Motivation

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6 hours Te Arapiki a Tane and 24-hours Summerhill trails loop challenge

Total moving hours: 26
Total distance covered: 96km, including 12910 stairs (with a break between the two challenges)

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Trying to do a selfie in the middle of the night in the dark.
We made this, incase some nutters manages to complete a 100 miles in the 24 hours.

I love achievable, but wacky challenges. And this seemed like a good one for the Easter weekend. We are way behind schedule for our upcoming 100km event, and thought this should be a good gauge of where we are, fitness-wise. Each time we sign up for an event I have grand plans to do a certain amount of training, and almost always without fail other things get in the way. So we find ourselves yet again a bit undertrained for the UTA in less than four weeks time. Continue reading →

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Run one walk one – an easy ultra

Date: 13 January 2018
Distance: 60km

Time: 8.5 hours (and about .5 changing gear, eating and filling water bottles and food stuffs)

 

Shortly after we started, Gerry had to stop to suck out the air from his sloshing bladder.
This is where things got interested, trying to find the track from the end of Waitoetoe Park through to Pioneer Highway.
Passing through the suburbs.
Finally back in a park, testing a log chair which was not yet needed at that point.
On the trail again.
Just across Pioneer Highway.
The walkway carries on up to Milson Line.
Apart from a few road crossings, the track is mostly away from traffic.
Most of the track follows the Palmerston North waterways.
One of the underpasses.
Some nice graffiti under one of the bridges.
Gerry having time to play with his camera.
Passing under the railway line.
Yet another bridge to pass under.
Interesting graffiti behind a building in the industrial area.
And still the track goes on.
And on.
Until the track was no more … From here it was a ziczac throught the industrial area before heading down Napier Road, Te Marai Road and back to the river walkway.
Back on the Bridle Track just after we had a good shower. And then the camera battery died.

Planning for Gerry’s 50th birthday, we decided to do that “thing” where you run your age. Eyeballing the running calendars high and low for a 50km run the weekend before or after his birthday, delivered nothing. So what does Gerry do? He signs us up for a 100km event instead, only double his age. What’s a few kilometres between friends? (Goodness knows how we’ll manage a 100 miler when he turns 80!). Continue reading →

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On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me …

The Big Christmas Feast – A Greatest Virtual Run Challenge, raising money for kids on the spectrum

Date: 1-12 December 2017
Distance: 200km
Previous GVR: 2017

My middle name is procrastination. And Gerry’s first, middle and last names are procrastination. Maybe it is just a severe case of student syndrome? But, it only took us until well into the first of December, the day the challenge started, before finally entering. It might just be a classic case of an already out-of-hand hectic life, with work, this time of year, and all that jazz that the fun things in life tend to be ignored and end up falling by the wayside. Luckily we had two minutes of sanity to quickly enter. Continue reading →

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5 things no one tells you, bla-bla-bla …

Is it just me, or is everything your read these days on running forums and in running magazines, a number crunching game? For instance: “6 things you need to do right now”, “I did squats for 14 days and here’s what happened”, “do these 3 exercises right now”, “4 stretches that will fix all your problems”, “these 7 health foods aren’t so healthy”, “31 runner friendly recipes”, etc. You can almost not find an article that doesn’t contain a headline similar to these. But, I’m getting off topic.

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This post really is just a message I wish someone had banged into my head 20 years ago. And despite knowing what I know now, I still find it difficult to practice what I preach, but here goes nonetheless. Even if I fail miserably and have to say to myself 20 years from now, “I told you so!”. Continue reading →