I've been looking to run most days, only skipping a day if I feel a little sore. Each day I aim to run between 8 and 12 kms and I judge the distance to run based upon how I feel on the day. Following this strategy I've logged far more run kilometres than ever before and my legs were still feeling great. The last 3 weeks run totals are: 44, 55 & 57 kms.
With everything going so well, why would I do something stupid to ruin things ? The scheduled club training session on Saturday morning was a trail run in the Dandenong Ranges (very hilly rainforest). It would begin with a ascent up the famous 1,000 steps and then continue along trails. Obviously the 1,000 steps section would be very steep, but I assumed (wrongly) that the rest of the run would be more undulating that steep.
Clint handed out maps before we took off for a 15 min warm-up run. I put the map in the pocket of my jacket, but after the warm-up I decided to put the jacket (and map) back in the car before we headed off for the main run - Stupid Mistake Number 1.
The 1,000 steps was more or less as I expected, tough but not too bad, especially since we were still feeling very fresh. After the steps, it was generally downhill but the steep descents were fairly short in distance. As a rule I much prefer going uphill, much less stress on the body. A gentle descent is nice, but as soon as it gets steep your feet land in front of your body to control speed. This really puts a pounding through the quads and knees, both areas of my body that are very susceptible to injury.
As you've probably guessed, the trail soon became steeper. It seemed like we were either going straight up or straight down, there were very few areas where I could just run along normally. The other issue was that we had taken numerous turns and I'd lost all sense of direction and had no idea where we were in relation to the 1,000 steps carpark. With every steep descent, I fell further behind the main group of Clint, Ray, Chris, Paul and Nolwenn. After 6 or 7 kms into the trail I knew it was the right time to turn back but I didn't want to get lost returning by myself. So I simply kept ploughing on - Stupid Mistake Number 2.
I was still plodding along at least 100m behind the main pack when Nolwenn decided she'd had enough. The rest were only going about a kilometre further, so Clint gave Nolwenn his map so she could navigate her way back. My first wise decision of the day was to accompany Nolwenn on the return journey. We had to refer to the map on several occasions, but in hindsight I think I could have made it back OK unassisted (had I turned back earlier). My second wise decision was to follow Nolwenn's lead and walk up the really steep hills. I knew I would be very sore after the run, but up to this stage I was still feeling relatively good. However even walking up the hills I could feel my calf and achilles were feeling the strain.
In general the way back seemed more uphill than downhill which suited me, but we still had to navigate some very steep descents and my quads were definitely starting to ache. By the time we reached the top of the 1,000 steps the others had caught back up. Clint directed us down the Lyrebird track rather than the 1,000 steps. The Lyrebird track is a path that winds a little more to slightly reduce the gradient. The early section of the Lyrebird track was not too bad and I found I could maintain a relatively comfortable run down. However the gradient soon became much greater and I made Stupid Decision Number 3. Rather than walk down this final very steep section, I tried to keep running. The pain through my quads was immense, but I just wanted to end the run as quick as possible. The run took 2h26m and ended up being 20.2km with over 1,200m of elevation.
My quads ached all Saturday. I was originally planning to enter my first ever cycling road race on the Sunday, but this was starting to look doubtful. I woke up early Sunday morning to get ready but my quads were even worse, so I made my third wise decision of the weekend and went back to bed.
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