Well, this has been a long time coming. After months of putting it off because trying to summarise what I had been up to for the past year seemed too big a task, I am now able to write, as I have decided to let that go, and just write about now.
Before I get into that however, four big things have happened in my life since my last post...
1. After running the Two Bays 56km Trail Race I must have pushed myself much harder than I had realised, as it ended up taking me a few months to recover. It wasn't until I was racing the Victorian winter cross country series in June that I felt like I was fully back to normal. This really put me off ultra running, as I was concerned about how much damage I might potentially do to myself. I am not sure whether I am able to push myself too hard - I certainly knew I was really at the limit for much of the second half of that race - or whether I just was not well enough prepared for racing that distance. If that were the case, then I don't think I can actually hope to race at a high level at such distances, as I am not prepared to put more time into running than I did in the second half of 2011.
2. In July of 2012 I broke my ankle whilst riding my bike with my border collie, Monty. He ran the opposite side of a post we were passing and I had his leash around my wrist. This pulled me off the bike and because I was cleated in, my ankle twisted to the point where the fibula cracked.
Post op
I ended up having a plate put in to make sure it healed perfectly, so that I would have no problems running in the future. Being on crutches for a couple of months was tough. I found it so frustrating. It was a good lesson in appreciation. It also caused me to take stock, and review what was most important in my life. This was probably a catalyst for two other big changes. It certainly was not the reason, but definitely acted as a catalyst.
3. I decided to really clean up my diet, and make some major changes to improve my long term health. The most obvious change was I went entirely plant based - so no products that come from animals, that is, no meat or dairy, and no eggs. I also have eliminated most refined and processed foods from my diet, and increased the amount of raw plants I consume. Much of this comes from a "green smoothie" every morning. This whole change to my eating was prompted after reading
Rich Roll's book, "Finding Ultra". I was intrigued by how profound he felt the effect of going plant based was, so I decided to do an experiment. I decided to follow a plant based diet for two weeks and see if I could notice a difference. Having been vegetarian for much of my earlier life, including a year or two as a vegan in my early twenties, I didn't expect to feel much difference. I also had gone back to a mostly vegetarian diet since watching the film
"Planeat" earlier in 2012, which looks at the health, environmental and humanitarian issues of a western diet. The effect completely blew me away. I felt better than I ever remembered feeling. Having been a vegan many years ago, and not having felt such a change then I can only attribute this to two possible reasons: 1. My past vegan diet was very poor, or 2. The major reason I felt so much better was due to the removal of most processed foods, and the significant increase in raw plant material was the main contributing factor. I suspect both are at play. I think that eliminating dairy had a greater effect on this feeling of well-being than I would have expected, and that eating more raw plants - especially a lot more leafy greens was also a major factor. I decided to continue the experiment... and haven't stopped!!
My morning starter - everyday - If I miss it, I don't feel the same!
Another unexpected benefit was that I began losing weight quite dramatically immediately after going plant based. I went from weighing 70kg before I changed my diet in early September to 65kg by the end of October and then down to 64kg by December. My weight now hovers between 63 and 64kg. I was not trying to lose weight, nor did I restrict what I ate.
4. September was quite the month of change. As I said earlier, I think the broken ankle was a catalyst, but also Narin and I have always lived our life in 5-7 year chunks. Towards the end of each phase, we evaluate where we live, what we are doing, and, what changes we would like to make. I coincidentally saw a job advertised for a teaching position at a school in Queensland, on the Sunshine Coast. Immediately I felt that this was the change that was right for myself, and the rest of the family at this time in our lives. After much discussion and thought, Narin and I agreed that I should apply for the job, which I ended up getting. The move was more than just a sea-change. We both saw it as an opportunity to live our lives more authentically. By that I mean all of the things which are important to us - our environmental footprint, our connection with community, the way we buy our food, the lifestyle we (including our children) all lead and the opportunity our children have to be part of a very natural and community oriented neighborhood - all of these aspects of our life on the Sunshine Coast are more closely aligned with our values than I believe they were in Melbourne. We moved to a beautiful village on the Sunshine Coast called
Peregian Beach.
Now, the the purpose of this blog. My training reflections...
As you can imagine, after the broken ankle, I did not run for a few months. In late September, I slowly began a walk/run program... mostly walking, with a little jogging... and by the end of October I was running 8km at 5.30km pace... I really pushed the rehab', doing everything that I was allowed to do to the highest level. I had been on the stationary bike from a couple of weeks after the operation, and then doing physio every day. And, my recovery was pretty quick. By mid November I ran 20km. I also began seriously considering a triathlon, as I had been swimming and cycling so much as part of my rehab'.
The move to Queensland, however, put thoughts of a tri on hold, and really, it was enough to just keep up running most days during the summer of 2012-2013. Since then I have mostly been focusing on running, but still riding at least once a week - usually a 60-90 minute hard MTB ride, and swimming a bit. Swimming has been my most inconsistent leg. When people asked me what I was training for, I would glibly reply, "life!", which was true, but the reality was without a specific athletic goal, my training had lost focus. I considered running the Australian 100km Championships which were in Queensland in June, but only looked into doing this and preparing a plan too late. In mid May I ended up getting sick, and lost a week of training, and decided that I was going to be too under-prepared. So, about a month ago I looked at the race calendars online, and found the Sunshine Coast Marathon, which is the 25th August. Not a lot of time, but probably achievable.
My ideal week at the moment looks like this:
Mon am Run 5-6km with Collies, barefoot drills & TABATA
pm Swim 1.5-2km
Tue am Run 16-18km inc PBR Session & Yoga
pm Work late
Wed am Run 12km with Collies & TABATA
pm Run home 5-6km & PBR Kids
Thur am Run 12-13km Tempo session & Yoga
pm Swim 1.5-2km
Fri am Beach walk with Collies & TABATA
pm MTB ride
Sat am Run 12-13km Tempo session
Sun am Run 25-30km
Of course, this is the ideal, and at times life gets in the way of training. The swim sessions are the ones that I usually don't do. This doesn't concern me too much at the moment, as it won't effect my marathon. TABATA refers to a strength routine I do - most body weight and some dumbbell exercises, and a lot of core strengthening.
On the trails near home a couple of weeks ago
On Tuesday 18th June my foot was quite sore under the ball, after doing a great sesison of 6 x 1km reps. The next morning when I ran an easy 13km it was really sore. A bit of research and I self diagnosed it as sesamoiditis. I think I struck a rock the previous Thursday, when I was running in minimalist shoes,
then gradually exacerbated it as I ran over next few days.
The shoes I was wearing when I struck a rock with the ball of my foot
Also, the yoga routine I do also seemed to further upset it, then the 1km reps tipped it over the edge. So, I took a few days off, and ate heaps of anti-inflammatory foods - in particular tumeric and ginger. It improved quite quickly, and is now almost entirely gone. I did set myself back somewhat though on
Sunday 30th June when I went for a 20km run... after my very gradual (and sensible) increase of 1-2 km every couple of days. It was silly, but I just couldn't help myself. It was a beautiful day, and I was running along the Collie river in WA... silly mistake. It aggravated it, but not too much. I am nearly back to full training now, and managing it well. I haven't reintroduced the yoga yet, or lunges when I do my strength routine, but will hopefully be able to gradually bring them back in over the next two weeks.
Last weeks training was okay, except for missing my long run Sunday... I was down at the Gold Coast, watching the marathon. In retrospect, I should have followed the race on foot - rather than on my bike. By the time I got home, it was 7pm, and I was too tired to try to run. So, next time, plan better!!
Today I did two 1km reps, each at about 3.30km pace. I could feel it, but it felt okay. So that was good. I will try a tempo run Thursday, and hopefully be able to run fairly long this Sunday.
