NSW Mountain Running Championship and March 5K Challenge.
SATURDAY 26/3/05, 6.15AM, 23K- WEEK TO DATE 75.5K
When I awoke at 5.45 and heard the rain drumming on the windows, the head dropped back onto the pillows for a few minutes. But I finally dragged myself out the door and jogged the 6.5K to the start through the wet. Attendance would not have matched the 40 on the list- I daresay the rain kept a few away.
A snappy 11 degrees at the start- autumn has arrived very suddenly.
I felt very wanky from when I got up and wheezed round in 20.10. My feet were bothering me too after yesterday's little training exercise- got home and found a few spots of blood on my socks. Ahh well, lots of excuses.
Looking at the splits, I lost the sub 20 between 3 and 4K...
3.52
7.52
11.46
16.05
20.10
We jogged back to the start and fired up the BBQs. Still damned cold- a few of us gathered round the hotplates just in an effort to get warm.
Eventually I headed off and ran back to my place (just to keep warm!) for a total of 23K for the morning.
SUNDAY 27/3/05, 10AM, 13K (1K warmup and 12K race)- WEEK TO DATE 88.5K
To Mt Kembla for the NSW Mountain Running Championships. 6 hours sleep.
A few weeks ago I asked Warwick Selby about this course, as he ran it at the 2003 Australian Champs. He described it as twice as steep as the Equaliser, and he had never struggled as much in a race. Warwick is a tough character but I thought he must have been indulging in hyperbole.
The course is basically a Y shape, with a climb up the dirt Cordeaux Road from the Kembla Lookout to a junction. Runners turn right and commence a very steep (ie hands on knees) ascent up a rocky fire trail to the summit of Mt Burelli, turn around, bomb down to the junction, then take the left fork up the Cordeaux Rd for a stretch, turn around, desacend back to the start for 4K with 200m of climb and of loss. Repeat twice more.
With a field of 13, most of them gun runners, I realised I was a really good chance of coming last, particularly given recent lack of hill work (Six Foot Track excepted) and the fact that I am a slow, fat bastard.
Anyway, I had to walk a good chunk of Mt Burelli on each lap, fighting and losing a stirring duel for second last with a big muscular bloke. Ben Dubois took off at the start with Ourimbah in third on the first lap, but the King was in second place and closing on Ben by the end. Perhaps if there were four laps...? Compared to the Equaliser course, this course is 2K shorter but took me 4 minutes longer and has over twice the vertical change.
Came 13th and last in 73.28. Winning time was Ben Dubois in 50 minutes.
SUNDAY 27/3/05, 9PM, 10K (52.34)- WEEK'S TOTAL 98.5K
Did another 10K on hilly bike path near my Mum's, an out and back with about 100m of vertical gain and loss. Took forever to warm up but picked it up at around 7K and got round 10.1K at 5.13min/km on a cool evening.
My biggest week, mileage wise, this year, I think.
MONDAY 28/3/05, 9AM- 11K (60.00)
Solid sleep- 8 hurs. Got out for a run on the Shaws Ridge bush loop. Felt very wanky indeed, tired, with sore quads. Mostly effects from yesterday's race I suppose. Felt marginally better in the last few km of the run, but the climb out of Blue Gum to the top of the ridge I was going so slowly I thought I would start travelling backwards in time.
When I awoke at 5.45 and heard the rain drumming on the windows, the head dropped back onto the pillows for a few minutes. But I finally dragged myself out the door and jogged the 6.5K to the start through the wet. Attendance would not have matched the 40 on the list- I daresay the rain kept a few away.
A snappy 11 degrees at the start- autumn has arrived very suddenly.
I felt very wanky from when I got up and wheezed round in 20.10. My feet were bothering me too after yesterday's little training exercise- got home and found a few spots of blood on my socks. Ahh well, lots of excuses.
Looking at the splits, I lost the sub 20 between 3 and 4K...
3.52
7.52
11.46
16.05
20.10
We jogged back to the start and fired up the BBQs. Still damned cold- a few of us gathered round the hotplates just in an effort to get warm.
Eventually I headed off and ran back to my place (just to keep warm!) for a total of 23K for the morning.
SUNDAY 27/3/05, 10AM, 13K (1K warmup and 12K race)- WEEK TO DATE 88.5K
To Mt Kembla for the NSW Mountain Running Championships. 6 hours sleep.
A few weeks ago I asked Warwick Selby about this course, as he ran it at the 2003 Australian Champs. He described it as twice as steep as the Equaliser, and he had never struggled as much in a race. Warwick is a tough character but I thought he must have been indulging in hyperbole.
The course is basically a Y shape, with a climb up the dirt Cordeaux Road from the Kembla Lookout to a junction. Runners turn right and commence a very steep (ie hands on knees) ascent up a rocky fire trail to the summit of Mt Burelli, turn around, bomb down to the junction, then take the left fork up the Cordeaux Rd for a stretch, turn around, desacend back to the start for 4K with 200m of climb and of loss. Repeat twice more.
With a field of 13, most of them gun runners, I realised I was a really good chance of coming last, particularly given recent lack of hill work (Six Foot Track excepted) and the fact that I am a slow, fat bastard.
Anyway, I had to walk a good chunk of Mt Burelli on each lap, fighting and losing a stirring duel for second last with a big muscular bloke. Ben Dubois took off at the start with Ourimbah in third on the first lap, but the King was in second place and closing on Ben by the end. Perhaps if there were four laps...? Compared to the Equaliser course, this course is 2K shorter but took me 4 minutes longer and has over twice the vertical change.
Came 13th and last in 73.28. Winning time was Ben Dubois in 50 minutes.
SUNDAY 27/3/05, 9PM, 10K (52.34)- WEEK'S TOTAL 98.5K
Did another 10K on hilly bike path near my Mum's, an out and back with about 100m of vertical gain and loss. Took forever to warm up but picked it up at around 7K and got round 10.1K at 5.13min/km on a cool evening.
My biggest week, mileage wise, this year, I think.
MONDAY 28/3/05, 9AM- 11K (60.00)
Solid sleep- 8 hurs. Got out for a run on the Shaws Ridge bush loop. Felt very wanky indeed, tired, with sore quads. Mostly effects from yesterday's race I suppose. Felt marginally better in the last few km of the run, but the climb out of Blue Gum to the top of the ridge I was going so slowly I thought I would start travelling backwards in time.
posted by Mister G at 12:21 pm
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