Motivation

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The year gone by

And just like that another year is on its head. It is a real shame that we didn’t get to do any events this year. There are a number of reasons for that, but one that stands out is the entry fees. It has become stupidly expensive, and I just don’t want to pay that anymore. Just the other day I was looking at a local event and the late entry fee for a 10k run is $100! Normal is $70 which is already a rip-off, even taking into account that participants have to be bused to the start. 

Then there is the issue of Ironman. I try to avoid doing any events that are organised by or associated with the Ironman Group. This includes iconic events like the Tarawera Ultra, Queenstown Marathon, Hawkes Bay Marathon, Auckland Marathon. On top of being super expensive, they are killing the little man and ruining the running scene. But nobody seems to care. I am very much in the camp of ‘refusing to support the Ironman Group’. And in an attempt (I’m guessing) to try and keep up with these big corporations), most other events are also getting to the point where exorbitant fees makes it impossible to enter for average participants who just do events for fun.

A change in traffic management rules did not help either. This killed off the last few small events that were still standing. Unfortunately community events (like the North Range Trio) suffered as a result of all of these things. There aren’t many affordable events left nowadays, and even though there are quite a few I would still like to do, most of them are on the South Island, which is another kettle of fish altogether when it comes to money and prices of things. You may as well cross the ditch and go for events in Oz. 

This all changed my mindset from supporting events to one of ‘doing it myself’. Dream up my own runs and then do it. We have done so many 10kms and half marathons in the past that it would have to be an exceptional event for me to sign up. Especially taking into account that we often run half marathons and further when training for long events. The distance is nothing special if you just to it for enjoyment and socialising, and my guess is that that might be the case for a lot of runners out there. So to attract the numbers in shorter distance (especially if you want to include families and kids) they have to be VERY affordable. Well, that is my opinion.

On top of all this, it would appear that the running scene had changed quite a bit. Or perhaps it is just me that changed. I don’t get as excited about events anymore, which really is a shame. The result? I am not committing to upcoming challenges because there are none. Every now and then I look through the running calendar in search of something to sign up for, but when it comes to the entry fees, and often travel and accommodation, I just want to run screaming to the hills. Which in itself is not the worst idea!

We managed about 280 activities on Strava this year totalling about 1550km, so not entirely sitting on our laurels. But we don’t have focus. We don’t have a proper goal – something to scare me to do more. I just do my 4k run most days of the week and walk a couple more. It is not enough. I still have lofty goals, but without the occasional event to keep one honest, I’m afraid I would have to be a lot more disciplined. Which currently I’m not. When the weather is bad, which is a lot of the time, I just don’t bother.

Let’s hope 2026 will be more eventful, even if just to do more hiking/tramping. And who knows, maybe I can still get myself committed to enter a 100 again. Preferably a 100 miles and not a 100km.

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The UTK (Ultra Trail Kosciuszko) that wasn’t

I thought perhaps I should just write a follow-up about our plan to run the 100 mile event in 2022.

Maybe because it is a new event and to entice participants into entering super early (it worked!), the event had the option to carry over your entry at no cost to the next year should you not be able to do it for whatever reason. And back doors are dangerous – when there’s a back door, one is almost guaranteed to take it.

In our defence we did try. We started with a bang and were doing very well for a few months, slowly building up fitness. Then my mum got sick, and we had to make the trip back to the motherland. Travelling around the world, and back and forth between our families for more than a month, took its toll. What was meant to be a crucial time in our buildup, ended up being a next to no training month. Coupled with all the stress of travelling, missing a connecting flight due to a stuff up by Qantas with the first flight, and having to postpone everything by a week, rearrange and rebook everything, eventually arriving without luggage, the stress of a sick parent, and the list goes on, training was the absolute last thing on my mind. Plus, that back door was wide open.

Arriving back, exhausted, to horrible weather (it seems to be getting worse) – non-stop wind and sideways rain – our enthusiasm for the inaugural event was all but gone. So we made the call to transfer our entries to this year. It is not a good decision to have to make. One’s self-esteem takes a knock and you feel like a failure.

Following the proceedings leading up to the event on FB, I was met with a mix of FOMO and relief. It was snowing up in the mountain in the weeks leading up to, and still a few days out from, the event and it started to look like the compulsory gear would have to be next level. Some lack of communication and other hick-ups by the organisers – GPX files were not made available and final course maps were not shared until the last minute, perhaps because the course had to be changed TWICE due to snow and safety of runners, details about aid stations, drop bags, pacers, support crew, etc – resulted in participants getting anxious and angry. Tonnes of entries were sold off and transferred, and things were looking to be in a bit of a shambles. At the same time, those who stuck to it could boast to be hardcore, have grit, and able to deal with whatever life throws at them. Ultimately, I suspect the course routes need some serious rethinking and replanning for the years to come.

But, fingers crossed, we can get our act together and line up at the start end of this year. We bought a new watch. The Suunto 9 Peak Pro to replace the old one of more than eight years. It was time. And with new gear comes renewed enthusiasm. We have a rough idea of what we need to do, and where we need to be with our training each month. The overall aim is to get out the door six days a week, to build up slowly, never to skip the long-run, walk heaps, and do the occasional speed session. On top of that, we have to start focusing on strength training and flexibility. My buggered hips and misalignment need all the help they can get.

To 2023! May it be a good year for health and fitness.

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Blue Range Hut blues

Date: 25 January 2021
Distance: 8km out-and-back
Time: 1:45 going up | 1:30 going down

An invitation came along for a walk up to a hut, which was the perfect opportunity to get my bum off of the chair and do something physical for a change. To be fair, we have started jogging 4km most days of the week for the past month or so to try and get back into some form of fitness and routine. It has been a hard slog, and sometimes a real challenge just to cover those 4km, but we have been going reasonably steady for the past month.

Continue reading →
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24-Hour isolation challenge

Date: 24-25 April 2020
Time: 24 hours
Distance: 103km

Passing the supportive messages written by our neighbours provided a boost on each lap.
Paul’s sound system providing some good vibes.
Loving the drawings!
Living out of town makes for a laid-back, rural running experience.
Heading into the sunset. 🙂
Our aid station.
Late afternoon shadows.
Thanks to the tree-rich area large parts of the course is in shadow much of the day.
Always a highlight to finish a fifth lap.
Sunset silhouette.
Nothing better than hearty soup on a long run!
Midnight – one third down. Looking a little tired.
As we all know, ultra-running is basically an extended food-fest.
A very welcome dawn.
Still well-stocked, many hours down.
Counting laps. 1 lap. = 1.5k.
A Strava view of our aid station, and the corner in the middle of our 750m stretch, which we passed 136 times in 24-hours.
A hero’s finish, with Chariots of Fire on the boombox. Fantastic support by our lovely neighbours, Paul, Katy and the girls
These shoes were way past their sell-by date at the beginning of April. Yet, I still added more that 400 km to them in the past 25 days. Probably a physio’s nightmare, looking at the imbalances.

If anyone told me a few years ago that I would do a 100km training run, without it being an official event, I would have said, dream on. Not only is this physically a huge challenge, but also mentally. Getting your head around that distance takes some mind gymnastics. Getting your head around doing it outside of the support, comfort and camaraderie of others in an event, takes extra strong brain gymnastics. Continue reading →

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19 k’s for 19 days – a COVID-19 isolation odyssey

Date: 1 – 19 April 2020
Distance: 362.5km
Time: 52:56
Elevation: 8970m

Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 6.42.04 PM

In the weeks leading up to the Level 4 lockdown in New Zealand, when everyone was stockpiling on toiletpaper and flour, my thoughts were focused elsewhere – to come up with some sort of physical challenge that would reflect a small part of the pandemic. And since running and walking is my preferred exercise, the plan would have to involve one or both. With 2019 being the year that the virus was first detected (hence COVID-19), nineteen had to have prominence. To just run/walk 19km is no challenge. Any abled body can do that, even if it takes you all day. The logical next step was to try and repeat the 19k for 19 days in a row, and just like that, the challenge was set. To make the challenge just a wee bit more challenging, I decided to try and do every day’s 19k in under three hours. That is rather swift walking if you are not a speedwalker, or a couple of kilometres had to be jogged. Continue reading →