running

by

Cystic fibrosis #27MoreYears fun run

Date: 2 April
Distance: 20km
Time: 2:14

After parkrun in Palmy, followed by a three kilometre walk, we headed home to shower, pack and get ourselves sorted for the remainder of the weekend.

First up was the Kimbolton Sculpture Festival. I was hopeful to be able to create something in time to participate in the exhibition, but alas. Time caught up with me and I couldn’t get it done in time. Better luck next year, maybe.

The festival had lots of vendors including food stalls, but the art exhibition seemed smaller? Maybe just my imagination. While having lunch there (the food truck selling gluten free meals was a good find) it started to drizzle. We didn’t stay long and as we were leaving I poured some coffee from our thermos for the road.

From Kimbolton to New Plymouth is a little over three hours drive. It was already past 2pm when we left, but thought we could still head to the event base when we get to New Plymouth and maybe preregister. This was not to be.

As we were driving the drizzle became more persistent, and by the time we reached Stratford it was raining bucket loads.  At times it was difficult to see the car in front of us, and we had to slow down considerably. The deluge made traveling slow and arduous.

Originally, when Gerry first read of the event, we thought we’d go visit friends and do the event at the same time. But the timing didn’t work out, as they were heading down south the same morning to bike the West Coast Wilderness Trail. They offered their house to us to stay in and left the key with a friend.

At around 6pm we were safety inside the house, dry and sheltered from the rain. We poured the last glass of leftover wine and dished up a precooked meal and salad.

Luckily it was the end of daylight saving (something I am not a fan of), and we had an extra hour before having to get up early for the 8am start.

A persistent drizzle through the night had me worried that we were in for a wet run. According to the weather predictions it was meant to still rain until after 9am, meaning we would run at least the first hour in the rain. When we woke up it was pouring again. Cats and dogs. All we could do was cling to the hope that it would pass soon.

We arrived (not so) bright and early at the event base at Hickford Park in Bell Block shortly after 7am. With an inaugural event you never know how popular it will be and how many runners and walkers will pitch up. Turned out we were the first late entrants and not many to follow. Our ‘bib’ numbers (written on our hands with a permanent marker) were 52 and 53, of which 18 participants were doing the 20km run (the others were entered in the 5km and 3km events). And I thought to myself, here we go again – an out and back next to the sea and only about 20 participants. Same as the Foxton Beach Footprints in the Sand event. Only this one ran along the Taranaki Coastal Walkway, so the path was sealed all the way, as opposed to running on the sand. Theoretically the sealed path should result in a faster time.

While we were waiting around it started to drizzle very lightly. I donned my rain jacket and we walked to the loo which was a few hundred metres away. With ample time to kill we ended up making a second trip to the loo.

The drizzle cleared up, the weather was looking better, it wasn’t too cold, and we decided to leave our rain jackets in the car. We started at the back, but soon passed two runners, and a few kilometres later another. We stayed in this position for the bulk of the run, until we passed another in the last kilometre. The walkway was as busy as always, with bikes, prams, toddlers, scooters, e-bikes, walkers, dogs, as presumably with the improved weather, every man and his dog were out enjoying the outdoors before winter truly sets in.

What I completely forgot about is how undulating the path is. We’ve run and biked it a few times before, but I still anticipated a flatter run. Fickle memory – only remembering the good parts.

I was going okay in the first half. The wind was mostly a side-front wind (meaning the return would be a tail wind), with dark clouds still looming, but no rain. Although it was cool when we started I was soon hot and had to take off my polyprop vest. By about 5-6km, a mist spray made us a wee bit wet, but almost not worth mentioning. We crossed the railway line twice, and in the last kilometre we had the biggest ‘hill’ of all – the path made quite a steep incline to go up and over a big cliff, and repeat on the way back. At Port Taranaki we reached the third and last water spot and turnaround point. They also had bananas which I briefly considered, but they weren’t cut up, and a whole banana is a bit much. We had a bag of jelly jet-planes, so were all good anyway.

After we crested the cliff for the second time on the way back, I started to battle a bit. I suddenly felt short of breath and generally more tired than normal. Plus, I needed to pee, badly. When we reached the Te Henui Walkway and stream again shortly after the Wind Wand, I had to dash for the loo. From there it is about 7km to the finish. During this time, I also saw three 20km walkers, who started 10 minutes after us, coming from the front.

Not used to running continuously for so long, it took some doing to keep going. My pace had slowed down a bit, and all I could think about was to pass each landmark on the way: Todd Energy Aquatic Centre, Honeyfield Fountain, the Light of Land sculpture by Howard Tuffery (the curvy chrome sculpture on the pics), the Wind Wand, the intersection with Te Henui Walkway, with playground and skate park, East End Surf Club, Fitzroy Beach Holiday Park, Waiwakaiho River Mouth, Lake Rotomanu, Te Rewa Rewa Bridge (currently party under construction), and finally the Taranaki Velodrome and Hickford Park back at the finish. A few coffee shops are dotted along the the track (very tempting), as well as other sculptures.

We finished in 13th and 14th place. The weather turned out good – no rain, not too strong wind, and reasonably warm in the end.

Prize giving was only at 1:30pm, so we went home to shower, collect all our stuff, and drop off the key before heading back to arrive more than an hour early. A BMX race was happening next to our event, so we strolled over to watch some of it. It was also a good opportunity to buy some chips there, as the cart at the running event had packed up already.

We both got a spot prize (I think everyone did), which made the stay worthwhile. It is a good new event on the calendar, organised by two people involved with Cystic Fibrosis NZ’s Taranaki branch, with help from volunteers. Organising events is hard work, and it would be a shame if it didn’t become an annual institution.

by

Footprints in the Sand – Foxton Beach nearly half marathon

Date: 12 March
Distance: Half marathon/20k (we measured 20.9k)
Time: 2:26.44

High tide was at 7am. The event started at 8am. Running out-and-back on a beach is challenging; and running on a beach with an incoming tide that gets progressively worse as the hours tick by, just added to the challenge. But that was all still perfectly fine.

From our house to the event is about a 50-minute drive. We decided to not preregister, as it seems to have become a case of if the event gets cancelled for whatever reason, you simply lose the money you paid upfront. Or most of it  So we’re now at the point where we rather pay more, but register/signup as late as possible. This is as terrible for me as a participant, as it is for the organisers as they can’t plan ahead. But this is the situation we’re at with events at the moment. With the task of still having to register, we had to leave extra early, and therefore had to get up extra early. On top of a few glasses of wine and a way too fatty roast the night before, this wasn’t easy. We had breakfast, Gerry made some coffee for the road, and we were off.

We’ve done this event before (two or three times?), and each time we’re only a few handfulls of participants in the half marathon. This time I counted 23, which included a single walker.

It was overcast and a cold wind was blowing as we signed up, and I decided there and then that I will keep my polyprop vest on top of two shirts. And still I was cold. All participants walked down to the beach for race briefing before the start.

It is now ten weeks since we started running regularly in an attempt to be ready for the 100 mile event in December, and it has been a struggle. The older I get the harder it is. But running 20k on your own, is hard, so doing it with others is far more enjoyable. Even if you run by yourself the whole way. Not that we are ever by ourselves, as Gerry and I always run together. But even so, I prefer doing it as part of something bigger, where you get to see other runners, even if only at a distance.

This specific event was one of those where I have no doubt that everyone ran negative splits. The cold wind was actually blowing a gale, coming nearly straight from the front. I was rowing and fighting and forcing myself forward, gasping for breath and thinking I’m going at a reasonable clip, only to find out my pace was nearly 7:30/k. I was hoping to average a 7min/k pace, but the main goal was to finish and jog the whole way, even if it was very slow. The seven and a half pace was perfectly fine – just surprising, as it felt like I was going much faster. Ideally I should be doing my long runs at a 7:30/k pace, even if that feels like a waste of time.

Fighting with a headwind for 10.5k was something else. I’m not fond of the wind at the best of times, but having to run into it, was just awful. Of course I could have run in Gerry’s slipstream, but that would have been cheating. Plus, facing adverse conditions builds gumption and character, right? After what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the turnaround point. I suddenly realised that the little stream we used to cross/jump in previous years, must have closed up as it wasn’t there anymore.

And boy was I glad we got to halfway and were heading back. Of course that same headwind was now a tailwind, making running infinitely easier. It didn’t take long before I was too warm and had to take off the polyprop. Quite amazing how having the wind in you face or in your back makes such a huge difference to the perceived temperature.

Happy to be over halfway and with a tailwind, we were going well. I was obviously fatiguing, still going slow-ish with running on the sand and all, but it felt much easier than on the way out. I kept thinking to myself that every kilometre done is one less to walk. Luckily I managed to run the whole way.

Despite being more fatigued on the second half, our splits were 1:17 for the first half, and 1:09 for the second half. It’s astonishing what a difference wind can make.

Relieved to be at the finish, we had a drink and time to catch up with some friends. The nicest part of this outing was all the familiar faces. Not that there is anything to fault about the event. It is well organiser, with water points at 2.5k, 5k and at the turnaround at 10.5, and of course you pass them again on the way back. Heaps of spot prizes (I’m pretty sure everybody got one), a fundraiser sausage sizzle for the fire brigade, and coffee cart. With a schools event, a 5k and 10k options, there were about 200 participants all up.

Unfortunately the weather plays a huge part in this event, and more often than not, the wind is a factor. Also, the beach is an open road, meaning there are cars and quad bikes, scramblers, and other nasties to look out for. It still takes me by surprise that people are allowed to drive on NZ beaches. Are there no living animals on the beaches here? No ecological damage cause by driving on beaches and in the sand dunes? Nevermind the fact that people can be run over!

You can tell – I’m not a supporter of beach driving. 🙂

Happy to have achieved my goal of running all the way, we made the trip back home for leftover lunch.

by

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.

by

Sasolburg Stadium parkrun, followed by the Palmy parkrun

Date: 13 August 2022
Distance: 5km
Time: 28:15 (Gerry, 28:18)

Our final parkrun in South Africa during this visit was on the morning of our long commute back to NZ. Gerry’s mum and sister lives on the way back to the airport, so we got to quickly see them again for final goodbyes. Gerry’s nephew joined us for the run.

It was a beautiful warm morning, and as we were walking the almost 2k from where we stayed to the start, I could smell the scent of jasmine, which normally indicates that spring is in the air.

Due to SA being a semi-arid country, the hazy brown dusty layer that covers the country makes it look like the air quality is super bad, but it’s no worse than the big cities in other parts of the world, and usually makes for beautiful sunsets. Long before the sun sets, it is possible to look straight at the huge orange ball on the horizon.

As with the Inibos parkrun (only the 11th event), the Sasolburg Stadium parkrun is also reasonably new (this was it’s 18th run).

It starts/finishes at the Sasolburg Stadium, (DP de Villiers Stadium) and Sasolburg Rugby Club. According to the web, the ‘course is run entirely on trail paths. Some sections of the course may accumulate mud, leaves and puddles after rain.’

I was still tying my shoelaces when we were counted down for the start. After a couple hundred metres, Gerry’s nephew came past and disappeared up ahead.

We passed some runners and soon settled into a reasonable pace. From the clubhouse the course takes one out of the stadium for a 2k off-road loop before passing near the clubhouse and across the sports field for another loop of about 1k in the opposite direction. Back near the clubhouse, we had to repeat the first 2k loop before finishing in front of the clubhouse again.

Running with me, Gerry finished 17th overall (15th male and second in his age category), and I finished 16th overall, second female and first in my age category, out of 99 runners.

We walked the 2k back for some eggs, a shower, and final greetings and packing.

It has been a good month. I’m glad we made the trip. The visible ageing of our mums is sad and unnerving. During the month, shortly after we arrived, my cousin four years younger than me, had a massive heart attack and died, leaving behind a husband and teenage kids. The day before our return to NZ my mum’s older brother had heart failure.

Maybe I’m imagining things, but a lot of South Africans seem depressed, and are on some or other medication. There are even pharmacy vending machines everywhere. The mental shift from what was and what is, might be a tad too much of an ask for some. As with emigrants, there are people who tend to cling to the past, who try to recreate what they had before. Change is inevitable, and necessary. However, the identity crisis (existential crises) is a huge part of the problems in SA. Who are we? Where do we come from? People were brainwashed into voting for a government that only looked after its own kind, due to a belief that the land was promised to them by God. Deep rooted beliefs suddenly mean nothing and boys who fought in the war, suddenly realise it was all for nothing, or no obvious purpose? No wonder a lot of them goes off the rails with PSD and other mental disorders. But this is a subject matter for another day.

It is sad to leave, but I’m glad to be going home. And well done to the ABs for winning their second match at Ellis Park!

A week later, stil trying to get into the timezone of New Zealand, we decided to do the Palmy parkrun to see if the altitude makes any difference. Of course it makes a huge difference, and we managed a good run without feeling like our lungs want to fall out. I managed a 27:11, and Gerry was just cruising with me.

Egweni River Lodge parkrun (Parys, Free State)
by

Egweni River Lodge parkrun (Parys, Free State)

Date: 6 August 2022
Distance: 5km
Time: 29:29

Another family outing, this time with Gerry’s mum, sisters’ families and kids, and their children (four generations), brought us to Parys (Paris) next to the Vaal River. According to Wikipedia ‘The name was given by a German surveyor named Schilbach who had participated in the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War and the location next to the Vaal reminded him of Paris on the River Seine. The area of Parys also includes the two townships Tumahole and Schonkenville. www.parys.co.za‘.

Continue reading →