Winter goals

So, you already know by now that my day at Ultratrail Australia wasn't a miraculous victory. That's OK.

I wasn't in a great place mentally when I posted my race preview. Things improved overnight, and by the time I got to the start line I felt confident enough for it to be an each way bet as to whether I'd cross the finish line victorious or pull out at the 4k mark, where the course passes back by the start line after an out and back through Katoomba.

As it turned out neither of those happened. At the 4k mark I decided to push on and at least test my ankle on the trails. I think I managed to tweak it again and by about the 8k mark I knew my day was over. The sweep got me safely to CP1 and I was able to get a lift back to the race HQ and the medical area.

Some ice and a professional opinion that there wasn't significant damage, just soft tissue, and I hobbled off to meet KKB and spend the rest of the weekend eating and drinking and not doing much else.

So what now?

I have some ideas for events later in the year but for now it's just about recovering, and running.

I've sought another professional opinion and they agree that there is no significant damage to my ankle, and have been cleared to go back to running, as long as there continues to be no "abnormal pain" during running (you gotta love sport physios) and no ongoing pain after running.

The prognosis is underactive glutes, which is a recurring theme, so along with returning to running, I'll be doing my physio exercises.

I've set what I feel is a modest goal - to run 42ks a week (an average of 6k a day). I've also vowed to run every day - something that I've never done before. I want to see if my body can handle it.

This goal is good for the entire winter, so perhaps not for the feint-heated.

Partly it's an attempt to outwit the winter blues. Partly it's an attempt to just find some joy in running again. And partly it's an attempt just to keep running, so that starting again later on doesn't hurt too much.

I am on track so far:

• Wednesday 1 - Sunday 4 June = 24ks
• Monday 5 - Sunday 11 June = 45ks

I have heard we are in for a cold winter this year. I hope it doesn't feel too long though.