Sunday, April 11, 2010

Tight Hammies

been doing too many short runs this week ;)

ran a (10.7km) loop at wildhorse last weekend in 50.51
then walked the 'official' event straight after with the other half.
some rutted/muddy sections early and some sand near the end make it a little un-flat in places.
must've been doing 4.20s or so on the flat sections which was a nice feeling.
its a nice course and will be back.
my unofficial time would've had me 9th/52.

yesterday ran pinnacles 18km for the first time.
well other than when i ran the course on wednesday :)
just love brisbane forest park and remember being put off by the qld water 'do not enter signs' at the trailhead (its near the gold creek resevoir) a few years back and have simply done other trails since.
there are much more welcoming signs there these days.
a little overgrown near the start but nothing like hellhole break or blacksoil track after some rain.
all of the serious hills are in the first half in the clockwise direction then its the 'relative highway' of south boundary road on the way home.
did 2.03 in training on wednesday (42.00 gate, 1.12.00 half) - pulled back 10mins to the drinkstation (9km) so didn't have much work to do to get under the planned 1.50.
splits were 35.30 (gate), 1.02.00/1.02.30 (half), 1.46.57 finish.
only mandy (1st F) passed me in the second half and she's a much better downhiller than me.
so pleased that i could hold everyone else off.
next year is anticlockwise which wont suit me nearly as well - lots of steep downhills in the second half.
came 12th/55.

someone asked me yesterday what my plans are for the rest of the year.
guess its always pre-empted by my ability to injure myself for prolonged periods :)
first and foremost looking forward to doing my 1000th kilometer at glasshouse (80km) in may.
would also plan to pop into warwick the week later even if its just for the 10km.

later in the year i am not so sure.
i am mindful that gnw is a huge 'gap in my cv' but was keen to do the gow 100 miler this year.
hmmmmmmmm maybe 100km glasshouse/100 mile gow/100km gnw?!?
or should i just complete the 100 mile slam i started 3 weeks ago :p
need to keep fit and healthy though!

Friday, April 02, 2010

Gearman

thought i should document some of the things that i used from the other weekend.

pack: salomon 10+3 (340g) worked really well. just just just able to fit everything in! made it easy as cp's were at night/day changeover so when i needed more clothes i was generally wearing them. brought the salomon 20 (490g) but didnt use it which is good because its nowhere near as comfy.
water: 3 litre bladder plus a camelbak 'podium' 600ml bottle for sterilization/purification. had a fair bit of water left using 500mls/hr as a guide.
water purification: steripen (100g) (hence the need for the bottle) plus katadyn micropur forte tablets (and didnt drink for 30mins after)
food: the usual during the day biscuits, twisties, sandwiches, bbq shapes didnt feel much like chips, trailmix or le snack. ate very well at night: dried backcountry food the thai chicken was the best. some soups. chocolate!!
waterproof top: outdoor research zealot (gtx) (210g)
waterproof pants: montane atomic (150g) - no need for the heavier golite gtx ones (230g)
thermals top/bottom: polypro
down jacket: montbell ultralight down jacket (800 loft) (200g)
day gloves: manzella (50g) some waterresistance definately not -proof ok for daytime
night gloves: (ruths skigloves) 'kaos' gtx (180g)
beanie: polypro balaclava plus another beanie at night
poles: fizan compact ultralite (315g)
gps: garmin vista colour fixed onto left arm strap easy to see.
epirb: GME410G (250g)
phone: nokia next g (120g)
headlamp: led lenser h7 (110g) either PT zipka 2 (60g) or scout (30g) as backup.
the usual other safety gear: except firelighter (metal) plus vaseline/cotton-balls rather than matches which are useless. salomon has the tinniest little whistle on their packs. '1st aid kit' is leukoplast tape and little scissors :) usual other bitsNpieces: sunscreen in tiny containers, lube, toilet paper...

absolute keepers were the down jacket and gtx gloves at night.
the down jacket only weighs 50g or so more than a single polypro top and is much much warmer caveat is of course to keep it dry.
it was absolutely fantastic on the 2nd night.
also have a 340g one for even colder stuff.
day clothes were basially tshirt/shorts +- jacket if windy also 1xthermal on feathertop
night clothes were 1/2 thermal top, gtx top +- down jacket (needed it 2nd night!!) 1 thermal bottom +- wproof pants plus gloves and the 2 beanies/balaclava.
shoes were montrail HRs. taped my feet, cotton socks :)

and now to nav....
cut up the usual maps with contact over the top...
garmin vista with complete course loaded on using memory map: coloured purple.
absolute gold this software a worthwhile investment $300 per state for topos and software to create the necessary files: http://memory-map.com.au/
'tracker' left on coloured red very very easy to see at night ie. red line following purple line.
micro-sd chip from garmin inserted with all tracks/side-trails: http://www.ja-gps.com.au/Garmin/garmin-topo-australia-sd/ ie. so you can see when turns are coming up.
this stuff is so good it should be banned.
maybe one day it will.