Final Race Preparation

June 28, 2014 at 10:33 pm | Posted in Running | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , ,

I have a trail race coming up next weekend and I’ve been trying to put together some last minute preparation based on the experience I gained during my last race in February.

Last time I definitely didn’t have enough water. I relied on the aid stations but it wasn’t enough and I felt awful after about 2 hours in the baking sun and by the race end I had spent nearly 4 hours on the course. So, I bought a hydration vest with 1.5 liter (50 oz) capacity. It’s got lots of little pouches and pockets to keep stuff like a mobile phone, nutrition and sunglasses. I also bought a good hat and some food. The food isn’t anything special, just some sugary, chewy sweets.

I went out today to test everything on a 13km trail which is about 2 hours from my house and near Pattaya. The hydration vest fit perfectly and I didn’t notice it during the run. There was no chafing or bouncing whatsoever. Having food and water available during the run was great and I felt strong all the way to the end of the trail, which is something I haven’t felt in a long time and it is a confidence boost going into the race.

I have added a link to my Garmin data:
Garmin Connect

Shin Splints

June 15, 2014 at 11:34 am | Posted in Running | Leave a comment
Tags: , , ,

So I have come to the conclusion that the soreness in my right shin is a result of new shoes and adjusting my stride to compensate for a hamstring strain in my right leg.

Now that the hamstring strain has almost completely gone I am making a conscious effort to correct my stride. It’s difficult. I went for a 7km run this morning and I was constantly making corrections all the way through, but I noticed a big difference. The run was almost pain free with just a few niggles.

I hope to regain my muscle memory over the coming weeks before the big race early in July.

Objectives for June – follow up

June 14, 2014 at 7:35 pm | Posted in Running | Leave a comment
Tags: , , ,

Well, the good news is up until now I’ve been on track to reach 120km by the end of June. The bad news is I’m feeling the early onset of shin splints, which I suspect is due to my new shoes. Damn. There goes my objective to stay injury free.

My old shoes, Nike Lunarfly 4, have done 700km so far and are getting pretty beat up, so I bought a new pair of Nike Air Pegasus. They feel great, but I think they have slightly altered the positioning of my feet, because my shins are feeling sore. I might have to switch back and forth between shoes and transition into the new ones.

Objectives for June

June 3, 2014 at 8:00 pm | Posted in Running | Leave a comment
Tags: , , ,

1. Stay injury free
2. Run 120km (75mi) total
3. Get at least two more trail runs in before the race on July 7

What happened to May?

June 2, 2014 at 8:53 am | Posted in Running | Leave a comment
Tags: , ,

I haven’t been very consistent recently and as a consequence my training volume has dipped a lot. May has been my lowest month since about October last year which was just after I started running.

It’s partly down to all the business trips I’ve been on and partly to a niggling hamstring injury that I picked up during a trail run where I pushed myself a bit too hard and my form was all over the place.

Anyway, I’m back and I’ve just come off a weekend full of running. I did a trail run on Saturday, which was about 14km long and pretty challenging, and a 5km run in my local park which was shut down for several months up until recently.

Oh, and I have a trail race that I have to get ready for in about a month. I shall have to keep myself from pushing too hard during training trying to catch up on lost miles.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.