A General Running Update

I've now been back for nearly three weeks and I thought since I'm nearly half done the year that I should look at the last 5 months and the next month or so. Retrospection is a great learning tool!

So the year kicked off with a less than stellar late December and January. I was working through some foot pain.  Once I got over that I was into my first winter base training phase ever, and let me tell you this was not the winter to dive head first into a heavy base season. But I did it, and I was hoping it was working. It had to be working, right?

Well my first test came in the form of a road 10km in late February and I had recently done a 5km time trial that would indicate to me that I would be in sub 38 shape, and on a great day, close to 37 minutes.  Race day came and my stomach was not cooperating. I nearly dropped out of the race at the 7km mark, but managed to work through it and posted a horrible time.  That didn't do much for my confidence.

Workouts kept progressing, and I was putting in solid weeks of running, peaking at just shy of 100km/week and then it all came together in late April for the Downtown 5km.  I smashed my most recent best from last fall by nearly 60 seconds, but I had developed a rather irritating case of shin splints. Those lingered for a while, but it wasn't until I was sidelined with an achilles injury and took 2 weeks off completely that the shin splints sorted themselves out.

And now I'm sharpening up for some track races, FINALLY! After I had to bow out of my return in early May I am just aching to toe the line and feel that rush of adrenaline.