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 WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 2008
Blog: May 7th 2008 - All set for the weekend!!
Today is my last day here in Saluzzo, before flying out to Russia tomorrow for the World Cup. Its a good feeling to be able to relax when all the good work is done and to look forward to the race. The weather is still quite warm here in Italy, hitting 30 degrees during the day, but in Cheboksary we are expecting much cooler conditions of around 15-17 degrees - perfect for a 50k.
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SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008
Blog: May 1st 2008 - Preparation complete!
Today I finished off my world cup 50k preparations with a solid 20km performance in the IAAF Challenge in Sesto San Giovanni, a suberb of Milan. The plan was to use the race as a training effort looking at a time of 88 mins. With the race on in the afternoon and it been quite hot, Sandro told me before the race that 89/90 mins would be enough. I did 1.29.32 finishing 15th - comfortable and controlled, with a lactate reading of 2.0, which is exactly what I was expecting. It was a strange feeling going into a big race like this and not being fully competitive. I held back and maintained my planned pace per km, which was pretty much even splits all the way. Also, my training partner Alex Schwazer used the race for the same purpose, finishing 8th in a time of 1.26.07, modest by his standards, but he will be challenging bigger things over 50km in Cheboksary next week. He has been bronze medallist at the last two World Championships over 50km, with a pb of 3.36.07 to his name.
MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2008
Blog: April 6th 2008 - First race of the season!!!
I had my first race of the season today, in the Trofeo Ugo Frigero Grand Prix meeting, in the town of Serravalle about 100km from Saluzzo. It was a nice low-key race to open the season with. The race was over a rather odd distance of 7.2km. I finished 3rd, behind two athletes in my training group. My time was 30.00, which works out at 4.09 per km. This was my first race since the World Championships last summer in Osaka, and I have only been back in full training just over 3 weeks, so I was far from 100 percent race fitness. I also had a big weeks mileage in the legs. We only decided during the week, to approach this race to open the season and see where I am at.
MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
Blog March 31st
I am back here in Saluzzo again, with my recent injuries hopefully put behind me now. I have been building up the training steadily in the last two and a half weeks, and now I am back to where I was before I got injured first. As regards immediate racing plans, we will be doing a lactate test this week and Sandro will analyse my state of fitness, to see if I would be ready for a 20km race in Podebrady on April 12th. However, the main priority is to be ready for the World Cup 50km race in May, and there are other racing options at the end of April to prepare me for the World Cup. Right now it's important to get the 50k work in.
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MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2008
Blog March 17th - Back From Injury
It has been a very frustrating last week for me. After recovering from the knee tendon injury in my right leg, and having resumed my training; I was struck down with yet another injury. I developed a tynosynovitis in my left tibialis anterior (shin), an injury which I had in the exact same area, 4 years ago, which kept me out of full training for 3 months. Thankfully, this time I recognised the symptoms at the earliest stage, and had it diagnosed and treated by my physio Johnson. This time with intensive treatment and full rest, I only missed 3 days training, and now it is fully repaired.
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