I'm really enjoying the blog of Vera Alves, at supergenericgirl. I know JUST what she means.....
In long-distance trail running, there’s no room for that in-between.
Everything is heightened, enhanced and technicolor. Happy only means
happiest and sad only means saddest. Average is a concept that only
exists out of the trail, in the weekdays at work when people ask how
we’re doing and we say “okay”, the hours we spend commuting, the time we
numb ourselves in front of screens and forget to feel things because
feeling things is hard work and drains you out.
Saturday, 28 September 2013
Friday, 27 September 2013
Reasons to NOT go biking at 5.30am......
1. You've had a rubbish night's sleep
2. In your sleep dazed stupor (see #1) you zip tie your headlamp onto your helmet upside down and send up a bat signal instead of lighting your path
3. Great swarms of mosquitoes along the reserve will mistake your headlamp for the moon, and in some fanatical religious fervour, commit kamikaze death in your mouth, nostrils and eyes
4. Dozy pukekos on a similar suicide mission cross your path back to the relative safety of the pond, importing you into some life size mutant angry birds video game
5. You forget to pack either a pump or a spare tube and spend the whole time dreading a flat tyre
6. Your DVT leg will swell up and be both devoid of any strength, and significantly painful
7. Some ##%@@ will cook bacon and eggs with the windows open when you haven't eaten in over 10 hours. And then you'll remember you got up in the middle of the night for milk and biscuits and actually it's only 5 hours since you last ate, because, remember, you're a glutton
8. You're sure the bogey man lives in those trees by Domain Rd
9. While trying to focus on the positive that at least you have the reserve walkway to yourself, you round a blind corner and have to take evasive action to not leave treadmarks over someone on the path. This involves long wet grass and an inelegant ditch crossing
10. It's your day off work, but instead you're going to work, to teach five year olds, and should probably be conserving your energy
2. In your sleep dazed stupor (see #1) you zip tie your headlamp onto your helmet upside down and send up a bat signal instead of lighting your path
3. Great swarms of mosquitoes along the reserve will mistake your headlamp for the moon, and in some fanatical religious fervour, commit kamikaze death in your mouth, nostrils and eyes
4. Dozy pukekos on a similar suicide mission cross your path back to the relative safety of the pond, importing you into some life size mutant angry birds video game
5. You forget to pack either a pump or a spare tube and spend the whole time dreading a flat tyre
6. Your DVT leg will swell up and be both devoid of any strength, and significantly painful
7. Some ##%@@ will cook bacon and eggs with the windows open when you haven't eaten in over 10 hours. And then you'll remember you got up in the middle of the night for milk and biscuits and actually it's only 5 hours since you last ate, because, remember, you're a glutton
8. You're sure the bogey man lives in those trees by Domain Rd
9. While trying to focus on the positive that at least you have the reserve walkway to yourself, you round a blind corner and have to take evasive action to not leave treadmarks over someone on the path. This involves long wet grass and an inelegant ditch crossing
10. It's your day off work, but instead you're going to work, to teach five year olds, and should probably be conserving your energy
Saturday, 21 September 2013
This week
Sat = 8km beach run
Sun = 45km mtb
Mon = rest day
Tues = 13km run and a trig
Weds = 12km run
Thurs = 40 min windtrainer
Fri = 22km mtb reserves
Still doing ok...... still no event, although I've started browsing...... :)
Sun = 45km mtb
Mon = rest day
Tues = 13km run and a trig
Weds = 12km run
Thurs = 40 min windtrainer
Fri = 22km mtb reserves
Still doing ok...... still no event, although I've started browsing...... :)
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Minden Trig
My last Tuesday off before the holidays and I need to make the most of it. I've had a frustrating few days, hunting and finding trigs on the LINZ website but mostly on private farmland. An email to LINZ offering to be a volunteer collecting beacon information is politely declined, although they did say that they found my email "very entertaining". I can just imagine the smoko room conversation "Did you see the email from the nutter chick who wants us to give her farm access so she can run to the trigs???" :)
Anyway, Tuesday dawns with some imperfect options (too far, too much petrol, dodgy on my own, etc etc) and no real plans. A co-incidental Facebook post recommends running at Te Puna Quarry park - and I know I saw a trig on farmland near there!
I head straight from the car park on to the wilder Southernmost tracks, into native bush and not part of the sculptured park tracks. My first 1km warm up and I have to run back to the car to get my phone - I'll need it for a photo if I make it through to the trig. My general idea is to head to the uppermost boundary of the park and see if I'm brave enough to head through the farm to Minden Road, head along to the trig and sneak up through the paddocks if I can stay out of sight of farm houses. I guess I could just go and ask for permission, but how do I know which is the farm house? And anyway, I'm shy.
My first track heads straight up some nasty steps cut into a steep bank, and when I get to the top and a barb wire fence it's all looking fairly remote so I jump it, head through a couple of paddocks and end up on a farm driveway heading past some flash houses. Trying to look like I belong, I make it out onto Minden Road and can see the trig not far away. I can already see that if I cut along the farm road before the next house, I'll be able to pop up through the little valley and bag the trig without any farmers all uptight about Health and Safety chasing me away. Absolutely gutted as I run, to suddenly see a spray truck head right through the paddock I've got pegged. ##$@. Never mind, instead I run right past, and I'm within 70 m on the back of the hill. In full view of a house, but out of sight of the farm workers on the other side, so I scramble up a bank and run hunched over, take my photos from a distance and scarper. Sure I looked really dodgy the whole time. Must find a way to contact farmers ahead of time and actually get permission.
What follows is a couple of hours of running around Te Puna Quarry Park, trying to map the whole area on my Garmin, and investigating all the different areas for a family trip. Lots of photos stops - it's a cool place! I think I was beyond the park boundaries in places, on some fairly rough tracks, time consuming but good fun.
That's a lot of running in circles..... :)
Anyway, Tuesday dawns with some imperfect options (too far, too much petrol, dodgy on my own, etc etc) and no real plans. A co-incidental Facebook post recommends running at Te Puna Quarry park - and I know I saw a trig on farmland near there!
I head straight from the car park on to the wilder Southernmost tracks, into native bush and not part of the sculptured park tracks. My first 1km warm up and I have to run back to the car to get my phone - I'll need it for a photo if I make it through to the trig. My general idea is to head to the uppermost boundary of the park and see if I'm brave enough to head through the farm to Minden Road, head along to the trig and sneak up through the paddocks if I can stay out of sight of farm houses. I guess I could just go and ask for permission, but how do I know which is the farm house? And anyway, I'm shy.
What follows is a couple of hours of running around Te Puna Quarry Park, trying to map the whole area on my Garmin, and investigating all the different areas for a family trip. Lots of photos stops - it's a cool place! I think I was beyond the park boundaries in places, on some fairly rough tracks, time consuming but good fun.
That's a lot of running in circles..... :)
Monday, 16 September 2013
Magpie Protection
I'm going to do this next time I ride up No 3 road in Te Puke. Hope that magpie gets himSELF poked in the eye!
Sunday, 15 September 2013
So near.... but so far.....
MTB Te Puke - Otanewainuku - The Lakes
I like exercise with adventure. With purpose. I don't like going out and back, as I find it very hard to expend energy moving away from home, knowing full well I will have to expend just as much energy getting back again, and feeling even worse. I absolutely cannot run laps. The moment at which I am near to my house or car again, is the moment at which my mental strength crumples and I stop. So, I try to make the most of natural 'opportunities' to get somewhere through exercise.
With Tom and the girls taking part in a duathlon at the Lakes, I figure I'll get there under my own steam. Reduced petrol, and a sense of purpose. The reality was significantly less impressive.
Using Mapmyrun, I gauge the bike as being 45km. That's quite a long way on my MTB, which I need for the gravel section through Otanewainuku. I'm not much good at remembering speeds or averages, I think I try to forget my exercise as soon as I've finished it. I ask Tom how long it'll take and he says "On your MTB - prob at least 15kmhr, even uphill?" Sally "You're optimistic aiming to do that in under three hours!" Manu "You'll knock that off in an hour and a half and you'll still have time to listen to the birds at Otanewainuku".
So, I reckon 2.5 hours. I want to be there by 9 to help the kids get ready for their race at 9.30. Alarm set early, need to be on my bike by 6.30.
As per usual, I start quarter of an hour late, and what follows is a very stressful first hour and a half of this ride. Check out this profile
Straight uphill for 20km. Now, you can see the down, and the increased speed as a result. But climbing that hill, regularly at 10kmhr, KNOWING I was going to be late. WAS NOT FUN. I doubted the length of the downhill. I doubted my ability to get up it to get to the downhill. I contemplated turning around and driving to the bloody Lakes. I had to text Tom and beg forgiveness. At that pace, the scenery changes so slowly I have very little to contemplate. Although, there was a pearler when some bloke opened his curtains and stood semi clad in front of his sliding door with a cuppa tea enjoying the rural view, obviously not anticipating anyone will be passing at a speed slow enough to actually get an eyeful.
I had a trig pegged, once again involving some secret squirred spy work across farmland without permission. I had to ride right past it, taunting me, only 10 mins away, knowing that those ten minutes might mean divorce if I don't get to the Lakes in time for Tom to leave me the kids and race.
Anyway, I will endeavour to forget the endeavour of this ride. And besides saying I will NEVER do it again, only 5% was on gravel and it was torture on a mtb on the road, I will only remember two things.
1 At about the 14k mark, I heard a funny 'woosh' by my right shoulder. I glance back, and come eye-to-eye with a huge, nasty, black magpie, within arms reach of my head. It was like something out of a Steven King movie, vicious talons and beady eyes, and a wingspan as long as mine (ok, that bit's an exaggeration.....). I'm right underneath a stand of pine trees and it's nesting season. I squawk back at it, hit out with my hand and breathe a sigh of relief as it flies back up to the trees. It lands on a branch, looks down at my and holy shit, it comes back for a second attack. It really was quite frightening to watch it come at me, wings all tucked in like a missile. I'm pleased no one saw me cycling helter pelter down the road, trying to watch in front of me and above me at the same time, screaming and waving my arms.
2 I love biking downhill. Especially after losing my will to live on an up. Very few cars around, and I managed to hit nearly 48kmhr. Did some 'wooshing' of my own.
I like exercise with adventure. With purpose. I don't like going out and back, as I find it very hard to expend energy moving away from home, knowing full well I will have to expend just as much energy getting back again, and feeling even worse. I absolutely cannot run laps. The moment at which I am near to my house or car again, is the moment at which my mental strength crumples and I stop. So, I try to make the most of natural 'opportunities' to get somewhere through exercise.
With Tom and the girls taking part in a duathlon at the Lakes, I figure I'll get there under my own steam. Reduced petrol, and a sense of purpose. The reality was significantly less impressive.
Using Mapmyrun, I gauge the bike as being 45km. That's quite a long way on my MTB, which I need for the gravel section through Otanewainuku. I'm not much good at remembering speeds or averages, I think I try to forget my exercise as soon as I've finished it. I ask Tom how long it'll take and he says "On your MTB - prob at least 15kmhr, even uphill?" Sally "You're optimistic aiming to do that in under three hours!" Manu "You'll knock that off in an hour and a half and you'll still have time to listen to the birds at Otanewainuku".
So, I reckon 2.5 hours. I want to be there by 9 to help the kids get ready for their race at 9.30. Alarm set early, need to be on my bike by 6.30.
As per usual, I start quarter of an hour late, and what follows is a very stressful first hour and a half of this ride. Check out this profile
Straight uphill for 20km. Now, you can see the down, and the increased speed as a result. But climbing that hill, regularly at 10kmhr, KNOWING I was going to be late. WAS NOT FUN. I doubted the length of the downhill. I doubted my ability to get up it to get to the downhill. I contemplated turning around and driving to the bloody Lakes. I had to text Tom and beg forgiveness. At that pace, the scenery changes so slowly I have very little to contemplate. Although, there was a pearler when some bloke opened his curtains and stood semi clad in front of his sliding door with a cuppa tea enjoying the rural view, obviously not anticipating anyone will be passing at a speed slow enough to actually get an eyeful.
I had a trig pegged, once again involving some secret squirred spy work across farmland without permission. I had to ride right past it, taunting me, only 10 mins away, knowing that those ten minutes might mean divorce if I don't get to the Lakes in time for Tom to leave me the kids and race.
Relieved to make it to Otanewainuku
1 At about the 14k mark, I heard a funny 'woosh' by my right shoulder. I glance back, and come eye-to-eye with a huge, nasty, black magpie, within arms reach of my head. It was like something out of a Steven King movie, vicious talons and beady eyes, and a wingspan as long as mine (ok, that bit's an exaggeration.....). I'm right underneath a stand of pine trees and it's nesting season. I squawk back at it, hit out with my hand and breathe a sigh of relief as it flies back up to the trees. It lands on a branch, looks down at my and holy shit, it comes back for a second attack. It really was quite frightening to watch it come at me, wings all tucked in like a missile. I'm pleased no one saw me cycling helter pelter down the road, trying to watch in front of me and above me at the same time, screaming and waving my arms.
2 I love biking downhill. Especially after losing my will to live on an up. Very few cars around, and I managed to hit nearly 48kmhr. Did some 'wooshing' of my own.
Thursday, 12 September 2013
Check this out....
Saturday = 10km run
Sunday = 22km MTB along Papamoa reserves
Monday = 4km pace run
Tuesday = 35 minute windtrainer session
Wednesday = 10km Summerhill night run
Thursday = 40min windtrainer session
Friday = 16km Reserve Mtb
Crikey!! That's a weeks training! I've never carried off a training week in my life, not even one with numerous rest days. I google training plans, read articles about training plans, create lovely colourful grids with training plans, but I never actually DO the training. I've even made myself sticker charts (I can't help it, I'm a teacher) which have looked like a meagre case of chicken pox with only a few spots. About a year ago, I just decided to accept the fact that I'm a lazy ass and don't DO training. I DO adventures. I can work quite hard, run, walk, bike, as long as it's fun and it's not TRAINING.
Exercise for exercise sake is just dumb. Won't catch me getting on that bandwagon. The only purpose of training is so you're not the person coming last when the finish chute has already been packed up. This has happened to me and is quite traumatic.
So anyway, did you check out that weeks training?? There are even three 5.30am starts in there. I'm not sure my body hasn't been taken over by aliens.
But - I'm not training for anything!! I have a general impression I'd like to improve my running to the point where I might actually enjoy it........... there's a vague team idea for half ironman in December...... but I am not currently motivated by any actual event.
The truth is............. Tom's training. My husband is one of those men, you know the sort, who ages very gracefully. He's getting better looking as we get older. I'm just getting obviously older. I'm quietly consoling myself that he'll start losing his hair soon, but then he'll just cut it really short and still look fantastic. So he's training, for half-ironman. He's swimming with an intense squad twice a week (even though he's not much of a swimmer), he's biking and running....... and he's getting all strong and fit..............
Luckily, he doesn't read this blog, and was even quite offended when he found out a couple of months ago that I even had a blog and he'd never been invited to read it.
Anyway, it seems I'm in training.
Sunday = 22km MTB along Papamoa reserves
Monday = 4km pace run
Tuesday = 35 minute windtrainer session
Wednesday = 10km Summerhill night run
Thursday = 40min windtrainer session
Friday = 16km Reserve Mtb
Crikey!! That's a weeks training! I've never carried off a training week in my life, not even one with numerous rest days. I google training plans, read articles about training plans, create lovely colourful grids with training plans, but I never actually DO the training. I've even made myself sticker charts (I can't help it, I'm a teacher) which have looked like a meagre case of chicken pox with only a few spots. About a year ago, I just decided to accept the fact that I'm a lazy ass and don't DO training. I DO adventures. I can work quite hard, run, walk, bike, as long as it's fun and it's not TRAINING.
Exercise for exercise sake is just dumb. Won't catch me getting on that bandwagon. The only purpose of training is so you're not the person coming last when the finish chute has already been packed up. This has happened to me and is quite traumatic.
So anyway, did you check out that weeks training?? There are even three 5.30am starts in there. I'm not sure my body hasn't been taken over by aliens.
But - I'm not training for anything!! I have a general impression I'd like to improve my running to the point where I might actually enjoy it........... there's a vague team idea for half ironman in December...... but I am not currently motivated by any actual event.
The truth is............. Tom's training. My husband is one of those men, you know the sort, who ages very gracefully. He's getting better looking as we get older. I'm just getting obviously older. I'm quietly consoling myself that he'll start losing his hair soon, but then he'll just cut it really short and still look fantastic. So he's training, for half-ironman. He's swimming with an intense squad twice a week (even though he's not much of a swimmer), he's biking and running....... and he's getting all strong and fit..............
Luckily, he doesn't read this blog, and was even quite offended when he found out a couple of months ago that I even had a blog and he'd never been invited to read it.
Anyway, it seems I'm in training.
3 Trigs in 1 week - Time to Retire? :/
Did you see that? 3 trigs in one week! Real ones too, requiring maps, and runs and dirty shoes. Pretty impressive I reckon, but it creates a whole 'nother dilemma.
You might think it's reasonable to get fewer trigs during the dark, cold winter. But actually, right now I feel sick when I remember humid, sweaty, Wednesday night runs through the heat of summer. I think I actually prefer running in winter - at least a muddy track keeps you busy trying not to fall over!
The actual reason why I don't run in winter, is that I find myself consumed with hockey. I love hockey. I've played since I was 13. It's my sport. I like the skill, the fitness, the aggressiveness, the team mates. I'm playing Intercity hockey, which is the top club teams from Tauranga travelling to play other teams in nearby cities. It takes a commitment of a whole Tuesday night at training (I live nearly half an hour from the turf); and most of my Saturday in travelling, warming up, playing, hosting/being hosted. And I love it.
But, that's about 3 hours on a Tuesday night, and 4-9 hours on a Saturday, depending on whether we have a home or away game. This year, I'm the oldest in my team by 10 YEARS. I'm two DECADES older than some of my team mates. NANA! While I think my fitness holds up ok to this level of hockey, my skills and speed are starting to let me down. My fitness actually tends to decline during the hockey season. My age becomes an asset in being able to make decisions and play a steady game amongst all the teenage chipmunks on P. But................ I think I've peaked. Probably a decade ago realistically.
Think of how much other stuff I could do. Running. Mountain Biking. A marathon? Tarawera Ultra Marathon? Improve my photography? Spend more time with my kids. Trigs. Peaks? Trails. Multi-days? Volunteer work? Events!! I could do so much exciting stuff.
So, with a slightly heavy heart..... I now have a few months to ponder. I think it might be time for this hockey old gal to retire.
You might think it's reasonable to get fewer trigs during the dark, cold winter. But actually, right now I feel sick when I remember humid, sweaty, Wednesday night runs through the heat of summer. I think I actually prefer running in winter - at least a muddy track keeps you busy trying not to fall over!
The actual reason why I don't run in winter, is that I find myself consumed with hockey. I love hockey. I've played since I was 13. It's my sport. I like the skill, the fitness, the aggressiveness, the team mates. I'm playing Intercity hockey, which is the top club teams from Tauranga travelling to play other teams in nearby cities. It takes a commitment of a whole Tuesday night at training (I live nearly half an hour from the turf); and most of my Saturday in travelling, warming up, playing, hosting/being hosted. And I love it.
But, that's about 3 hours on a Tuesday night, and 4-9 hours on a Saturday, depending on whether we have a home or away game. This year, I'm the oldest in my team by 10 YEARS. I'm two DECADES older than some of my team mates. NANA! While I think my fitness holds up ok to this level of hockey, my skills and speed are starting to let me down. My fitness actually tends to decline during the hockey season. My age becomes an asset in being able to make decisions and play a steady game amongst all the teenage chipmunks on P. But................ I think I've peaked. Probably a decade ago realistically.
Think of how much other stuff I could do. Running. Mountain Biking. A marathon? Tarawera Ultra Marathon? Improve my photography? Spend more time with my kids. Trigs. Peaks? Trails. Multi-days? Volunteer work? Events!! I could do so much exciting stuff.
So, with a slightly heavy heart..... I now have a few months to ponder. I think it might be time for this hockey old gal to retire.
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