Training

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Hill (s)training

hills

Running hills are a pain in the butt for most of us and I’ll be damned if I would suddenly start doing hill repeats of any kind. In my world I have two choices: either make peace with walking all hills, always, or try to slowly trot to the top. Running hills, for me, is a contradiction in terms.

Admittedly I do walk most hills, especially the really steep ones. But as we know, hills make you strong so jogging up is definitely the better option. I will also acknowledge that the biggest gain in running hills is mental achievement, which in itself makes a massive difference in your perceived fitness levels.

As an average or slow runner, I’m as mentioned not in the market for hill repeats or hill training. I think you have to be able to run up a hill first before you can try to repeat it! If you can’t get up the blooming hill in the first place, how are you going to practise getting faster?

So here’s my 2cents worth of advice: the only way I can get myself up and over a hill is to just take it really really easy. Mimic the running action, but shorten your stride significantly. The aim is not to go out of breath or exert yourself to the point of no return. Use the same amount of effort as you would on the flat, keep your breathing and running rhythm the same, but progress s-l-o-w-l-y up the hill. When you get to the top, you should be able to continue running, while gradually increasing your stride length again to normal.

Hills should literally be taken in your stride. The confidence boost from getting to the top while still feeling okey, is phenomenal. Once you realise you can do it, hills are not so daunting and dreadful anymore. The key is to take it easy, really easy, even if it means running slower than what you could walk up a hill. The end result is you ran up the hill and didn’t succumb to walking. If you keep on doing this with every hill you encounter, it will automatically get easier! That I can vouch for, because hills are the necessary evil that makes you strong.

Now go out and tackle those hills head on with confidence. You can do it! 🙂

 

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North Range Road training run

All smiles in the early morning.
After starting on a good gravel road, the route soon gives way to a jeep track.
Between about 4 and 10kms, the route is quite rough – definitely 4×4 terrain.
Along the route, there are many service roads turn-offs which could potentially be confusing, but these are all locked with huge “No entry” signs, so no risks of missing the correct route.
It’s not all windmills – there are some trees too.
For the most part, North Range Road is pleasantly undulating.
Some small puddles can be jumped…
…while bigger ones have to be negotiated more carefully.
The result of stepping into a muddy section on the side of one of the larger water puddles.
A great morning for a run.
The majestic wind turbines form a scenic backdrop for the run.
Still very happy with my new Salomon hydration pack – it fits like a dream.
The windfarm features a range of different turbine types.
We only met two other people en route – this mountain-biker coming past from behind, and later a hiker passing us in the opposite direction.
What a view!
For the most part, the route consists of very well-maintained gravel roads.
The route winds its way through the hills and valleys of the Tararuas.
Flying down one of the downhills of Hall Block Road.
When you get to the end of the track at Gorge Road, it’s just a small distance to the Bridge Cafe.
Very stoked with our new training route – what a great morning out!

One of the problems when training for ultra-long events, is that you need to spend a lot of time on the road. Which means, unless you are inordinately blessed with a limitless supply of training routes and trails close to where you live, you are bound to end up traversing the same routes over and over. Using events as training runs is a great way to break the monotony, mix things up and keep your running exciting, but given the cost of many races in NZ, it also is one of the best ways to blow your budget faster than you can say “marathon”, as we dearly discovered during these past few months. Continue reading →

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‘Je Suis Charlie’ Unity Run for Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité

Our running shirts for the Je Suis Charlie Unity Run for Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité.

Our running shirts for the Je Suis Charlie Unity Run for Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité.

This week’s news was dominated by the 7 January 2015 massacre in Paris France, where 12 people were killed at the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The terror attack resulted in millions of people internationally rallying in support of those wounded and killed at the newspaper, as well as the victims of related attacks at Montrouge and the Kosher Supermarket.

“Je Suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) became the slogan adopted by supporters of free speech and freedom of expression – it popped up everywhere, in cartoons, hand-made placards and stickers, displayed on mobile phones at vigils, and on numerous websites.

A couple of days ago, via Facebook, we came across the Je Suis Charlie Unity Run for Liberté, Egalité and Fraternité, an international run of support scheduled for 11 January – an initiative we had little hesitation to support. Continue reading →

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Kepler Challenge training dry run

Date: 22 December 2014
Distance: 60km (some sources give it as 67km – I would love that to be the case!)
Time: 11:58

At the Kepter Track car park, rearing to go, and with our smiles perhaps hiding a bit of panic about what lay ahead.
The early morning sun rising over the lake.
The lush green surroundings in the still flattish section next to Lake Te Anau.
About two-thids up the mountain you pass the limestone bluff.
Just out of the treeline, shortly after 8:00 in the morning.
Tussock on the mountain with the small town of Te Anau far in a distance.
A fairly easy section of a couple of kilometres before you reach the hut.
Luxmore hut where we stopped for warm clothing, filled up water bottles and empty bladders.
Still feeling strong despite a cold wind.
Some rough terrain makes the going slow.
These avalanche sections and slips are quite scary.
When running/walking on the spine of the mountains, the drop to either side is rather steep.
Despite it being overcast, we still go lovely views.
On top of the world!
Gerry taking a breather and quenching his thirst.
The little path on the ridge stretches for miles and miles.
These mountain-top sections are quite exposed, but breathtakingly beautiful.
Mountain running at its finest.
It is amazing to experience sweaty heat, cold and snow all in one day’s outing.
We spotted this kea at one of the shelters on the mountain. Beautiful birds, but quite a menace.
Nearing the end of the section above the tree line.
Assessing the damage after my fall. The “egg” started to wobble when running so I wrapped it up with a Buff.
A huge slip down a valley made for difficult conditions underfoot.
Back in the luscious green forest.
Following the Iris Burn.
One of the many little bridges on the way, ensuring we could go through the run with dry feet.
Iris Burn hut was already far behind us when we ran through a bog.
A little stream crossing.
When you start seeing monsters, you know you need more hydration!
Beech tree forest to shelter us from the relentless sun.
I was clearly not dressed in the right colours for a scorchingly hot, sunny December day.
Some welcome shade back in the forest.
Crossing the wetland.
And a tricky swing bridge.
Back onto the path next to the Waiau River.
Not far to go now, but we were both quite knackered.
Happy and relieved to have made our unsupported traverse without any major problems.
4 days after the fall. Still quite swollen and rather sore.
4 days after the fall. 50 shades of green-purple-yellow.
6 days after the fall. Blood filled my sweat glands to cause the “spotty” look?
10 days after the fall. Still quite sore, but starting to look better.

Things don’t always go according to plan. But sometimes they do. This self-supported run had a bit of both.

We were booked to hike the Kepler Track, a 60km circular route, over Xmas with family. And so I thought to myself, why not run it a couple of days prior to the hike? Luckily it didn’t take much convincing to get Gerry on board as we thought it would make for a great last long run before the Tarawera, and we needed to test our hydration and fuelling needs for these kinds of events anyway.

Continue reading →

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GPS running

A few months ago, at the Rotorua Marathon, Wouna was the lucky winner of a Timex watch (as one of the major spot prizes). Given, however, that she never wears a watch, and that we have been forever thinking about getting a GPS watch, we decided to try and trade in the watch for a GPS enabled model. I initially didn’t have high hopes that we would be able to do this, but when I contacted GMB Watches, the NZ agents for Timex, they were extremely friendly and helpful, and without any quibbles arrangements were made for us to exchange the watch for a GPS model, simply paying in the difference in cost, during our next visit to Auckland.

The watch we decided on was the Timex Ironman Run Trainer 2.0 GPS (quite a mouthful!), a sleek and functional GPS device that doesn’t set you back an arm and a leg, like some of the other high-end, very sophisticated GPS watches on the market. To keep things simple and to further keep costs in check, we opted for the version without a heart rate monitor.

I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the new toy, and my excitement knew no bounds when we finally picked up the watch in early June. Unfortunately our visit to Auckland coincided with one of the most dreadfully stormy weeks the city has seen in a long time, so it was only after we arrived back in Palmy a few days later that I finally had a chance to try the watch on the run.

My Timex Ironman Run Trainer 2.0 GPS. A treasure trove of useful, realtime running info.

My Timex Ironman Run Trainer 2.0 GPS. A treasure trove of useful, realtime running info.

I had a lot of fun comparing the kilometer distances of our regular training route with the distances we had figured out before by driving the route. I’m happy to report our earlier measurements were pretty spot on – I would have been really gutted had I discovered that our 8km training route was only 7km long, or some similar horror story.

For the past month or so, I’ve been using my GPS watch non-stop to clock all our runs, including the recent Wellington Marathon, and it really does add a new dimension to running, especially if you download the run data onto one of the many web-based sporting platforms out there. I’m finding the Strava platform particularly enjoyable – not only can you log your training history (complete with detail about the shoes you were wearing etc), but you can share your runs via social media (Facebook, Twitter etc), follow the training of other runners, and explore routes in a specific region. To spice things up further you can subscribe to various challenges (personal or public), and compare your performance to others.

Interestingly enough, the added awareness and knowledge gained by running with a device providing realtime feedback on your distance, speed etc can have an interesting impact on your performance. If you feel like you’re running at a snappy pace, but find your watch telling you you’re not really speeding along, it can be disheartening. Conversely, you may think you’re running comfortably within yourself, only to have your trusty GPS tell you you’re running faster than you thought, which can result in one of two reactions – you can either be boosted by the fact that you are performing beyond your expectations, or you may suddenly, on the spot, feel tired as a result of the realisation that you’re running faster than you thought.

We experienced the latter first-hand during the recent Wellington marathon – by around the 24 km mark we were happily jogging along, chatting away, going at a merry pace of about 6:08 mins/km, which is a fair bit faster than our usual marathon pace. I’d made no mention of the speed we were going, but when Wouna asked I couldn’t lie, so I broke the news of our pace. And lo and behold, almost immediately our pace started dropping. OK, so perhaps it wasn’t a case of suddenly feeling over-exerted, but rather just a subconscious decision to preserve ourselves a little better for the latter part of the course, but we definitely slowed down from that point onwards, and I am very curious to know how we would have performed had we not been aware of the exact pace we were running at.

The Strava GPS overview of our Wellington Marathon performance.

Whatever the case might be, the genie is out of the bottle, and I for one definitely prefer the added info gained during and after every run. We hope to use the GPS on a few trail runs in the near future, where kilometer markings are often lacking, and look forward to experiencing the extra GPS input during our run. More on this soon!