.org)

As mentioned a few posts ago I decided in the wake of Rocky Raccoon 100, (or rather 76 for me) to enlist some professional help. The person I turned to was Lisa Smith-Batchen. She has been mentoring me through what has been undoubtedly the hardest time I've gone through in my years of running, keeping my fitness up through creative and varied non-impact training progams. Lisa diagnosed my injury from the other side of the atlantic where she is based, before my physio could with me on the table in front of him. It was Lisa who told me that I needed to get an MRI, what to do with regards getting a cast and just how much training I could continue to do despite being immobile in terms of time on my feet.

My best racing results have come from sticking religiously to a training program. The best example was my 5th place finish in the Atacama Desert where I felt great almost the entire time. Lisa sends me a daily regimen to follow for up to 14 days in advance. I like to think of it as putting up a whole raft of little challenges and then knocking them down one by one. My training before Lisa was all running. Literally nothing else. Running as obviously been off the agenda for our first 2 months together, but Lisa is now re-introducing it very gradually, first through walk/ run sessions and today for the first time in 10 days since the cast came off, a solid 1:30 run.

I am putting myself entirely in Lisa's hands and so far it's been the best decision I've made in a long time. The sessions pop up and I attack them all way way harder than I would have before. I've come to realise that I wasn't actually pushing myself that hard when training in the past. I mean that's relative, I pushed very hard occasionally but rarely right to my limit and there were way too many sessions that were just junk miles.

This past month I have really pushed myself regularly. Whether it's on the stair machine, a spinning class (which I'd never been too before Lisa), on the bike or the elliptical, I'm hitting them all hard. I'm not really doing sessions where I am going less than 80% and regularly I am getting my HR up into the mid 180s which is toward the upper end of my range.

When I got the all clear to try a run on Thursday night, I did so a bit too hard. I couldn't resist finding out where my fitness lay after all that time on the bike with no running. Lisa asked me to walk 1 minute in every 15, so a total of 4 minutes in the first hour. I hit the hour hard and tried to keep a tempo up at my marathon pace of last year, 6:45 miling, and managed it without really being in that much difficulty. I covered just under 9 miles in the hour and did so including those walking breaks. Could I have held it for 3 hours/ 26.2 miles? Probably not but at least I know I have some pace. The next day I was able to train just as hard on alternative machines in the gym so my endurance is ok too.

My running style is erratic and uncomfortable. It isn't coming back to me very quickly. I feel like I haven't found my stride yet and that if I push too hard like Thursday nights session, I could land myself back in trouble. So I'll stick to the advice and keep plugging away one day at a time.

I would be lying if I said I felt confident this summer and particularly Comrades which is first up, but I put my total faith in Lisa to get me there in one piece and in the best shape possible. Will it be the best shape of my life? Probably not but the fact that I think there is even a chance of that is testament only to Lisa's knowledge, expertise and management of my own expectations.

Comrades Marathon

Every week I e mail her another stupid question about when I can at least do a marathon just as training, or what time should I be trying to run at Western States or can I do this event or that. The answers come back quick and tell me what deep down I already know. Be patient and it will be ok.

So tentatively I take my first steps back to full recovery. If the pain in my shin when I touch it would just go away I would probably be about the happiest person in the world right now.

I've decided to put this one on the list for 2013 - the 350 mile version with a view to having a crack at the 1000 in 2014. Nothing like a bit of long term planning. These videos have totally inspired me. Mike Curiak has done an incredible job here. I love the idea of returning to life's basic elements out on the trail, on my own, on the way to Nome. I saw a few days ago that Geoff Roes signed up for the 350 mile in 2012 (he hails from Alaska) and that will no doubt cause the popularity of the event to soar. It is great to see our sport grow but it is somewhat frustrating not to necessarily be able to do the races you want. I would be happier if this one stayed away from lotteries and other potential reasons for exclusion.  The more choice there is in events out there, the more options people will get away from the one or two signature races. I like that our sport keeps growing outwards in range of events as well as upwards in terms of number of entrants. I guess Centurion Running is just another small part of that process.