EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION, NOW BACK TO THE SHOW

I’m sure by now you would have heard that my base in Rockhampton has had issues relating to Tropical Cyclone Marcia. Up until last week everything looked to be on track, the fitness levels were continuing to improve, the speed in my workouts were increasing to levels I hadn’t experienced in the past, and the mind was psyched to put on a show in just over 6 weeks time in Canberra. Then came the wind, rain, fallen trees and power lines and a focus on town recovery rather than individual goals understandably took the focus.

This is the first and hopefully last time my training pattern will be disrupted by something that can’t be foreseen, and frustratingly there really isn’t anything that could be done. With no power in the bulk of the town for a week it simply wasn’t safe in terms of lighting and debris to run anywhere, and in reality running would just get in the way of those looking to do the best job in restoring the services needed for a town to function. Fortunately that has now changed so I can resume preparations.

Normally for runners a week off is often taken to recover from a niggle or more serious muscular injury. That is something that has caused me problems in August last year in particular, where the recovery from the City2Surf in Sydney took longer than desired (not helped by aggravating an injury training for a last football game). So far I’ve been lucky this year to avoid major strains, although there will be some nervousness when I resume, knowing that the need to ease back into training is something I often struggle with.

With this disruption a change in the training program has to happen. It was hoped that this week I would have the endurance base to run beyond 2 hours on Saturday Morning which I’ve been using as a long run. However I may have to be content running for about 90 minutes instead, with a bigger increase for the next couple of weekends leading into the Twilight Run in less than a month. I also hoped to run for longer distances incorporating hills, especially after a sub par effort in my most recent training run prior to the cyclone. Maybe I’ll have to be content with running not more than an hour or 75 minutes instead, at least in the short term. What also doesn’t help is that that area of town is most affected by power cuts so any run on the courses I use may have to wait a little longer.

Despite all of this the weight has been kept well under control, partially because of the lack of food options and partially due to the need to make smaller purchases. Hopefully the fact that the power has been restored means that I don’t go over the top in terms of food intake. If I can control the weight to around the 87kg mark (I’ve been closer to 88-89 kg for the bulk of the year) then the training should be easier and the fitness levels won’t take so long to regain.

There are no plans to alter the schedule I’ve set out in the short term. Accommodation has been booked for the events in March and April, and flights will be 100% confirmed in a fortnight with only the return trip from Canberra to book. With the issues beyond my control seemingly past us, hopefully now I can look forward to getting back in the swing of things!