Yearly Review

Yearly Review

Favourite race of 2014 - Mt Arthur Wellington

November & December 2013

No races due to injury in right ankle. Spent a lot of my time on the bike and rehabbing the injury with a return to full load late in December.

January 2014

Skycamp: Got my first look at Bright and the Buffalo Stampede course……

Knapsack 6hr Lap Race: 4^th male 60km 6hr 7min. First race and long hitout for 2014.

Results http://s132369.gridserver.com/files/Knapsack-Lap-Race-2014-Category-Results.pdf

February 2014

Running Wild Wentworth Falls 16km: 2^nd place 1hr 24min 37sec new PB. Poured with rain but was fun and fast.

Orange Colour City Marathon: 4^th place 2hr 59min 44sec. Snuck a sub 3 in a last minute decision to run.

March 2014

6 Foot Track Marathon: 26^th male 3hr 56min 41sec new PB. Ran a planned and smart race to allow a good finish. Will be my last 6 Foot for a few years.

Results

http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/Home/QuickResults?clientId=1&raceId=1012&raceName=Six%20Foot%20Track

STS Manly Dam: 3^rd place 1hr 34min 9sec. Tough run but managed a good result.

Results

http://www.sydneytrailseries.com.au/sydneytrailseries/results

Lithgow King of the Mountain: 1^st place 22min 5sec 1^st win ever!!! Up a big hill and back down. We ran way over distance but I managed to get my maiden victory by getting away on the descent.

Orange Volcanic Mountain Challenge: 52min 17sec 7^th place. Finished well in a deep field.

Results

file:///Users/room/Downloads/ResultsByTime14.pdf

April 2014

Buffalo Stampede Ultra Skymarathon 2014: 12^th place 10hr 32min 34sec. My big "A" race for the year. Very happy with my performance and I am coming back with the intention of shedding some time and going sub 10hrs in 2015.

Results

http://www.buffalostampede.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014-Ultra-Results.pdf

STS Big Trail Run 46km: 1^st place 4hr 3min 58sec. Dress rehearsal for the TNF100. Was battling a hamstring problem and felt pretty good until I kicked a rock up into my leg and corked my calf.

May 2014

Bathurst Half Marathon: DNF. Hamstring went at 5km. Very disappointing and the start of rough times ahead.

STS Kamay Short Course: 1^st place 30min 3sec. Ran quite restricted but no mishaps with hamstring.

TNF100: DNF. The writing was on the wall after 3km and my hamstring went out at 31km, pushed on to 36km but eventually turned back to CP2. Very disappointing and a big reality check for me.

June 2014

Glow Worm Tunnel Ted English Bolt: 1^st place 26min 52sec. Hamstring was good and I was starting to feel better at this point. Fitness at pace was quite poor.

July 2014

Mt Arthur Challenge: 1^st place 39min 29sec setting course record. A true mountain run, flat-up-down-flat, favourite race of the year.

Results

http://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16253&RId=195

STS Manly Dam: 2^nd place 40min 48sec new PB for the 10km. Happy to sit back and wait until the back half to push it along. Nice little battle and a strong finish.

Results

http://my1.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=29637&contest=2&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List&format=view

August 2014

Centennial Park Ultra: 50km Mixed Pairs 1^st place 3hr 51min 46sec. I popped late on but happy to get a good fast longer run in. It was great to run in a team with Kel.

Results

http://my3.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=29941&contest=0&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List&format=view

RunningWild Glenbrook: 25km 1^st place 2hr 14sec. I was in second for most of the 27km but pushed the downhill and managed to reel in the win. Close to the best executed race of the year for me.

Results

http://www.runningwildnsw.com/results/

September 2014

Edgell Jog: 26min 53sec 5^th place and a PB. Hit the hill a bit hard and blew up a touch towards the top. Felt confident throughout the whole race I’d hold 1^st local and managed this prize. Will have to keep knocking time off in the future to get that podium!

Results

http://tiktok.biz/list/bathurstedgelljog/2014/run/

STS Duffy’s Forest: 1^st place 1hr 19min 40sec. I enjoyed the familiar trails of St Ives and really enjoyed a controlled and fun 20km run in the bush.

Results

http://my1.raceresult.com/details/results.php?lang=en&page=6&eventid=31343&contest=3&name=Result%20Lists%7CFinisher%20List1&format=view

Canberra 101km Trail Run: DNF injury. I was going to plan and had worked through a rough section when I kicked my foot and fell. Unfortunately the pain never subsided and I pulled after persisting for 15km, very disappointing and grounding.

October 2014

Sky Camp – I attended this time as a coach. I had a blast and we saw the entire course across the weekend. A new perspective and view on the Stampede was built and it is again my "A" race for 2015. I enjoyed rubbing shoulders with everyone across the 3 days, it was an opportunity to be sponge to soak in the knowledge.

STS Big Coast Run: 2^nd place 2hr 14min 26sec. Ka-boom I went on the sand. Put to the sword but happy with the run on beautifully tough course.

November 2014

Carcoar Cup Half Marathon: 2^nd place 1hr 17min 59sec. On my own but pretty happy with the run. All boxes ticked with a view to run much quicker in 2015.

So that’s the wrap for 2014. Plenty of races and new trail found. I had a good year but it was up and down due to injury and form drops. I’ll learn from everything and aim to come back better each time. I can’t wait for 2015 and I’m kicking my training off this weekend at Narrowneck where I’ll be running with Kel to the finish.

At a glance;

                        Races – 22 (4 ultras)

                        Wins – 8

                        Podiums – 4

                        DNF’s – 3 (2 ultras)

                        Best Performance – Buffalo Stampede Ultra 12^th overall

Big thanks to the following for doing what they do;

Kel - best wife ever!

Family - no way we'd be able to run without your support and time.

Up Coaching/Brendan Davies - Brendan has supported me from day one and continues to. Not going to get a better mentor in my opinion.

Mountain Sports - big supporters and great friends. Can't wait until 2015's events!

Sydney Trail Series - I love my monthly trail race in the city, new trails await next year.

Hammer Nutrition - backed me again at Canberra, looking forward to potentially working together on a permanent basis in the future.

Strengthening the Structure

2014

2013

Strengthening the Structure

With my injury issues from 2014 fresh in my mind I have been thinking about, reading about and looking at improving my strength training routine to avoid any further problems down the track. With endurance training comes many hours of work and this has an impact on the body in many ways so the likelihood of an injury, whether it be acute or chronic, is high. The challenge for all endurance athletes is finding their limit and not over doing it which may result in injury or a performance drop or both.

After consulting with my physio, John Roberts of Bathurst Physiotherapy and Sports Injury, and looking at some photos of me running throughout the year I concluded that I had some imbalances in my running gait and this was causing problems. John believed I had an issue within my glutes and I felt this along with poor balance and stability caused by poor hip strength/flexibility was my issue.

Why? I did no work on strength in 2013 and very little in early 2014, this was partly because I get bored with this type of training easily and because I felt hill training was enough. How wrong I was, I needed to be inventive with my routine because hill training isn’t enough.

I have been focused on two things with my strength, developing a routine I’ll stick to and a routine that is effective. I have been reading plenty of articles to provide me with solid evidence to develop my training and from this reading in the last few months I have been tinkering with my routine to suit my running training load (10+hrs a week) as well as my work and family commitments. I am currently happy with where it is at and really believe not only is this helping with my racing but also with recovery and injury prevention.

I’m a big stretcher, I know there is evidence pointing towards the other direction but with the addition of my foam roller the 20-30min I spend each night working out the sore spots helps me greatly. I have also been completing core work daily for 15min and this was to stay in my schedule permanently, it was up to me to include enough strength to get gains, but not too much to get disinterested.

My strength program is very much running based, single leg, uneven weight distribution, balance, plyometric and low weight/high reps. I do 3 x 20-30min sessions weekly and they are as follows;

Foundation – basic resistance moves, squats, lunges, calf raises, etc. with a kettle bell/plate/barbell generally on an uneven weight distribution. I follow a 3 set of 15 rep plan with no rest generally. These are the base building exercises aimed at allowing the other sessions to target the specific areas.

Balance – single leg and balance based. This is low weight and with a dynamic focus on my biggest weakness, my balance. I am improving but this is still in the early days and I anticipate further gains with consistency. Balance allows efficiency and lowers injury likelihood as well as giving me an opportunity to add resistance through the full range of movement.

Plyometric – bounding, hopping and jumping. I have always done plyo work but this time it is more specific and targeted in developing explosive power. Plyo is a great way to activate the fast twitch fibres that often lay dormant in endurance runners. I am careful with my training and would not recommend jumping straight into plyo work, it is very beneficial but if done incorrectly potentially debilitating.

So a bit of food for thought, but for me it is a direction I intend on following consistently in line with my running based training. I have been doing running drills and technique work but without the strength training this has been futile as when fatigue hits the body it can’t hold the form. The pictures at the top show this perfectly.

2013 – Same endurance base more or less but my form is sloppy, swaying and leaning right at the end of the Edgell Jog. My hips are weak, my balance is out and my torso is rocking from side to side. I am over striding, leaning forward too far and reaching in my gait. My arms are out and my drive phase isn’t going directly forwards.

2014 – At the same point in the race and still just as buggered but my form is strong and my technique is solid. I’m on my toes driving forwards with my knees and arms in equal drive planes (directions). My hips and shoulders are square with no torso roll or lean allowing my head to remain stable.

A picture tells a 1000 words, so I’ll leave it at that.

Return to Routine

Holidays = beaches, boardwalks & recovery dips!

So since I have been laid up with injury my main aim is to be able to return to running without pain or discomfort and maximum enjoyment.  This meant rehabbing properly in good time, no rushing at all, injuries need to be addressed properly, even the “niggles” we run with because that’s just what you do. My opinion is every injury should be treated properly because if my leg is killing then where will the fun or enjoyment be? Seriously, no matter who you are or what you do, just sort it and do it properly.

The last 4 weeks have been very productive on a number of levels;

-   I have returned to normal training, achieving the usual planned sessions set out in my program.

-       I have been running injury free and loving it.

-       My fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic is getting back to where I want it to be.

-       I have raced and met my goals and expectations.

Some areas that are still improving and need continued work;

-       Long aerobic condition, the answer - to bank some long runs.

-       Lactic Tolerance, answer - tempo runs, yay!

-      Strength, answer, resistance training with plyo, core and dynamic work.

-  Establishing a routine, answer - stop sooking out of the early morning runs and toughen up.

Mt Arthur Challenge Wellington - A great day on new trails

Over the school holidays I was able to begin training as per normal schedule, which was great. My load is still slightly lower at around 90-100km weeks but over this time I have had some really productive sessions giving me both fitness and confidence. I had a ball running the beach up to Valla and back to Nambucca and the warmer weather coupled with beautiful scenery was amazing. I was able to get onto the sand and see how the Big Coast Run at STS Kamay in Sept will be on the legs, specifically calves!

I have also ran at Wellington in the Mt Arthur Challenge Wedge Tail 9km race. I managed at pretty solid performance and was crowned King of the Mountain, covering the distance and elevation in 39:30.  It was a great new event and the organisation, course and race was first class, I aim to be back next year for sure. I think the single track section that ran up and down Mt Arthur in particular, is close to my favorite bit of trail, a seriously tough climb and fast but technical descent. If your keen for a trip West then this is a great event!

http://app.strava.com/activities/165188836

Off and racing @ STS Manly Dam 10km

I returned with STS to Manly Dam for the July race, competing in the 10k medium course on the familiar trails that loop the dam. The race was to be a good measuring point, I have run the trails there a lot and raced guys like Charlie Brooks and Jake Stollery before so it would be a good indicator for me. I ran well, particularly on the climbs, especially the longer ones, and was able to run a pb with a fast finish after a fairly conservative start. It was good to catch up with Brendan Davies, Jo Brischetto, Andy Lee and on his STS debut Andrew Tuckey, as well as the DBA crew and the rest of the STS group. Kel also ran but with some questions still over her health she wasn’t able to push it, we hopefully will get some answers soon. From this we can move to make things right again and get her feeling good and firing again.

http://app.strava.com/activities/168242591

Beach running with Charley 

So with the tough part of rehab behind me it’s time to tuck into some solid training building up towards full volume again. I just want to run well and consistently - dedicated training is the only solution to do so. I have a few events coming up, Mountain Sports Centennial Park 50km Pairs with Kel, Running Wild Glenbrook 25km, Edgell Jog, STS Duffey’s Forrest, Canberra 101km Trail Run and STS Big Coast Run Kamay.

Off and racing at Mt Arthur Challenge

That should round off a pretty good year that had its tougher times with injury but its good times with some fun and successful runs/races/adventures. With the big races of 2015 on the horizon, I am already planning the training. Buffalo Stampede version 2 will be huge and hopefully a trip to Skycamp will help with my needed prep. I plan on approaching 2015 different, with the focus being Buffalo Stampede 75km (top 10) and The North Face 100 (finishing). You learn from your experiences, both good and bad, well your meant to anyway.

Bouncing Back

Bouncing Back

So with my current situation regarding running I have been able to refocus, refresh and redirect my energy towards my running for the back half of the year.  Gone are the macro and micro cycles, peaking and periodisation. I have simplified my approach to getting key sessions done and doing more quality k’s leading into my events and speeding things up to improve the top end.  This program is scheduled to start in full by the end of June with this month being about building time on feet, increasing my typical training load and schedule as well as strengthening my legs.

I have been doing 5+hrs of core and strength working weekly and this will progress in difficulty as the months go by, and then gradually decreasing the time to around 2-3hrs a week once I am able to run more.  I have been riding a lot, well a lot for me anyway!  9hrs last week and 7 the week before, I am trying to replicate hard days and easy days and keep my normal load time wise. As my running increases my riding will decrease but I have been lucky to be able to get some solid rides in without being run over (its been close!)  Running has been introduced in the week just gone and will become more intense as I progress with the injury, the pain has now dampened down and there appears to be no negatives from the introduction of running.

Kel and my new kicks for the back half of the year
thanks to Pace Athletic

I am working in 3 rehab phases with my return to running;

Phase 1 – Day on day off.  All on grass track at an easy pace running within my stride.  Max distance 5km for 7 x 5km runs in the fortnight.  Progress if no pain is present.

Phase 2 – Day on day on day off.  Road/Track then Trail/Track at an easy pace but increasing the stride.  Distance between 5 – 7.5km with 5 runs in total in the week.  Incorporate some hills.  Progress if no pain present.

Phase 3 – Return to normal schedule.  Begin at 50km and increase by 15km a week.  Run 6 days a week and complete normal sessions increasing distance/intensity as week’s progress.  Aim to be at full load by week 4. Progress if no pain is present.

This schedule should have me complete a 100km week by the second week in July. From there I will be back into full training and hopefully free of injury. I want to get my body right and am being very careful to ensure I come back ready and strong.  My back half of the year will now aim towards some targeted events with my prep starting for 2015 in November.

My races for the next while will be;

Glow Worm Tunnel: 6km Bolt and Mystery Mountain Challenge, 14 June.

Mt Arthur Challange: 9km, 13 July.

STS Middle Harbor: Long Course, 20 July.

Mountain Sports Centennial Park Ultra: 50/100km relay option, 4 August.

Running Wild Glenbrook: 25/35km, 24 August.

Edgell Jog: 7.5km, 7 September.  “A” Goal Race

Kel rocking her "lairy duds"
@ STS Kamay.

Canberra Centenary Trail Race: 101km, 29 September.  “A” Goal Race

STS Kamay Big Coast Run: 35km, 19 October.  “A” Goal Race

Carcoar Cup: 60km Ultra, 2 November. “B” Goal Race

Obviously Glow Worm will be a race to how I feel and a bit of fun, but if it is feeling good I will be racing and pushing it along.  The next few weeks are going to be tough, sitting out is something I have never liked doing but it is something that has to happen.  I love the atmosphere at Newnes for the Glow Worm weekend, it was my first trail event where I fell in love with the sport and I am looking forward to being a part of it again.  The next few weeks also marks a return to serious racing for Kel, she has been training well and should put up some races in the coming months.  I can’t wait to watch her at STS and seeing how her year progresses towards her goals that are set down for later in the year.