Cruising the insular peninsula (aka Week 5)
28 May 2023
62 clicks down and another week of hitting all my runs. Celebration emoji. The push sessions were an over / under intervals session, fluctuating around the lactate threshold (whatever that is), and a descending intervals run starting with 3 mins on and off at a pace not far off a sprint, then dropping down the time periods - 2 mins, 1.5 mins, etc down to 20 seconds - ouch (but so so so good). The long run this week was a “shorter” one at just an hour and a half. Decided to take a little tour of the Balmain peninsula for this one. It starts off with White Bay Cruise Terminal (need a flat 400m circuit for sprint work - you got it), head over into Balmain East and follow the hats of the Tom Uren trail, then onto Mort Bay and Ballast Point (try resist the offer of a croissant from some mates at the park - maybe that was a once off), an out and back along Louisa Road in Birchgrove (how many of those are owned by running bloggers?) and then cut through the backstreets till you hit olde faithful Bay Run. Perhaps it’s lost on the Sydney-locals, but I LOVE running through that area; the houses, greenery, little lanes, and water. It’s proper Sydney.
We’re 6 weeks in now and I’m officially done with being constantly tight. Who knew combining running lots with a desk job that involves sitting heaps would lead me to constantly groaning when I get out of bed, complaining about my tight back, hips, everything. I’ve also come to the realisation that if I want to stay injury free (or, perhaps more realistically, injury light) I’m going to need to start stretching more. In tragic news, I’ve lost the charger for my massage gun and it pumped its final pump this week. So that’s not an option. The foam roller is calling, and being deservedly ignored.
Rather than do the sensible thing and just commit to a little rolling session each night, I decided to throw money at it by way of going to a stretch and release class. I was initially conflicted about handing over my hard earned dollarydoos to do the same stretching and rolling I should (but won’t) do at home, but the class was great and I’ll now head along each week. Our instructor took us through a series of slow stretches and rolls, releasing off all the key bits - hips, quads, shoulders, back, ITBs and calves - all in the calming, dimly lit studio. I felt like a new man by the end. Once a week doesn’t seem like it’s going to be enough to keep me out of the Physio’s office, but I think it’s going to help. I need to find that massage gun charger. I’m not using the foam roller at home.
Final thought for the day. How good is having a good old scroll of Strava on a Sunday afternoon. Seriously. Love getting on there and seeing all the long weekend runs people have had a crack at. Never matters how fast or long you’re going; just that you’re out there getting on those paths and trails. Always inspiring and exciting.