Training

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The Greatest Virtual Run

Date: 15 April 2017
Distance: 10.2km
Time: 1:18

gvr

Funny how things just pass you by when you’re not vigilant and half organised. Is it a sign of our already very hectic lives that the thought of trying to fit anything else in, is just too overwhelming? Or are we just plain too damn lazy? Continue reading →

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Hip rehab

hip-tools

Instead of going under the knife, I’m trying this colourful collection first. 🙂

In the early evening of 12 December 2016, I got up from the couch to have a look at the jam I was cooking, when suddenly I had excruciating pain in my right hip area. Hunched over holding on to the couch, I knew that something was badly wrong. Even just breathing had me in agony, and with gasps and involuntary tears in my eyes, I found my way back to the couch. Several hours later and with the help of a handful of pain pills and Voltaren, I could manage to get myself into bed where I promptly faded into a deep sleep hoping that everything will be better in the morning. Continue reading →

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A “user-friendly” test in endurance

Some quick planning the night before, over a tipple.
At the beginning … there were two clean, non-sore runners …
After a while, the sun came through …
… and rumours of severe weather warnings seemed far off the mark.
Fuelled with fries (stupid, stupid), we suffered through a very difficult third interval.
Interval 4 around Massey campus was the first of the dark runs.
When will this end??
Around 2:30am, soaking wet, we were almost finished with our sixth interval.
Interval 7. Now we may as well push through. So close.
And what a wonderful treat to be joined by Graeme (all the way from Whanganui) and June!

When Gerry first told me about the Ultra Interval Challenge, I was very excited as this sort of thing is right up my alley. It is a worldwide initiative where everybody started at the exact same time, irrespective of where you are in the world. In NZ our starting time was 10am on 23 July. The idea was to run 10km every three hours over a 24-hour period. Therefore 8x10km, totalling 80km. Our initial intention was to turn it into a wee event, by having a base camp with supplies, access to toilets, etc, and hopefully, manage to lure some friends into joining, but then we got busy with other stuff and all but forget about the challenge. Continue reading →

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(Wine-to)-Brine-to-Wine

Date: 3 April

Distance: 31.5km

Time: 3:36

Gerry at about 6.5km. The morning was just cool enough to justify starting with a second layer.
A drizzle to keep us cool.
Passing the middle bridge of the 3 Bridges event.
Nice walkway next to the river for miles and miles.
Not too far from the river mouth.
Gerry sharing high-fives with Graeme.
On the way back. We were too pre-occupied to think about taking pics between the last few kilometres and the start of the event.
By this time the sun was very hot!
Gerry going strong after about 21km.
A prominent feature in Whanganui.
City centre. Only about 7km to go.

I am finding it increasingly more difficult to write objectively about events. Simply because I love doing events! The vibe, the people, the support, the fact that you get your training done with others – what’s not to like? Continue reading →

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Skyline Track – Khandallah, Wellington

Date: 5 March
Distance: 7.4km
Time: 1:17

We were making our way up the hill towards the left.
Wellington already seems far below, while the wind was howling on the ridges.
At the top of Mt Kaukau with stunning 360 degree views.
And just as steep as the uphills were, so are the downhills.
A whole network of trails are scattered around the suburbs of Wellington.
Sheltered from the wind in the bush.
Beautiful scenery and lovely terrain for a run.
Back to a walk up another hill in Khandallah.
As seen from our accommodation: the tower on the horizon is where we passed the highest point.

On a work trip to Wellington on the weekend, we were hoping to fit in a semi-long-run of about 15km between work commitments. Our overnight accommodation was in Khandallah and we thought it a good idea to explore the area. Little did I know that a run in this suburb would involve a rather decent hill training session! Continue reading →