Monday, July 17, 2006
Shoalhaven King of the Mountain and Recovery
16/7/06
Headed down with Blue Dog and Team Horrie for a lovely drive through Shoalhaven. Countryside was quite pretty and very pleasant. When we finally got to the start after missing the turnoff, we met up with Spud and Tim of Team Mellum for a bit of sledging. Then it was over to the start.
Tim said his plan was to try and stick with Spud for as long as possible and my plan was to try and stick with both of them. Although when we got to 3km in 12:36, I questioned myself if I was running a 20 mile event or a 10km. When we got to the first drink station, I let them go as I was not running with the fuel belt and had planned to walk through every drink station, making sure I had a good drink at each. Soon enough the 5km marker came up and I was bang on 22 minutes which was still a bit quick but I knew this was going to get slower as we started the climbs of which there are several. Spud and Tim had eased out to 100m ahead and Blue Dog was about the same distance ahead of them. I reached 10km in 48:50, giving me a second 5km split of 26:50. This didn't surprise me as there were quite a few hills in this section. I kept plugging away up the hills and started getting overtaken by a steady stream of runners, including the 3 leading females. As they went past me, I couldn't help thinking that I was probably giving them 20kg and wondered how they would be going up these hills with a 20kg backpack on. This worked well as it distracted me from what was becoming quite a tough run. I reached 15km in just under 75 minutes and the halfway point in just over 80 minutes so I was happy that I was still averaging 5 minute kms despite feeling I was running a lot slower than that. Knowing that there was still the biggest climb of the race to come up Mount Skanzi, I budgeted for a 5 minute slowdown in the second half and thought that 2:45 was a good target time. I was a bit surprised how steep the climb to Mount Scanzi was and after running most of it, I questioned myself why I was trying to run this section as I seemed to be running on the spot. So I decided to walk the last bit and realised that I was not going that much slower than when I was trying to run it. This was the slowest 5km split of the race with just over 30 minutes. Still, after such a steep uphill, I thought the pendulum must swing after this and there should be a downhill to follow. Sure enough, the next 5km was mostly downhill. I just rolled down the hill without going too hard. I was happy to get through this 5km split in 24:35, which gave me an overall time of 2:35 at the 30km mark. I told myself I only had to hold 5 min/km pace to the finish and I would reach my goal of 2:45. I knew I could do this as even though the course was tough, I was still running well and feeling good. As I stopped at the last drink station, another leading woman overtook me, now making the count 4. As soon as I finished my drink, I set myself the goal of trying to stay with her but as we ran through the main street of Kangaroo Valley to the finish, it was another gentle uphill, she gradually started to pull away from me. As I turned the corner to head to the finish in the showground, I heard the announcer call my name and then he called me by my Cool Running name, it gave me a real lift. (Thanks Blue Dog, Spud and Tim) I surged to the line and stopped the clock in 2:44:36. I was very happy that I got in under my goal time of 2:45. It was great to catch up with the boys at the finish and I was happy to concede that Team Mellum beat Team GBH on aggregate today, even though Blue Dog was trying to call it evens. Belinda and Tim had now made their way to the finish after having a vantage point on the main street about 400m from the finish. Finished the day off with some lovely Nowra hospitality with some coffee and scones before heading back to Blue Dog's place for some well earnt hydration.
17/7/06
I forced myself to get up early this morning and headed out for a recovery run around my 10.5km loop. Legs felt a bit stiff to begin with but better by the time I finished. I was very happy with myself for doing it as it would have been a lot easier to stay in bed and have a bit of a sleep in.
Headed down with Blue Dog and Team Horrie for a lovely drive through Shoalhaven. Countryside was quite pretty and very pleasant. When we finally got to the start after missing the turnoff, we met up with Spud and Tim of Team Mellum for a bit of sledging. Then it was over to the start.
Tim said his plan was to try and stick with Spud for as long as possible and my plan was to try and stick with both of them. Although when we got to 3km in 12:36, I questioned myself if I was running a 20 mile event or a 10km. When we got to the first drink station, I let them go as I was not running with the fuel belt and had planned to walk through every drink station, making sure I had a good drink at each. Soon enough the 5km marker came up and I was bang on 22 minutes which was still a bit quick but I knew this was going to get slower as we started the climbs of which there are several. Spud and Tim had eased out to 100m ahead and Blue Dog was about the same distance ahead of them. I reached 10km in 48:50, giving me a second 5km split of 26:50. This didn't surprise me as there were quite a few hills in this section. I kept plugging away up the hills and started getting overtaken by a steady stream of runners, including the 3 leading females. As they went past me, I couldn't help thinking that I was probably giving them 20kg and wondered how they would be going up these hills with a 20kg backpack on. This worked well as it distracted me from what was becoming quite a tough run. I reached 15km in just under 75 minutes and the halfway point in just over 80 minutes so I was happy that I was still averaging 5 minute kms despite feeling I was running a lot slower than that. Knowing that there was still the biggest climb of the race to come up Mount Skanzi, I budgeted for a 5 minute slowdown in the second half and thought that 2:45 was a good target time. I was a bit surprised how steep the climb to Mount Scanzi was and after running most of it, I questioned myself why I was trying to run this section as I seemed to be running on the spot. So I decided to walk the last bit and realised that I was not going that much slower than when I was trying to run it. This was the slowest 5km split of the race with just over 30 minutes. Still, after such a steep uphill, I thought the pendulum must swing after this and there should be a downhill to follow. Sure enough, the next 5km was mostly downhill. I just rolled down the hill without going too hard. I was happy to get through this 5km split in 24:35, which gave me an overall time of 2:35 at the 30km mark. I told myself I only had to hold 5 min/km pace to the finish and I would reach my goal of 2:45. I knew I could do this as even though the course was tough, I was still running well and feeling good. As I stopped at the last drink station, another leading woman overtook me, now making the count 4. As soon as I finished my drink, I set myself the goal of trying to stay with her but as we ran through the main street of Kangaroo Valley to the finish, it was another gentle uphill, she gradually started to pull away from me. As I turned the corner to head to the finish in the showground, I heard the announcer call my name and then he called me by my Cool Running name, it gave me a real lift. (Thanks Blue Dog, Spud and Tim) I surged to the line and stopped the clock in 2:44:36. I was very happy that I got in under my goal time of 2:45. It was great to catch up with the boys at the finish and I was happy to concede that Team Mellum beat Team GBH on aggregate today, even though Blue Dog was trying to call it evens. Belinda and Tim had now made their way to the finish after having a vantage point on the main street about 400m from the finish. Finished the day off with some lovely Nowra hospitality with some coffee and scones before heading back to Blue Dog's place for some well earnt hydration.
17/7/06
I forced myself to get up early this morning and headed out for a recovery run around my 10.5km loop. Legs felt a bit stiff to begin with but better by the time I finished. I was very happy with myself for doing it as it would have been a lot easier to stay in bed and have a bit of a sleep in.
Comments:
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Well done Horrie. Smart running to come in under your target time. Though I'm not sure what Belinda thinks about you chasing girls all morning ;-)
Good race mate. Sensible to let those team Mellum characters get one on you. I believe you will get even at 12ft. Since you can run faster to the caves and pull out does it count as a win?
Well done Horrie. It's a run on my To Do list.
That's a cracking start for the first 3km. You're becoming a real trail and ultra legend.
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That's a cracking start for the first 3km. You're becoming a real trail and ultra legend.
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