Race report – WUU2K 2019

What a day! What a course! What a race! Loved it, loved it, loved it. It probably helps that I didn’t cramp or get stomach upset for the first time in three ultra races.

I had been wanting to do WUU2k since the first iteration but found great excuses every time. This year we welcomed kid#2 to the family 3 weeks before race day. So I thought the timing was right to have a crack. Sleep-deprived and under-trained… all the sandbagging was done for me. In all seriousness, there is so much going on that it was great to have a few hours to reflect and be mindful.

Race Prep

The race prep was somewhat rushed. I got a last-minute entry, I did some of walking and running for a couple of weeks, and then I tapered for another week. If you want to try this at home (I mean, winging a 62k race), consider having a few years of endurance training on your back. Do not think you can wing it if you’ve been running for less than 2 years or have no ultra race experience. You might, but you might also hurt yourself. I adjusted my expectations to be some 45 to 60min over what I would do with a longer training block and then I went over pretty basic plan:

·       Pace strategy was to go for 3:15 for the 1^st half and then hang on till the finish, hoping to be somewhere at the 3:30 – 3:45hours mark.

·       Nutrition strategy was super easy: one gel every ½ hour and a bag of salt stick chewable pills. Fruit at every aid station.

·       We were told we can cut through Ziggy-zaggy trails so prioritised less distance over less gradient when choosing my run lines (ie. If there’s a path, I rather climb a little than run/walk an easier gradient that’s longer)

The race - Part 1WOAGD

After a breakfast of champions (1/2 bagel & Nutella / ½ & scrambled egg) I was dropped to the start line with the promise that the family will meet me at the end, some 7 hours later. The day was fresh but not particularly cold, it was not too windy either. Perfect for a single layer.

The start of this race is tricky, as it goes up some 250m over 1.5km. You have to be careful not to over-do it but one also has to be honest not to under-do it. My measure for that is the Gradient Adjusted Pace (GAP) function on Strava. It’s not perfect, but it is one tool to judge one self in hindsight. I reckon I nailed this time around. With the hill out of the way there is nothing particularly challenging until the descent into Nikau Valley track in the MTB park. That first hour and something went rather well, I caught a few runners through the skyline, some other runners caught me. We had a few yarns and generally patted our own backs for being out there in what was looking to be a terrific WOAGD.

Once Makara was crested, we enter into dangerous ankle territory, the descent into Lepping Lizard and Possum Bait Line. They are great trails to test and improve your downhill skills, and on a shorter race, a great place to bomb down. Today, though, I was undercooking it to conserve some strength for later. The aid station at the MTB park was awesome, and the first water recharge for me. I also managed to look chilled and say Hola to a few people.

From Makara carpark to the Windmill is mostly up, around Wrights hill and the fence line. I live by the entrance to salvation, so this is my back yard. That and a combination of gels and fruit put my mood and alertness up and I had a pretty nice run through this segment. I did catch a few more runners and only two caught me. It is a good time to stop for photos, but I was having such a great experience of flow, that I did not bother. So we got to half way, and I was feeling much better than I expected. Tired, though, but not defeated.

Part 2 - Shit happens

From the Windmill to Red Rocks one of the best section of ridge running that we have and it is all so close to the city!! We are certainly lucky to have such a great trail network so handy. Car parts extension bubbles through the hillside onto the Tip Track point and it is a pleasure to run. At this stage of the race I will typically saturate with gels and start to feel bloated or crampy or full on pukey and gag all food out of my mouth. To my surprise, this time was not to be, so I kept enjoying the moment.

The Inov8 Trail Talon 290s I was using were proving to be a good choice until now. But they got to the point where they were letting too much trail feedback. To the point where I was thinking about it when I rather not. A couple of guys ran past me in this section of trail, and I wasn’t able to keep up or respond. One of them was the race leader for the Marathon, he was on a mission!!. Anyway, all this thinking about other shit contributed to me tripping on a rock and falling, just 300m from the end of car park extensions. The fall took several steps of me trip-running until I hit the ground proper, with my face and all. I woke up and assessed the damage. Huge dent to my ego, a bruised and cut left knee… no cramps, not a lot of gorse…. She’ll be right.

From then on followed 40min of painful downhill running past Tip Track point and the descent to the beach.  I had planned to attack this section, but I was in no shape to do that, and in no mood either. It hurt, and it hurt some more. And then it got better. Somehow I caught with other runners that were going even slower. That’s common on the last 1/3 of races, and I guess I was lucky that the pain subsided after that time. The run through the bay was my worst bit, a combination of tiredness, energy depletion, pain and too many worries getting into my head. Getting out of the beach was mentally going through the gateway to the end. Yes, there’s a big hill coming, Yes, it will be hard, Yes it’s still two more hours and anything can happen in 2 hours… but somehow I felt the worst was over.

At the aid station I shared some of my salt sticks with a cramped competitor, and then set of at a happy pace to meet the Tippy up close. Halfway through I came across Nick and his pacer, we would be running together for the next 2 hours, but at slightly different paces depending on the surface and the gradient. I had one gear at this stage, shuffle gear. Nic appeared to have two or three at his disposal.

Part 3 - It is not over until the fat lady sings

The Tip track is an ass of a trail. The first 800m are relentless, then it gets a bit better, then you get a breather and then hit at it again for the last km. even for a fresh day you get the extra burden of being sunbaked all the way up. You get rewarded with great views. And on race day, we got to be cheered by every marathon and 60k runner that was coming down the hill. It was quite a social affair, and even thought I walked more than I thought I would, I got to the top in good shape and even managed to chat a little bit with (Mr Grim Ripper) Brad and Stu. Turn around and run I did, and kept cheering all the uphill and downhill runners that I came across. I love the social part of this leg of the race. One time we got to experience this at Tarawera ultra, and it’s pretty special, you get to see all those other runner friends give their best cheers to you. It’s special, and I loved this race for this.

The Tip Track score was 1 for Nic and Pacer (on the up) and 1 for me (on the down), I stopped on the downhill to share some more salt sticks. Then carried on to Tawa Tawa. The score here was 1-0 for Nic. I took up the uphill session of Mt Albert. As we were going down the downhill track, the pacer took a dive on the cliff(y) side of track. Quite spectacular to watch, as they were probably doing 3min/km. Surprisingly, she popped out of the ditch in one piece and kept running well. For a moment, I thought I had imagined the whole thing, but alas, I hadn’t.

I had ran the last 3km in a recce trip earlier in the week, and I happen to work at the base of Mt Vic, so these tracks are super familiar. So once we went past Melrose road, there was no stopping me. As I ran through Mt Vic I started doing the maths in my head, and I was 15min ahead of the time of I’ve asked Nat (and the toddler and the newborn) to come over. I had the choice of slowing down to let them see me finish and run down the finish line with Lorenzo… yeah right.

I got on with the job and got to the last 100m looking for them but fearing they won’t be there. They weren’t and I put this face.

And then I finished, I sat down and waited 5min. Turns out, we were arriving together, but our little daughter needed a feed. Anyway, it was great to be together and eat cupcakes, and we even mocke-up a finish line shoot.

Coda - the nuts of it

If you're looking for a low-cost, high value race, this is it. The WUU2K has nothing to envy to most trail ultras in NZ and it comes a pretty attractive price tag. More importantly, you are buying local and not contributing to the big corporate trademarks. 

On a good day, Wellington is unbeatable, and this races comes with a good day guarantee. I loved it. 

Athletically, I had a great day out there where I tested my endurance and strength and they both delivered.

Tarawera Ultra 2016 - The one (hundy) that wasn't meant to be

This was my third attempt to get the Rotorua-to-Kawerau course nailed. In the previous two occasions we had the now legendary 5k vertical "fire course" and the shortened cyclone course. To say I was excited about the prospect of finally making it to Kawerau is an understatement. I’ve been ready to go the ‘bush’ way to that finish line for ages, it was just a matter of time.

With experience comes confidence, and my training and final preparations went smooth. The only preoccupation was that Nat is 8 months pregnant, and I did not want her to be on her own following me for a whole day. Without a nap or a co-equipper. I am a bit of purist in that sense and was happy to do without support crew or pacers, as long as we are all happy.

The race day was muggy, drizzly and windless for most of it. On account of that I was prepared to go 5 to 10% slower than my target time of 6:10min per km. I like to break the race in 5 phases that roughly equate to 20km chunks of the course:

The adrenaline phase: From the start to the blue lake, I run in an overcaffeinated and oversugared blood supply. Everything is good and one can afford to do a couple of well-timed efforts to avoid bottlenecks. I did just that, but at some point I landed in a funny way that caused a lot of pain in the side of my lower quads. I though I’d run through the pain but it was only a thought… I ran in pain. The key word here is RAN, though.

The patience phase: from the blue lake to Okataina is all about being patient, reign oneself in, walk the uphills that need to be walked, and let a lot of very keen beens pass you. This is the part of the race where I chose to do my own race or do someone else’s. Patience must prevail and it did prevail for me. The pain in my upper legs a friendly reminder that things can go anywhere in longer races like this one.

The confidence phase: from Okataina to the Falls, this is the part of the race that I found the toughest mentally in my first attempt. I was not in a happy place and didn’t want to get back there again. This time I was confident in my physical and mental ability to get through this soulbreaking stage without issues. So… all the patience and savings made in the previous leg came to the fore and the body was able to carry on running through the technical bits. The scenery here is outstanding… and I enjoyed the fact of being able to still run albeit at a slower pace than thought (at this stage I was a good ½ hour behind the target time). Quads had not got any better, but there was a fresh pair of shoes waiting for me at 60k… if anything, the shoes would buy me another 25km to drop from the 100 to the 85 if the pain did not subside.

The persistence phase: for the first time I was in the forestry roads of the last 40km of the race. The physical condition was not the best due to the pain (now isolated to the right leg only) and mentally I started to calculate risks and opportunities of going the full 100 or dropping to the 85. The decision needed to happen by km70, and as I approached the aid station I made the call to go left to the 85km course. The deciding factor was the risk of getting a serious injury and longer recovery thanks to an extra 2hr of running unwell. The maths was simple in my mind and there was no ego in the equation. Time to retreat and prepare for another battle.

The glory phase: Once you’re in the last stage of such a long race, event when you are in the fart reaches of your physical and mental strength (did I mention that the last person I crossed on the course was at km 62?... yeah.. it is a lonely race in no man’s land) you know you have it in the bag. The endorphin release, the excitement and the vision of yourself having ‘knocked the bastard off’ act as a great motivator to get you through to the end. At least it worked like that for me. I was third through the line for the 85k finishers, but I hadn’t come here to do the 85… so I let Paul, the race director who was handling the medals at the end, know of my changes. He shook my hand and congratulated me on the finish.

My take of the third Tarawera run is a mixed bag, on the one hand I still haven’t gone the full 100km course through the infamous ‘loop of dispair’. On the other hand, I tried a new distance, and I did very well with what the race threw at me. I am definitely coming back at some point in the near future.

Ten days past the race, I am fit and full of energy to be the best husband and father I can be. Time for me and Nat to be together and enjoy quality days, long walks and lots of house chores. It helps that I am not dealing with post-race niggles or rehab. I ran for the first time yesterday, and I was happy as every other time I go out for a run.

One per day – Sugar free July

July was a month of recovery, I recovered a bit of form (thanks to a good few weeks swimming), I recovered mentally thanks to the study break at uni.And I recovered a bit of shape thanks to a sugar-free diet that was not quite sugar-free.

I just cut any added sugar, sweet biscuits, scones, cereal bars, sauces, drinks, deserts and any other sugar-ladden food that was not naturally sweet. That meant I kept eating fruits and sweet veggies. And I also treated myself to a sweet treat once a week.  The result was nothing extraordinary in weight-loss (I wasn’t looking to lose too much weight, anyway) but it was a good reflection on what habits I needed to shave off to keep to my sugar-free promise. It wasn’t extremely hard, but it was not a walk in the park either. I reckon doing this twice a year is a good way to go about it.

What else happened?

keeping to the pack at the Welly XC champs

We had the final race of the XC season, a 6-lap-12km affair in the northern beaches of Wellington region. Cross Country is good fun, and this race was great fun, firstly because it is hard mentally and secondly because it is good banter with club mates. My performance was nothing to write home about, I got into a group and there was no group ahead to aim for, therefore the interest went from going fast to staying-in.  By the end, I had no legs for the sprint, so I trotted to a happy 46min finish 15^th or so overall.

In the pool front, we had our second Time Trial, and I was happy to see the time going down closer to 20 than to 25. There still a lot of room for improvement, but the signs are good.

Wellington is much colder than Auckland, and there were a couple of mornings that the cold and the wind made it easier to stay home than to go out training. I don’t regret a good lay-in, especially when the road is wet and windy.

With the XC season all but finished, the focus was to road racing, or doing something else. I went for something else and started a long base-training block, aiming to get miles on the old 890’s and ready myself for the tri season which is just round the corner.

And then there’s August… but that’s another story

One per month – June

June is the start of the winter. And this is our first winter in Welli, which is a colder city. The days went very very short straight from the start of the month. The rides home in the afternoon became shorter,and didn’t venture into places that are quite dark.
After 3 months and a half we finally started a swim squad proper. Even though is not as much as we used to swim back in Aucks, it is great to be back to 5:30am starts and great pool routines. Coming from 2 years of minimum 3.5km per session to nothing to a 2.5-3km per session gig was not too bad. We still miss the feeling of having just completed 4 or 5km of solid work, though. The first week of the squad was Time Trial Week. I won’t go into the detail, but it wasn’t as bad as we were expecting.

For me, it was a confirmation that I had lost some of the magic... but that I still know how to pace.
Every split was pretty much spot on, except for the slow start.

On the XC racing front, there was the Dorne Cup, a two-lap-8k race that crowns the best of welly. I

killing it at the Dorne cup

did a little face plant on a hill, and then ran out of gas on the last 1km, but all in all I achieved my
goal of going under 30min.

A week later was the event I was looking forward to. The Wellington half marathon. I was given a ticket by my mates in the old job, so I wanted to make them proud. I had six weeks of pretty solid prep, only hampered by a chesty cold that knocked me out a 6 days before the race (ie. just after the other race). I had toyed with the idea of trying to go for 75min , which would be my PB by a long shot. I knew I had the base, but I also knew that I had done bugger all between March and May.

wardrobe malcfunction 101

Anyway, the race went well and I ended with a respectable 1:17 and change on a windy day. Loved it. Unfortunately I had to go for a pretty unconventional wardrobe choice, but it was all a matter of keeping warm and not letting the cold get the best of me.

All in all, June was a great month to bed-in the routines for swim-bike and run, both for me and Nat.

We also had essays and exams, and friends visiting, which is always a great way to keep motivated

And the sprint finish

Blood, sweat and no glory. LOL

One per month – May

Yeap... I did it again. Over three months with nothing said.

Although I do have things to say. Just lack of time/motivation/a Dictaphone?

Anyway... back the writing bloc. What happened in may? Looking at my diary I was well into training for the wellington half

marathon in June. Lots of running, not a lot of swimming and starting to bike consistently. The cross

country season started in April, and I did two races in May, a 5Kyer for the Varsity Relays followed by a 10Kyer  for the Vosseler shield (I love the athletic's naming system for their races). the next week.
Varsity was great, the 10k? not so much... I had a bad prep and a bad beard (look at the photo). The only good think was a massive sprint to the finish trying to get one-up on a good mate.

The issue for cross country racing is being able to start fast, be strong up the hills and continue to be
fast in the flat. I can do all that... but not when I’m anaerobic. Steep learning curve there, but I think I got it pretty much sorted for the final race of the season.
Apart from that there was plenty of university activty, with a great essay on climate change and the obligations of New Zealand towards its citizens and and as part of been a responsible neighbour. Oh.. and a trip to Christchurch, a run through the glaciers and a super cool run to Huka falls.

Livin' la vida loca in godzone :-)

Racing in the Queen city - Triathlon Nationals race report

WOW what a fantastic day to be playing in the big smoke. Great sun, not too hot and no much wind. It was a recipe for fast racing.

This was my return after 2 years of not racing (for some reason or other) in the standard distance event. I never loved the distance because it was not short enough to play to my advantage as a swim-runner, but it was not long enough to play to my advantage as a consistent runner. Anyway, the opportunity came to go and do it and I was determined to enjoy it.

First tri ever... 

The swim was a breeze, no major inconveniences for most of the leg. Because they send us in waves, we cought some of the slower guys from previous waves. In any case, I was nowhere near where I traditionally fare in these races, so I had a good time swimming protected by the big middle pack. The water temperature was good to swim with no wetsuit, but that would have meant a further 2 min of my time given away and I was not prepared to do that. At the end of the day, it is national champs and one has to deliver.

There was a looooooong transition to the bike and I made it slower by putting a pair of socks. There’s two reasons for that, firstly, I was wearing my mate’s shoes and didn’t want any blisters or bleeding ruining them. Secondly, I was going to wear socks for the run anyway, so might as well put them on now and make a shorter T2. The bike was a 3 lap course mainly flat with one climb at the top of Queen Street. The climb was short enough and greatly compensated by a 1.5 km downhill section from the top of the golden mile to the Ferry building. That was the highlight of my race… doing 60k plus at full throttle on the busiest street of Auckland was an experience to repeat. In races like these, I am usually passed by a dozen plus others. This time I managed to hang on and even pass some people myself. I was thoroughly impressed by the performance of my lended bike. An old aluminium P3 that flew through the flats and ripped through the asphalt. Unfortunately I hadn’t had my ceremonial Nutella on Bagel brekkie, and I was banking on some gels to bring the extra energy. But I lost them somewhere. I realised only when I went to grab one after the first lap of the bike.

T2 was fast and I was feeling good… although not flash-like due to the lack of caffeine and sugars. I ran at a steady pace with the idea of unleashing the beast in the last 2km.

But there was no beast, my run time was over 39 minutes, a good 10% over what I would consider my top runs. I was passed by a couple, but passed a few myself, so all in all I went up on the run too (4^th fastest in the category) and finished in a respectable 2:14 and change. The best was yet to come, though.

On reflection I came to two very encouraging conclusions. First, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the short distance like I hadn’t done before. Secondly, I was fairly competitive without specific training and virtually no swimming. So, there is not only potential for a more competitive performance, there’s potential for lots of fun doing many more races next season. And who knows… maybe even a world championships trips is not too far out of the way. 

That brings an end to the season of multisport, I think. It's now time to go into hibernation mode and start a good block of endurance and strength training. 

Back to basics

Had enough of this ultra thing… for now

After careful meditation the last couple of weeks I came to the conclusion that I am biting much more than I can actually chew in ultra running terms. That is not a bad, thing, on the contrary… it will help strengthen my jaw and, with time, allow me to chew as much as I bite.

Metaphors aside, the learning from Tarawera and Auckland 70.3 was: I can get away with doing long races without base. But only to a certain point. That certain point for me is a decrease in performance that sees me fall from the upper lines of the results sheet. It is a blow to the ego and I have now healed. 

What rests to be done is to go back to the drawing table and re-match ambition with the realities of how much time there is to put on the training. And how much choice. Should I cut on swimming for good? (not) Shall I start training a bit earlier to get miles in? (maybe). Shall I take a month off?

We’re in the part of the cycle where thing start to wind-down and one starts reflecting on the past season and build-up to the long slogs of winter training. It is also planning time in my household… so there will be list of races by the end of the month. And they will be made public.

I’ve also joined a run club, for the first time I’ll be mixing it up with pure runners and learn a few of their tricks. May even enter an event or two to see how much I can hold my own.

For the time being, there is this list:

April

6 Auckland Triathlon

12 Scottish run club race

Tarawera Ultra Race Report – A Risky Bet

I am not a betting man. Let’s say there are enough risks out there to add the risk of losing to an uncertain outcome by the promise of easy wins. I’m talking about time and effort, not money. I plan my training to be in good fitness around the racing season and enter a few key events. One of them was the Tarawera Ultra, which I could have bet I would run in a time of 10:12:00 to 10:18:00. I was (am) that fit. Or that’s what I thought until mid-afternoonon Friday. But let’s start from the beginning, and my first bet.

This summer of racing was cut in half with the addition of the ‘big move to wellington’ thing in our life. The move took its toll in the amount of time I spent training long and slow for the race. I ran more in the first 10 days of Feb than in the month of Jan. I was cramming. And that is a very risky bet… you train in a very fine line with reduced recovery times and fatigue starts building up. A few days off here and there helped release some pressure and I went through almost 400k of running with no problems. Come March 1^st I was in good shape and the big runs were all out of the way. A good diet and a few runs would see me ready to roll at Tarawera.

The weather goods threw in a weakened tropical cyclone that was still severe enough in parts of the country. That meant our race went from 100k to 70 (actually 72 and change)  kilometres. The organisers maintained the climbing in the reduced distance, which translates to a slower pace (at least for me). Given my training, this should have been an advantage, but it turned out quite differently.

The start:

It was fast, dusty and drizzly. I remember going up  and up and then getting more agitated than it’s wise for the first 10min of a potential 10hr run. Then I stuck to a group and managed to pass a few here and there until I realised I’ve left the water bottle with Nat at the start/12k aid station. As I was thinking that I took a fall with a root while bombing down a small hill. The adrenaline shot from the fall helped wake up and keep going through the first lap.  I stopped to get it and started drinking. An hour has passed and it was time to start playing smart. From 12 to 25km I slowed down on purpose, drank and had 2 gels to ensure a good rhythm.

The middle:

From 25 to 52km it was a slow slog. I could feel the left part of my body hurt (not much) and tried to keep checking my form for any signs of damage. Ate gels, some fruits and water and after seeing too many people pass me, I started to pass other people again. The road was getting busier with people coming and going. It was great to see many mates along the way. It was even better to see Nat at the 3^rd aid station (which she was not supposed to reach) with gels and fresh socks. All went very slow at that aid station, but I managed to gulp down a full bottle of ginger beer, ½ orange and new socks from wifey.

The end

Was the best part of my race. It felt to me I went faster than the actual 2:19:00 time splits suggest. I felt like it was an hour and a half. I remembered this final leg from last year’s VTUM and I had secretely prepared for this contingency. My legs were not the fastest going up that mother of a hill that is the Western Okataina track, but they were good to take charge down the hill to Millar road and to the end. It was a blast and I started reconsidering earlier thoughts of not racing again on longer distances. I finished in 7hours 38min, which is a very good time but not the time I would have bet on. It was a wet last hour or so and another hour waiting for mates to do their thing… they all came on with a smile in their face, which is always encouraging.

Third time lucky?

In 2013 it was a fire course. In 2014 it was a cyclone course. What will be the Vibran Tarawera Ultra of 2015? I am not a betting man. So I won’t bet on it next year. But don’t quote me on that. I could be talking a lot of sh-t 

Auckland 70.3 race report (I know... a bit late, aye?)

Let’s pick up where I left out. It was a sunny Saturday in Auckland, and we went to transition to leave the bike.

Looking good at the start

The next day was a stunner, with great weather and a big sun. Water and air tem were on the hot side and the swim-bike-run was hot too. The first leg was a PB for me, with just over 26min to do the 1.9k, the bike was one of the worst starts I can remember for a race. But it got better towards the end, still, a few minutes longer than the previous year. The run was hot and I did not switch into aggressive race mode, it was more of a soft run. I knew from the start of the run that it was unlikely I’d be PB-ing on this one.

The final result was a race 3min slower than last year. With a lot less training and a lot more suffering. I still loved it and could not have wished for a better farewell to Auckland.  Soooooo looking forward to come back, though.

Looking not too fast

HELLO WELLINGTON

With the race done and a relocation of our home for the last 8 years in sight, we went into full packing-moving-finding a house mode. There were a few farewell dinners too. And a lot of work at work too. Let’s say it was entertaining and certainly not super-focussed on training. Between the race and the 5^th of Feb there were a few runs, swims and rides spread randomly. I still call that training, though J.

We arrived to Wellington on the 7^th of Feb and I went into full training mode for Tarawera on the8th. There was no hiding when you lack training on a 100km course, and there was a lot of cramming to be done. Keep tuned to the progress report

Good bye Auckland: Let’s race

(posted post-move... funny how things actually pan out... more to come in the next post Hello Wellington: let's train

So, we’re moving.

An opportunity came out of nowhere and it was a good one to grab, as a consequence our whole household of two will be moving to Wellington in a few days.  In total, there was 40 days from inception (note the pop culture quote here) to big roadtrip day. We’re now somewhere in the middle. 

Endurance sport is somewhere in the middle, not in the foreground but not in the background either. There has been packing, planning, selling, buying and there is a lot of goodbyes to make with all the lovely people of Auckland who’s been nice to us.

Before the big news the plan was:  Race Rotorua Half (see previous post), tramp around the south, Run half a Hillary Trail (see another good post) and race Auckland 70.3, then go on a training binge until Tarawera Ultra.

After the big news the plan was: Race Wellington triathlon, Race Tarawera Ultra.

What really happened was: Race Rotorua Half, tramp around Ruapehu, run for a team for Tauranga Half, get a sneaky last minute entry (as someone else) to Auckland 70.3

It’ll be an understatement to say it was a busy few weeks. But at the same time it has been rewarding in many aspects that affect race performance:

1. I have slept more
2. I have trained fresher
3. According to my latest coopers’ test (see a great post from 2010) I have also reached an excellent standard of run fitness (a good VO2 number that I won’t put out because I’m too modest)
4. I have got a lot of love from friends feeling happy about our big move

With all that in mind, I’m getting ready for the race in two days with peace of mind that things are were they should be and I am saying good bye to Auckland in the best possible way… swimming, biking and running all around town.

Keep tuned for race report :-)

5 years on - Rotorua Half Ironman race report

The Rotorua half was my first half ironman and third ever triathlon 5 years ago. It was December 2008 and I've been training for 6 months to race. I didn't have many mates from the triathlon world, I had attended a few brick sessions with who was later my coach. My parents were arriving to spend Christmas in NZ, so there were a few checklists and plans in place to ensure I could survive a race longer than anything I've done before in any sport.

The race went well to start with, I was top 12 out of the water, reflecting my strong(er) swimming background, the bike business was long, tiresome and plagued with GI issues due to overplanning on my behalf (oh… the younger days when I would actually follow other's nutrition advice) the run was stinking hot, with a personal worst over the distance that has stood the test of time :-(. All in all, a great day at the office, and a steep learning curve in the endurance world a was happy with a 5:19 knowing there was potential to go under 5 with all the learnings taken on race day.

5 years is a long time and a lot of things have happened. The most important of them is that I have, over the period, applied myself physcally and mentally to train for endurance sport. I've done countless hours of running. I've cycled over hills, country roads and a number of places, I've woken up at 5 in the morning to go and beat the sh-t out of me in the swimming poo. I've drunk litres of coffee with mates chatting and exchanging learnings from racing, training, gear and so on. In that long time I've become a better athlete and a better person overall. 

This years iteration of the Vegas half was a different kind of monster. The swim course is a 1k lap that we do twice, the bike leg changed to a different course with a few more rolling hills and the run was made thougher with the introduction of a section of off road running around the green lake. My preparation was different as well, race plan was a lot simpler and the only downside is that I didn't prep my wetsuit, so I gave away a few minutes on the swim. 

The bike section is a test of good pacing, there are many hills and after the 2nd hour of racing they start to make a dent in your strength. One has to be mindful of that and not get carried away when some team racer or a youger athlete powers past in the first 45km. 'Tis also important to fuel some sugar to the old muscles, hills are not climbed burning fat, they are sugar-suckers and one has to plan for that. Remember, this is just the middle section, there are 90 to 120 minutes of running to follow. In brief, I got out of the water in 30th place in just under 30min and came back home 12th after biking my way through. 

The run is 85% off road, and I like to think myself as a good off road runner, so there was a good change to make up some places. As it happened, it took me longer than anticipated to get my rhythm and it was well over 5km when I started to run at the desired pace. I cought one, two and thanks to the company of a team runner, I kept the pace to pass #3 on the last 4km of the race. I finished in the top 10 of the race, how cool is that!.

It was so cool that I had a wee chat to my grandma who was looking from above.

Anything else to say about Rotorua half?
A great race in a great location. and a good way to celebrate the sport in company of two good mates who also came racing and the amazing support crew (a.k.a. the wifes) 

Binge training

It's that time of the year. The winter is long gone, the last winter storms didn't happen and no sheep perished under a snowstorm in the South Island. As I write this at 8 o'clock there is still about 30 more minutes of daylight. University ended and work is crazy busy, but only for three more weeks.

Summer… ladies and gentlemen is finally here and we're up for half a year worth of good stuff. 

We had our first sea swim of the season, and then the second one and a couple of swim races too. I'm at a stage of my training life where my gains in swimming are marginal or almost none when it comes to speed. But I am getting better in my navigation and enjoying more the races.

I am still to do a brick session, I've been lazy to turn up and opted to go for long rides instead. All of a sudden, all that free time comes very handy to catch up on the ol' triathlon training.

On top of all that, my better half is going to be away for three weeks, which means that the house will be empty and silent. What's my antidote? 1. go for a ride 2. go for a run 3. go for a swim 4. go out with mates for a ride, a run or a swim. 

I've entered a half ironman, so it's about time to do some triathlon specific training. More of that in the next post

A view from the top - Auckland Marathon (half) race report

I had a great race last Sunday. The Adidas Auckland Marathon is established in my calendar as a race to do more for training reasons than for actual performance. This year I decided (last minute) to challenge myself and see where I could go. There were two objectives, the first one to go between 1:16:00 and 1:18:00, the second one was to be in the top 25 finishers. Considering that the race is two weeks after a tough 60km ultra race, the objectives were challenging enough.

I can’t say I did a lot of threshold training, and the speed work on the track has been less consistent than in previous year.  I did, though, have a huge base, and a good set of strategies that could help me be efficient come race day. Eat lightly the day before, do a long warm-up, start fast to avoid the congestion of 10,000 people on the road at the same time, pace with the front bunch, where the guys in running club singlets should be hanging, which I knew where about the 1:15 to 1:20 finish time area. Luckily enough there was photo finishes of the last 10 races in the registration area, which helped me to learn that the first women would be running pretty much the time I had in mind. Nat was also racing, which is good to deal with the anxiety and prep of the day before.

The race

It started fast, but not as fast as I was expecting, which help me stay calm and save energy. The pace continued for the first 10km and all along I was where I wanted to be, with a couple of other guys who were running quite steady too. I had a double serve of gels for the race, not my favourite food nor the brand I like the more, but I forgot to buy my favourite gels before the race and had to make do with whatever was in my foodbox.

The 10k mark went unnoticed, as I did not look at my watch too often. The idea was to err on the side of calm on the first half and then let go at the second half. When I looked at the watch it was 11.5km and just over 41min, life is good.

One of the guys took off and I suck to him, we passed two other racers and then it was time for the harbor bridge, I didn’t follow the guy ahead’s punishing uphill pace, and when I got to the top I could feel my quads giving up. I gelled up and carried on, but the pain was there to stay.

The last 5km was where I could go for a fast finish, and it would have gone if I had less pain in my leg. My gait shortened, and although I had a few heartbits left, there was no muscular response to accompany, which sucked. I may have lost almost a minute on those 5km, but I didn’t let that turn me down and soldiered through the finish.

The result

I achieved one, and failed on the other of my goals, a  1:19:02 got me to the finish in 23rd position and I am happy with such a great result. There are areas of improvement, but overall, it was the best run race I’ve done this season in terms of planning and execution. It feels good to go fast, it is great to go fast for a long period of time, and it's a huge satisfaction that the legs deliver on the day. I am a happy Valen today

Waihi - Kaimai Killer ultra race report

A year ago I dipped my feet into the river of ultra. Both in a metaphorical and literal sense, I got into the ultra world by taking on the Kaimai killer in the middle of a weather bomb. All I remember was cold rain and surface water on the track, to the point where running (at least for me) was not possible. Let’s say that it was a steep learning curve, all of a sudden I learned about my shortcomings in the training to the race, in my nutrition strategy and the overall toughness of a race where you have to be focussed for over 5 hours, which is the time a half ironman race takes. It was fun, character building fun. 

And a year makes a lot of difference. I was a year fitter and a year wiser. This means that I did not enter the race until 1 day before, once I was absolutely sure the weather was going to be OK. It also meant that the preparation and planning were a lot more sparse, my training must have been somewhat more ‘smart’. We stayed in a DOC campground a few metres from the race HQ, just perfect for the 5am race start. My nutrition strategy was less overprepared, it was fruits (fresh and dried), nuun water and a couple of bars. There was a big bottle of mountain dew waiting for me at the marathon point, to avoid last years’ bonk at 45km. And that was about it. 

The race

The early start means that 1.5 to 2 hours of the race are done in the dark. These are technical stretches where I lose ground to mountain runners because I am somewhat more risk-averse that these bastards. I hung on to my headtorch and said to myself that I needed to stay in touch with the front bunch for the first 8km, where last year I lost a lot of ground. It didn’t quite happen and I found myself isolated again, running through an empty field with two quite intimidating bulls for company. I was somewhere in the 8th or 9th place, though, and that was spot on where I wanted to be. Remember, I had a plan for the long run and many of the guys ahead may not. There are a number of river crossings, and I managed to fall or slip on all of them, the first one brought me a small cramp-like feeling that didn’t ease until the end of the race

The middle of this race is where I feel the best. The two big hills are behind and the terrain flattens to a rolling sort of track. It i also when my breakfast finally settled and the energy is flowing well. Besides the little cramp-like feeling I was on a high. To top that up I met a guy, Matt, who had to make a toilet stop in the bush and we sort of got on with each other after checking he was OK. He was a good runner (or so I thought) and we worked for each other. I learned who was first, second, third and fourth and we were somewhere in 8th and 9th place. Talking and running we struck a good pace and caught and passed 7th and 6th and we would eventually catch 3rd and 4th Alistair and Steve. We formed a good group and ran for a good couple of k’s until 3rd placer upped the pace on a hill. I followed and made sure I stuck behind and didn’t do any extra work. All of a sudden I was with a chance of placing :-) that motivation alone got me through the final 5km back to the race HQ and the point of the marathon. 

Alistair was having a big feed as I walked into the marathon point, my plan was to be a bit faster and have just the mountain dew and pack something for later. I had to take my shoes to remove some debris and I was good to go. Matt caught us at this point. Three of us left together, and I was on a plan not to set the pace, but to follow attacks and conserve energy. My nutrition plan is gentle on the stomack, but it is not so energy dense that I can overspend, therefore the next 19km were about conserving energy until 3k to go and spending all of it in the good downhill to the finish. Whatever happens happens. 

We lost Alistair, he needed his body to do the digestion stuff for him. I took careful note of that, as he would definitely feel much better towards the end of the race. Matt and I carried on for not much longer, as he set a crackling pace up a 5km, 400m vertical hill and I cracked. I was now running for fourth, not ideal but not too bad, and just about 1 hour better than last year if I kept the pace. The next hour and a half I run by myself and tried to limit my losses. The final dash to the finish was OK, but I made sure I kept a steady pace, because Alistair is a much better climber and he surely made some ground on me. As I was on the 59th kilometre, I began to relax and plan the rest of the day. I was saying to myself ‘I got this in the bag, I’m gonna be fourth overall and 3rd open mens’. 

And it was a case of  ‘it’s not over until the fat lady sings’. Alistair blazed past and pushed me aside in a nice steep downhill. I stuck behind and waited until the terrain gets flatter, I may had a chance at a long sprint in flat terrain. I put my head down and didn’t look back until I crossed the line. I gave it all I had on those 600m and it paid off. I crossed 1 minute and a bit ahead. 

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: I stuck to a plan and it worked. 

The bad: I was somewhat short on the energy front. Could I have run better uphill with more sugar?

The ugly: the last 15km of this race are tough on the mind, real tough

Do you have it in you?

Tomorrow we’re going out on a very long bike ride with a mate. The idea is to complete it. I am nowhere near in need of such a long ride at this stage of my training, but it will be good as a fitness test, fat-burning exercise and start of a taper period before the 60k ultra a week after.

The reason for the ride is to carry on with a classic ride from Auckland to Coromandel that has been happening for the last 4 years. It is also a good way to help my friend who’s got a 200k ride in 3 weeks time and needs to do the distance to know he has it in him.

Which gave me a new take on another reason why we go out training that I hadn’t thought before. Some times we go training just to know we can finish an event we haven’t done before. I remember my first triathlon to be quite a long day in the office. I had never combined a 500m swim, 20k ride and 5k run in the past. And even thought I completed it, there was a few moments of doubt during that race. With time I learned to work around the doubts and voices that come upon.

If we split the race in three, we have hope, doubt and belief. The start of the race is full of hope and good anxiety. The middle of the race gets a bit more serious, and at some point or another there’ll be a bit of doubt, which seems to be the way the body whines about the hard times we’re giving to it. Then there’s belief, the end of the race is all about getting all that self confidence back and pulling ourselves together to get to the finish knowing we’ve given our best. Post race there will be another three stages, but that’s the subject of another post.

So, back to the long ride of tomorrow, we’re doing it for the moment when the voices and the doubt come knocking at my mate’s helmet: 3 hours into the race and going up a hill, mildly dehydrated and hungry, and probably a bit uncomfortable already by being on a small bike seat. The voices will say, do you have it in you? If all goes to plan, he’ll say “hell yes!” I did it two weeks ago and finished it. And I can do it again today.

Whether you need to do it all before to know you have it in you depends on one’s self belief, number of years training and the length of the race. My take on it has been usually towards the other side, keeping a bit of doubt has worked as a motivator to show up at every training session, as each of them increases the probability (but not the certainty) of getting the successful outcome.  Let’s play an example.

You’re running neck to neck with another competitor for a long bike/run/swim, it’s close to halfway and you’re already above your sustainable effort mark, you’re tired, a bit thirsty and maybe hungry. You’re all focused on the task ahead and all of a sudden doubt starts to creep. DO YOU HAVE IT IN YOU? what would you prefer? To know you have it in you because you’ve done it before or because you’ve trained mind and body well enough?

Keep training wise

Breaking it into chunks

Another guy breaks the Marathon World Record. How crazy is that?. There have been already hundreds of analysis of the race, I liked this one I like the chart breaking the race into 5k splits and eigths or quarters.

The chart got me thinking on my own performance. The idea of breaking races into chunks is not new, and I have had a few races planned like that.

The problem is the implementation of the strategies come race day. If it is a triathlon, there's always the chance that the plans go out de window due to blowing up on the swim, or too early on the bike. On one occasion I went all as per plan, only to find myself getting hypothermic during the run and not been able to execute what I wanted. Another time it was the weather.

If it is a run race, there's the issue of having the competition dictate the pace and forgetting about listening to my own breathing. A few weeks ago I turned into a 18k trail run. I wasn't meant to be there, but someone offered me a spot and I would not refuse a chance to get out with the wife and friends. As it turns out, the early pace was set by guys that slowly disappeared and I found myself sitting somewhere in the front of the field following a very good climber up a hill. I soon realized that a wall was going to be hitting me at a very high speed. Then I slowed, gathered some strength and hit the last 4k's like a ton of bricks (sub 3:45 pace). It took me a while, but I passed the good climber, and I ran out of field to catch the guy ahead (15 seconds anyone?).

Back to the marathon, it takes a lot of self confidence to slow down in order to break the record. But being such a complete athlete, Kipsang knew that it would be all within reach. And the two sub 2:50min/km pace made up the 15 seconds of light between his glory and the former record. It is very small margins, and nailing it as he did is a commendable thing.

What's up in life? Uni finishing soon. Tri sieason starting soon. Sea swim season starting soon. Ultra run in 3 weeks!... with my hands full at the moment.

The Hillary Trail - Second time lucky

The Waitakere Ranges are a premier regional park at a handy distance to home. The Hillary trail winds through the park in and out of the bush and coastlines of the Manukau Harbour.

Designed as a 2/3/4 days trek, the track has been run by many in the short time since it was created. There is even a website that lists the finishers, records and so on. 

In my previous attempt I cut short at just over 25km. There were races coming up and in my assessment  I found that I would be doing more harm than good by finishing. There was no unsavoury quit, just a sense of unfinished business. 

Being over 70km in length, the logistics are vital to get a good run. I was lucky enough to be in company of a bunch of crazy people who organized Midnight Madness IV (MMIV) with the August full moon. The name says it all, it was a night run, and it was a crazy one. This time I finished, and the tale of that run from Muriwai to Arataki follows:

1. The cake

I had missed MMIII last year, and thought it was a cool idea. It is usually done on the winter solstice, which gives much more night to keep running fresh. This year the date was moved to August, and my birth day to be more specific. I made sure I took cake to with me and after checking my list of NASA proportions, I left to meet the rest of the crew. It was a shocker of a week weather-wise and a number of candidates had to postpone. Seven of us started. After sharing a bit of the cake we left in a drizzle that would die within minutes. It was 6 past midnight. 

2. The cliffs

The first part of the northward run goes alon one of the most beautiful parts of the trail, the track hugs a series of cliffs and bluffs and the Tasman sea lashes its energy on the bays below. The view during the day are spectacular. On a full moon night they're even better. I was kitted with a single layer of merino and a waterproof jacket which kept me in perfect temperature for the very cautions start. We formed a group of 3 that would go 50k together. every now and then we would look back and see the headtorches spread over in the distance, among the dark cliffs.

3. The cows

The first 15km took just over 2 hours,  a bit slower than expected, but making it from A to B without falls was worth the effort. Two nice guys (Jo and Mark) took the responsibility of caring for us, and they waited in a car at several points to help us refuel, clean some blood and give us good vibes. Quick bite and drink and we were off. The next section goes inland round a lake, up a massive hill and into farmland before descending to the beach again. Running through a field of spooked cows who looked at us was quite an experience. We got to stop #2 in just under 4 hours, which was nice. There was a bit of a problem halfway through, with one of the guys falling and cramping, but nothing too serious.

4. The dunes

The next section took us through a very charged waterfalls (streams responding to the rainy week just passed), another sight to remember. Then we went inland and back onto a beach. Below 6 hours and within my secret target of under 12 hours. Lack of sleep was not showing yet, but I knew the mind is pretty good at playing tricks. I downed a Mountain Dew and a scone to keep the happy mood.  We carried on to the best part of the run, it is flat, the sun was starting to light and we were running among a dune field with our torches off. The air was fresh and I was as happy as I've ever been while on a run.  I regretted not having brought the camera with me. 

5. The hills

Stop #4 was an eventful one, we lost one guy that took a wrong turn. I went back a couple of k's and shouted to check he was OK. As I heard no answer I mentally played different scenarios for 15 minutes untill I saw he coming from the wrong part of the track. I waited for him to have a quick snack and we carried on 10 minutes in arrears. The12 hour mission was out of the picture, but the mood was happy nonetheless. From the beach we go up a bluff and carry on on a hill crest upping and downing among the rocks and the gorse. Then we carry on climbing to the highest point of the trail. On a good day is a tough climb, on a day with no sleep and 50km on the legs is a character building run. 

Maybe that's the whole reason why one does this things. Head donw and carry on... until the next stop. 

If anything, I underestimated the nutrition for this part of the run, I took note for future runs. 

6. Noon

By the end of this part it was well into the morning, I stopped for a change of socks, a new tee shirt and I ditched the waterproof jacket that was probably not helping at this stage. I also tasted a great ANZAC slice by one of the fellow starters who was now crewing with Jo. 10:32 hours and 60 km done. It was all downhill from here... NOT

There's 2 200m hills to be negotiated, and the legs ain't running uphill anymore. As I was thinking how much I missed my wife and a good eggs on toasts breakfast, I found a stick discarded by a fellow tramper at the start of a track. I adopted it for good measure, and decided it was only a matter of getting there. 

And there I got. It was just before 12:30pm and I've done it.