![Rose Davies. Picture by Josh Callinan Rose Davies. Picture by Josh Callinan](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/gNecaFSpqFSLkittedmeiY/c94c9fbf-bd0f-48c4-a353-050e6f96a13c.jpg/r0_0_3456_2304_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
ROSE Davies reckons "if you had of told me two months ago I was running, I'd be like no I'm not".
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The Merewether athlete found herself recovering from an odd injury which shadowed this year's racing stint overseas, featuring a second World Championships appearance.
Davies, who turns 24 later in December, came home after posting one of her career-best performances in Budapest to discover a cyst on her hamstring.
Following treatment, rest and rehabilitation, she has been back running for six weeks and will now open the Australian domestic season at the prestigious Zatopek meeting at Melbourne's Lakeside Stadium on Saturday.
Davies, a two-time Zatopek winner and third last year, will contest the women's 10,000 metres which again doubles as a national-title event and potentially helps form part of Olympic qualification in 2024.
"I thought it would take me a bit longer to get my fitness back. But I'm confident [now] and I wouldn't race if I didn't think I had a chance," Davies told the Newcastle Herald this week from her training camp at Falls Creek.
She's been based in the Victorian Alps for most of November saying "I wanted to come here for as long as I could to make up for lost time".
"I had a cyst in my hamstring and I had it since before Budapest [in August]. I just managed it while I was overseas and I didn't know what it was," she said.
"When I came home I had to get it drained. I had about six weeks off in the end and I've been back running for around six weeks now.
"As soon as I got it drained it was like it was never there, but I had to be careful not too rush back into training. It was a pretty instant fix and hopefully it doesn't come back."
Davies admits "it's an injury mostly old people get and every time I saw a sports doctor they would say it's very uncommon in young people".
She described the pain as "really uncomfortable - even walking around or any sudden movements" and "running with like a peg leg".
"If I didn't have worlds I would've come home, I just held myself together for that [5000m] race. I was meant to keep racing afterwards because I'd qualified for the World Road Running Championships," Davies said.
The Novocastrian spent over four months away and "feels like this year was a massive step up".
"I ran PBs [personal bests] over shorter 1500m and 3km distances. I didn't actually run that many 5km races this year, but equalled my PB," she said.
"Just backing up races, not having that one stand out and then sort of struggling a bit. Being able to stay consistent was a massive goal of mine.
"I think I can be more confident in my ability knowing I can handle those faster races or tactical races, just more experience now."
Davies, coached by Scott Westcott, hopes 2023 has "set me up for an Olympic year".
Games qualification for Paris weighs heavily on times and rankings.
"Zatopek is a national championship, but I don't think it will be the be all and end all for selection," she said.
World Athletics standards have tightened for both the women's 5000m (14:52) and 10,000m (30:40).
Davies, an Olympic and Commonwealth Games representative, recorded tops of 15:07.49 and 31:18.54 respectively in 2022.
The Australian Athletics Championships in April will incorporate the 5000m.