What Happened to me at the Kloof 10 Fun Run, or, Recognising the "Plods"

[RobD]

As Nico reported, we had a great 10 kmn run at the Koof this weekend
organised by the new Multisport Club. My version of the run was not
as spectacular as Nico's though, but there was a lesson in it for me.

Last Wednesday at the time trial I was red hot (16:08 for second 4 km)
and Nico was moaning and groaning all week (I was on the verge of
offering to give him a sicknote to shut him up). Yet at the Kloof on
Saturday I only managed to keep up with him for the first 300 meters
or so - then he steadily disappeared from sight! Although everything
was working (legs, heart and lungs) I just could not move or pick up
the pace to even look like I was trying to keep up with him. I have
had this experience many times in my running career (over 30 years
now) and thought it would be worth mentioning to reassure club members
who are still new to the sport.

What happened to me was what Bruce Fordyce calls "the plods" - your
training seems to be going fine and then suddenly it feels like
someone drained all your blood - there is simply nothing in the tank!
No matter what you do, it is a huge effort and you just can't go
faster, no matter what you try. The most probable reason for this is
overtraining - I had done some quite hard and long sessions over the
previous two weeks (including our training session in the Drakensberg
- one day we did 37 km that took us 8 hours!). Then at the TT I went
flat out - it felt so good and so easy! However, that session was
probably a bit too hard and took me over the edge leaving me with a
classic case of the plods. This is Nature's way of giving us a wake
up call when we overdo things.

What do I do about it? Basically, nothing - I recognise it for what
it is and just slack off a bit - even take a couple of days off. As
Nico mentioned, Richard and I ran C2C the next day but VERY slowly and
I didn't run at all today. I will run again tomorrow (slower than
Nico) and give Nico a taste of moaning and groaning, and pick it up
from there.

Bottom line - DON'T PANIC - no need to see the doctor, book into the
ICU or go out shopping for new 'go fast muti' - just back off a bit
for a couple of days and gently start up again. Within a week or so
you will be back to your normal self.

[Pieter Strydom]

Hi Rob

Thanks for the nice read. We can all learn from you experienced guys. Personally I look forward to the future discussion we are going to have on the web. 

Regards

Pieter