Intervals are good for the soul
Well, maybe they are and maybe they aren’t but I had a lot of fun doing them today.
Peter and I did 8 repeats of 400 250 metres. Our aim was to do them all in under 60 seconds and we achieved that reasonably comfortably. We both showed quite a bit of improvement from our last session two weeks ago when we did 6 repeats and 2 of them strayed uncomfortably above 60 seconds.
There is a real joy in doing a targeted exercise workout well.
Man down
My running buddy Peter sent me an email last night pointing out the route he was going to be running this morning. I got the message and planned my route so that mine would overlap with his somewhat.
My planning was spot on and our routes converged at about the 7.5km mark on my map below:
I only had to wait about 30 seconds for him so I’d planned and executed the meet up very well. However, the best laid plans of mice and men were for naught when Peter’s hamstring gave out at about the 13km mark and he had to resort to walking. I walked with him for a bit but then got waved on to finish my run.
Overall a very pleasant run of about 19km in around 1:50ish.
Tarawera Ultra-marathon 2011 Race Report
I entered my first ultra marathon in a moment of madness. I wanted a new challenge and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
My training went reasonably well. The only thing I think I could have done better was eat better. Unfortunately I was about 6kg heavier going into the Ultra than I was for the Auckland Marathon last year.
The weather turned atrocious just as I went to pick up my racepack the day before the event. We had real monsoonlike torrential rain and it totally washed out the registration. Having said that, I managed to get my race number and chip and I was good to go. I couldn’t help but notice how superfit and athletic most of the folks who were there seemed. GULP!
I was up at 4am the next day to get ready in time for the start. Fortunately the weather had cleared up and it looked to be a beautiful day.
The event started in the dark in the middle of a Redwood Forest and I decided to start right at the back. I was literally 2nd last at the start. I figured I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way and I never regretted that decision.
The first 4k or so was done in the dark and it was actually very slow as it was on a narrow track, steep uphill and 300 or so people. My aim the whole day was to be conservative as I knew I’d feel great in the beginning but that by the 50k or so mark I’d probably be feeling rather different!
One of the big differences between a marathon and an ultra marathon is the type of aid station:
There was so much food! I had a hot cross bun at just about every station and they were great! The volunteers were awesome and so very helpful. I had someone grab my hydration pack and fill it, someone else make me a sandwich and someone else ask if there was anything else they could do for me at most points! Loved the volunteers. 
Here I am at about the 30km mark. I still have my trademark running smile on and that never really left me during the whole event.
I found the whole event quite joyous in a way. It was really nice to be out in the bush just running and doing something that almost no one else would ever consider doing. I think that aspect of the ultra marathon really attracts me.
It got really tough from about the 42km mark as the track turned very technical. I was totally unprepared for how technical the course was in parts. The off road aspect really threw me. Some of the uphills and (even more so) the downhills were quite intense. I had never run on trails beforehand and it is totally different to anything I had imagined. I really loved it but boy it was tough at times. As you can see the elevation chart shows that there were a lot of up and downs and very little flats.
The shoes I got from Saucony were a life saver. I’ve got two bruised toes but I haven’t lost any toenails unlike after my first half marathon! I guess the feet have toughened up after all the running I’ve done since then.
It was fantastic to see my wife, daughter and the rest of the family at the end. It really was a great way to finish the event. We went straight from the finish to the Kawerau Hot Pools and had a great soak in the pools. The pizza afterwards really hit the spot too!
The stats: I finished in 9:31:11 which was well below my target time of ten hours so that was a big plus for me. More importantly for me I finished in the top half of the field. 25th out of 51 men in the 60km event. I was convinced I was going to finish dead last when I started so that was an outstanding result. My splits:
Most importantly of all I had a blast. I’ve gone over everything I did during the race and I don’t think I could have done anything better to be honest. It was a great event and something I will probably look at doing again.
Tarawera Ultramarathon 2011 Race Video
Report to come!
Running going well–eating not so much
Last week I managed to run 78ish km which is my highest mileage week since the longer runs of my last marathon training cycle back in May. We’ve had beautiful Spring conditions this week:
My running is going really well and I’ve been really enjoying it. I’m at the point where exercise is a must have not a nice to have in my life and I love that feeling!
The eating on the other hand…
Mac had a great post out yesterday where he made this point that I can really identify with:
Many people think that losing the weight is the hard part. And yeah, weight loss IS hard; I’ve done it. But let me tell you, I think maintaining your weight loss is even harder. It takes persistence, diligence, and dedication just to keep your weight the same.
I’ve found my weight creeping up slightly – I’m still in my happyish zone but the danger signs are there so I need to focus on eating clean again. It’s not that hard – I just have to get out of the mindset that I can eat lots of snacks because I’m running heaps. Which is actually surprisingly hard! Back to basics, one day at a time.
A cold blast
The temperature has dropped suddenly here in Auckland! Today’s run with my mate Peter was freezing but good. Conditions have been rather stormy with strong winds and occasional hail but the running must go on. . Here we are having a blast out in the cold:
As you can see, conditions were cold and wet but we were smiling! We did a nice 12km around town:
A run in Onehunga/Mangere
I’ve been considering doing the Onehunga Half Marathon in 2 weeks time as I feel that I could smash my half marathon PB right now. As such, I thought it would be a good idea to have a run of the course to see what it is like.
It’s on the other side of Auckland to where I normally run but it is quite picturesque as well:
The figure you can see on the left is my running buddy who was keen to try the course as well.
The course is flat and I suspect it would be very fast in a race:
We did 21.7 km in 2:01:22 which averaged out to about 5:36/km pace. I know my running buddy could have gone a lot faster but I had run for 6 days in a row and by the end of the run I’d done 78 km for the week. Needless to say I was struggling a bit towards the end of the run. To be honest I no longer really feel like running the official race after doing the course which is a bit of a shame. Maybe I’ll change my mind before the day.
Over the last 30 days I’ve averaged more than 10km a day so I think I’m doing alright with my running mileage! 
Contrasts
Yesterday’s run (that’s my running buddy):
Today’s run:
It doesn’t really matter what the weather is doing in Auckland I find. It’s still a beautiful place to run. 
Spring run
I must admit I’m loving our spring weather at the moment. It’s been a bit damp and overcast but that is really perfect running weather. I’m also really enjoying having a camera on my runs again. They’ve opened up part of the harbour area to the public so I went through it today. I thought I’d take a self portrait:
And I’ve also been loving the panorama mode on my camera:
I actually ran through that old shed in the middle of the photo above but forgot to take a photo from inside it.
I also ran past the marina. As you can see it’s very pretty out Auckland way:
Overall a very comfortable 12 or so km at an average pace of 5:31/km.
A good week of running
I took this photo this morning while out on my pre-work 10K:
It has been gorgeous running weather the last few days. No wind and either clear skies or just a light overcast. Very, very nice. 
Last week I did a total of 69.4 km at an average page of 5:48 / km. I think that was my fastest week of running ever. I think my recent focus on incorporating a bit of speedwork has started to pay off as I’m finding that I can maintain a faster pace for the same effort.
As a matter of fact, my long run yesterday ended up being run at sub 4 hour marathon pace and it felt relatively easy. My HR was in my low heart rate training zone the whole time which I think is brilliant. If I can keep that up that Taipei is going to be a blast!
I suspect that my months of doing low heart rate training has enabled me to build a very solid fitness base and now the speedwork is adding that bit extra.
In other news, my eating has not been particularly brilliant. My core meals are healthy and nutritious but I’m still allowing one too many snacks to pass my lips. My weight is still under control but I really don’t want it to start creeping up. I want it to continue creeping down!
One of my former students brought me a cake as a thank you for the help I gave in the previous semester which really didn’t help the cause (even though it was very much appreciated):
It was delicious! And I didn’t eat the whole thing – I shared it with everyone at home. 
Daily Mile
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RoadID
