Training week

almost felt like i was training this week!
yunno that running on tired legs thing thats probably good for me.
courtesy of the long run last sunday of course.
have promised in the past when i feel too much like its 'training' i would quit.
ultramarathoning should never be hard.
just 1 race a month then turning the legs a bit inbetween :)

spent more time looking at maps for scenic rim.
have a sekrit meeting with the 2 T's this week to discuss a solid plan for easter.
very very very very very extremely excited about the recce.
bought a little bit more gear for it as well.
just a little bit :)
much happier with the nav now - have emailed 'aura ian' about a few minor details.

monday - no watch 14km ie. forgot the watch. probably a good idea on tired legs.
tuesday - nothing
wednesday - flat 14km 68.30
thursday - 1.45hr cootha modified jen_runs run. came back down the hill via simpsons falls - which is falling for the first time in 5 years!!
friday - nothing
saturday - 14km 68.30
sunday - nothing

wouldve done a bike this week but the bum/piriformis is complaining a bit.
not a problem!

6 foot in 2 weeks.
keen to find out the wave allocation.
im so damn slow on the downs i have to start at the back of whatever wave i am in...
wave 2 and i may have to race it
wave 3 and its a training run :)

Setting Goals

i realised this week how important it was to have goals.
not so much run this time at this race... but just a future event to focus on and look forward too.
...and buy new gear for :)

was asked on the weekend by a fellow runner 'so whats on the planner for the next few months' and for once i was silent.
6 foot was never going to be a 'goal race' which means i dont have anything else until may which is a loooooooooong way off.
which is probably what caused my "running mental meltdown" the other week.
having said this planning is now going well for a big recce 2 weeks after 6 foot.
am looking at doing some/most of the scenic rim 100 miler along the qld/nsw border.
went down to numinbah/springbrook NP on the weekend to look at some key points of the course.
its a difficult course navigationally when you have to do a pre-recce recce!
unfortunately due to the weather up this way some of the trails are closed.
still looking forward to heading out to the western edge of the course out past echo point and stinsons plane wreck.
it will be an adventure!

ran with the river city runners 6 foot training group on sunday.
got absolutely spanked on the hills and was lagging behind on the last few ups which is unusual for me.
got back to the car feeling wrecked and stefan said 'so who wants to do another road loop of coot-tha' (9.5km).
unfortunately digger agreed so with 2 heading back out all i could say was 'giddyup!'.
for some reason felt much better the further i went along.

i now have 2 weddings to attend the alpine 100 weekend.
they are at exactly the same time with 1 in sydney and the other brisbane so i dont think i'll be making it to both!
i guess that alpine race just wasnt meant to be :)

monday: 30min easy bike
tuesday: 30min bike/30min hill wlak tready (raining/lazy)
wednesday: 14km sloooooow (hammy narky) 73.00
thursday: 14km slower 76.00 junk miles. pilates and massage.
friday: nothing
saturday: 2hr walk springbrook
sunday: 3.5hr mt coot-tha

No time for work?

will be away 3 weekends in march.
thinking about the rest of the year we have potential trips planned for hawaii (work conference and holiday), NZ (hiking) and possibly china!?! (long story!).
needless to say i dont think i have time to work this year.
and hereby announce my retirement.
...well maybe not quite yet need the money to pay for the trips!

ran into dave waugh on my flat/river run on friday and we decided to do a 'cootha' together on sunday.
great to go running with such a legend.
its amazing what dave and rachel have done so far.
cycle touring mongolia and they also MB'ed the complete 'national trail' from melbourne to cooktown - over 6000kms with sidetrips.
100 miles is a short stroll for the waughs!!

did a mr g's torture test at the mountain - 19km.
couldnt get a car park in the first 2 lots: too many cyclists, runners and hikers training for kokoda.
pissed me off a bit but great to see so many outNabout:)
gave dave a bit of a rev-up before hiting kokoda hill on the way back and we started running up it.
i stopped 50m later and he kept going.
he ran all the way to the bloody top.
thats it! i can never go up this hill again!
he's an amazing runner!
managed a 2.09 for a 4min pb.
thanks dave!

progressing with the pilates and biomech stuff.
probably will be re-videoed in 3 weeks or so.

have booked flights and accomodation for 6 foot.
its TOH's birthday week so needless to say we wont be staying at the backpackers.
hoping to do a fastpack/expedition 2 weeks later so not sure if i am racing it or 'just running' it yet.
searching for something to take away the grief of missing alpine 100.....
and hardrock..... and..... :)

Bugger!

in the end its just all luck....
(and number of tickets in the draw!)
results from the hardrock ballot are that whippet got in again!
and bill, spud and i are all waaaaaaaaaaaaay down on the list.
in my case 185th/214.
in past years the first 30 or so of those on the wait list get in.
oh well TOH will be happy: off to europe for july.
and i will have 2 tickets in next years draw.
will need to continue to run ultras and mountain stuff to make sure they accept my entry into the draw next year.

mt glorious run yesterday.
32km with 1500m up/down ie. hilly
out N back course with 500m more climbing in 1st half.
lots of singletrack and lots of overgrown grass with the recent rain up here.
5 aid stations so didnt take the camelbak for a change.
knew it wasnt going to be my day when my $300 pair of oakley frames snapped at the 4km mark.
managed to fashion something together with a bandaid and then some tape but in the end it was just too hard and ran 'blind'.
at least it gave me an excuse to slack off on the downs.
quite a few people got lost (myself not inculded) almost half of the 40.
1st half in 1.52 but spent 3 mins fluffing around with the glasses and eating.
could only do 1.55 for the 2nd half as well which is pretty bad considering it was a 500m net drop.
just had no zip in the legs - probably went out a bit hard and maybe suffering from 'the hike'.
just felt miserable plodding along in the rain struggling to make out sticks and rocks on the trail.
especially when tamsin and kel caught me - was way ahead of them at halfway!
i will never talk about this run being 'speedwork' ever again!
just a good tough bush run.

a couple of humurous quotes from the TRAQ report...
One runner was seen returning after the second hill, advising one and all “this isn’t a run, its a bushwalk”.

and...
All credit though to those hardy souls out for over 5 hours, some finding their way home by novel routes - in the cars of finishers, one dropped back by a QPWS ranger, another shortcutting through rugged bush completely off trail but emerging nicely close the finish.

gold!

think i came 14th/40 pending results.
will be back next year.

The Overland Track

is an 83km track running from 'the waldheim hut' past cradle mountain to lake st clair/cynthia bay.
most people who walk the track do the first 62kms and get the boat over the lake.
did the trek with TOH last week with the cradle huts group/guides.
http://cradlehuts.com.au/

first and foremost (and knowing she will read this!) want to say how proud i am of ruth for doing the trek.
we had just the best time in a lovely part of the world.
2 days in a row we hiked for 10 hours+.
recovery was certainly easier with the fantastic food and accomodation.
its not the hilton but compared to a wooden bunk in the public hut and a 'bucket' cold shower it was!!
the guides work their arses off: from 5am til 11pm every day.
a very impressive operation.
fantastic weather: not a cloud in the sky on 3 days and only 1 hour of light rain.

of course i had run the track last year but its just not the same.
you dont see much looking at your feet for 14 hours!
the side trips are what really make this trek special.

the group we were with was somehwat strange yet entertaining!
the usual group of 10 was reduced to 8 as there was a (female) journo and (male) photographer from 'le journal' (france) doing a piece on the track.
as they were work colleagues it meant they slept in separate rooms (usually having 2 each) and it also meant we had an extra (3rd) guide to help carry the camera equipment.
i thought it somewhat strange at first that one of the guides was carrying the photographers tripod and all his camping gear until we found out he had had his appendix taken out 3 weeks prior!
of the other 6 travellers 5 were doctors (ourselves included) - not planned!

one medical couple were from brissie and although looking familiar i didnt recognise the guy until day 2 as a former 'big boss' at work.
both of us felt quite awkward with this especially since i dont have a great record of being too friendly with the bosses in my old job but we enjoyed one anothers company and had a nice dinner together post trek in our last night in 'launie'.
the couple from england were particularly annoying.
they were the quintisential whingeing poms.
example: they would be telling the guides how hard they were working cooking dinner and suggest they sat down.
we would all sit down to eat together then they would whinge that the tea was too weak or too cold and they would have to get up again to 'fix it' even tho it was fine.
they also had a thing about discussing correct grammar and pronunciation of words.
i guess when they complained about the indemnity form in the first 10mins of being together we knew they would be trouble!!
absoulte fcking pratts!
maybe the fact that they brought a litre (a litre!) of whisky with them on the trek highlighted some underlying issues!

the trek is 6 days/5 nights with sidetrips on days 2-5.
the best bits...
day 3 we went to the top of mt oakleigh (1386m) - a 30min walk thru muddy swamp then a steep but steady and sheltered climb.
day 4 we went up mt ossa (1614m) the highest point in tassie - much more of a rock scramble/bouldering expedition in exposed areas. can see lake st clair from the top.
funniest moment was when the guide was telling us about not stepping 'off trail' thereby widening it and saying we needed to walk thru mud.
yep the predictable happened: one of the group ending up in hip-high mud.
unfotunately not one of the poms!!
the guides seemed impressed with my previous run experience on the trail.
they were all extremely fit and i tried to convince them to enter one year.

have given more thought to doing a 'double cradle' some time.
now that would be a cracker!!
a few issues to explore: noticebaly the fact that south-north walking is not permitted :)

photos to come...

mt glorious 32km run tomorrow.
hardrock ballot draw monday morning.