Fraser Darcy

Every professional gets 4 weeks of annual leave a year. Teachers get even more. I’ve taken that same approach to my running this past week and a bit. Annual leave, off-season, holiday period. Has many names but a simple aim. Enjoy the other parts of life a bit more while making running a second priority. With this aim in mind there are a few stages the body and mind goes through, or should go through in my opinion, to know you have sufficiently taken your foot off the accelerator.

The ‘oh it’s nice to sleep in and do something different‘ moment:
The first few mornings are real nice. No need to roll out of bed and get into the day with 7-10k. Instead, I chose to do some watering of the little plants in the backyard, walk around, listen to a podcast or two and just ease into the school day. I thought I might have been more productive at work without having run in the morning but I don’t think so. The run gives my day structure and without it, I don’t have the stick pushing me to do better.

The ‘you know what, I don’t feel like going for a run, I’m going _______ instead‘ moment:
Getting home from school is when this thought usually pops into my head. Instead of willing myself to get off the couch or bed and not have a nap, I opted to lie down a bit longer at times this past week. Treat my body to some more rest or screen time. If I’m disciplined I am out the door by 4:30pm. But this week, I could slip to 5pm, not bother with a run, go for a ride, smell the air, soak it up a bit and not bother with the post exercise stretch.

Extending this thought to the weekend is where things really come to shine though. My body was still kind of sore from the cumulative year of running I’d put it through so instead of going for any long runs on the weekend I went on a couple of walking adventures. First one being at Devils Peak, just scrambling around, checking on the place at the top, yep that rock’s still there, that bush has grown more, rah rah rah. It’s pretty fun just aimlessly trotting around up there like it’s a big adventure playground. No-one is there to disturb you either so I get lost in some pretty good thought bubbles.

I carried on some of those thought bubbles to my Sunday long walk (not run) at Moonarie. I hadn’t been up there since April and again, had a fair bit of checking to do on the place. Boy it’s good there. I described it as going to the MCG to a colleague at work. The MCG for rock climbing that is. The glory years for my climbing at Moonarie was definitely 2021 and 2022 and it’s nice to relive those memories and dream of the future glory years possible at Moonarie. It’s not going anywhere.

On this particular ramble up at Moonarie I did a big loop going all the way along the bottom, then along the top (a somewhat ‘skyline’ traverse) popped down for a drink at the rainwater tank halfway and then finished it off. If you’re reading this Chad Freak, it’s got your name and a FKT (Fastest Known Time) all over it.

The hidden benefit of doing all this ‘other’ exercise to running is that I’m still maintaining some relevant fitness base but just giving my running muscles a bit more of a break. I was pleasantly surprised at how my proprioceptive skills were after not really getting out on the rock much in the last six months. However, as I expand on below, I did realise how pathetic my strength is…

The ‘woah, I’m really weak actually and not very functional‘ moment:
This thought marks the bottom of the curve from recovering to getting back to it. Once all the soreness had left my body this past week I actually started to realise that I wasn’t sore anymore, I was just pathetically weak. Completing simple tasks like bending down to grab the vacuum cleaner, or cleaning the toilet make me look like an old person where you do that prep for getting down and then commit to the drop to get down. Getting up requires clutching at a door handle or frame. Not good. I make these allowances though because since I tapered into the Adelaide Marathon (and as a result of the road specific training for that race) I have really let my weight training regime go. In realising that I’m weak, I now find the motivation to do something about it so I don’t have to look so decrepit when operating around the house or workplace. I can’t use the excuse that I’m a runner when I’m not running 160 clicks a week.

The ‘geez it’d be nice to be back in a full rhythm but I’m still a little daunted by it‘ moment:
Completing my big Sunday long walk was nice to go slow and enjoy the scenery but it did leave me wondering how nice it would be to smash that same effort miuch more comfortably at a much faster pace. Or be able to back up and go and run St.Mary’s Peak comfortably. Trouble is, in the recovery mode or pre-race mode I’ve been operating in either of those efforts would be silly. They could risk my prep for my race or damage my recovery. In the early stages of training though those types of efforts are seen as great training experiences and something I’m keen to get stuck into over the next month once my annual leave is finished. At the moment though, as this thought suggest, I’m still just a weeny bit daunted by getting back into a big training load too soon. Not yet foaming at the mouth ready to get stuck into it.

The ‘is this all that life is when I’m not running?‘ :
The last step before the foaming at the mouth begins. I’ve had this thought a few Christmas’ where I let myself relax, have a beer every day for a week, eat some nice food on offer, get lazy and just live like most mid-late 20’s people do. I do all the things I think I’m ‘missing’ or ‘sacrificing’ each week in my training. After living like that for a bit though I tend to wonder is that all that life is when I’m not running? Ok maybe after a while I’d pick up a new hobby and get psyched on that but really, my life is very simple without running and I get a bit bored of just working, eating, sleeping. I enjoy the working, sleeping, eating, running lifestyle. There’s more purpose to my life with running. (And no don’t be cynical that maybe all I enjoy is just running then if you re-read two sentences prior. It’s the combination of working, eating, sleeping and running that makes running purposeful).

The other underlying aspect of this thought is my sense of curiosity of what life without running is has disappeared by the time this bubble pops into my head. Once it’s popped, a new bubble begins to take place. The one with the foaming at the mouth, the one where I wonder what I’m capable of when I load another year’s worth of training onto the 28 (almost 29) years I’ve already done.

What’s next then?
About one and a half weeks to go of my pre-planned Annual Leave. I could come back into full training next week but I’ve scheduled some other exciting almost-training adventures to keep the foam at bay for one more week. On the weekend I’m heading down to Mt.Arapiles for a spot of climbing with my old school to catch up with some mates, fill some hours in my climbing logbook and help recoup some costs I incurred this term (new timing belt for the Triton & new Super shoes).

After the Araps trip I’m heading bushwalking with Papa Kym for a few days. Should be good to relive some old bushwalk memories, strengthen my legs a bit more for the next training block and just relax for a few days without the normal responsibilities of life.

The aim of the game after that is to string together some consistent training weeks, get into that full rhythm, and then pick a few races to test it out on. Until then, annual leave continues, the school term will finish and the sun will rise no matter what. Thanks for reading.