Free running

Two weeks ago I had just finished running the Great Glen Ultra.  A 73 mile unsupported race from Fort William to Inverness.  The race is detailed in the previous two blogs however I am still trying to understand how when I was aiming for a target time of 18 hours I managed 14 hours and 40 minutes. Obviously it was because I ran faster and I put lots of “time in the bank” before I hit the big climbs around half way but the mystery continues.
Normally after any race you are in discomfort after the race and it gets worse for the next two days.  It’s know as DOMS - delayed onset muscle soreness.  The day after the race I was in discomfort as expected.  The next day it was gone!  And it never resurfaced which is a mystery.  Having run much faster than anticipated I really expected the DOMS to last a minimum of 3 days.  When I completed my fastest every 10km race a few years ago I had DOMS for 5 days and it wasn’t nice.  The problem was I was heading off to Philadelphia and I wasn’t looking forward to sitting in “cattle class” (it was American Airlines after all).  But despite the discomfort of the seats in cattle class I suffered no pain - result.
The timing of my holiday was perfect as it gave my body a proper chance to recover without the stress of work or training.  Long lies, no deadlines, good weather and lots of food to help put some weight back on went down well - along with the odd glass/bottle of wine.  My wife and I attended a wedding of our friends daughter and that was a wonderful occasion where the Scots were present in numbers in our kilts - a bit of a sweat fest in those temperatures but I had a hydration strategy!
The later part of the holiday was at Stone Harbour at Jersey Shore so having had a week off running I had 3 runs along the stunning beach.  It was amazing.  I had no targets to reach, wasn’t wearing my Garmin or heart rate monitor and if I wanted to stop and take a picture, then I did.  It was liberating and I felt complete freedom as I listened to the waves crashing into the shore.  It had to be early as it was very warm but the surfers were already out so I had some company.
Now I’m back home I headed off to Chatelherault for one lap and again it was very enjoyable.  At this stage I haven’t sat down with my coach yet and worked out what happened in the race.  We also have to look at my future events for 2019 and what the training schedule will look like.  I’ve got a couple of niggles to sort out with my physio before the training builds again - best to be sure and not turn a niggle into a problem.  My last 7 months of training has been consistent which is probably the biggest reason behind my fast time but during that period whenever I had a niggle, I got it attended to immediately.  I’ve never forgotten one of the best tips I received when I started this journey and it was to “listen to your body”.  I’ll continue to do that while I enjoy my “free running” before the new training schedule is in place.  Next week I’ll confirm another race this year to keep me focused!