Saturday, May 26, 2007

time for a break

i think its time for a break.
i have done 8 ultras in the last 8 months plus quite a few long training runs.
and i'm buggered.
of what i'd hoped to do i've only missed gnw and 6 foot.
couldn't be happier.

this time last year i hadnt done an ultra for 18 months so i thought i'd list the recent ones in a self-congratulatory fashion.

september 2006: glasshouse 100km 14.47
october 2006: bribie beach bash 46km 5.14
december 2006: kepler challenge 60km 8.59
december 2006: fats fatass 48km 6.22
january 2007: horse&hounds 55km 6.03
february 2007: cradle mountain 80km 13.53
april 2007: wilsons promontory 100km 18.16
may 2007: glasshouse 80km 11.22 (as part of warwick-gh double)

for the first time in a while i havent got any ultras planned over the next month or 2 and will just focus on the july colorado trip and supporting whippet at hardrock in whatever way i best can (crewing/pacing).

have started planning equipment issues.
i bought an acclimitization/hypoxicator machine thingy which i pick up on monday.
considering i want to go to 14000 feet within a day or 2 of arrival i will need to acclimitize in brissie beforehand using this.
will also need to get my hands on some diamox and dex tablets incase 'mountain sickness' ensues!
thought about a new heavy duty headlamp (from www.viciouspower.com) but after some CR advice i will keep my money.
will need to invest in some new trail shoes as well - maybe montrail hardrocks even!
wishing a speedy recovery to whippet.

having said all of the above hermies 80km border track run in 4 weeks sounds good doesnt it! ;)

Monday, May 21, 2007

Pain may be temporary but it still f*cking hurts!

Warwick-Glasshouse Tour Report May 18-20

6 races.
124.5km.
48 hours.





brief version: that hurt.

being wacky ultrarunners it didnt take long for one of us (tanky) to realise that with warwick and gh on the same weekend it gave the perfect opportunity for something out of the ordinary.

i could blog forever but will just give some random highlites

warwick
* for those who dont know the warwick pentath-run is a 5 race series over 2 days with total distance adding up to 42.2km: HM, 4.6km Xcountry, 5km road, 10km hill ascent and 1500m 'dash'.
* hermie and i took up the challenge of doing these races plus gh80km over a 48hr period from friday arvo to sunday arvo.
* met by trust davo and schultzy at killarney school for the 10km ascent on friday arvo (doing sundays races on friday). a young unassuming fellow was with schultzy (aidan-CR duffman) who seemed amazed about what we were about to begin. found out later this 'kid' is quite the athlete with a ?4.03 1500m pb and did 76 for the warwick HM the following day. then we were the ones who were impressed.
* the 1500m (scheduled for 3.45pm) got off to a slow start with hermie leaving brissie at 2pm!! and was a simple outNback along the 10km route. 5 way tie (davo, schultzy, aidan, me, hermie) in 8.14
* ran the 10km hill climb back past the 750m turnaround and found we were going quicker than in the 1500m! the toilet paper finish tape at queen mary falls was special.
* nice to catch up with everyone on the friday night & saturday - owly, run67, karisma, tesso, cirque, veg, boon and mrs boon. and meet some new people. i now know who the 'toasties' are and can recognise ironbee out of his costume.
* got a 'buzz' running with ironbee in a few races. he certainly gets a lot of attention in that outfit. a nice guy - was a pleasure running with u mate.
* well done to ann raftery on her ?maiden 5km race.
* huge thanks to davo and cirque for all their help. was great to see cirque and her pompom car and davo driving up and down like a madman steering with one hand and using the hand-clapper with the other. should be a law against that ;)
* the warwick organisers went out of their way to help us. both pat and nev were at killarney friday arvo when i'm sure they had better things to do. pat and paula ran after me that night fixing up my entry (they refused to take money for 5 events as 2 were 'unofficial'). amazing people.
* times: 1500 8.14 10km 58.16 HM 2.04.38 XC 25.24 5km 26.54 total 4.03.26
* hermie was about 11 mins ahead
* will be back again next year with a sub 3.30 ?3.20 on the cards.

glasshouse
* left straight away from the 5km road race went home, had dinner and got about 4hrs sleep before the drive up to glasshouse.
* pulled over by the police on the way and breath tested. on your way home mate? no i'm running an 80km race at 3am out at woodford. ohhhhh 8km? no 80. eight-zero. oh well i better let u get on your way then!
* no time for pleasant chat at the startline. just down to business. felt not too bad to be honest. until i started running anyway.
* started feeling quad pain on run-walk and walk-run transition at the 5km mark and knew it was going to be a loooooooooooooong day!
* had mentally split the run up into 3 sections: start to cp2 (28.4km), cp2 to 8 (24.4km including powerlines) and cp8 to home (29.5km including loops at 8) and did the first section in 3.40. which was half an hour slower than i did when 'cruising' in the 60km a few months back!! didnt feel i was going that slow must have been just dead legs from warwick.
* heard i was 'only' 40mins behind hermie at cp6 so pushed a bit harder to the powerlines and did a 1.25 for this bit which is ok for me only to find i had lost another 20mins. gave up any hope of chasing after that!
* nice to run into people on the loops at 8 - rob ware (a loop ahead) had had a tough day and took the opportunity to run down the big hill with him. saw whippet on the way back up and was surprised to see he was still on his first loop. knee trouble unfortunately. i hope things settle before western states mate.
* loops at 8 really took their toll and i really struggled to run after that. a timely phone call from spud leaving cp8 really inspired me to go for a sub 11.30 (quicker than last year).
* did the last 2 'splits' in 3.20 and 4.20 which was ok i think especially since i did a lot of walking after cp2. just shows how slow i was 'running' and how much i use my walking ability when i get tired/into trouble. maybe i should just be a walker! managed to do the last 13.2km in 1.50 with very little running.
* got a call from vegie about 500m from the finish. a dozen or so people cheered me in all the way up the road (which i had to run of course!) which was just fantastic as i was the last person in the 80km by 90mins or so. (finished in 11.22)
* never had so much quad pain in my life. only the 12hr track run i did at gold coast a few years back came close. basically i struggled for the last 75km! no doubt the road-surface at warwick was to blame. it woule be a rare week that i would run 40km on the road. just not used to it i guess.
* despite the quads and a narky calf i dont think i have much to complain about really. i think considering what i did over the weekend i had very few problems and am just lucky that i didnt get foot problems or chafe to add to it!
* fantastic effort by hermie to do 9.50. an absolute machine!
* special mentions to nic and ab who did sub 7.45s (nic an 80km gh record) and tanky who blew me away with her 9.08. i think i have a sub-10 in me on this course but would go nowhere near that. very slick! tamsin also did well after hiking the larapinta trail the week before.
* ian said all the people training for western states were simply race-fit. he even said if he was out there he 'wouldve kicked my arse too!' how funny was that :)
* great to see mellum in full flight: lis finishing the 30km in 3.30ish and whippet finishing with tanky despite knee problems. so i guess it was mellum 1-2 in the 80km and 1 in the 30km!!
* what a great crew the gh mob are: ian, brian, cookie, jen, bob, the thompsons. nice to see steve (mr tanky) out there too. he probably thinks i'm a whinger now!

4.03 + 11.22 = 15.25 total.
maybe walking by tomorrow.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

The No-Run Taper

aka "the extreme taper".
aka the opposite of the "reverse taper".

had a sick tummy last week which dragged on to this week.
(the wilsons prom water i think).
and decided to be proactive about the calf/hammy and now a massage has had me sore for the last 2 days.

so i decided bugger it.
i'm not running until warwick.
not a bloody step.
it'll be about 10days inbetween runs but i've had much longer off than that before.
think i did a no run taper for a gh50km one year when i did nothing but bike for 3 weeks before.

may hop on the bike today otherwise wrap myself in nurofen gel impregnated cottonwool for the next week.
i would think warwick wont be a problem but the leg will give me some grief during the 80kmer at glasshouse.
looking forward to it!
it will be a challenge :)

1 week until warwick-glasshouse double.

thanks for the comments team.
spud i have my new apex already - no questions asked.
i am allergic to bodyglide (wont devulge the details but needless to day it wasnt pretty) and have found sportshield to be good but doesnt last as long as good ol' vas.
the toyota corolla was the sensible sleep option B.
i'll need to get a new (digital) epirb myself before mid next year.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Gotta have the equipment

a few equipment things from the prom.
(i know brendan will read this!)

lighting - pt apex (found a crack in it the night before but worked ok). petzl zipka plus as a backup.
tent - msr hubba hubba
stove - msr pocket rocket
sleeping bag - western mountaineering highlite.
fluid - water plus succeed caps and a magnesium tabler. some powerade at the start
food - mixture of the usual: chips, cheese/biscuit, apricots, peaches. tried the new wollies apricot/coconut bars and they went well
nausea - took regular ondansetron and had no nausea
wet weather gear - kathmandu single layer gortex jacket: worked well. wore it almost all day with a thermal and thin long sleeve as well!.
cheap plastic overpants also wore them all day and protected me from rain and the bushes. did cause some lower inner thigh chafing tho. and the bushes caused a small tear.
chafe - bad problems in the usual areas. made worse by the dry change back at 80km into the skins. shouldve stayed wet! just not used to these wet weather runs.
feet - shoudlve taped the toes. lots of blistering on the right foot with a lost nail on the 5th toe.
injuries - itb was fine. left calf/hammy junction sore.

not much in the way of training this week.
some inflammation and tightness at the top of the calf is holding me back.
did 2 30min bike sessions and a 13-14km at beerburrum last night and it seems ok.
took the dog up to ghouse.
no point pushing things at the moment.
i think some of the water at the prom also disagreed with me so have a double excuse.
will rest up before the warwick-gh double.
looking forward to it.