Michael_Shelley's Blog by Michael_Shelley

The last time I laced my racing shoes on was the 18^th of October last year. So it has been a while in between races. As I may have mentioned in a previous blog my coach (Dick Telford) allowed me to look after my own training over the December period. I was given some guidelines and it was just up to me to decide how much I did. The only thing Dick had made a point of saying was to not get injured. I can gladly put a tick box next to that.

Since January when Dick took over training again there has been a little more focus on my behalf towards training and trying to improve in someway or another in each session that has been set out. So after a good training period it is time to have a race and get the legs moving again. The race that I will be running is ...

B&E Hobart Run the Bridge

I have been to Hobart a couple of times before so to finally get to see Bellerive Oval is something I can tick off my list of venues I have seen, although it wasn’t a great venue for the aussie cricket team this summer losing to New Zealand (despite looking very good until 70 runs to go). I will hopefully change the luck on the venue.

I think it is important to do a little bit of course research when it comes to racing. In a marathon it is not always easy to look at the whole course but you can memorise parts of it to prepare yourself. If you know the race has a tough hill at the end then you can leave a bit more in the tank. If it is downhill for the last part then you aim to go slightly harder mid race.

What race doesn’t have a hard section and looking at the course map it looks like the 'Tasman Bridge' is going to be it. It will be pretty tough  climbing it, and hopefully there is no wind on top of the bridge as I may get blown away.

Coming off the bridge looks like a very quick section and I can hopefully make up any time that the bridge may have reduced as the race heads towards the finish in Salamanca. It looks like a challenging course and I am looking forward to running especially with Lee Troop also running. it is going to be a hard tough race. For more info on the race check out the website at: https://sitedesq.imgstg.com/site/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_main&OrgID=5159

Race Footwear

When racing on the road over 10 km I like to have a shoe that is a fairly low profile and light as it helps me feel as though I am running faster, where as when I am running a marathon I look for something which is light but has a fair bit of cushioning which the Nike Luna racer is perfect for. But the shoes I will be wearing in Hobart are called the Nike Streak. I have raced in them a couple of times over 10km and last years Sydney City to Surf and they feel like I'm wearing slippers.

So now that my last session is done I am looking forward to getting to Tassie and seeing how the training has been going. It also gives me the opportunity to get rid of some rust that may have crept in over the last couple of months.

Fingers cross I'll make it over the bridge in decent shape!