A month ago we bought mountain bikes. And like most people my wife had a New Years resolution regarding fitness. Her goal...To ride in a MTB race.
Now first for some background. About a year and a half ago we also tried training her for a race. A 10km running race. Fair enough it was mid winter in Port Elizabeth, not a very nice place to be. She is not a morning person, almost puked after the first early morning run. Then she couldn't even remember the afternoon that we ran the morning. Hows that for surpressing bad memories. Other excuses included a buzzing in her ears. WHAT! It apparently goes away when she starts to sprint, but come on, you can't sprint if you can barely jog. So after a few weeks she ran her scrunchie off and she quit.
I'm a fitness freak...She is not. She is a couch freak. Especially now that we have a nice new couch and she finished her honours degree. So it can be rather difficult for me to always negotiate anything fitness related. The plus point, she loves the outdoors just as much as me and can be rather stubborn if she wants to.
We are taking on this adventure with a couple of goals in mind. Getting through this without divorce. Getting her to the start line on 25 February still motivated means I need to control my enthusiasm for pushing hard when it comes to training.
The race we are entering is the MERRELL NORM-HUDLIN TRAIL 15km MTB ride. We have 7 weeks to train.
Wish me luck...Wish US luck!
Ps. Follow our scrunch-tious adventures over the next 7 weeks.
09 January 2012
08 January 2012
Back on the Wagon
So it's a new year. It seems that every year this time I find a need to let out on the little creativeness I possess.
I had a pretty successful 2011 regarding races. But towards the end of 2011 I already made a decision to try and do more runs to challenge myself and less focus on races. I want to discover new routes for training and try to run existing hiking routes fast. Hiking routes that is not part of a race.
Routes that come to mind is the Jonkershoek Traverse Marathon, Boland Hiking Trial, summiting Groot Winterhoek Peak, Stellenbosch to Franschoek via the mountains.
It doesn't necessarily have to be fast. I just want to do it. I can always go back and do it faster at a later stage.
Adventure and exploring needs to return to trail running.
Who's got some challenging routes in mind? Or knows about existing "challenge" routes that people set fastest known times for?
I had a pretty successful 2011 regarding races. But towards the end of 2011 I already made a decision to try and do more runs to challenge myself and less focus on races. I want to discover new routes for training and try to run existing hiking routes fast. Hiking routes that is not part of a race.
Routes that come to mind is the Jonkershoek Traverse Marathon, Boland Hiking Trial, summiting Groot Winterhoek Peak, Stellenbosch to Franschoek via the mountains.
It doesn't necessarily have to be fast. I just want to do it. I can always go back and do it faster at a later stage.
Adventure and exploring needs to return to trail running.
Who's got some challenging routes in mind? Or knows about existing "challenge" routes that people set fastest known times for?
27 January 2011
Storms River Mouth
It's still dark at 4:30am, but I can see the horizon starting to lit up and the clouds clearing up while I'm enjoying some Pronutro in the back of my car.
I started with a couple of loops on the tar road through the camp waiting for the sun to come up before I head into the forest. 5:30am and it's light enough for me to take on the forest. I head towards the suspension bridge via the boardwalk. The boardwalk is wet, but made from some kinda plastic I still find excellent grip. There is no one on the trail (obviously, it's 5:30 on a Sunday morning) and it's absolute bliss!
Crossing the suspension bridge is a bit trick while running. You think your foot is still going down then the bridge comes up and jerks your leg back. The trick? Quick small steps! Great training for increasing your cadence these suspension bridges. Now the real work starts! An almost vertical climb up the cliffs left me breathless, in all forms of the word. The climb is awarded with an excellent view over the mouth and suspension bridges. From here it's a little single track traversing the cliff, don't slip!
After returning to camp I headed up the various tracks above the camp. All indigenous forest and it's beautiful. There is no easy flat sections and you need to focus to not step on the slippery roots.
Then came the Otter! Well, only the start really. I planned on running to the waterfall which forms part of day 1 of the Otter. Halfway in and you start scrambling over coastal rocks. This slowed my pace down and I didn't see the benefit on proceeding over the rocks. I will certainly be back to do the Otter and to hike to the waterfall, it just wasn't ideal terrain at that moment.
I quickly filled my water bottle at camp, the humidity is crazy even though it was only 8:00am. I ran through the forest again on my way to the shop to buy some more water. Finished the run with a gentle run on the camp roads back to my tent.
Storms river mouth is a super special place and every one should go for a visit. You can go on a snorkel trail, scuba, kayak up the river mouth, take a boat and view the Khoi cave, go down the river on a tube, tan on the beach, swim in the pool or just enjoy a couple of beers in the restaurant!
Crossing the suspension bridge is a bit trick while running. You think your foot is still going down then the bridge comes up and jerks your leg back. The trick? Quick small steps! Great training for increasing your cadence these suspension bridges. Now the real work starts! An almost vertical climb up the cliffs left me breathless, in all forms of the word. The climb is awarded with an excellent view over the mouth and suspension bridges. From here it's a little single track traversing the cliff, don't slip!
After returning to camp I headed up the various tracks above the camp. All indigenous forest and it's beautiful. There is no easy flat sections and you need to focus to not step on the slippery roots.
Then came the Otter! Well, only the start really. I planned on running to the waterfall which forms part of day 1 of the Otter. Halfway in and you start scrambling over coastal rocks. This slowed my pace down and I didn't see the benefit on proceeding over the rocks. I will certainly be back to do the Otter and to hike to the waterfall, it just wasn't ideal terrain at that moment.
I quickly filled my water bottle at camp, the humidity is crazy even though it was only 8:00am. I ran through the forest again on my way to the shop to buy some more water. Finished the run with a gentle run on the camp roads back to my tent.
Storms river mouth is a super special place and every one should go for a visit. You can go on a snorkel trail, scuba, kayak up the river mouth, take a boat and view the Khoi cave, go down the river on a tube, tan on the beach, swim in the pool or just enjoy a couple of beers in the restaurant!
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| The Restaurant- They serve locally produced Mitchell Draught..yumyum |
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| The upgraded suspension bridges |
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| Celebrating a great run with a beer and making a potjie! best recovery food EVER! |
25 January 2011
Running For The Fear Of It
When I started trail running some 3 years ago I wasn't a runner. I went to gym 3 times a week and that was it. One day I picked up the Mens Health Magazine and read an article about the Old Fishermans Trail Challenge. This looked like fun. The next day I was out the door and started to train. I had 5 months to train for a 22km trail run and didn't know the slightest thing about running.
My main motivation was the fear of not finishing. The fear of having to miss the cut off or just being physically unable to go any further. I was never planning on running again after the OFTC. But! The bug bit me and I kept on running.
2009 rolled around and I decided to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge. Never having run more than 22km's the 50km pain fest was a huge step. Again, the fear of not finishing forced me out of bed on dark icy winter mornings into the mountains. I accomplished the task at hand and had an empty feeling for weeks after the event. I got rid of that feeling by entering the Addo 85km trail run in May 2010. It was a frantic, fear filled couple of months leading up to the event. I finished 5th and was ultimately hooked on ultra running and the challenge of the unknown!
2011 has come around and I have no real BIG plans to conquer. And this is leaving me with very little motivation to get out the door and put in the hard sessions. There is no fear of the unknown, fear of the challenge, fear of disappointing people. What is present is the fear of failing one self, letting the fitness drift and throwing away all the hours of training. The fear of having missed hours with loved ones for nothing.
It is at this junction that respect for the challenge and for one self, respect for the support system around us must be feared. Because without a cause and without support we are NOTHING!
My main motivation was the fear of not finishing. The fear of having to miss the cut off or just being physically unable to go any further. I was never planning on running again after the OFTC. But! The bug bit me and I kept on running.
2009 rolled around and I decided to take part in the Three Peaks Challenge. Never having run more than 22km's the 50km pain fest was a huge step. Again, the fear of not finishing forced me out of bed on dark icy winter mornings into the mountains. I accomplished the task at hand and had an empty feeling for weeks after the event. I got rid of that feeling by entering the Addo 85km trail run in May 2010. It was a frantic, fear filled couple of months leading up to the event. I finished 5th and was ultimately hooked on ultra running and the challenge of the unknown!
2011 has come around and I have no real BIG plans to conquer. And this is leaving me with very little motivation to get out the door and put in the hard sessions. There is no fear of the unknown, fear of the challenge, fear of disappointing people. What is present is the fear of failing one self, letting the fitness drift and throwing away all the hours of training. The fear of having missed hours with loved ones for nothing.
It is at this junction that respect for the challenge and for one self, respect for the support system around us must be feared. Because without a cause and without support we are NOTHING!
21 January 2011
Things Are A Changing
It was one of those windy hot summer Sundays in The Friendly City and I decided to test out the new trail just outside town. Struggling with a bit of a tight hamstring it was a nice surprise to find out the 20km trail is as flat as a pancake. I don't think you can even run 20km in the city as flat as this.
A few kays in and my heart rate was much higher than what it was suppose to be, but anything slower and I will run backwards. I finished one loop and continued on to make up 28km's. But those last 8km's were at a much lower heart rate than before. Awesome! Last time this happened to me was during the Addo 50miler in 2010. After a certain distance your heart rate just drops a couple of beats and you actually have to work quite a bit to get it higher. This is the sign of a well trained heart (good boy!) when your body suddenly realizes whats going on and kind of just starts to relax.
The strange thing is that since Sunday my heart rate has been lower during all my training sessions, from the start. And this during a week where the humidity was extremely high.
So with 49 days and 19 hours to go til the start of the Addo all seems good in running land!
A few kays in and my heart rate was much higher than what it was suppose to be, but anything slower and I will run backwards. I finished one loop and continued on to make up 28km's. But those last 8km's were at a much lower heart rate than before. Awesome! Last time this happened to me was during the Addo 50miler in 2010. After a certain distance your heart rate just drops a couple of beats and you actually have to work quite a bit to get it higher. This is the sign of a well trained heart (good boy!) when your body suddenly realizes whats going on and kind of just starts to relax.
The strange thing is that since Sunday my heart rate has been lower during all my training sessions, from the start. And this during a week where the humidity was extremely high.
So with 49 days and 19 hours to go til the start of the Addo all seems good in running land!
20 December 2010
Vacation Training
I'm currently on vacation in Namibia. Yes, it is summer. Yes, it is freaking hot.
While this 2 week break will serve as `n little break from running as well before going at it hard in January, I'm planning on doing some training sessions. The training sessions will be with a specific goal in mind. In 2011 I would like to compete in some multi day races taking place at altitude and extreme heat.
Windhoek is sitting pretty at 1650m. This is a great opportunity to see how my body react at the higher altitude. For a coastal dweller like me this is quite a jump.
The temperature in Windhoek is daily above 33 degrees and very dry. So my second goal will be to see how I fair in this kind of climate.
Next stop will Swakopmund, back at the coast. There will be a lot more oxygen, yeah! But there will be a lot more sand. The coast of Namibia is home to some of the highest dunes in the world. Here I will test my skills and strength on the dunes. Giving me an idea of what to expect in races like the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme and Marathon des Sables.
While this 2 week break will serve as `n little break from running as well before going at it hard in January, I'm planning on doing some training sessions. The training sessions will be with a specific goal in mind. In 2011 I would like to compete in some multi day races taking place at altitude and extreme heat.
Windhoek is sitting pretty at 1650m. This is a great opportunity to see how my body react at the higher altitude. For a coastal dweller like me this is quite a jump.
The temperature in Windhoek is daily above 33 degrees and very dry. So my second goal will be to see how I fair in this kind of climate.
Next stop will Swakopmund, back at the coast. There will be a lot more oxygen, yeah! But there will be a lot more sand. The coast of Namibia is home to some of the highest dunes in the world. Here I will test my skills and strength on the dunes. Giving me an idea of what to expect in races like the Kalahari Augrabies Extreme and Marathon des Sables.
03 December 2010
Three Peaks 2010 Race Report
It was going to be a perfect day out on the mountain. The weather was cool and the sky cloudless as we toed the start line at 5am. For some reason the busy party street which is Long Street was rather quiet.
"OK, lets go", and we were off. The first couple of kilometers up to the trail was a frantic sprint. People scattering in all directions pursuing what they believe will be the fastest, most efficient way to the trails. The poor newbies didn't know if they should come or go.
As we started the climb up to Devils Peak the sun started to come up and I was excited to see the views from the top. Last year we could barely see 5m in front of us. Half way up the trail splits. I took the more direct option and Neil Hermann taking the other option. He beat me to the top by a couple of seconds. I followed him down and we were able to miss the traffic still ascending.
Returning to Green market Square I was feeling good in 7th position. The climb up to Maclears Beacon (Table Mountain) was epic as always. There were lots of hikers on the mountain to give us encouragement. This gave me a good excuse to rest every so often to explain to the tourists why we are doing this. After touching Maclears Beacon I headed back to Green Market Square. Deliberately taking the descent easy and slow. The climb up to Lion Head is not easy and you need a lot of leg strength.
The climb up to Lion Head was painful and slow as always. The key is to just keep moving. When I reached the chains a group of kids were coming down, without ANY supervision. They took took forever to come down and I did my civic duty and helped them down. This gave me a descent rest for the final climb, but I lost some valuable time. Mark Pikker came along and instructed them to wait. I lost a position to him on the final section. The descent was a crazy mad dash trying to make up any lost minutes and hoping to pass someone. I was sliding down on my bum and ran as fast as I could once I hit the road.
Exhausted I reached Green Market square in 5th position and almost an hour better than last year!
Three Peaks Challenge is one of the oldest runs in Cape Town and is super special. The camaraderie is unbeatable. If you ever feel like putting yourself through a little but of pain this is the one to do.
"OK, lets go", and we were off. The first couple of kilometers up to the trail was a frantic sprint. People scattering in all directions pursuing what they believe will be the fastest, most efficient way to the trails. The poor newbies didn't know if they should come or go.
As we started the climb up to Devils Peak the sun started to come up and I was excited to see the views from the top. Last year we could barely see 5m in front of us. Half way up the trail splits. I took the more direct option and Neil Hermann taking the other option. He beat me to the top by a couple of seconds. I followed him down and we were able to miss the traffic still ascending.
Returning to Green market Square I was feeling good in 7th position. The climb up to Maclears Beacon (Table Mountain) was epic as always. There were lots of hikers on the mountain to give us encouragement. This gave me a good excuse to rest every so often to explain to the tourists why we are doing this. After touching Maclears Beacon I headed back to Green Market Square. Deliberately taking the descent easy and slow. The climb up to Lion Head is not easy and you need a lot of leg strength.
The climb up to Lion Head was painful and slow as always. The key is to just keep moving. When I reached the chains a group of kids were coming down, without ANY supervision. They took took forever to come down and I did my civic duty and helped them down. This gave me a descent rest for the final climb, but I lost some valuable time. Mark Pikker came along and instructed them to wait. I lost a position to him on the final section. The descent was a crazy mad dash trying to make up any lost minutes and hoping to pass someone. I was sliding down on my bum and ran as fast as I could once I hit the road.
Exhausted I reached Green Market square in 5th position and almost an hour better than last year!
Three Peaks Challenge is one of the oldest runs in Cape Town and is super special. The camaraderie is unbeatable. If you ever feel like putting yourself through a little but of pain this is the one to do.
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