Training

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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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The intrepid trapper: Week 21

After 21 weeks of exploring and seeing, up close, a part of the country I never would have otherwise, my adventures came to an end at the Southern Ruahine Kiwi Habitat Restoration Project.

Life is a funny old thing, and the only certain thing is that everything is uncertain. It is nonetheless sad for me and a very difficult decision to have made to leave. Due to a number of reasons – none of which had anything to do with working outside, in sometimes challenging weather, cleaning rotten critters out of traps, and often being knee deep in mud or cow poo – I made the call to move on.

We went for a run on the beach on a beautiful sunny day which was good, and topped it off by scoffing down some fish & chips which was perhaps not the healthiest but very good. You win some, you lose some.

Ultreia et suseia

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Running in circles

Usually, to go/run in circles would indicate that although you are doing something, you’re not achieving anything. But with circuit running it is quite the opposite. You do achieve a lot!

What is it about running around the same loop – preferably not longer than a couple of kilometres – that I find so appealing? Gerry and I did the Dawn to Dusk 12-hour circuit race in 2008, and if memory serves me well, we finished second in the mixed pairs division totalling 116km or so. I absolutely loved it! It was a one kilometre figure-8 loop around a school athletics track and other sports facilities. We set up “camp” right next to the course (as did everybody else all along the circuit) and swapped over after every three kilometres. You could tag it as you pleased: some runners swapped over every 5km, others every 10km and so on. It was a really jolly affair with supporters, friends, family and runners, all around the circuit.

Three kilometres sounded logical to us as all races complying with ASA rules had to have a water point (with coke!) every three to four kilometres. And the benchmark was three kilometres, not four. So we were quite used to running three kilometres, then walk a short bit through the aid station, before continuing on. It turned out a good strategy for us and swapping the timing/counting chip over was luckily easy as.

I am quite frankly amazed that we haven’t sought out more of these types of events over the past few years, giving the fact that we really enjoy this sort of thing.

You may wonder what is so special about running in circles? Well, I don’t have a simple answer. Maybe it is the fact that you can just go into a Zen-like trance, not having to think about anything, being comfortably numb; maybe it’s the fact that you have your own support every kilometre or two (or three – whatever length of loop you choose to do); maybe it’s the sense of achievement you feel each time you can count down (or up) a loop; maybe it’s the fact that you’re never far from your car/help should the weather turn super nasty, or you need to bail for whatever reason; maybe it’s because you don’t have to run with a hydration pack, and can add or take off clothing layers as the weather changes? Who knows. But for me, it is also the fact that distance just somehow seems shorter if you break it down into one or two-kilometre distance laps. It almost feels like I can carry on forever.

Recently, Gerry and I had to fit in a long-run as training for an ultra and decided to run the Massey University 2km ring road until we reached 32km. So, only 16 laps around the loop and we’d be there. That’s not so hard, is it? Being 2km, meant we could potentially get water/sustenance every 2km, but we opted to refuel roughly every 4km. Since we also broke it up into running one lap, then walking one lap, that meant we only had to keep track of doing the same thing eight times. And that’s making running 32km really super-duper easy! One would think it is very hard to keep track of how many times you’ve been around the same short loop, but believe my, it’s not! Your mind ends up being occupied by just that – keeping track of your loops. And each one feels like a massive achievement.

Admittedly, I also started noticing things on the road, like a blue paperclip. And every time I stepped over it, I couldn’t wait to see it again. Because that would mean I’ve done another lap! On the less positive side of “landmarks”, there was a piece of gum in the road, which really annoyed me. Who would spit out such a nasty piece of sh*t in the road? It sticks to everything, pulling nasty strands of gooey stuff that also gets stuck to everything. Needless to say, every time I passed the gum, having to sidestep the blob, I was annoyed again. But luckily the blue paperclip was chirpy enough, reminding me of a happy little character.

Maybe I should stop rambling on in circles before risking sounding like a real lunatic! 🙂

Just give it a try – you too may be converted to the simple pleasures of running in circles!

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North Range Road

Date: 29 August 2015

Distance: 25km

Having a laugh at the finish, l-to-r: Kevin, Wouna, Gerry, Greg, Marian, Peter, Cath and in front Steph, Cheryl and Rob. Photo supplied by Cheryl, and taken by the late Stuart Hilder. The four walkers (Bruce, Evan, Denise and David) were having lunch already.
Shortly before the start. Steph, Cath, Greg, Cheryl, Denise, Bruce and Evan. Photo from Cheryl, taken by Trevor.
Cath, myself and Cheryl passing the deer farm.
Cath on a nice downhill section.
Gerry passing one of the muddy parts.
Cheryl and I only just visible in the distance.
Gerry and Cath rounding the corners ….
Cheryl screaming past with Palmy in the distance.
Steph and Greg still in sight up ahead.
The muddy stretch nearly over.
Cath negotiating one of the worst patches.
Cheryl still having fun in the windfarm.
Shenanigans on top of the world.
Easy going from here on a well-maintained gravel road.
A lovely run among the wind turbines.
Cath and Gerry arriving at the finish at The Bridge Cafe.
We had to have medals for our first running of the North Rage Road. 🙂

Having a quiet gravel road on top of a mountain with virtually no traffic, through a wind farm with wide open expanses, has to be the ultimate playing ground for runners, walkers and mountain bikers alike. Wonderful scenery in all directions, literally in our backyard, makes it hard not to want to run there all the time. Except, of course, on days with inclement weather. With views from the top of the Tararuas and great scenery in all directions, it is inevitable that you will be exposed to the elements. Continue reading →

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In it for the long haul – Manawatu Striders Winter Series

Date: 26 July 2015

Distance: 15km

Time: 1:39

At the start, Kevin getting ready to get the show on the road.
Running along the Bridle Track.
The track was still in the shade, making for a rather chilly start to the run.
Beautiful tranquil Palmy on a lovely sunny morning.
David making sure everybody goes where they should.
On Massey campus, a small uphill stretch before looping around a car park and back down.
Another out-and-back stretch, making for a more social run.
The only water point, nicely positioned so you pass it twice.
We were too late/slow for the biscuits, but coffee and tea were still on offer.

The weekend long-run is probably the most important item in your weekly schedule on your way to fitness. Without the long-run, your endurance will not improve. Especially for okes like us who like to go far and long.

Not wanting to miss out on the Manawatu Strider’s Winter Series 15km event (which was too short for our build-up to the Taupo marathon), our only option was to fit in another few kilometres before the start of the Striders’ event. Wanting to cover about 30km, we could either do the course twice, or just do our own thing on a different path. We opted for the latter, and at about 7:30 in the morning we started out from the race start-and-finish area, heading out west through the Esplanade, past the swimming pool, turning onto the Bridle track at the Holiday Park, and ran all the way to the far end of the track and back to where we started. From the Holiday Park to the end of the track is 7.5km, so out and back is a nice 15km run. Continue reading →