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I haven’t been running much lately. Regular readers will know I was injured and unwell in the lead up to Dead Cow Gully at the end of May. I managed eight loops - almost 54k - at The Gully, but I haven’t really run since.

It’s not been injury this time, instead I’ve had a skin cancer taken off my lip, legacy of a childhood spent running around in the North Queensland sun in the days before sunscreen became ubiquitous.

This involved (apologies to those of you who’re squeamish) using a laser to burn my entire bottom lip off, all the way to the dermis. Yes, it was as revolting as it sounds. The aroma of my own burning flesh will stay with me for a long time.

I asked the doctor when I’d be able to run again. “You can run whenever you like,” he said, “but you won’t want to.” And he was right. Even the slightest breeze on my lip has been like being stung by a wasp.

But, almost four weeks after the procedure, I’ve been for a couple of runs and I feel like I’m ready to start ramping up the volume. How to approach that is the question, given how little I’ve run of late.

While I was pondering this, it struck me I could use the standard answer to almost anything anyone anywhere is pondering at the moment: “You could always ask AI.” So that’s what I did.

Although I do see one in my future, I don’t have a coach at the moment. And while I firmly believe an AI coach is no substitute for the real human connection you get with a human coach, I was interested to see what advice it would give me.

I use a few different AI providers, but I favour Claude for things like this. This was my prompt:

I am an experienced runner, I have been running regularly for a decade. I have run multiple trail ultra marathons - five 50k and one 100k. I have also run six road marathons. Last year I ran the New York Marathon, the Sydney Marathon, the Ultra-Trail Australia 50k race and multiple half marathons. For the first five months of this year I was averaging about 40km per week, a mix of roads and trails. I was then injured and ran very little for three weeks. I then ran 54k in a backyard ultra, but I've run only twice since - one 5k run and one 6k run - because I've had a skin cancer taken off my lip which made running uncomfortable. I'm now ready to start increasing my running volume again. What should I take into consideration? What should I be wary of? Can you recommend a plan? I am aiming to build to a 100k race, the Blackall 100, in October.

To be honest, the results all look very plausible. The first thing Coach Claude did was point out a 17-18 week lead-in to the Blackall 100 is “workable but not lavish”. It then asked me three questions, each with multiple choice answers.

These focused on how I felt after Dead Cow (some muscle soreness but fine now), what the original injury was that disrupted the lead in to Dead Cow (hip/glute) and how many hours per week could I realistically dedicate to training (5-8).

It then told me my fundamentals are good. I have a good base thanks to a decade of running, and the fact I managed 54k at Dead Cow shows my body can cope with big efforts, despite training disruption. Nothing there I’d take issue with.

Coach Claude then outlined three key risks that “warrant careful attention”:

1. The hip/glute injury: this could return as volume rises so I need to consider this, rather than cardio fitness, as the limiting factor in my training build.

2. The deconditioning gap: I haven’t run much of late, and that will have a bigger impact on my body than it will on my cardio fitness. “Your lungs will feel fine long before your body is ready for load,” it says.

3. The timeline: 17-18 weeks is enough prep time for Blackall … just. “You have no room for a second injury setback.”

Claude also outlined these things to be wary of:

1. The 10% rule is a floor, not a ceiling, right now. Don’t build volume too quickly is the message.

2. Dead Cow was a “wildcard”. I’ve recovered well, but that was still a stress for my body which I need to be aware of.

3. Watch the hip/glute closely on hills and long runs.

4. Don’t neglect strength work.

Again, that all makes sense. But it does feel both obvious and a bit “once over lightly”. I could have asked follow-up questions, but I didn’t. It feels a bit odd to be asking an AI these questions, at least it did for me.

Plus the onus is on me to work out what to ask. A human coach would take the lead in this conversation, bringing experience and intuition. Coach Claude is full of ideas when prompted, but silent otherwise.

Claude then came up with a three-phase training plan for me. Rebuild (weeks 1-5), Build (weeks 6-12) and Consolidate & Taper (weeks 13-17). To be fair, it looks a good plan. The build phase includes a conservative progression to about 40k a week, focusing on nursing the hip through.

Phase 2 introduces long runs including back-to-back long efforts. Volume builds to 55-65k and terrain that mimics race day is introduced. Volume peaks at 65-70k in the final phase before the taper begins. “Trust the taper. You'll feel sluggish. That's normal,” the plan says.

All three phases feature strength work and step down weeks to give the body a rest.

I then asked Coach Claude: “Can you create a more detailed plan with specific runs for each week please?” And it created a Word document that sets out what I should be doing each day for all 17 weeks between now and Blackall.

As I said at the outset, I’m a firm believer that the human connection between coach and athlete (I use the word very loosely in my case) is important. And Claude’s never going to provide that.

But this is a workable plan, which will serve as a basis for my training. And it took almost no effort. So I’m going to give it a crack. And I’ll report back on how it goes.

Upcoming Events

There are way too many events for me to list everything that’s happening around the country, but here is a selection of upcoming races (with a bias towards South East Queensland).

The Running Calendar website is a great source if you want a comprehensive understanding of what’s available around the country.