20 September 2010
My recovery from the Baviaans has been surprisingly good. I will however stay with my decision to rest 4 days. So I went for a quick 30 minute swim to pump some fresh blood.
22 September 2010
Another quick 30 minutes of swimming. had loads of energy and felt like I could go on forever.
23 September 2010
Went for a 1:10 run. Felt absolutely amazing! My legs was fresh and I had lots of speed and running the hills with ease. My knees are still a little fragile on the descents, but this should go away in the next couple of days.
Movescount 2010.09.23
25 September 2010
I did an interesting trail race today called the Ecomile 15k. It took place on a local dairy farm running through coastal thicket, pasture greens and a small beach section. You had to guess your finishing time and then try to come as close to it as possbile. No watches allowed. Was a really fun and relaxing run, stopping at the water points to have a chat to everyone. I came 3 minutes short of my estimate.
Movescount 2010.09.25
26 September 2010
Yet another 30 minute swim to sooth the legs. Tomorrow I'm starting to train at full tilt again.
27 September 2010
22 September 2010
Baviaans Trail Run Race Report
4:55am: Finally my clock goes off after a night that seemed to go on for ever! I laid in bed being nervous rolling this way and rolling that way. Thinking about my strategy and possible outcomes. Struggling with the absolute deafening silence brought on by being in the middle of no where. I hear the ladies in the other room getting up as well. They arrived at 11:00pm the previous night and did not have more that 5 hours of sleep. I feel bad for them.
5:30am: Down a quick breakfast while listening to the cars zipping past on the gravel road on their way to Geelhoutbos, it's still dark and the chickens start to wake up, I get in the car and follow suit.
6:10am: I turn off the main road and follow the other cars into the valley on jeep track towards Geelhoutbos. The valley walls is getting higher and the terrain rougher. I might have under estimated how rugged this race will be.
6:30am: Because this run is in a wilderness area they are super strict about litter, which is good! So there will be no cups at the one and only water point halfway at the highest point. it is compulsory to carry a 150ml cup with you. They check this before you enter the register tent. We received a huge goody bag!
6:50am: Race briefing! Last year a lot of people got lost on the final descent due to not listening to the race briefing. Everyone listened carefully this time around.
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| Total ascent 1400m |
7:05am: Go!!!!! It was a quick start with four of us leading a gap in the field. Kobus and Hylton soon disappeared into the distance. Christo and myself kept up a good pace while chatting and joked around that it felt like a road race. 4:16/km- way too fast! But I was feeling good and was able to talk so I stayed with it. We completed a 6km flat warm up before we hit the BIG climb. The climb would take us 800m up over approximately 8-10km. The jeep track was littered with egg size rocks. Very technical terrain. There were certain points where I thought how the hell did the water point crew get their vehicles up here. Christo looked strong and slowly pulled away while I took regular walking breaks up this monster hill. In the distance I could see Kobus and Hylton disappearing over the ridge. Looking back I had a glimpse of Andre in 5th. He was also doing much more running than me. I wasn't feeling strong up the hills like I would have wanted to. I think my mind was just not in the right place. The hill and continued and Christo started to disappear from view. It was time for some personal motivation, "Run what you can and walk the rest, the race is still young".
After the monster hill it was still some distance to the water point which was a couple of K's after halfway. We followed the ridge line over undulating terrain while steadily climbing to the highest point of the day. The views were amazing and the weather perfect. Overcast and no wind. Reaching the crest of each climb I had a quick glimpse back to see where Andre was. Jack joined him and this made me more worried.
Reaching the waterpoint at the highest point was great. The crew was friendly and filled my bottles. There was a variety of stuff to eat. I grabbed a hand full of Jellybabies and the marshall pointed me into the right direction. From here on we would follow a single track that disappears most of the time and some bright flags to keep us on track. The terrain was much more technical and I felt more at home. My stomach was cramping and it slowed my pace. I was hoping to go rather fast on the predominantly downhill second half, but my stomach wouldn't allow it. Although i was able to keep a steady pace and keep on jogging. Soon afterward I started to catch glimpses of Christo in the distance. Before long I passed him. My stomach started to feel better and I started to push the pace.
10:40am: I cross the finish line in 3:35 and second place. Hylton finished in 3:30.
Big thanks to the organizers for a well planned event. Congrats to Hylton Dunn for a superb run making up 5 minutes behind first place at the water point to finish 5 minutes ahead. And big ups to the gentleman that ran with very old non running shoes! You my friend are an inspiration to us all!
20 September 2010
Weekly Summary 13-19Aug
13 September 2010
Got out of bed super excited this morning, but my excitement didn't carry through to my jog. Did about 50minutes of running just playing with the pace. Felt a bit sluggish. Hopefully this was due to the string of late nights over the weekend. Will make it an early one tonight so that I can be rested for the final speed session tomorrow.
Went for a 30 minute swim in the afternoon to get some fresh blood flowing through the legs. Felt super good afterward.
Movescount 2010.09.13
14 September 2010
My final speed session before the race. Did 8km easy, 3km fast, 1km easy. The rest and carbo loading is definitely starting to pay off. Almost my whole run this morning was in sunlight, BRING ON THE SUMMER!
Movescount 2010.09.14
16 September 2010
Did my final run before the Baviaans Trail Run. Went out for a 30minute jog around the block in another gusting morning. My legs feels like a wound up jack in a box on steroids ready to explode!
Went for a deep tissue massage in the evening. The therapist gave me a proper tongue lashing, because it's been a year since I had my last massage and my muscles was so tight she couldn't feel the different muscles....oops!
Movescount 2010.09.16
18 September 2010
The day of the Baviaans Trail Run! 38km 1400m of climbing and millions of egg size rock to run over. Achieved second place and is absolutely stoked about it. I worked super hard and my watch confirms it!
Movescount 2010.09.18
Weeks of training hard finally came to and end with the Baviaans this week. I'm really happy about the second place. Hind sight is a bitch though. Missing out on first place with 5 minutes I can't help to feel that if I pushed harder on that hill or maybe went a little faster on that section that I could have done it. But I refuse to let this dominate my thoughts and rather bask in the glory of second. I wasn't as strong up the hills as I would have wanted to be so will review my training for 3 Peaks Challenge in 6 weeks time. That will be only hills.
The sun is coming up nice and early now and setting later, so no more dragging myself out of bed! I can get those early morning runs in and focus on my studies. Studies actually need a lot of focus for the next 5 weeks! Busy times!
Enjoy the running!
Got out of bed super excited this morning, but my excitement didn't carry through to my jog. Did about 50minutes of running just playing with the pace. Felt a bit sluggish. Hopefully this was due to the string of late nights over the weekend. Will make it an early one tonight so that I can be rested for the final speed session tomorrow.
Went for a 30 minute swim in the afternoon to get some fresh blood flowing through the legs. Felt super good afterward.
Movescount 2010.09.13
14 September 2010
My final speed session before the race. Did 8km easy, 3km fast, 1km easy. The rest and carbo loading is definitely starting to pay off. Almost my whole run this morning was in sunlight, BRING ON THE SUMMER!
Movescount 2010.09.14
16 September 2010
Did my final run before the Baviaans Trail Run. Went out for a 30minute jog around the block in another gusting morning. My legs feels like a wound up jack in a box on steroids ready to explode!
Went for a deep tissue massage in the evening. The therapist gave me a proper tongue lashing, because it's been a year since I had my last massage and my muscles was so tight she couldn't feel the different muscles....oops!
Movescount 2010.09.16
18 September 2010
The day of the Baviaans Trail Run! 38km 1400m of climbing and millions of egg size rock to run over. Achieved second place and is absolutely stoked about it. I worked super hard and my watch confirms it!
 |
| A lot of hard running! |
Movescount 2010.09.18
Weeks of training hard finally came to and end with the Baviaans this week. I'm really happy about the second place. Hind sight is a bitch though. Missing out on first place with 5 minutes I can't help to feel that if I pushed harder on that hill or maybe went a little faster on that section that I could have done it. But I refuse to let this dominate my thoughts and rather bask in the glory of second. I wasn't as strong up the hills as I would have wanted to be so will review my training for 3 Peaks Challenge in 6 weeks time. That will be only hills.
The sun is coming up nice and early now and setting later, so no more dragging myself out of bed! I can get those early morning runs in and focus on my studies. Studies actually need a lot of focus for the next 5 weeks! Busy times!
Enjoy the running!
14 September 2010
Zuurberg Mountain Race Report
It was the the return to the scene of the crime for me. The last time a ran through this part of the woods I didn't do so much running as suppose to walking. Last time I walked through this part of the woods was after 65km of undulating terrain on my way complete the Addo 85km race earlier this year. Then, I was rather disappointed to not be able to run the beautiful section of the Addo Reserve. But! Today was a completely different story.
The Zuurberg Mountain Race is a no holds bar race limited to 100 runners and walkers. There are no prizes, no big stars, no egos just a mountain to run in a very social environment. Not a lot of people knows about this race, but its a firm favourite amongst the locals.
The day didn't start very good. I woke up an hour and thirty minutes before my alarm after a late night and couldn't get to sleep again and was still able to leave the house later than planned. We missed the turn off to Zuurberg from the highway, because I was looking for something to munch in my bag. The 8:00am start time drew closer and the nerves started to build. 7:35am we hit the 16km gravel pass up to Zuurberg. THE FAN drove us up the pass in record time with some nice rally tricks, not good for the nerves. Got there 7:55, just enough time to pick up my race number, greet the crew and kiss THE FAN goodbye.
"OK, Go!" And we're off. The first 2k's are ran over some gentle hills to warm you up. This was done at a blistering pace especially on cold legs. We then hit a very technical rocky descent for about 15 minutes. This gave my heart and lungs a bit of a breather. I really enjoyed this section. Definitely the most awesome insane downhill I've done. I ran off the faint path at one point and almost connected with a tree, I was really enjoying myself!
There are no directions and a handful of places where you can get lost. After dropping out at the dry river bed and choosing the right path we were down in the valley and it was time to do some fence hopping and dodging cow dung. Fourth and fifth was struggling to get over a fence. Time to make up ground! My long legs helped me a lot here and I was able to move into fourth position. This section of the run was really beautiful with the rocky mountain sides reaching up the sides of the valley. Looking back to our crazy descent I couldn't see a path or runners, awesome!
I followed third through the valley floor under a yellow wood tree canopy and criss crossing rivers. This was really beautiful, but there was no time for sight seeing. We lost a couple of minutes at two junctions deciding which way to go. Thinking back to the instructions at the start we decided on left, good choice. Next junction take right, another good choice. Note to self, "Bring hunting dog a long next year!".
From here it was a gentle climb out of the valley back to the start. Halfway up there was three guys from Achilles AC (organizers) with some Coke and friendly smiles. After a quick chat I was on my way assaulting the last ascent and a gentle run back to the finish line.
At the finish we were given a handmade clay medallion and treated to buffet style breakfast.
This is definitely in the top 3 of my favourite races. It's got it all, good people, technical trail, value for money and a unique experience. This event has been going for twenty years and there were 2 guys doing their twentieth, well done.
The Zuurberg Mountain Race is a no holds bar race limited to 100 runners and walkers. There are no prizes, no big stars, no egos just a mountain to run in a very social environment. Not a lot of people knows about this race, but its a firm favourite amongst the locals.
The day didn't start very good. I woke up an hour and thirty minutes before my alarm after a late night and couldn't get to sleep again and was still able to leave the house later than planned. We missed the turn off to Zuurberg from the highway, because I was looking for something to munch in my bag. The 8:00am start time drew closer and the nerves started to build. 7:35am we hit the 16km gravel pass up to Zuurberg. THE FAN drove us up the pass in record time with some nice rally tricks, not good for the nerves. Got there 7:55, just enough time to pick up my race number, greet the crew and kiss THE FAN goodbye.
"OK, Go!" And we're off. The first 2k's are ran over some gentle hills to warm you up. This was done at a blistering pace especially on cold legs. We then hit a very technical rocky descent for about 15 minutes. This gave my heart and lungs a bit of a breather. I really enjoyed this section. Definitely the most awesome insane downhill I've done. I ran off the faint path at one point and almost connected with a tree, I was really enjoying myself!
There are no directions and a handful of places where you can get lost. After dropping out at the dry river bed and choosing the right path we were down in the valley and it was time to do some fence hopping and dodging cow dung. Fourth and fifth was struggling to get over a fence. Time to make up ground! My long legs helped me a lot here and I was able to move into fourth position. This section of the run was really beautiful with the rocky mountain sides reaching up the sides of the valley. Looking back to our crazy descent I couldn't see a path or runners, awesome!
I followed third through the valley floor under a yellow wood tree canopy and criss crossing rivers. This was really beautiful, but there was no time for sight seeing. We lost a couple of minutes at two junctions deciding which way to go. Thinking back to the instructions at the start we decided on left, good choice. Next junction take right, another good choice. Note to self, "Bring hunting dog a long next year!".
From here it was a gentle climb out of the valley back to the start. Halfway up there was three guys from Achilles AC (organizers) with some Coke and friendly smiles. After a quick chat I was on my way assaulting the last ascent and a gentle run back to the finish line.
At the finish we were given a handmade clay medallion and treated to buffet style breakfast.
This is definitely in the top 3 of my favourite races. It's got it all, good people, technical trail, value for money and a unique experience. This event has been going for twenty years and there were 2 guys doing their twentieth, well done.
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| Unique gifts makes a race much more special |
13 September 2010
Weekly Summary 6Sep-12Sep 2010
6 September 2010
Last stair repeats before the Baviaans Trail Race. Did 12 repeats and felt rather good.
Movescount 2010.09.06
7 September 2010
Spring has sprung and the sun is coming out earlier. The second half of my morning runs are now in beautiful sunlight, really picks up the spirit. Did 2 x 3mile intervals. Taper is underway and will be characterized by short intense training sessions and little longer very easy runs.
Movescount 2010.09.07
8 September 2010
A short and easy run around the "block". Felt a little bit sluggish which is not ideal at this time of my training. My taper only started this week so hopefully it will get better with lots of rest and carbo loadinig to follow. Last half was once again while the sun was rising, great feeling! Had some time to do a proper stretch routine.
Movescount 2010.09.08
9 September 2010
Last long run before the big race. Ran through the valley from home, met up with the Thursday night running group and headed back into the valley. We took it rather easy, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the pace we kept. Was suppose to do 24km, but only did about 19km. At this stage less is probably more.
Movescount 2010.09.09
11 September 2010
A last minute decision to do the Zuurberg Mountain race. This was the perfect final race prep race. Fifteen kilometers of supreme mountain single track. My recovery went very well afterward and I'm super amped for this weekend! Race report will be up soon...
Movescount 2010.09.10
Four days 22 hours to go. The nerves are starting to build up. This will be my most competitive race to date. I've set myself some rather ambitious goals and I know my competition well. My preparation went well. Now I need to focus on getting my mind in the right space and think about my strategy.
Last stair repeats before the Baviaans Trail Race. Did 12 repeats and felt rather good.
Movescount 2010.09.06
7 September 2010
Spring has sprung and the sun is coming out earlier. The second half of my morning runs are now in beautiful sunlight, really picks up the spirit. Did 2 x 3mile intervals. Taper is underway and will be characterized by short intense training sessions and little longer very easy runs.
Movescount 2010.09.07
8 September 2010
A short and easy run around the "block". Felt a little bit sluggish which is not ideal at this time of my training. My taper only started this week so hopefully it will get better with lots of rest and carbo loadinig to follow. Last half was once again while the sun was rising, great feeling! Had some time to do a proper stretch routine.
Movescount 2010.09.08
9 September 2010
Last long run before the big race. Ran through the valley from home, met up with the Thursday night running group and headed back into the valley. We took it rather easy, but I was pleasantly surprised to see the pace we kept. Was suppose to do 24km, but only did about 19km. At this stage less is probably more.
Movescount 2010.09.09
11 September 2010
A last minute decision to do the Zuurberg Mountain race. This was the perfect final race prep race. Fifteen kilometers of supreme mountain single track. My recovery went very well afterward and I'm super amped for this weekend! Race report will be up soon...
Movescount 2010.09.10
Four days 22 hours to go. The nerves are starting to build up. This will be my most competitive race to date. I've set myself some rather ambitious goals and I know my competition well. My preparation went well. Now I need to focus on getting my mind in the right space and think about my strategy.
09 September 2010
Addo Trailrun
I've done the 50 miler Addo Trail Run earlier this year. Here is a race report from someone that did the 25 miler. Click Here
I'm still in two minds about next year's event. They made it much earlier to the 12th of March. I'm going on holiday to Namibia for 2 weeks over Christmas. This will be a party holiday and not an adventure/running holiday. So I'm not to sure that I will have enough time to prepare for the 50miler. After 2 weeks rest there will be only 2 months to train. Maybe I'll just check it out after my vacation and if I don't feel up to the task just do the 25miler....Decisions decisions!
I'm still in two minds about next year's event. They made it much earlier to the 12th of March. I'm going on holiday to Namibia for 2 weeks over Christmas. This will be a party holiday and not an adventure/running holiday. So I'm not to sure that I will have enough time to prepare for the 50miler. After 2 weeks rest there will be only 2 months to train. Maybe I'll just check it out after my vacation and if I don't feel up to the task just do the 25miler....Decisions decisions!
08 September 2010
Looking For Adventures
ad·ven·ture
[ad-ven-cher] noun, verb, -tured, -tur·ing.
tʃər
1.
an exciting or very unusual experience.
2.
3. a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises: the spirit of adventure.
Yesterday on the radio someone talked about Christmas dressings and presents. That means only one thing! The end of the year is nigh. With a barrage of year end parties soon to come your way you will be sitting around the Christmas tree stuffing your face with all kinds of cold meats, salads, breads, wine and deserts.
Year end also calls for something else. Plans for the next year! I'm talking specifically adventure plans. Book and plan early and your sure to get a great deal, no stress and the exact adventure you are looking for.
Apart from the various races I want to compete in next year I am also starting to build on an adventure. A couple of decisions need to be made to decide on which type of adventure. Will it be a "commercial" adventure where you do something that anyone can do with the right amount of money or do you go off the beaten track? I vote off the beaten track!
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| Be the sky line! |
But for interest sake lets explore both options:
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