It is happening! Slowly but surely I'm starting to run. Twice this week, making a total run time of 10 mins this week :-) It's a darn sight better than it has been. Baby steps, nothing stupid and just easing into it. Today is a lot better than earlier in the week. The pain hasn't come back the same way, and what pain did come back has subsided really quickly.
In a few weeks we move to our new home! The commute to work is about 13kms. My plan is to be running that a few times a week in a couple of months. like I said, baby steps, but the will is there and I know I'll get there. I just need to be smart about it!
Showing posts with label sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sport. Show all posts
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Friday, May 8, 2015
Running, Trail Running, Yurebilla Trail, Buffalo Stampede
Running is awesome! I am having the most fun running in a long time. Just running for the sake of running. How could it be better.
A bit over a year ago I was ramping back up from an injury that I sustained in the Victoria, BC, Marathon. I learnt a lot from this injury. Don't force speed. I always end up injured. Instead I am now focusing on running because I like it, not because I want to go fast. I am running a lot of miles and speed will slowly come with experience. I'm not pout to prove anything, but what I do want to achieve is to be able to just run for as long as I like.
This is a goal as I love running everywhere I go. It is such an amazing way to spend time with friends, meet new people and see a lot more than if you walked! For example, I could run the Yurebilla Trail in one day. If you walk it, you need to allocate 3 days.
Aside from loving running, I am also living Trail Running. Being out in the hills I just forget that I am running. The views are beautiful and ever changing. The air is fresh. It is a perfect time for meditation, delving deep into your mind and investigating all sorts of interesting thoughts or just finding a total point of clarity in which your mind is empty, free from the weights that we impose upon ourselves in this hectic life.
Running has inspired me to take on a few different challenges in the coming year. These two events will pose a new challenge and replace the challenge that Iron Man presented itself. The first is the Yurebilla Trail 56km. This race will take me the length of the Yurebilla Trail in hopefully 8ish hours.
The second is the Buffalo Stampede. A 76km Ultra that will take me and hopefully my great buddy from Colorado, Ty, from Bright to the top of Mt Buffalo and back to Bright in who knows how long. Since talking about this with Ty I have been so pumped. Running with buddies is amazing, but running with buddies that share a passion for being outdoors and running as much as we both do will be a once in a lifetime opportunity! The 76kms has a LOT of elevation gain and is going to be a great physical and mental challenge for us both, and it is going to be really interesting running together and seeing how comradeship helps pull us through the hard times of the race!
I guess this blog post is a random dribble of why running makes me stoked! I'm just so pumped right now that I had to write something!
Get out there and get running! It's awesome. Till next time, happy running!
A bit over a year ago I was ramping back up from an injury that I sustained in the Victoria, BC, Marathon. I learnt a lot from this injury. Don't force speed. I always end up injured. Instead I am now focusing on running because I like it, not because I want to go fast. I am running a lot of miles and speed will slowly come with experience. I'm not pout to prove anything, but what I do want to achieve is to be able to just run for as long as I like.
This is a goal as I love running everywhere I go. It is such an amazing way to spend time with friends, meet new people and see a lot more than if you walked! For example, I could run the Yurebilla Trail in one day. If you walk it, you need to allocate 3 days.
Aside from loving running, I am also living Trail Running. Being out in the hills I just forget that I am running. The views are beautiful and ever changing. The air is fresh. It is a perfect time for meditation, delving deep into your mind and investigating all sorts of interesting thoughts or just finding a total point of clarity in which your mind is empty, free from the weights that we impose upon ourselves in this hectic life.
Running has inspired me to take on a few different challenges in the coming year. These two events will pose a new challenge and replace the challenge that Iron Man presented itself. The first is the Yurebilla Trail 56km. This race will take me the length of the Yurebilla Trail in hopefully 8ish hours.
The second is the Buffalo Stampede. A 76km Ultra that will take me and hopefully my great buddy from Colorado, Ty, from Bright to the top of Mt Buffalo and back to Bright in who knows how long. Since talking about this with Ty I have been so pumped. Running with buddies is amazing, but running with buddies that share a passion for being outdoors and running as much as we both do will be a once in a lifetime opportunity! The 76kms has a LOT of elevation gain and is going to be a great physical and mental challenge for us both, and it is going to be really interesting running together and seeing how comradeship helps pull us through the hard times of the race!
I guess this blog post is a random dribble of why running makes me stoked! I'm just so pumped right now that I had to write something!
Get out there and get running! It's awesome. Till next time, happy running!
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Murray Man
So Murray Man has come and gone! What an epic event. The organisation was flawless, hands down the best event that I have ever been involved in! The course was amazing, the volunteers were awesome, everything worked like clockwork and the competitors were super friendly. The whole vibe of the event was so good!
At the finish line there was a competitors "finish area". This was so rad, it had ice baths, blow up couches, massage, delicious endless food including brownies, fruit, icecream endless drinks etc and also the well used medical tent :-)
Onto the event. I love events like this where it become a road trip and weekend away. It meant that Kate and I finally got away together. We drove up on the Saturday morning. The drive takes you north of Adelaide, throug some very arid looking regions and into the riverland. The drive is about 250kms and you get to see some amazing scenery including vast arid planes, productive farming land and the beautiful Murray River.
The race was held on Lake Bonny in Barmera, but we stayed in Berri, at the main hotel there which happened to be a sponsor and held an info night the night before. The hotel looks totally like a highway 66 budget motel, but the rooms were great. Once we had signed into the race and dropped the bikes in transition, kate knuckled down to study and I wandered the streets of Berri......wow, country towns are DEAD on weekends. It was say 3pm and nothing was open. You could have shot a gun down any road and the bullet would have dropped to the ground before it hit anything. Funnily I was trying to find somewhere to get dinner so I asked some locals..and they had no idea where you could get take out pizza or anything after say lunch time at that. LOL. Don't think I could live in Berri.
Sunday morning came by. Alarms set for 5am allowing me to smash a good coffee and a bowl of museli before we headed to the transition zone in Barmera, a 15 min drive away. The temp was stark in contrast to the day before. Sat was low 30's, sun morning was 9! Needless to say it was chilly in the transition zone! Kate didn't want to take her shoes off until the absolute last minute.
We did get to the transition zone pretty early, but it gave us a lot of time to familiarise ourselves with everything and to organise our gear without rushing (just the way I like it). Anyways the race finally neared, we wandered to the start line and had a quick swim to get acclimatised. Next thing we're lining up to start, a quick hug and kiss to kate and then we were off. The swim was beautiful, the lake was an amazing temp and I felt good. In the end the 2km swim was 34 mins. Pretty stoked.
I was feeling great out of the water and set into a steady ride. The course was beautiful. Long the shores of Lake Bonney, 10km out, 10km back. Unfortunately the back leg was slightly more uphill, and into a decent headwind. Funnily enough, everyone was smashing me with the wind, but I was smashing everyone into it? Strange. It must be all the hill climbing!
Being broken into 4 20km loops, the ride actually felt like it went pretty quick. Nex thing onto the run. Another decent transition, and off for 20kms. The run comprised of 4x5 km laps. This was a really great way to structure the run, once again mentally helping as 5kms is easy right....and I only have to do it 4 times. In the end I was stoked, after needing a toilet break at the end of lap one, I progressively got faster finishing my last lap with an avg pace of 4:24 min/km, placing me 2nd for the run in my age group.
Feeling strong I passed Kate at the end of her first run lap, she was in suffer town and I felt pretty bad for her, but kudos to her she stuck it out.
I ended up crossing the line in 4hrs29mins, and then proceeded to chill out in the race finisher zone, munching some nice food, soaking up some rays and getting a massage. Not to mention meeting some rad crew and hearing some crazy race and training stories.
Kate ended up crossing the line in 6hrs 9mins with a lot of encouragement. She was pooched to say the least. So proud of her.
Now we headed quickly back to Berri for a freshen up in our late checkout hotel room, the shower was amazing. Smashed a coffee and some food and then embarked on the 2.5hr drive home, which was surprisingly good seeming I just did a long distance triathlon. What an amazing weekend. It has filled me with enthusiasm to ramp up my Iron Man training and maybe get a proper TT frame :-)
At the finish line there was a competitors "finish area". This was so rad, it had ice baths, blow up couches, massage, delicious endless food including brownies, fruit, icecream endless drinks etc and also the well used medical tent :-)
Onto the event. I love events like this where it become a road trip and weekend away. It meant that Kate and I finally got away together. We drove up on the Saturday morning. The drive takes you north of Adelaide, throug some very arid looking regions and into the riverland. The drive is about 250kms and you get to see some amazing scenery including vast arid planes, productive farming land and the beautiful Murray River.
The race was held on Lake Bonny in Barmera, but we stayed in Berri, at the main hotel there which happened to be a sponsor and held an info night the night before. The hotel looks totally like a highway 66 budget motel, but the rooms were great. Once we had signed into the race and dropped the bikes in transition, kate knuckled down to study and I wandered the streets of Berri......wow, country towns are DEAD on weekends. It was say 3pm and nothing was open. You could have shot a gun down any road and the bullet would have dropped to the ground before it hit anything. Funnily I was trying to find somewhere to get dinner so I asked some locals..and they had no idea where you could get take out pizza or anything after say lunch time at that. LOL. Don't think I could live in Berri.
Sunday morning came by. Alarms set for 5am allowing me to smash a good coffee and a bowl of museli before we headed to the transition zone in Barmera, a 15 min drive away. The temp was stark in contrast to the day before. Sat was low 30's, sun morning was 9! Needless to say it was chilly in the transition zone! Kate didn't want to take her shoes off until the absolute last minute.
We did get to the transition zone pretty early, but it gave us a lot of time to familiarise ourselves with everything and to organise our gear without rushing (just the way I like it). Anyways the race finally neared, we wandered to the start line and had a quick swim to get acclimatised. Next thing we're lining up to start, a quick hug and kiss to kate and then we were off. The swim was beautiful, the lake was an amazing temp and I felt good. In the end the 2km swim was 34 mins. Pretty stoked.
I was feeling great out of the water and set into a steady ride. The course was beautiful. Long the shores of Lake Bonney, 10km out, 10km back. Unfortunately the back leg was slightly more uphill, and into a decent headwind. Funnily enough, everyone was smashing me with the wind, but I was smashing everyone into it? Strange. It must be all the hill climbing!
Being broken into 4 20km loops, the ride actually felt like it went pretty quick. Nex thing onto the run. Another decent transition, and off for 20kms. The run comprised of 4x5 km laps. This was a really great way to structure the run, once again mentally helping as 5kms is easy right....and I only have to do it 4 times. In the end I was stoked, after needing a toilet break at the end of lap one, I progressively got faster finishing my last lap with an avg pace of 4:24 min/km, placing me 2nd for the run in my age group.
Feeling strong I passed Kate at the end of her first run lap, she was in suffer town and I felt pretty bad for her, but kudos to her she stuck it out.
I ended up crossing the line in 4hrs29mins, and then proceeded to chill out in the race finisher zone, munching some nice food, soaking up some rays and getting a massage. Not to mention meeting some rad crew and hearing some crazy race and training stories.
Kate ended up crossing the line in 6hrs 9mins with a lot of encouragement. She was pooched to say the least. So proud of her.
Now we headed quickly back to Berri for a freshen up in our late checkout hotel room, the shower was amazing. Smashed a coffee and some food and then embarked on the 2.5hr drive home, which was surprisingly good seeming I just did a long distance triathlon. What an amazing weekend. It has filled me with enthusiasm to ramp up my Iron Man training and maybe get a proper TT frame :-)
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Colleen's Masters Group
When we first moved to Plympton I was struggling because I was in a routine of swimming at Norwood pool. I stressed out that I wouldn't find another pool to use, and hence my swimming would really drop off. Then I discovered Unley Swimming Centre. The most beautiful 50m pool, outdoors, just nestled into Forestville. Sweet, I hit this up for a few months and it was perfect as it was located right on my way to work.
Then I discovered that it is closed over winter :-( I just assumed that being hot old Adelaide it would be open all year, I mean Kitsilano Pool in Vancouver was colder at 5 in the morning in summer than Adelaide is here in winter...I thought, until this winter when I realised Adelaide is bloody freezing and that I would have absolutely no interest in swimming outdoors.
Anyways, I started moping about once Unley Pool closed as I figured I wouldn't be swimming all winter. Then I found iSwim at Immanuel College. A beautiful indoors 25m lap pool. I initially thought 25m pools were lame, but in winter beggars can't be choosers, and I have realised that you just do your training differently. More drills, more shorter high intensity stuff, and it forces you to learn to tumble turn :-)
Anyways, after swimming here for a while I discovered Colleen's Masters Group. A set training 3 days a week at 5:30, that is super similar to the fastlane sessions that I used to go to in Vancouver. It pushes me a lot and I can see I'm going to improve on my swimming quite significantly by swimming at these sessions. There's nothing like getting 4km in the pool done before work to make you hungry all day thats for sure!
Then I discovered that it is closed over winter :-( I just assumed that being hot old Adelaide it would be open all year, I mean Kitsilano Pool in Vancouver was colder at 5 in the morning in summer than Adelaide is here in winter...I thought, until this winter when I realised Adelaide is bloody freezing and that I would have absolutely no interest in swimming outdoors.
Anyways, I started moping about once Unley Pool closed as I figured I wouldn't be swimming all winter. Then I found iSwim at Immanuel College. A beautiful indoors 25m lap pool. I initially thought 25m pools were lame, but in winter beggars can't be choosers, and I have realised that you just do your training differently. More drills, more shorter high intensity stuff, and it forces you to learn to tumble turn :-)
Anyways, after swimming here for a while I discovered Colleen's Masters Group. A set training 3 days a week at 5:30, that is super similar to the fastlane sessions that I used to go to in Vancouver. It pushes me a lot and I can see I'm going to improve on my swimming quite significantly by swimming at these sessions. There's nothing like getting 4km in the pool done before work to make you hungry all day thats for sure!
Friday, August 8, 2014
Training and Injuries
I know I post on this quite often. But it is something of interest to me, and very close to heart. Over the last few years, endurance sports have taken their toll on my body, but I have also gained tremendous results from them.
The worst thing about injuries is the mental worry that is left behind. I find myself constantly feeling niggles in my right achilles. Anyways, one good thing about injury is that I have finally started to pay attention to my body and what it is telling me. Don't get me wrong, I could be better, but baby steps right.
Anyways, a few weeks back, 1 week after signing up for Iron Man actually, I had a 18km training run, and at 13 kms I got a good old pain in the right achilles. Stupidly I had been feeling something all run which I ignored, but to be fair, it felt more like a "I'm being paranoid pain", rather than anything serious.
Anyways I flagged running straight away. 1 wk off before testing it out again, then physio and a test run to decide whether to continue with the Marathon or not. The physio came up with some good advice, I followed it, and hit out a training run on Sunday the 2nd Aug. The rule was if the run went well, do the Marathon, if it didn't, don't be dumb, and flag the Marathon. Anyways the run went well, but for once common sense kicked in, and I decided to only run 15kms of the 35kms that I wanted to do, thinking it was silly to run so far after an injury scare.
From this run I pulled up fine, and the leg felt fine all run, but I realised that I like running so much, and Iron Man is so important to me that cancelling the Marathon was the smart thing to do.
Nonetheless, I got a solid 8 weeks of training in for the marathon in which I gained some great fitness which will put me in a great place for starting Iron Man training in September.
Now a few weeks on, I am running and loving it. Sometimes it pays to listen to the body ;-)
The worst thing about injuries is the mental worry that is left behind. I find myself constantly feeling niggles in my right achilles. Anyways, one good thing about injury is that I have finally started to pay attention to my body and what it is telling me. Don't get me wrong, I could be better, but baby steps right.
Anyways, a few weeks back, 1 week after signing up for Iron Man actually, I had a 18km training run, and at 13 kms I got a good old pain in the right achilles. Stupidly I had been feeling something all run which I ignored, but to be fair, it felt more like a "I'm being paranoid pain", rather than anything serious.
Anyways I flagged running straight away. 1 wk off before testing it out again, then physio and a test run to decide whether to continue with the Marathon or not. The physio came up with some good advice, I followed it, and hit out a training run on Sunday the 2nd Aug. The rule was if the run went well, do the Marathon, if it didn't, don't be dumb, and flag the Marathon. Anyways the run went well, but for once common sense kicked in, and I decided to only run 15kms of the 35kms that I wanted to do, thinking it was silly to run so far after an injury scare.
From this run I pulled up fine, and the leg felt fine all run, but I realised that I like running so much, and Iron Man is so important to me that cancelling the Marathon was the smart thing to do.
Nonetheless, I got a solid 8 weeks of training in for the marathon in which I gained some great fitness which will put me in a great place for starting Iron Man training in September.
Now a few weeks on, I am running and loving it. Sometimes it pays to listen to the body ;-)
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Iron Man
I finally manned up and signed up for Iron Man. After talking about it for a long time, I committed to Melbourne Iron Man, March 22nd, 2015. I originally wanted to do Lake Taupo or Brussleton, but the logistics of actually getting to these events, and the cost involved made them much less appealing than Melbourne. Maybe for my next Iron Man ;-)
Anyways, training as Marathon training as per usual at the moment, bar a few little niggling injuries, but with my main focus being staying in good health to start Iron Man Training on Sept 22nd, for 6 months of "Game On!" before race day. It's going to be hard, but I am super excite about the challenge.
I am also stoked as I have now got the opportunity to build a time trial bike :-) Kate will be stoked with the prospect of a 3rd bike in the house :-)
Sunday, July 6, 2014
24 km training run
19 kms were ran at marathon pace, 4.22min kms. Still not what i'm after, but ok.
The rest of the day was awesome with many coffees, a nice morning at the wayville farmers market with kate.
I then managed a 60 km bike ride on my rad new bike and am now suitably smashed.
Finally i cooked an amazing fish pie for dinner! Awesome sunday!
Friday, July 4, 2014
Lobethal Run!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Swimming
As the hammy is feeling a bit shit house, my long endurance Saturday morning session became a swim :-( Unfortunately as I was really hoping to hit my 27km trail run today..oh well. Anyways, I dashed down to Immanuel College this morning for a swim. Even though it is only 25m, the pool is really nice and I thoroughly enjoy swimming there. I was feeling really good in the water this morning and ended swimming 4kms, and finished feeling great and putting some of my hardest effort into the last km.
Todays session was one of those great sessions where you clear your mind and manage to just ponder on problems and issues while you are swimming. You kind of get in a rhythm and forget that you are doing that repetitive motion and entertain yourself with problem solving and different trains of thought. When you get in the zone like that it makes endurance sport thoroughly enjoyable.
To top the session off, I happened to bump into a bloke out front of the pool afterwards ho asked me if it was busy and what the pool was like. He was visiting Adelaide and said it was his first time to the pool, but it had been recommended to him. It sounded like he previously came from Adelaide from the way he spoke, but he now lives in Panama and has headed up a running group there which sounded super interesting, and funnily enough this worldwide running crew is home to the founders of Iron Man ;-)
I believe this group is an Aussie started running group called the Hash House Harriers. Check it out.
All up a beautiful morning!
Todays session was one of those great sessions where you clear your mind and manage to just ponder on problems and issues while you are swimming. You kind of get in a rhythm and forget that you are doing that repetitive motion and entertain yourself with problem solving and different trains of thought. When you get in the zone like that it makes endurance sport thoroughly enjoyable.
To top the session off, I happened to bump into a bloke out front of the pool afterwards ho asked me if it was busy and what the pool was like. He was visiting Adelaide and said it was his first time to the pool, but it had been recommended to him. It sounded like he previously came from Adelaide from the way he spoke, but he now lives in Panama and has headed up a running group there which sounded super interesting, and funnily enough this worldwide running crew is home to the founders of Iron Man ;-)
I believe this group is an Aussie started running group called the Hash House Harriers. Check it out.
All up a beautiful morning!
Sunday, June 15, 2014
102km Bike Ride
This morning I headed out for an amazing solo bike ride. I headed to the hills where it was a bit wet, but still got some great climbs in. Norton Summit, Little Italy, Forest Range, Lofty Summit, and Ashton from Range Rd. I then headed out to Sheoak Rd behind Belair, over to Cross Rd via Fullarton Rd, down to Anzac Highway, along the coast to Henley Beach and back home. 3hrs 40mins. It was all beautiful, and the sun coming out at the end of the ride while I was hurting and pushing it along the coast was such a bonus.
The whole ride was full of beautiful views. It is crazy how easily you can pass 4 hours on the bike.
The whole ride was full of beautiful views. It is crazy how easily you can pass 4 hours on the bike.
Saturday, June 14, 2014
26 km Trail Run
As it may have been picked up from my blog, I am now in Marathon Training mode. I am loosely following a training schedule for a 12 week, up to 55miles per week training plan from Fitzingers book "Advanced Marathoning". I say I am loosely following it as I have a tenancy to get injured when I follow plans to the dot, so I am taking the long runs and doing them, and then doing the in between recovery runs when time permits. This way I only end up running 3 times a week, but still getting some good mileage, and because it is from a plan at least the lengths of the run follow some logical progression.
Another alteration I'm making is that I will do some runs on trails. I know this messes up my pacing and that it is completely different to race day simulation, however it is fun! And that's really what it should all be about. Atleast with trail running the same distance takes longer, but the impact is lower so you end up with less fatigue, but longer on your legs.
Yesterdays 26km trail run was a loop I''ve been wanting to do for a while. It started at the base of Chambers Gully, and headed towards Mt Lofty summit. From the summit I traversed just below the Mt Lofty > Crafers road along the Heysen Trail, and then I followed a few trails to get onto the Mileen Trail, then Old Bullock Trail that run just below the old freeway and take you out to Mt Osmond. From Mt Osmond, there is a trail network that weaves down and led straight back to the car. This run let me pretty much circumnavigate all of Clealand National Park and I got to see some amazing scenery that in 30 years of living in Adelaide, I have never seen.
Best bit is, today, legs have pulled up pretty good which I am happy with, hopefully they'll be up for another big run on Tuesday.
Another alteration I'm making is that I will do some runs on trails. I know this messes up my pacing and that it is completely different to race day simulation, however it is fun! And that's really what it should all be about. Atleast with trail running the same distance takes longer, but the impact is lower so you end up with less fatigue, but longer on your legs.
Yesterdays 26km trail run was a loop I''ve been wanting to do for a while. It started at the base of Chambers Gully, and headed towards Mt Lofty summit. From the summit I traversed just below the Mt Lofty > Crafers road along the Heysen Trail, and then I followed a few trails to get onto the Mileen Trail, then Old Bullock Trail that run just below the old freeway and take you out to Mt Osmond. From Mt Osmond, there is a trail network that weaves down and led straight back to the car. This run let me pretty much circumnavigate all of Clealand National Park and I got to see some amazing scenery that in 30 years of living in Adelaide, I have never seen.
Best bit is, today, legs have pulled up pretty good which I am happy with, hopefully they'll be up for another big run on Tuesday.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
24 km training run
So, this is my first ever iPhone blog post! How exciting! Anyways, last sunday i hit an amazing 24 km marathon training run. As we were headed to Gepps Cross market that morning, i got kate to pick me up en route so i could run 24 km point to point and not have to double back to home and run the same path in reverse! This makes it so much more fun! So my run took me from plympton, down the tram tracks to glenelg, out towards brighton and then i pulled a u-turn and headed to Henley Beach. This run was amazing. At least 12 km of running along the ocean as the sun rose. So beautiful. I saw some dolphins and finished my run at the end of Henley Beach jetty. This was then topped off with a coffee at Cibo when kate arrived to pick me up. This was followed by fresh fruit from the market for brekky! What a wholesome way to start the day!
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Berri Race Weekend
Last weekend was "The Tour de Riverland". A two day cycling event held by the Norwood Cycling Club at Berri, SA. Kate and I decided to take the weekend to head out for the race, and in doing so booked into some nice accommodation. We booked into these sweet eco villas just out of Berri, near Lyrup, sitting on top of the cliffs of the Murray River.
We got up early on Saturday morning to find some real shitty weather. The drive to Berri is almost 3 hours, and it rained nearly the whole way. It was beautiful to see this part of SA when it was raining, however when you are headed to a 86km road race, rain = shit!
Anyways, we get to Berri nice and early so we can enjoy the farmers market and have a pre race coffee. We poke around for a bit, then I start to warm up and am racing by just after 1:30. I was placed in the 28 minute handicap group, and we smashed it. The group worked really well together and we pushed it hard. I had learned from Milang that I really wanted to hang onto any pack that caught us, and hang on I did. It was an amazing feeling pushing it with the faster groups in the last 30 or so kms, and at times being out front of the whole pack. I was having a blast.
The race came down to the last few kms, and I was feeling pretty good, then in the last Km I got boxed in with shitloads of other riders, making it almost impossible to sprint to the finish. In the end I finished 18th, making myself a sweet $110, but I knew that I could have pushed it way harder had I had some clear road. Oh well, this was a darn sight better than my last handicapped road race, so hopefully I can learn from this and pull a better result next race. My mate Steve killed it pulling 3rd!
That night at the b&b was amazing. We cooked some nice food and relaxed in the hot tub looking over the Murray. We wound the night up watching a movie on the ginormous TV and veging out!
The following morning I was up at 6:30 to get some sunrise photos. It was so beautiful at that time of day watching the sun rise over the Murray. My legs wee toasted from the previous days racing, and the thought of having to race the criterium did not sit well.
I headed back to Berri and prepped for the race with some light warm up riding. I knew straight away that I was in trouble. I could tell that there was nothing left in my legs, and once racing started it really showed. I lagged behind early on, and just managed to tag back onto the group after a few laps, to only mooche around and not really compete with anyone for anything! Oh well, it was a good learning experience. I think it shows that it is not a good idea to run 3 half marathons in the 6 days leading up to a big race.
All in all it was a great weekend away. Our first proper holiday since returning to oz and our first roadtrip in our new Clancy. As a sidenote I paid for the racing for the next few days with absolutely pooched legs!
We got up early on Saturday morning to find some real shitty weather. The drive to Berri is almost 3 hours, and it rained nearly the whole way. It was beautiful to see this part of SA when it was raining, however when you are headed to a 86km road race, rain = shit!
Anyways, we get to Berri nice and early so we can enjoy the farmers market and have a pre race coffee. We poke around for a bit, then I start to warm up and am racing by just after 1:30. I was placed in the 28 minute handicap group, and we smashed it. The group worked really well together and we pushed it hard. I had learned from Milang that I really wanted to hang onto any pack that caught us, and hang on I did. It was an amazing feeling pushing it with the faster groups in the last 30 or so kms, and at times being out front of the whole pack. I was having a blast.
The race came down to the last few kms, and I was feeling pretty good, then in the last Km I got boxed in with shitloads of other riders, making it almost impossible to sprint to the finish. In the end I finished 18th, making myself a sweet $110, but I knew that I could have pushed it way harder had I had some clear road. Oh well, this was a darn sight better than my last handicapped road race, so hopefully I can learn from this and pull a better result next race. My mate Steve killed it pulling 3rd!
That night at the b&b was amazing. We cooked some nice food and relaxed in the hot tub looking over the Murray. We wound the night up watching a movie on the ginormous TV and veging out!
The following morning I was up at 6:30 to get some sunrise photos. It was so beautiful at that time of day watching the sun rise over the Murray. My legs wee toasted from the previous days racing, and the thought of having to race the criterium did not sit well.
I headed back to Berri and prepped for the race with some light warm up riding. I knew straight away that I was in trouble. I could tell that there was nothing left in my legs, and once racing started it really showed. I lagged behind early on, and just managed to tag back onto the group after a few laps, to only mooche around and not really compete with anyone for anything! Oh well, it was a good learning experience. I think it shows that it is not a good idea to run 3 half marathons in the 6 days leading up to a big race.
All in all it was a great weekend away. Our first proper holiday since returning to oz and our first roadtrip in our new Clancy. As a sidenote I paid for the racing for the next few days with absolutely pooched legs!
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Lifes to short to sit on your ASS and get FAT AND LAZY.......
Just had to mention that I did 15 HOURS OF EXERCISE last week while working full time :-) GAME ON! Lifes to short to sit on your ass and get fat and lazy. Get out there and enjoy it. No Excuses!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Swimming
The past few weeks I have been swimming at Unley Swimming Pool a few times a week before work. It is such a nice pool and is very conveniently positioned for me to go past on the way to work.
I had forgotten how much I love swimming as I have had a few months off while moving and settling back into a routine. Although swimming is such hard work, once you get into a rhythm with your breathing it becomes really enjoyable and relaxing, just gliding through the water, feeling your body being held up by the force of the water and not having to worry about the high impact that you get from running.
Unfortunately the coming week is the last week the pool is open until spring, but I am glad that I have managed to get a good few sessions in to top off the season. The last week has got me thinking about Iron Man again - it's still not too late to sign up for Iron Man Lake Taupo ;-)
I had forgotten how much I love swimming as I have had a few months off while moving and settling back into a routine. Although swimming is such hard work, once you get into a rhythm with your breathing it becomes really enjoyable and relaxing, just gliding through the water, feeling your body being held up by the force of the water and not having to worry about the high impact that you get from running.
Unfortunately the coming week is the last week the pool is open until spring, but I am glad that I have managed to get a good few sessions in to top off the season. The last week has got me thinking about Iron Man again - it's still not too late to sign up for Iron Man Lake Taupo ;-)
Trail Running
What a f%&king amazing morning! Get up at 5, smash an epic stove top espresso, drive to Chambers Gully, start running by 6:30 just as the suns rising. What a way to start the day!
This mornings run was one of those runs that just makes you stoked to be alive. I smashed out 21kms up Chambers Gully to the top of Mt Lofty, and then all through Clealand Conservation Park back to Waterfall Gully Road. The temperature was perfect, and I was out early enough to be the first trail user so I saw lots of Kangaroos. At one point I had two hopping about 5 meters to my left at the same speed as me for a few hundred meters. It was pretty amazing.
The best bit about this run was the changing environment as the golden sun rose and glimpsed through the trees. It was just so silent and serene, a perfect way to clear the mind and just focus on myself.
By the end of the run, the trail was taking it's toll and I had to pay a lot of attention to not tripping and axing myself like last time.
After a rest week from running, and even longer from trail running it was really nice to get out again. It is amazing how quickly 2 hours passes when trail running!
This mornings run was one of those runs that just makes you stoked to be alive. I smashed out 21kms up Chambers Gully to the top of Mt Lofty, and then all through Clealand Conservation Park back to Waterfall Gully Road. The temperature was perfect, and I was out early enough to be the first trail user so I saw lots of Kangaroos. At one point I had two hopping about 5 meters to my left at the same speed as me for a few hundred meters. It was pretty amazing.
The best bit about this run was the changing environment as the golden sun rose and glimpsed through the trees. It was just so silent and serene, a perfect way to clear the mind and just focus on myself.
By the end of the run, the trail was taking it's toll and I had to pay a lot of attention to not tripping and axing myself like last time.
After a rest week from running, and even longer from trail running it was really nice to get out again. It is amazing how quickly 2 hours passes when trail running!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Victoria Park Criteriums
Today IO raced my first criterium race. It was an event held by the Norwood Cycling Club around a closed loop of Victoria Park Racecourse. The race was so much fun, and as I race more I am meeting and becoming more familiar with some different faces.\
I ended up leading for a lot of the race, I know it's a habit that I need to get out of, but I like pushing it at the front. Anyways, I took the lead again at about 35mins, one lap too early I think as I just didn't have the legs for the final sprint, although I was gaining speed and took a lot of places back; I think with an extra 30metres I could have placed.
Now I look forward to Berri handicapped road race. It's going to be great fun. I'm totally loving road racing at the moment and can't wait to push it a bit and try to get a top 3!
I ended up leading for a lot of the race, I know it's a habit that I need to get out of, but I like pushing it at the front. Anyways, I took the lead again at about 35mins, one lap too early I think as I just didn't have the legs for the final sprint, although I was gaining speed and took a lot of places back; I think with an extra 30metres I could have placed.
Now I look forward to Berri handicapped road race. It's going to be great fun. I'm totally loving road racing at the moment and can't wait to push it a bit and try to get a top 3!
Monday, March 31, 2014
Jantastic
Final week of Jantastic, 10km tempo run completed in 41 mins, 21km long run completed with a mix of linear park and Ambers Gully Trail - needless to say the trail run thrown into the middle of a half marathon was a bit of an ask. Ambers Gully is steep! It was well worth it however as at 7 in the morning it was beautiful in Black Hill Conservation Park. There were so many Kangaroos out and I was the only person around. From the top of the Long Ridge Track I had views West over the city and the ocean, and to the East, the sun rising over the Mount Lofty Ranges and quiet a spectacular looking quarry!
Jantastic has been an awesome event to participate in. As I was returning from injury this year it really helped me set achievable goals and helped me stick to them. Early in January I would not have thought it would be possible for me to run a half marathon by now, nor to almost run a 40min 10km. I started with only 3 short runs a week in January - often in the snow as we were holidaying at ski resorts in North America. This was amazing though as I saw some beautiful scenery, with some of my favourite runs being through the forest along snowshoe trails in Lake Louise. Yes it was tiring running on snow, but so beautiful and something that I will never forget. I also ran in Seattle, with another favourite run being along the sea wall as the sun rose, running with my wife Kate. It was a cold morning, clear and crisp, and we just chatted and quite quickly ran out 12 km or so. This was followed with a coffee and snack at Pike Place market.
Running in Whitefish Ski Resort was interesting to say the least....I quickly resorted to the treadmill there, but yes I did manage a 10km outdoor run there.
Then Vancouver. Some of my nicest runs were along the seawall there, making the most of my last few weeks in Vancouver, and one of the best ways is to take in the amazing views from the seawall, as well as to run all the trails in Stanley Park. Such amazing memories! Now just to add on some extra places we landed in Hong Kong and we did some runs along Victoria Harbour, once again running is such a good way to see a new place, and it just enabled us to see more of Hong Kong than we would have had we not been running.
Finally after 3 years overseas we returned to our home town, Adelaide, and having Jantastic as a motivating factor, I stuck to my wekly runs and targets and got straight back into running in Adelaide, with a mix of road and trails. Needless to say, since returning 8 weeks ago, I have run some amazing trails and seen some truly amazing parts of Adelaide, with one of the most memorable being running Chambers Gully in a lightning storm.
The 21km run drew Jantastic to an end. I achieved what I wanted and it has now put me in a great place with a good foundation for some big races this season. I'm looking forward to Jantastic 2015 for sure!
Jantastic has been an awesome event to participate in. As I was returning from injury this year it really helped me set achievable goals and helped me stick to them. Early in January I would not have thought it would be possible for me to run a half marathon by now, nor to almost run a 40min 10km. I started with only 3 short runs a week in January - often in the snow as we were holidaying at ski resorts in North America. This was amazing though as I saw some beautiful scenery, with some of my favourite runs being through the forest along snowshoe trails in Lake Louise. Yes it was tiring running on snow, but so beautiful and something that I will never forget. I also ran in Seattle, with another favourite run being along the sea wall as the sun rose, running with my wife Kate. It was a cold morning, clear and crisp, and we just chatted and quite quickly ran out 12 km or so. This was followed with a coffee and snack at Pike Place market.
Running in Whitefish Ski Resort was interesting to say the least....I quickly resorted to the treadmill there, but yes I did manage a 10km outdoor run there.
Then Vancouver. Some of my nicest runs were along the seawall there, making the most of my last few weeks in Vancouver, and one of the best ways is to take in the amazing views from the seawall, as well as to run all the trails in Stanley Park. Such amazing memories! Now just to add on some extra places we landed in Hong Kong and we did some runs along Victoria Harbour, once again running is such a good way to see a new place, and it just enabled us to see more of Hong Kong than we would have had we not been running.
Finally after 3 years overseas we returned to our home town, Adelaide, and having Jantastic as a motivating factor, I stuck to my wekly runs and targets and got straight back into running in Adelaide, with a mix of road and trails. Needless to say, since returning 8 weeks ago, I have run some amazing trails and seen some truly amazing parts of Adelaide, with one of the most memorable being running Chambers Gully in a lightning storm.
The 21km run drew Jantastic to an end. I achieved what I wanted and it has now put me in a great place with a good foundation for some big races this season. I'm looking forward to Jantastic 2015 for sure!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
51/365
My pride and joy. This morning she took me up Norton Summit, then down Montacute Rd. What an amazing way to spend a few hours before work! The Adelaide hills are so quiet and peaceful at that time of the morning. Not more than a handful of cars would have passed me over the whole one and a half hours of riding.
The scrub land that this little loop takes me through is so picturesque at that time of the morning, with the golden sun streaming through the trees. The air is always refreshing and carries the scent of eucalyptus. My first ride in the hills was a definite nostalgia moment.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Jantastic
After getting off to an amazing start to 2014 for my running, I pushed it a little hard last week and ended up with a slightly aggravated quadriceps tendon. This put a halt to all running until it settled down, and thus I thought I'd miss all of my week 2 Jantastic runs. Thankfully I caught this injury early on and listened to my body straight away. I rested from Monday to Thursday and by Saturday was able to attempt a small 30 min run/walk session with no pain.
The tendon pulled up fine after this so I did another 30 min run/walk session on Sunday, and then followed with another one on Monday morning. I was pretty excited to get my three runs for the Jantastic week in eventually, and it really showed the importance of resting an overuse injury immediately.
So as to not overdo it again, the first few days of this week will be run free, just swimming and yoga, and I will hit up another run by Wednesday or Thursday I think.
Kate has been banging out some great runs this year regardless of some niggling knee issues, and is still holding an amazing pace! All in all we're off to a good year of running, fingers crossed, touch wood etc.
The tendon pulled up fine after this so I did another 30 min run/walk session on Sunday, and then followed with another one on Monday morning. I was pretty excited to get my three runs for the Jantastic week in eventually, and it really showed the importance of resting an overuse injury immediately.
So as to not overdo it again, the first few days of this week will be run free, just swimming and yoga, and I will hit up another run by Wednesday or Thursday I think.
Kate has been banging out some great runs this year regardless of some niggling knee issues, and is still holding an amazing pace! All in all we're off to a good year of running, fingers crossed, touch wood etc.
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