The Weekly Wrap – 12/5/25
Your Weekly Dose of Running Highlights, Tips, and Motivation
G’day and welcome
Thanks for tuning in, I appreciate you being here and hope you find plenty of value in this week’s edition.
First up, a big Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums out there for yesterday. Hope you had an amazing day and maybe even snuck in a run too. Thanks for all that you do on and off the trails.
We’re in for a massive week in the trail running world, with Ultra-Trail Australia taking centre stage.
This year marks a milestone:
UTA joins the World Trail Majors calendar
Launch of the 100-mile event
More UTMB Stones, bigger prize money, and increased race-week energy
We’ve got runners lining up across the board, 11km, 22km, 50km, 100km, and 100 miler and I can’t wait to see how everyone goes.
If there’s something you’d like me to cover in an upcoming Wrap; race prep, mindset, nutrition, pacing, send a DM on instagram or email. Let’s get into it.
Personal Highlights
Last week was another steady week as I build into UTA50 this coming Saturday.
Here’s the breakdown:
55km of running
2 strength sessions
2 solid rides (skipped the third due to rain = extra sleep)
Right now, the priority is recovery and sharpness:
Increasing sleep
Minimising stress
Keeping HRV trending up
Short strides to stay primed without adding fatigue
UTA50 is a testing ground for TDS later this year.
My goals:
Lock in nutrition + hydration strategy
Get a feel for race-day pacing with poles
Finish strong and leave with clarity on what needs refining
UTA22 - 2016
Team Highlights
A big congratulations to Lisa, who raced the Springsure Mountain Challenge, a 17km mountain run with solid elevation and technical terrain.
Lisa placed second overall, a great result and a strong benchmark as we move into the winter trail season.
Baseline Testing
Many athletes completed their baseline assessments, valuable data for tracking:
Pace-to-heart-rate efficiency
Lactate threshold estimates
Speed endurance and pacing under pressure
Parkrun is a great setting for this, “light” pressure, timed effort, and enough structure to simulate race conditions.
UTA Taper
The taper is on. We’ve got athletes across every UTA distance now shifting gears to arrive fresh and ready.
This is a tricky time, many runners push too hard or start overthinking. The key now is staying healthy, trusting your prep, and prioritising rest.
One issue this time of year: colds and flus. I’m seeing more of it already, due to seasonal shifts, elevated stress, and exposure from workplaces or kids.
What I’m doing to stay ahead:
Prioritising sleep
Staying hydrated
Using ArmaForce for immune support
Daily breath work to support nervous system recovery
May Focus: Recovery & Adaptation - Making Training Gains Stick
This month is about absorbing the work, not just doing more of it.
Week 2: Sleep, Nutrition & Stress – The Big 3
1. Sleep = Performance
Sleep is the most powerful recovery tool you have.
Research shows just five nights of six hours or less can reduce running economy and neuromuscular coordination (Fullagar et al., 2015).
Aim for 7.5 to 9 hours, especially after hard sessions
Don’t ignore sleep debt, it adds up and impacts your training quality
2. Nutrition = Fuel + Repair
The 30–60 minute window post-training is critical:
20–30g of protein
1–1.2g of carbs per kg of body weight
This supports muscle repair, glycogen replenishment, and cortisol regulation so you can go again tomorrow.
3. Stress = The Silent Load
Psychological stress impacts performance just as much as training volume:
Elevated cortisol
Disrupted sleep
Reduced motivation and immune function
You don’t have to eliminate stress, just buffer it with deliberate actions: walks, breath work, outdoor time, reduced screen use.
Action Step: Rate Your Big 3 This Week
For the next 5 days, track:
Sleep: Hours + perceived quality
Post-run nutrition: Was it intentional or skipped?
Stress: How in control did you feel?
Score each out of 10. Identify your weakest link and focus on improving that first.
Remember: training only matters if your body can absorb it.
Prompt of the Week: Hills – The Secret Weapon of Stronger Runners
Hills build strength, efficiency, and resilience. Avoiding them is avoiding progress.
This week, ask yourself:
Are you doing hill efforts?
Are you practicing downhill control (to build eccentric strength)?
Are you using proper technique, arm drive, upright posture, strong knee lift?
If hills are missing from your week, this is your reminder to change that.
Tip of the Week: Respect the 80/20 Rule
One of the most proven ways to build long-term endurance? Slow down.
The 80/20 principle:
80% of running should be low intensity (Zone 1–2)
20% includes quality work (threshold, intervals, hills)
Why it works:
Low-intensity runs build mitochondria, improve fat metabolism, and reduce injury risk
High-intensity runs develop top-end speed and VO2
Spending too much time in the “moderate middle” leads to stagnation
The best runners train with clear intent, easy means easy, hard means hard.
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Client Spotlight: Paddy Kennedy
1. What is your go-to nutrition for long runs?
BPN G.1.M Sport & BPN Gels
2. What is your favourite training session?
Track Intervals OR Threshold Efforts
3. Which race are you currently training for, and what motivates you to run it?
Gold Coast Marathon - I ran my first marathon on the Gold Coast last year and absolutely loved it. Can’t wait to run it back and chase some major improvements this time. I am motivated by daily improvement, being a better version of myself than I was yesterday.
Final Note
This week is all about sharpening, not grinding.
If you’re racing UTA, trust the work. You’re not getting fitter this week; you’re protecting the engine and arriving ready to fire.
If you’re not racing, focus on what’s beneath the surface: better sleep, smarter fuelling, and tracking how your body responds to stress.
The strongest runners don’t always do more.
They do the right work, at the right time and absorb it better.
Train smart. Recover harder. Let the work show up when it counts.
See you next week,
Coach Matty Abel