On the "Straight and Narrow"

Since the Run Ballarat 12km event two weeks ago I've had a fortnight of normal training. Normal training for me now means following the training schedule I adopted in mid June - ie, less running, more cross training - following my recovery from the ruptured Baker's Cyst inside my left knee and the simultaneous settling of my osteoarthritis courtesy of the forced time off running. My new normal training schedule seems to be working for me. I'm running in less pain, I look forward to the training runs I do, I enjoy my gym days, and I feel like all of this has resulted in me running decently enough in the three most recent events I've been in (Dubbo Half Marathon, Canberra Times Fun Run 14km, and Run Ballarat 12km).

Looking back, I think I was seriously over trained for 5+ years and that my relentless regime of long slow distance (LSD) contributed to my chronic knee condition getting worse and worse until it eventually imploded in the form of the ruptured Baker's Cyst, which is a textbook secondary condition to osteoarthritis. Not only that, I think it contributed to cummulative mental fatigue. The expression "same old, same old" described nearly every one of my training sessions, and I was enjoying them less and less.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I'm determined to use my hindsight to keep myself on the straight and narrow - metaphorically speaking but not necessarily in terms of running terrain :)