Running: was out running 7.85 km in 57m:53s
I was down in Queanbeyan this weekend so I asked the friends I was staying with what a good run would be: they started me off along the Molonglo River. I was a bit nervous about getting lost, but I didn't have a running pouch for the mobile phone so I had to run nervous - that's why the run was a bit short. Actually I'm quite pleased to have found my way back; in general I have no sense of direction. It's true that with a river around you always have a fair chance of disentangling yourself, and with practice I suppose I could use the sun.
It was a very nice little run and potentially a great run. You can see (best in the satellite view, rather than the map view) where I ran up the hill away from the river; I met three kangaroos (grey) loping along through the grass at the edge of the bush and the road. As it turns out, I could have run down the hill and got back to the main road but the thing with bush running without a map is that you don't actually know that in advance, and sometimes you have to be back for tea! It looks like there's a salt mine down there, or a white coal mine, or something. Plus, access to some more remnant scrub.
You can see at one point that I was moving very slowly - that's because the track ran out and I didn't realise I needed to backtrack. Well, needed was a bit strong because I did manage to scramble across the rocks (and flood debris), noting (ever the naturalist) several kangaroo prints. Having looked at the map now I can see I needed to run directly behind the fence(s), but at the point that I went down to the water's edge the trail seemed very clear and promising. Once you're down at river level, you don't have any idea what's above you (the bank is about 8-10 metres). I mean, I could guess that there was a fence line, but there wasn't any particular guarantee that it was navigable. I've run into that problem in Richmond, Vic. along the Yarra banks.
But it all worked out nicely, and really, a run/walk/scramble is more fun than just a run along a known path.
About halfway up the hill was a false crest with a tent neatly tucked away; great spot for a kids camp because civilisation is invisible despite being less than 400 metres away.
Next time I'm down I'll arm myself with a water bottle and some food and explore a bit more.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Jabulani 2012
Running: 23.69 km in 3h:05m:15s
This was hard, in my opinion much harder than last year, although there were people at the finish to disagree with that. For me, last year was steep but not very technical, and although I didn't enjoy the steep part of it at the time, I've done a lot of training since then and I'm a lot stronger. King of the Mountain was steeper.
But this year was much less steep - in fact a net downhill run as you can see in the link. To make up for that, it was a LOT more technical - virtually no roads. Altogether, maybe 4(?) km of road. The rest was track, and various parts of it were rocky/steep/slippery and/or worn down between tree roots. I'm a bit of a shuffler, and 95% of my training is on grass or road (this year I think apart from NOSH, I've done no trail running at all!), so not falling over is a big problem for me. Possibly a mental problem to some extent (I'm not confident on poor surfaces, plus I'm not convinced the multifocals are optimal for it), but I lost my footing completely once and tripped/stumbled 5 or 6 times. Garigal National Park rang to the sound of a runner shouting "Concentrate, you bloody idiot". It's not easy when your glutes seem to have metamorphosed into a block of aching wood, to:
This was hard, in my opinion much harder than last year, although there were people at the finish to disagree with that. For me, last year was steep but not very technical, and although I didn't enjoy the steep part of it at the time, I've done a lot of training since then and I'm a lot stronger. King of the Mountain was steeper.
But this year was much less steep - in fact a net downhill run as you can see in the link. To make up for that, it was a LOT more technical - virtually no roads. Altogether, maybe 4(?) km of road. The rest was track, and various parts of it were rocky/steep/slippery and/or worn down between tree roots. I'm a bit of a shuffler, and 95% of my training is on grass or road (this year I think apart from NOSH, I've done no trail running at all!), so not falling over is a big problem for me. Possibly a mental problem to some extent (I'm not confident on poor surfaces, plus I'm not convinced the multifocals are optimal for it), but I lost my footing completely once and tripped/stumbled 5 or 6 times. Garigal National Park rang to the sound of a runner shouting "Concentrate, you bloody idiot". It's not easy when your glutes seem to have metamorphosed into a block of aching wood, to:
- Look at the ground
- Look at the path ahead
- Breathe properly
- Remind your motor system to lift the feet OFF the ground, despite the fact that all available feedback from the legs says it can't be done.
Having said all that, I finished without serious damage.
Trail running really is a different sport. Different form, different muscles. The guy who won the marathon looked like the quintessential skinny marathon guy but with the thighs & quadriceps of a 100 meter sprinter. Having said all that, it's easy to understand why, on the basis of today's course, why people love it. It really was a superb course, absolutely beautiful, starting in Mt Kuring Gai National Park and finishing in Garigal National Park. There was a fair bit of rubbish on the trail (like broken branches) from the winds, but today the sun was shining through a slight breeze. Magnificent.
I've got two more for these coming up! To be honest, I hope they're a bit easier, because the next one is 42K in October. There's not a lot of training I can do between now and then to stop a lifetime (well, two years) of shuffling)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)