Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

The plan was to do something long (by 2020s standards), but that came unstuck from the first step with significant right knee soreness. Very occasionally I have this in the middle of a run and it goes away as quickly as it arrived so I pushed on for a few minutes, but it was clear it wasn't going away (and a second attempt later in the day was over within a block).

There was no trace of a problem here before I started (or on earlier runs), and I don't have a history of knee issues, so not sure what the issue is - perhaps I did something pushing off for the first step? It's uncomfortable walking up and down stairs (less so on the flat). Hopefully not too serious; I'm seeing the physio tomorrow anyway so will hopefully learn more.

With the appearance of a new course on the Westgarth map (which was supposed to have been an event last Wednesday), I decided I'd give it a go (heavy overnight rain providing a bit of a disincentive to venture onto the river flats). Felt somewhat mediocre early on but slowly built into it (and without any of the traffic/loosening up stops that have been a feature of settling my back down in recent weeks). The competitive juices got going towards the end and led me into a decision - do I go for one more control or not? I decided I would, knowing that at worst I'd break even (it was a 3-pointer), and picked things up a bit to the finish - dodging pedestrian traffic jams in Station Street in the process - but I didn't have a running time display on Maprun, and the final beep went off outside the time by the narrowest possible margin...

Groin was fine on the run but a bit sore afterwards (not as bad as Wednesday, though).

Groin still not quite right this morning, so took to the bike again on a warm and windy day (earliest 20+ night on record in Melbourne by nearly four weeks). Not the most inspired of rides, and definitely hard work into the wind (tried not to be doing it for too long continuously on a day like this). Ventured a bit further south than of late, as far as Gipps Street before returning through Clifton Hill. Should be right to start running again tomorrow.

Groin a bit better this morning than it was last night, but still thought that it might be best to rest it from running for a day. (This decision was reached after a short walk which gave me a chance to witness the aftermath of the day's neighbourhood excitement, an altercation between a builder's truck and a fire hydrant - I arrived in time to see the spray and hear a number of naughty words being uttered by the presumed driver).

Headed out on the bike instead. Hard work early up the hill and with a moderately stiff warm northerly (on what became a record warm day for so early in the season); picked up a bit later on but never really felt that sharp. Misjudged my southroute route through Preston slightly and ended up with a brief stretch on Bell Street; somehow I don't think you'd be able to get across three lanes of Bell Street on a bike at 8.45 on a normal Thursday morning.

Seeing a French Facebook post tonight reminded me that JWOC is on next week. Don't think I'd have forgotten about this in a normal year. Hopefully we can make it next year (and it should suit us well if we can - the Portuguese terrain has a lot in common with Australian granite).

Went out to fill some more gaps on the west side of Preston (except for the small corner sandwiched between Bell Street and Merri Creek that I won't be able to get to legally for another three weeks or so). This one was quite a struggle - I'd developed soreness on the right side of the groin yesterday evening for no obvious reason (possibly a delayed reaction to something I did running at lunchtime) and thought that might be an obstacle; it wasn't - fine whilst running - but I really didn't get going anyway. Not big hills here but seemed to be always going up or down for the first 4k or so. Did manage to push it out at the end to the distance I was planning on.

Pulled up a bit sorer afterwards than I was beforehand. Will see how I feel in the morning, and whether I can press on through this or need a day or two to settle it down (given it didn't affect my running I expect it's not too serious).

Bit of media action today although not as much as it can be on the first day of a season. Did one with regional WA ABC radio on historical snow events in WA (hopefully I got some local brownie points for pronouncing Wagin reasonably correctly).

All Nations intervals. Was hoping to get out to 10 reps today after a promising warm-up but didn't quite manage it - as with last week, going quite lactic on the later reps and slowing a bit. A bit slower than last week too (62/58), but strong winds might have had a bit to do with this.

Warm-up and down. Felt quite promising on the way there, and not as drained as last week on the way back.

This ended my biggest month of training since 2017 (although I didn't quite crack the 30-hour mark). Unlike last year, the first month of lockdown training generally went well (still being able to get physio treatment helps); hopefully the training side of things will also go as well in the next three.

Regular Monday morning, although with one new addition to the set. Actually heading for this in daylight now, having spent a bit of time beforehand watching a recording of the non-Grand Prix in Belgium.

Rain can make motor racing more interesting, but this was altogether too much of it (the totals weren't huge but it was very persistent) - they certainly raced in worse than this in the 1970s and 1980s (Adelaide 1989 being one fine example of the genre), but then they usually finish the season with the same number of drivers they started it with these days, which was not reliably the case back then.

Lunchtime ride, sunny but a bit of a north wind (most noticeable heading north along the St. Georges Road path - this must be a bit of a slog at times for the regulars, although not as much as Beach Road can be). Felt pretty reasonable, though, and a little quicker than my recent rides.