va.le to a true inspiration , roll accross the line next
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
va.le Blazeman
A true hero and inspiration to all triathletes and fellow athletes passed away from Lou Gehrigs Disease on the weekend his tribute can be found here
Watch the video for yourself and reflect next time you are having a tough workout
Watch the video for yourself and reflect next time you are having a tough workout
The Most Brutal Track Session to date
Now if you have run track, you always hear the complaints of the boredom of running endless loops getting nowhere and ending up where you started of course that is all true, but running track with a coach telling you to go faster when you have nothing left in your legs is another story.
I enjoy running track for some bizarre reason I actually like it, I still try to figure out why but there is something about endless loops that appeal to my warped sense of trying to get fit in a rapidly aging body.
yesterday was brutal though and somehow we had to run 3 x 3000m, 7 and half laps of pushing to the limit. My best km split was 4 minutes 40 seconds and so I can reflect that I am getting faster but it hurts if only I can transform these times to my next race then I will be very happy
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Tr (a) ing for Transitions.
Now anyone who entered or watched a triathlon has seen and heard about the fifth discipline of triathlon – Transition.
The experts and pros make it look so simple and effortless taking seconds as the move from one discipline to the next, for us new triathlete’s a better comparison is “like watching paint dry” , or in other words women can buy shoes faster than I could transition in my first efforts.
The next triathlon is in Tel Aviv in three weeks and training today in the mountains involved two brick sessions ride hard for an hour, transition and then run hard for 25 minutes. Have a five minute drink break then ride two hard loops with aggressive drafting , transition and then run harder for ten minutes.
Now a key thing to remember is that in our tri group is that out of the sixty odd who turned up for training today, I was the only member of our smaller sub group of twenty who are focusing on the Tel Aviv Race who does not speak Hebrew and the coach stood around and gave a lengthy 5 minutes of explanation in Hebrew of what we were to do. My briefing was 10 seconds so I thought I missing out on the finer points, which became all to evident when I finished the first bike and to be asked why my running shoes were not around as we were doing transition training, I pointed out as I walked back to my car that no one told me that we were doing transitions.
Anyway all worked out great and no doubt my transitions will be faster and tighter in the Tel Aviv Triathlon.
Not to pretty a sight and a good reason to keep shaving my legs
The experts and pros make it look so simple and effortless taking seconds as the move from one discipline to the next, for us new triathlete’s a better comparison is “like watching paint dry” , or in other words women can buy shoes faster than I could transition in my first efforts.
The next triathlon is in Tel Aviv in three weeks and training today in the mountains involved two brick sessions ride hard for an hour, transition and then run hard for 25 minutes. Have a five minute drink break then ride two hard loops with aggressive drafting , transition and then run harder for ten minutes.
Now a key thing to remember is that in our tri group is that out of the sixty odd who turned up for training today, I was the only member of our smaller sub group of twenty who are focusing on the Tel Aviv Race who does not speak Hebrew and the coach stood around and gave a lengthy 5 minutes of explanation in Hebrew of what we were to do. My briefing was 10 seconds so I thought I missing out on the finer points, which became all to evident when I finished the first bike and to be asked why my running shoes were not around as we were doing transition training, I pointed out as I walked back to my car that no one told me that we were doing transitions.
Anyway all worked out great and no doubt my transitions will be faster and tighter in the Tel Aviv Triathlon.
Not to pretty a sight and a good reason to keep shaving my legs
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Tri'ng yet again
Apologies for the lack of postings but been having enough trouble finding time to train amongst all the grief and troubles going on down here in the Middle East , and computer access is not a major thing sitting on dusty hilltops in war zones.
But enough of that rubbish lets focus on the things that make us better as people and things we enjoy rather than images that fleet past us.
Now you would think that having done a Half Ironman in 6:33:00 that the coach would cut me some slack but within days it was back to track work etc.
The reason was last Friday was another triathlon , for those who are fortunate to live in countries were it seems that there is a tri athlon or running race every weekend to choose from, it aint that way here . With summer beating down we do not race basically from mid june till Sept so most events are stacked in May
Last Friday was my first Olympic distance race - 1500m swim , 40 km bike ride and 10 km run
Well having only ever done one triathlon before this was yet another eye opener , as the swim was in the sea , the bike was 5 loops of the same circuit with drafting allowed and the run was 4 loops out and back.
I finished in a PB time , well it was always going to be a PB as it was my first olympic distance, to be greeted by the head coach of our group saying , not well done but "You need to work harder" and my coach saying my running "sucked" and I have to work on running not like a marathoner but a fast runner. Not exactly words of encouragement and congratulations but words that have made me train and work harder.
Hey I am going to get this swim freestyle under my belt four , I even swam in training last Monday in open water freestyle. My biking aim is to learn to push harder and man do i pump my arms harder now.
Another Olympic distance in a few weeeks in Tel Aviv .
But the next big and real challenge is that i want to do an Ironman next year, hey it will only take 14 hours to do and nine months to train for
Monday, May 07, 2007
The day I became a HALF IRONMAN
Sea of Galilee
Jordan Valley
Before we get to the facts the figures and the stories behind my first triathlon lets take a step back and examine some very rational facts, which may explain why I am not a rational person.
Fact #1 I have never competed in a triathlon, I have never even been too or watched a triathlon, I had no idea what happens in a transition area or what to take or how to set up my transition gear.
Fact #2 Most sane and sensible new triathletes start with a short race like a Sprint
Or Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run)
Fact #3 The Half Ironman distances are as follows
1900m swim (Prior to last Monday I had never swum that far)
90km Bike (Never ever ridden that far previous best 75km with lots of stops, done in a group with lots of drafting)
21.1km Run (Half Marathon) Last time I did a long distance run I DNF’d due to heat and cramps and have not run this distance on a road since January)
Ok so we have established I am not the smartest triathlete to be, but I have great friends to train and travel with that have inspired me to this point and I will be forever indebted to Margaret, Andrea and Michael for introducing me to a new sport that I am sure will dominate my life for the years to come.
Now I had planned to just to the Olympic distance up until a week ago, a nice introduction to Triathlon, and I had done all distances previously. But for all those who know me, know one thing I do have a competitive streak, which for good or bad is part of me. So after the training day we had up on the Galilee a couple of week’s prior, with Andrea and Margaret with our training group we had all decided to sign up for the Olympic, well then Margaret gets talked into to doing the half Ironman as it is the only Half in Israel, and thusly if Margaret was going to do the Half then I was as well, even though I had not gone any of the distances, apart from the run.
The four of us drove up to the race on Friday, it is less than two hours away but on race day we were scheduled to start the race at 5:30 am, which meant getting up at 3:30am to eat and get to the race start.
The night before we all got together for a somewhat bizarre and nervous pre race meal, which naturally involved walking around the streets of Tiberius on the eve of Shabbat trying to find a restaurant that was open and served pasta for a pre race carbo load. Now anyone who has ever gone out with friends in a state of nervousness will know that you will walk around in circles trying to find what you want, so instead of walking into the first restaurant you spend an hour on your feet not resting walking past the same three restaurants in search of something as simple as a bowl of pasta. The trouble in Tiberius was that being Shabbat eve the only restaurants open seemed to be Lebanese that served meat and fish or fish and meat. Finally we managed to find one restaurant that had some bad pasta on the menu.
Frustrated but at least happy to have found some pasta we ate and headed back to the hotel to put the final touches to our nutrition plans making peanut butter and jelly wholewheat pitas and the funny touch of writing our race numbers on our arms.
Sleep well trying to get to sleep at 8:30pm is not the easiest especially when your nerves are wire tight and you know that ou have to get up at 3:30. Of course you are tenser about sleeping in and missing the start than you are are about getting a good nights sleep.
The alarm went off after what seemed to be the longest night with no sleep and immediately you eat and have a coffee and hope that nature will take its course in the next five minutes as going to the toilet is as important as not forgetting your kit at this hour of the morning.
Arriving at the race start we got our bikes together pumped up the tires to race pressure hoping in the dark that we would not get a puncture, even though twice in the past two weeks we actually have got together for practice sessions in changing flat tires, yes we trained to repair flat tires, it makes sense to anyone who has done a triathlon and yet seems dumb to anyone who has not. The difference can be ten minutes in being able to repair a tire quickly.
So in the dark we checked in through the safety check and headed for the transition area to unpack and prepare, even though I had never done this before it was fairly straightforward laying out what you need for the bike and run legs.
Leg #1 THE SWIM
Dawn was just breaking as we lined up, the sun barely above the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee was as dark and dim as a scene from a Lord of the Rings movie. My nerves were stretched but at the same time I knew that since I was starting at the back to avoid the kicking and punching of the front swimmers in the washing machine in front. Naturally the start had been moved to 5:45 instead of 5:30am, but it mattered little as I tried to make out the buoys in the distance that we had to swim around. 1900m is easy to write and does not seem a long distance especially when you are used too or in my case having swum only once in my life five days before. But in the open water of the Sea of Galilee there is no black line on the floor and the water is just greenish, you can see your arms in front of you and that is about it.
The horn sounded and with a lump in my throat I plunged in and started my first triathlon. “I am a swimmer, I am a swimmer” stroke glide stroke “I am a swimmer” went through my mind and I began to relax and look around, the sun still not on the water but lighting the hills that make the Golan Heights that separate Israel from Syria taking on a magical glow, turning at the first buoy of the triangular course I could see the sun on the eastern coastline and I just focused on the next buoy to swim too. Now forget images of a bronzed Aussie in the mould of Ian Thorpe turning over freestyle in a relaxed manner, I breaststroke having never learnt to swim freestyle so all I could see where the leading and not so leading swimmers pulling away from me. I did not care or worry as my goal was to get through the swim without having burnt up to much energy when I knew I still had the bike and swim leg to go. In fact the key to a race of this length is the ability to pace yourself it is a long day at the office.
Now I am not going to downplay my breaststroke because like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady actually had me catch up with the slower free style swimmers, and I actually tried to draft behind a slow free styler but to be honest did not seem to make the slightest difference except I was swimming in the bubbles of his feet.
The shore and finish eventually came and my feet touched the rocks after 59 minutes 45 seconds and looking around Margaret was next to me so we laughed and shuffle ran up to the transition area surrounded by fast little 10 year olds competing in the children’s race. My heart rate for the swim was avg 103 max 110, which was spot on easy relaxed and energy to burn.
Transition #1 Swim to Bike
By the time Margaret and I got to the transition area the first thing we noticed was how few bikes remained the rest of the people doing the Half Ironman seemed to be long gone. I focused dried my feet put on the bike shoes quickly ate a banana grabbed my helmet and headed out to the mounting zone. You cannot just get on your bike and ride all areas in the transition are controlled and ruled by officials with the power to disqualify you on the spot. Transition time incl run from water 9 minutes.
Leg #2 THE BIKE – 90 km’s
Hey two laps of a 45 km loop seem easy to say in conversation. But it is a bloody long way and the reality was that I actually expected to take close to four hours to complete this leg. Remember I have never ever ridden 90km before in my life. 75km’s in a group with drafting yes, alone with no drafting was a daunting prospect.
Again the key to my strategy was to pace myself, remain in low gears and maintain a high cadence so that my thighs and quad muscles would have the energy to run the half marathon.
To make myself feel good in the first few km’s all those little kids who had raced past me running out of the water I blasted past them on the bike, ok it does not mean much being able to out cycle an 11 year old but in my mental state of trying to maximize every positive these were small victories.
After 5 km the kids turned and all of a sudden I was alone, no one in front of me and for the next 15 km’s I rode alone pushing as hard as I dared. I had calculated that to do well on the bike I had to eat and drink smartly as nutrition is often referred to as the fourth leg of a triathlon.
Riding alone on an empty highway seemed strange, tucking into my bento box (food box) on the bike I nibbled on cut up dates and kept sipping water and sports drink. Suddenly ahead of me a bike streaked past heading back in the opposite direction. The leaders were on the return of the first lap, these guys were motoring and seemed to fly past, but then again I was comfortably pushing along trying to maintain 30 kmh., Which I did quite successfully for the entire time on the bike.
I did the first half of the loop in 47 minutes and turning back grabbed a bottle of water and took a gel for energy. I was going to save my peanut butter pita bread for the second lap as a reward.
It was so strange to be alone on the road as I passed the few riders who were behind me it felt good to not be at the back but then again I really did not care. Since no matter what time I did it was going to be a personal best time.
One of the good aspects of loop courses is that you see and pass your friends and it was great to see Margaret and Michael on the course, both seemed to be as focused as me.
The second leg of the first loop saw the traffic jam of the sprint and Olympic distance riders now on the course and mentally it felt great to crank up and pass other riders, with my energy levels high and heart rate below 140. In fact over the entire bike section my heart rate was an average 122 with a max at 140 beats per minute.
The second half of the first loops I did in 44:52 and settled back in to start munching on my peanut butter pita. Note to self here do not wrap so well in plastic wrap not easy to undo one handed at 3o kmh. The leaders raced past me going the other way and I just focused on keeping my head together and maintaining a good cadence to save my legs the third section I did in 49:36, within two minutes of the first one heading back now I passed Margaret and we shouted encouragement and shared a smile in less than an hour I would be off the bike and running. My god my bum and crotch were getting numb by now.
Hang on up ahead another rider, yes another rider after 65km’s I actually past another rider doing the Half Ironman. Hey after 2:45 minutes I actually overtook another rider.
Heading into the final two km’s I dropped the gearing to low and gently try to change the muscles the run awaited.
My final leg took 47:39 for a total bike time of 3 hours 10 minutes and 11 seconds, given that I had hoped for four hours having never done the distance I jumped off the bike at the marshalling area and felt my legs go to jelly with the first step I took, oh dear ….
Transition #2 Bike to Run
Now I wish I could say that my legs felt fantastic, when in fact they felt like two rubber bands for those first twenty steps and by the time I got my bike back into the transition rack, the rider that I had passed had also entered the transition and was off like greased lightning. Taking a minute longer than I wanted I changed shoes and grabbed a drink before hobbling off, but with each tentative step my legs did come back.
Leg #3 – THE RUN
I have run the half marathon distance many times in races and in training so of all the disciplines of the day, this was the one that I felt good going into. I had fueled well and drank plenty so I thought that dehydration was not going to be a factor. Little did I realize how much fluid I was going to need and the Gastro problems that awaited me?
My first km’s were done in a respectable 5:29, 5:27 and 5:24 which are by all factors respectable times and though I felt slow my watch did show I was moving well. It was becoming a mental game and my mantra was “ I am a runner” and through the whole run over the next two hours never did the dreaded left side of the brain ever take full control. Sure it tried but it was the heat that was becoming the critical factor, the run again was a double loop and on the first leg there were runners from the other distances on the course so at no times was there empty path ahead of me.
The path was a brutal fully exposed no shade footpath of hard concrete alongside the hwy south and it was a matter of trying not to look at the signs and distance markers on this first loop as all I could focus on was the thought of on the next loop I will be counting down rather than counting up.
One great thing on the loop system was that I was to see Mike, Margaret and Andrea and we could high five each other, well low five actually but somehow this simple act helped bond us and mentally gave me a great lift to know that all of us were going through the same and yet we took the time to help each other by the simple act of slapping hands as we took another step towards the end.
The first loop was highlighted by the fact that when I got to the Half Ironman check point the volunteer upon seeing my number approach dashed back to the table and grabbed my special need bottle that had been dropped off earlier in the morning, I declined knowing that on the second loop this would be a great mental boost for me. Lets face it since when is purple Gatorade a mental advantage but it was to be.
I knew that up to this point my fluid intake had been good, as I actually had to stop and go to the toilet, ok more than you need to know, but it showed that I was drinking enough to this point.
The run back to the turn around point was tough and the sun and the heat was physically taking its toll, I tried not to look up but simply concentrate on my mantra and keeping my legs moving in what seemed like the slowest shuffle, my km splits were down to 5:50 and 6:00 sometimes longer as I walked through all drink stations taking two cups of water, one to drink one to pour on myself to try and cool down my head.
On the second leg of the run loop my best km split was to be 5:56 minutes per km and after picking up my purple Gatorade and downing yet another gel I walked with another competitor for two minutes as we tried to psyche each other up to run, we did eventually but after 100 m he stopped and I continued pushing as best I could.
I realized that water I had been getting on the run had been coming out of these portable water tanks and that the volunteers had been tipping them up to get the last of the water out, mentally this just started to make me think and sure enough I started to cramp in the stomach.
I needed more water and as bad as I felt I knew that this was crunch time I had less than five km’s to go and as I passed Margaret for the last time I tried to smile but inside I was hurting real bad but did not want to show it. Andrea had finished her Olympic distance and as an act of true friendship came back down the course to find Margaret and me and as I passed her she offered me water from a bottle she was carrying. I really at this point was mentally beyond my zone and thanking her just continued I was so bloody close that I could not figure out why these last km’s were taking so long, my km time were blowing out to 6:30 to 7:30. But I was moving, my legs felt like jelly for a few hundred yards and as I walked they loosened and I wobbled but mentally pulling myself I got back into a run as slow as it was.
Then I heard the best sound of any event you enter the announcer at the end on the loud speaker reached me and down inside I knew that I had made it just another 500m and it would be all over.
There is always a part of you that wants it to be over, but at the same time the journey has taken you through so much and made you realize what it takes that you somehow do not want it to end the journey has made you a better person and the end seems not fair. You want the feeling to never end because you understand what it takes and what you have been through.
But the finish line was there and as I crossed I realized that I had done it I was a Half Ironman. Hang on does this mean I want to be an Ironman. At this point I truly do not know but to push yourself to a new limit is such an emotional high that inside you want more.
My time 6 hours 33 minutes the seconds really do not matter, what mattered was that all of us had taken a challenge and we had all won.
Margaret got a trophy for second place in her age group and packing up the cars tired and exhausted beyond anything I have ever done before.
I felt an elation and endorphin high, today I had with friends done better than my best, we all had.
Jordan Valley
Before we get to the facts the figures and the stories behind my first triathlon lets take a step back and examine some very rational facts, which may explain why I am not a rational person.
Fact #1 I have never competed in a triathlon, I have never even been too or watched a triathlon, I had no idea what happens in a transition area or what to take or how to set up my transition gear.
Fact #2 Most sane and sensible new triathletes start with a short race like a Sprint
Or Olympic distance (1500m swim, 40km bike, and 10km run)
Fact #3 The Half Ironman distances are as follows
1900m swim (Prior to last Monday I had never swum that far)
90km Bike (Never ever ridden that far previous best 75km with lots of stops, done in a group with lots of drafting)
21.1km Run (Half Marathon) Last time I did a long distance run I DNF’d due to heat and cramps and have not run this distance on a road since January)
Ok so we have established I am not the smartest triathlete to be, but I have great friends to train and travel with that have inspired me to this point and I will be forever indebted to Margaret, Andrea and Michael for introducing me to a new sport that I am sure will dominate my life for the years to come.
Now I had planned to just to the Olympic distance up until a week ago, a nice introduction to Triathlon, and I had done all distances previously. But for all those who know me, know one thing I do have a competitive streak, which for good or bad is part of me. So after the training day we had up on the Galilee a couple of week’s prior, with Andrea and Margaret with our training group we had all decided to sign up for the Olympic, well then Margaret gets talked into to doing the half Ironman as it is the only Half in Israel, and thusly if Margaret was going to do the Half then I was as well, even though I had not gone any of the distances, apart from the run.
The four of us drove up to the race on Friday, it is less than two hours away but on race day we were scheduled to start the race at 5:30 am, which meant getting up at 3:30am to eat and get to the race start.
The night before we all got together for a somewhat bizarre and nervous pre race meal, which naturally involved walking around the streets of Tiberius on the eve of Shabbat trying to find a restaurant that was open and served pasta for a pre race carbo load. Now anyone who has ever gone out with friends in a state of nervousness will know that you will walk around in circles trying to find what you want, so instead of walking into the first restaurant you spend an hour on your feet not resting walking past the same three restaurants in search of something as simple as a bowl of pasta. The trouble in Tiberius was that being Shabbat eve the only restaurants open seemed to be Lebanese that served meat and fish or fish and meat. Finally we managed to find one restaurant that had some bad pasta on the menu.
Frustrated but at least happy to have found some pasta we ate and headed back to the hotel to put the final touches to our nutrition plans making peanut butter and jelly wholewheat pitas and the funny touch of writing our race numbers on our arms.
Sleep well trying to get to sleep at 8:30pm is not the easiest especially when your nerves are wire tight and you know that ou have to get up at 3:30. Of course you are tenser about sleeping in and missing the start than you are are about getting a good nights sleep.
The alarm went off after what seemed to be the longest night with no sleep and immediately you eat and have a coffee and hope that nature will take its course in the next five minutes as going to the toilet is as important as not forgetting your kit at this hour of the morning.
Arriving at the race start we got our bikes together pumped up the tires to race pressure hoping in the dark that we would not get a puncture, even though twice in the past two weeks we actually have got together for practice sessions in changing flat tires, yes we trained to repair flat tires, it makes sense to anyone who has done a triathlon and yet seems dumb to anyone who has not. The difference can be ten minutes in being able to repair a tire quickly.
So in the dark we checked in through the safety check and headed for the transition area to unpack and prepare, even though I had never done this before it was fairly straightforward laying out what you need for the bike and run legs.
Leg #1 THE SWIM
Dawn was just breaking as we lined up, the sun barely above the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee was as dark and dim as a scene from a Lord of the Rings movie. My nerves were stretched but at the same time I knew that since I was starting at the back to avoid the kicking and punching of the front swimmers in the washing machine in front. Naturally the start had been moved to 5:45 instead of 5:30am, but it mattered little as I tried to make out the buoys in the distance that we had to swim around. 1900m is easy to write and does not seem a long distance especially when you are used too or in my case having swum only once in my life five days before. But in the open water of the Sea of Galilee there is no black line on the floor and the water is just greenish, you can see your arms in front of you and that is about it.
The horn sounded and with a lump in my throat I plunged in and started my first triathlon. “I am a swimmer, I am a swimmer” stroke glide stroke “I am a swimmer” went through my mind and I began to relax and look around, the sun still not on the water but lighting the hills that make the Golan Heights that separate Israel from Syria taking on a magical glow, turning at the first buoy of the triangular course I could see the sun on the eastern coastline and I just focused on the next buoy to swim too. Now forget images of a bronzed Aussie in the mould of Ian Thorpe turning over freestyle in a relaxed manner, I breaststroke having never learnt to swim freestyle so all I could see where the leading and not so leading swimmers pulling away from me. I did not care or worry as my goal was to get through the swim without having burnt up to much energy when I knew I still had the bike and swim leg to go. In fact the key to a race of this length is the ability to pace yourself it is a long day at the office.
Now I am not going to downplay my breaststroke because like the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady actually had me catch up with the slower free style swimmers, and I actually tried to draft behind a slow free styler but to be honest did not seem to make the slightest difference except I was swimming in the bubbles of his feet.
The shore and finish eventually came and my feet touched the rocks after 59 minutes 45 seconds and looking around Margaret was next to me so we laughed and shuffle ran up to the transition area surrounded by fast little 10 year olds competing in the children’s race. My heart rate for the swim was avg 103 max 110, which was spot on easy relaxed and energy to burn.
Transition #1 Swim to Bike
By the time Margaret and I got to the transition area the first thing we noticed was how few bikes remained the rest of the people doing the Half Ironman seemed to be long gone. I focused dried my feet put on the bike shoes quickly ate a banana grabbed my helmet and headed out to the mounting zone. You cannot just get on your bike and ride all areas in the transition are controlled and ruled by officials with the power to disqualify you on the spot. Transition time incl run from water 9 minutes.
Leg #2 THE BIKE – 90 km’s
Hey two laps of a 45 km loop seem easy to say in conversation. But it is a bloody long way and the reality was that I actually expected to take close to four hours to complete this leg. Remember I have never ever ridden 90km before in my life. 75km’s in a group with drafting yes, alone with no drafting was a daunting prospect.
Again the key to my strategy was to pace myself, remain in low gears and maintain a high cadence so that my thighs and quad muscles would have the energy to run the half marathon.
To make myself feel good in the first few km’s all those little kids who had raced past me running out of the water I blasted past them on the bike, ok it does not mean much being able to out cycle an 11 year old but in my mental state of trying to maximize every positive these were small victories.
After 5 km the kids turned and all of a sudden I was alone, no one in front of me and for the next 15 km’s I rode alone pushing as hard as I dared. I had calculated that to do well on the bike I had to eat and drink smartly as nutrition is often referred to as the fourth leg of a triathlon.
Riding alone on an empty highway seemed strange, tucking into my bento box (food box) on the bike I nibbled on cut up dates and kept sipping water and sports drink. Suddenly ahead of me a bike streaked past heading back in the opposite direction. The leaders were on the return of the first lap, these guys were motoring and seemed to fly past, but then again I was comfortably pushing along trying to maintain 30 kmh., Which I did quite successfully for the entire time on the bike.
I did the first half of the loop in 47 minutes and turning back grabbed a bottle of water and took a gel for energy. I was going to save my peanut butter pita bread for the second lap as a reward.
It was so strange to be alone on the road as I passed the few riders who were behind me it felt good to not be at the back but then again I really did not care. Since no matter what time I did it was going to be a personal best time.
One of the good aspects of loop courses is that you see and pass your friends and it was great to see Margaret and Michael on the course, both seemed to be as focused as me.
The second leg of the first loop saw the traffic jam of the sprint and Olympic distance riders now on the course and mentally it felt great to crank up and pass other riders, with my energy levels high and heart rate below 140. In fact over the entire bike section my heart rate was an average 122 with a max at 140 beats per minute.
The second half of the first loops I did in 44:52 and settled back in to start munching on my peanut butter pita. Note to self here do not wrap so well in plastic wrap not easy to undo one handed at 3o kmh. The leaders raced past me going the other way and I just focused on keeping my head together and maintaining a good cadence to save my legs the third section I did in 49:36, within two minutes of the first one heading back now I passed Margaret and we shouted encouragement and shared a smile in less than an hour I would be off the bike and running. My god my bum and crotch were getting numb by now.
Hang on up ahead another rider, yes another rider after 65km’s I actually past another rider doing the Half Ironman. Hey after 2:45 minutes I actually overtook another rider.
Heading into the final two km’s I dropped the gearing to low and gently try to change the muscles the run awaited.
My final leg took 47:39 for a total bike time of 3 hours 10 minutes and 11 seconds, given that I had hoped for four hours having never done the distance I jumped off the bike at the marshalling area and felt my legs go to jelly with the first step I took, oh dear ….
Transition #2 Bike to Run
Now I wish I could say that my legs felt fantastic, when in fact they felt like two rubber bands for those first twenty steps and by the time I got my bike back into the transition rack, the rider that I had passed had also entered the transition and was off like greased lightning. Taking a minute longer than I wanted I changed shoes and grabbed a drink before hobbling off, but with each tentative step my legs did come back.
Leg #3 – THE RUN
I have run the half marathon distance many times in races and in training so of all the disciplines of the day, this was the one that I felt good going into. I had fueled well and drank plenty so I thought that dehydration was not going to be a factor. Little did I realize how much fluid I was going to need and the Gastro problems that awaited me?
My first km’s were done in a respectable 5:29, 5:27 and 5:24 which are by all factors respectable times and though I felt slow my watch did show I was moving well. It was becoming a mental game and my mantra was “ I am a runner” and through the whole run over the next two hours never did the dreaded left side of the brain ever take full control. Sure it tried but it was the heat that was becoming the critical factor, the run again was a double loop and on the first leg there were runners from the other distances on the course so at no times was there empty path ahead of me.
The path was a brutal fully exposed no shade footpath of hard concrete alongside the hwy south and it was a matter of trying not to look at the signs and distance markers on this first loop as all I could focus on was the thought of on the next loop I will be counting down rather than counting up.
One great thing on the loop system was that I was to see Mike, Margaret and Andrea and we could high five each other, well low five actually but somehow this simple act helped bond us and mentally gave me a great lift to know that all of us were going through the same and yet we took the time to help each other by the simple act of slapping hands as we took another step towards the end.
The first loop was highlighted by the fact that when I got to the Half Ironman check point the volunteer upon seeing my number approach dashed back to the table and grabbed my special need bottle that had been dropped off earlier in the morning, I declined knowing that on the second loop this would be a great mental boost for me. Lets face it since when is purple Gatorade a mental advantage but it was to be.
I knew that up to this point my fluid intake had been good, as I actually had to stop and go to the toilet, ok more than you need to know, but it showed that I was drinking enough to this point.
The run back to the turn around point was tough and the sun and the heat was physically taking its toll, I tried not to look up but simply concentrate on my mantra and keeping my legs moving in what seemed like the slowest shuffle, my km splits were down to 5:50 and 6:00 sometimes longer as I walked through all drink stations taking two cups of water, one to drink one to pour on myself to try and cool down my head.
On the second leg of the run loop my best km split was to be 5:56 minutes per km and after picking up my purple Gatorade and downing yet another gel I walked with another competitor for two minutes as we tried to psyche each other up to run, we did eventually but after 100 m he stopped and I continued pushing as best I could.
I realized that water I had been getting on the run had been coming out of these portable water tanks and that the volunteers had been tipping them up to get the last of the water out, mentally this just started to make me think and sure enough I started to cramp in the stomach.
I needed more water and as bad as I felt I knew that this was crunch time I had less than five km’s to go and as I passed Margaret for the last time I tried to smile but inside I was hurting real bad but did not want to show it. Andrea had finished her Olympic distance and as an act of true friendship came back down the course to find Margaret and me and as I passed her she offered me water from a bottle she was carrying. I really at this point was mentally beyond my zone and thanking her just continued I was so bloody close that I could not figure out why these last km’s were taking so long, my km time were blowing out to 6:30 to 7:30. But I was moving, my legs felt like jelly for a few hundred yards and as I walked they loosened and I wobbled but mentally pulling myself I got back into a run as slow as it was.
Then I heard the best sound of any event you enter the announcer at the end on the loud speaker reached me and down inside I knew that I had made it just another 500m and it would be all over.
There is always a part of you that wants it to be over, but at the same time the journey has taken you through so much and made you realize what it takes that you somehow do not want it to end the journey has made you a better person and the end seems not fair. You want the feeling to never end because you understand what it takes and what you have been through.
But the finish line was there and as I crossed I realized that I had done it I was a Half Ironman. Hang on does this mean I want to be an Ironman. At this point I truly do not know but to push yourself to a new limit is such an emotional high that inside you want more.
My time 6 hours 33 minutes the seconds really do not matter, what mattered was that all of us had taken a challenge and we had all won.
Margaret got a trophy for second place in her age group and packing up the cars tired and exhausted beyond anything I have ever done before.
I felt an elation and endorphin high, today I had with friends done better than my best, we all had.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Arbaim Ve Schome
Ok whats with the title of the blog today?
Well in my poor translation of hebrew it is actually "Forty Eight" and hence my bitrhday, funny thing is that i do not feel 48.
Two days out from the Jordan Valley Half Ironman and in reality today was the last of the training taper days , a 45 minute run (should of done 48) made up of 3 repeats 10 min Easy 5 Minute Race Pace . We have a sandstorm of sorts here at the moment and the temperature was above 30 degrees C at 6 am when I ran
Getting my stuff together for tomorrow, looks like an expedition rather than a simple race of Swim Bike Run
Reminder to self , at dinner tonight PLENTY OF WATER
Well in my poor translation of hebrew it is actually "Forty Eight" and hence my bitrhday, funny thing is that i do not feel 48.
Two days out from the Jordan Valley Half Ironman and in reality today was the last of the training taper days , a 45 minute run (should of done 48) made up of 3 repeats 10 min Easy 5 Minute Race Pace . We have a sandstorm of sorts here at the moment and the temperature was above 30 degrees C at 6 am when I ran
Getting my stuff together for tomorrow, looks like an expedition rather than a simple race of Swim Bike Run
Reminder to self , at dinner tonight PLENTY OF WATER
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Three Days Out
So I had planned as my first Triathlon to do an Olmypic distance race , surely a 1500m swim in open water, followed by 40 km on the bike and a 10 km run would be enough for my first Tri, hell I do not even know what happens in those Transition areas having never done a "transition".
Well no for some reason I have decided that I will be doing the "Half Ironman" 1900m swim, 90 km bike ride and then run a half marathon , why ?.
Because there is only one Half ironman a year here in Israel and so the left side of the brain has for some reason over ridden all common sense and I have entered it.
Feeling positive about the day, as my goal is not time orientated and just to finish with a smile is all I want.
Have been tapering and concentrating on nutrition this week along with the other great pondering of the event do I wear an old wetsuit , this morning at six am I was downstairs in the pool, and almost drowned on my first lap swimming in a wetsuit, as stupid as that sounds. I thought my time over 1000m was better than yesterday when I swam in my trisuit, but was a minute slower however I was warmer . So this is a question that will no doubt irk me to I actually get in the water Saturday. What to wear ? wetsuit or tri suit ... Erring on the side of the tri suit only at the moment
Followed the swim with a good run , easy 4.5 km loop around the suburb in 22:52 Heart rate did not get above 137 and best km split was 5:12.
Tomorrow I have a 45 minute run which i will do at easy pace and race pace over three intervals
Well no for some reason I have decided that I will be doing the "Half Ironman" 1900m swim, 90 km bike ride and then run a half marathon , why ?.
Because there is only one Half ironman a year here in Israel and so the left side of the brain has for some reason over ridden all common sense and I have entered it.
Feeling positive about the day, as my goal is not time orientated and just to finish with a smile is all I want.
Have been tapering and concentrating on nutrition this week along with the other great pondering of the event do I wear an old wetsuit , this morning at six am I was downstairs in the pool, and almost drowned on my first lap swimming in a wetsuit, as stupid as that sounds. I thought my time over 1000m was better than yesterday when I swam in my trisuit, but was a minute slower however I was warmer . So this is a question that will no doubt irk me to I actually get in the water Saturday. What to wear ? wetsuit or tri suit ... Erring on the side of the tri suit only at the moment
Followed the swim with a good run , easy 4.5 km loop around the suburb in 22:52 Heart rate did not get above 137 and best km split was 5:12.
Tomorrow I have a 45 minute run which i will do at easy pace and race pace over three intervals
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
A new PB and only in Israel
Now readers of my blogs know that I have an affinity with the drivers of Israel. And last Saturday yet another story about life on the roads here took the unbelieveable to yet new "only in Israel" But lets get back to the issue of me running a new Personal Best for 10km.
Personal Bests meaning very little to anyone but yourself, of course people go "oh great" and "well done" but it is the inner self that knows you have gone faster than ever before over a set distance and perhaps all those early morning hours spent running by yourself pushing a little bit harder does in fact pay off.
For the last year I have been running with demons as one might say and not running my own race, more so in my mind than in my body, last Saturday I was focused and decided that this was a day for me to go. My best km split was 4 minutes 11 seconds and the slowest was a respectable 5 minutes 10 seconds on the uphill at the 7 km mark.
When they gave me the tacky medal at the end, for the first time in a long time it meant something to me because I really felt lke I had earnt it.
Now as runners we know that part of the race entry fee is for the police to co-ordinate road closures to ensure that the locals do not line us up like a bowling alley and aim for a strike. So after the race at around 9:50 I got back into the car and tried to drive out back home, only to be stopped in a line at a police barrier blocking the road. Now you do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the police had been told to close the raod till 10:00, but oh no the five other cars around me seemed intent on screaming at the Policeman that they should be let out, these are the same runners who not half an hour ago had wanted the security of a safe road as we ran past other Israeli drivers shouting at Police road blocks that they had a god given right to drive on the road even if it was full of runners.
The Policeman just looked at his watch and shrugged as the departing runners vented their frustrations at the same person who not long ago doing the same thing had given us all safety.
I just laughed and sure enough at 10:01 the road opened up , only in Israel.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tr(i)aining for my first Triathlon
Now the swim leg of my first upcoming Triathalon should be easy, that is if I had been a good boy at Sunday School done all the right things and had God as my father. Because Saturday week will see me lining up on the Shores of the Sea of Galilee to compete in my first triathlon, now JC could just run the swim leg being that it is in the plaace where legend has it he walked on water.
But I am no saint and short of a miraculous appirition of the Virgin Mark in sweat on the back of my tri suit, I doubt that I will ever walk on water. So Saturday morning I headed up for a tri training session with fellow Tri'ers, Andrea and Margret.
Not that we got off to a flying start after loading the bikes onto the back of armored car, i started to drive away but somehow managed to roll backwards into the car behind me, luckily there was no damage to the bikes and since it was dark and 4:30 in the morning, the car behind me might of picked up a typical Israeli car park scratch.
The Sea of Galilee is about an hour and half North of my place and we arrived just after dawn, managed to find a coffee shop open to help pacify my nerves and also a clean toliet. Anyone who has ever trained for any morning sporting event like running or triathalons knows what I mean about the necessity of a toilet, I mean we even have cryptic codes to assess who of us has been and we all get jealous if another person has suceeded whilst you have managed only.
The aim of the training day was to do the three disciplines on the course, so at 7.30 we lined up on the shores of the Galilee and took the plunge. It was about 250m out and back to a buoy, now swimming in open water has now concern for me as it beats the black line fever you get swimming in a pool. Margret and Andrea managed it but still do not seem happy in the open water, so hopefully they will relax and be able to enjoy the swim.
Out of the water and get the bikes ready, split into three groups depending on whether you are doing the Half Ironman, Olympic or Sprint distances. I am opting for the Olympic distance as much as I am tempted to go for the Half Ironman, the thought of riding 90km then running a half marathon is just a bit to daunting as my training is not up to that level yet and it would as they say be a long day at the office.
The Olympic distance are 1500m swim, 40 km bike ride and a 10km run.
The Coach let our group know that we would be riding for a while to get warmed up then do two 20km time trials as in race preparation on the actual course. The warmup is always much easier as you ride in a group and can draft meaning that you are only expending about 30% of the effort to ride at that speed alone, for those doubters it really does make a massive difference to be in a peloton.
The time trials are a different out there alone no drafting so you are really working hard an example is that in the peloton my heart rate sat around 90 - 100 bpm, out on the time trial i was never below 130 bpm.
I pushed hard and managed a negative split for the second half of the time trial, Margret had a puncture which sucked and Andrea somehow has a bike that weighs more than she does and was still suffering from the effects of the cold water from the swim and when I passed her on the way back she had more coats and tops hanging off her than a trolley lady in East LA.
Running after biking is one of the hardest things to do as all of a sudden you are using totally different muscles in the same limbs and the first few strides feel like your legs are going around not in front of you. But we all pushed out for a solid thirty minute run covered 6km's which given that it was my first true brick session was more than happy with what we had all done.
As a post note, Sunday night we decided to get together for a while and practise fixing punctures, yes in the training schedule we now have fixing punctures, decided not wear my heart rate monitor for that session.
But I am no saint and short of a miraculous appirition of the Virgin Mark in sweat on the back of my tri suit, I doubt that I will ever walk on water. So Saturday morning I headed up for a tri training session with fellow Tri'ers, Andrea and Margret.
Not that we got off to a flying start after loading the bikes onto the back of armored car, i started to drive away but somehow managed to roll backwards into the car behind me, luckily there was no damage to the bikes and since it was dark and 4:30 in the morning, the car behind me might of picked up a typical Israeli car park scratch.
The Sea of Galilee is about an hour and half North of my place and we arrived just after dawn, managed to find a coffee shop open to help pacify my nerves and also a clean toliet. Anyone who has ever trained for any morning sporting event like running or triathalons knows what I mean about the necessity of a toilet, I mean we even have cryptic codes to assess who of us has been and we all get jealous if another person has suceeded whilst you have managed only.
The aim of the training day was to do the three disciplines on the course, so at 7.30 we lined up on the shores of the Galilee and took the plunge. It was about 250m out and back to a buoy, now swimming in open water has now concern for me as it beats the black line fever you get swimming in a pool. Margret and Andrea managed it but still do not seem happy in the open water, so hopefully they will relax and be able to enjoy the swim.
Out of the water and get the bikes ready, split into three groups depending on whether you are doing the Half Ironman, Olympic or Sprint distances. I am opting for the Olympic distance as much as I am tempted to go for the Half Ironman, the thought of riding 90km then running a half marathon is just a bit to daunting as my training is not up to that level yet and it would as they say be a long day at the office.
The Olympic distance are 1500m swim, 40 km bike ride and a 10km run.
The Coach let our group know that we would be riding for a while to get warmed up then do two 20km time trials as in race preparation on the actual course. The warmup is always much easier as you ride in a group and can draft meaning that you are only expending about 30% of the effort to ride at that speed alone, for those doubters it really does make a massive difference to be in a peloton.
The time trials are a different out there alone no drafting so you are really working hard an example is that in the peloton my heart rate sat around 90 - 100 bpm, out on the time trial i was never below 130 bpm.
I pushed hard and managed a negative split for the second half of the time trial, Margret had a puncture which sucked and Andrea somehow has a bike that weighs more than she does and was still suffering from the effects of the cold water from the swim and when I passed her on the way back she had more coats and tops hanging off her than a trolley lady in East LA.
Running after biking is one of the hardest things to do as all of a sudden you are using totally different muscles in the same limbs and the first few strides feel like your legs are going around not in front of you. But we all pushed out for a solid thirty minute run covered 6km's which given that it was my first true brick session was more than happy with what we had all done.
As a post note, Sunday night we decided to get together for a while and practise fixing punctures, yes in the training schedule we now have fixing punctures, decided not wear my heart rate monitor for that session.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
The Race with the Marzipan Elvis
We often remember races for things other than the run and this was the case last Friday when we ran the oldest race in Israel around Mt Tavoor in the North. This is the oldest race in Israel being run over the last 55 year, which in age terms and length of history of a nation makes this run one of the most famous in the country.
Of course being Israel it was a complete and utter mess at the begining with access being granted to the car park only after a screaming match with a policeman with me waving and flashing my Press card and pointing to the TV signs all over my car as I explained that I was there to film the event, conviently dressed in running clothes along with my friends Chaim, Judith an Rachel.
Of course they then placed the bib collection down a hill about a km away, it was just all going wrong from the gitgo and for the first time in a long time I actually considered packing it in and just going home. I had to run back up the hill drop clothes off and run back to the start covered in sweat with my pace racing, only to have to stand around and wait in mud for the next twenty minutes as someone figured out where the actual starting line was and that we all were facing the wrong way.
The run itself is a classic ballbreaker with the first three km's being straight up the mountain that you can see in the background of the photo. Following my Ultras back in Australia I soon realised that I was in for a tough race as I was walking (along with everyone else after the first half km) I am normally a good hill runner but this was tough but at least on a road rather than the mud trail we started on.
You know trhe feeling of trying to scrape off the mud from the souls of your trainers as you try to reduce the weight on your feet back down to a manufacturers level.
Now we finally got to the high pointand descended down thru an Israeli Arab village of no beauty or value whatsoever, but then there is the irony of running past a mosque in the middle of Israel.
We now looped back along thru the fields at the base of the mountain once again slipping and sliding thru mud puddles with a quick Hwy downhill before the final small uphill and to the finishing line.
I wish I could figure out my time but the organisers site is all in hebrew, I think I did the 11km in 1:01 and some change so given the conditions and proximity to the ultras I was happy with my time. The others all came in within a few minutes of each other around 15 minutes later.
So what has this to do with "Marzipan Elvis" well the area is known for its Almonds the source of Marzipan and after the race we headed down to a restaurant for a coffee which by chance is also the home of the "Marzipan Museum" all you have ever wanted to know about marzipan is here. But in pride of place behind a protective pane of glass there was a life size model of Elvis (not the slim Elvis) made from Marzipan.
So for some races it is almost funny that you remember not the sweat pain and agony of running to your maximum but hey the Marzipan Elvis "priceless".
Run Strong
Mal
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
100 km Ultra Race Report
For a change , a race report from a member of the team I just did the 100km Ultra Team Event - Thanks to gayle for writing this , I might follow up in next day or so. But I get back on the plane tomorrow to head to the UK and back to Israel
Mal
Sydney
Australia
Oxfam Trailwalker is the world’s greatest team challenge. And it’s also one of the toughest. The challenge is to get your team of four across 100km of Australian bush in less than 48 hours – and, collectively, to raise at least $1,000 to help to overcome poverty and suffering around the world.
On the morning of the 23rd of March, 2007 the team known as Dragmoe 151 – compromising of Owen Evans, David Rogers, Mal James and Gayle McKellar set out to complete the 100kms in an aggressive time of 15hrs. All the training in the preceding months showed it was something we could achieve but with no time for any unforseen problems – there were no contingencies built into the schedule. The race was going to prove to be of physical and mental endurance as well as an emotional, frustration and heartbreaking conclusion for us all.
The first challenge to face all 630 teams competing on the day was the extreme weather conditions where it was predicted to be a scorching 35 degrees. History was going to be made today as the temperatures soared to 37.5 degrees, the hottest March day since 1965 and a women’s team called the Dashing Divas were the first to cross the finish line in 10hrs and 44 mins. A woman’s team had finally knocked off the reigning men’s team from Sydney – The Groin Sprains.
The event started in Jells Park Mt Waverley and completes at Wesburn Park 100km’s later. Officially 592 teams began the challenge divided into start times of 7:00am, 8:30am and 10:00am. Before the event had even begun 8 walkers had pulled out. This was to set the scene for the rest of the day. Between the start and finish are 8 mandatory checkpoints each complete team of 4 must register in and out of. The course winds through some of Victoria’s most scenic national parks and trail ways.
Friday morning 6:00am and registration for the teams began. Jells park tea-house was alive with many competitors, support crews and event organizers watching the starting clock tick down to the 7:00am start. Before we knew it the official team photo was taken, our hydration backs were filled with food and drink and as all teams huddled together at the starting point the 10 second countdown began, we were off and running.
With an overnight low of 25 degrees Dragmoe got off to a very good start. Mal was a new team member and new to the race in Melbourne. He had competed in Oxfam’s organised in Hong Kong and Sydney but never Melbourne. The first checkpoint from Jells Park to Churchill National Park is 10.5km’s of relatively flat terrain which allows for some good running. The GPS actually registers 12.5km’s and on the day we were able to complete this distance in a PB time of 1hr 29 mins compared to last years effort of 1hr 36 mins. We were all pumped with such a great result.
Checkpoint 2 is a hilly 9.5km’s into Lysterfield Lake Park which winds past the Commonwealth Games mountain bike course. The sun was now well in the sky and beating down on all the 7:00am starter teams. We joked around that today was probably going to be the hottest day on record – little did any of us know what we were going to be facing in a few hours time. Lysterfield came and went in a time of 1hr 15 mins and we were sitting around 57th place overall. Pretty much where we were same time last year. This is where Dragmoe would begin the attack on the rest of the field as we began to gain back places as we headed for the hills of the Dandenong's.
After filling our water bladders and our stomachs with some quick food we were off on a 15.5km trek from Lysterfield up through Birdsland National Park, Belgrave and onto the 1000 steps at Ferntree Gully. We had barely covered 30km’s and disaster was about to strike. By now it was over 30 degrees and Mal was starting to feel the effects of the hot weather. As we came into Belgrave, our amazing support crew of Kathryn and Andrew showered us with cold water to cool down our bodies. Mal continued suffering from nausea, stomach and legs cramps.
At Ferntree Gully we were faced with the news that they had closed the checkpoint to Olinda due to Total Fire Ban restrictions and they were not letting anyone cross the Dandenongs. This was disappointing to all teams involved but in hindsight was a saving grace due to the extreme heat everyone was enduring. No one could have survived those 1000 steps under those conditions. We were driven to Olinda Football club where we took another 1hr to allow Mal to rest and we discussed team tactics.
All seemed to be back on track as we put on clean team shirts and set out to Silvan Reservoir for checkpoint 5. Mal seemed to have found his second wind and was rearing to go and tackle 8.5km’s of undulating hills. Another PB was set as we completed the stage in 1hr 10 mins and we started to make out way up the leader board, now we were sitting in approximately 34th place and quite excited that we were going to reach our target. We surprised Andrew as we came into Silvan 10 to 20 minutes earlier than expected. I also think we surprised ourselves. Check in and out was very quick but we all took the opportunity to soak our hats in cold water to cool our bodies down.
We were now experiencing about 37 degrees and all feeling the effects. Silvan to Mt Evelyn was our next checkpoint – the shortest of them all of only 5km’s but it was a tough terrain to navigate. It took us just under an hour to complete. Our entrance into Mt Evelyn was starting to show signs of fatigue, heat exhaustion, de-hydration and body soreness on all of us. Check-in placed us in 35th position and I was getting excited about what our potential result would be. We were at the 59km mark – over half way.
The real challenge was about to begin, the dreaded 30km’s of flat straight Warburton Trail from Mt Evelyn through to Woori Yallock primary school then on to Millwarra Primary School at Millgrove. This is where our running/walking training was going to kick in and we were going to start to blitz the rest of the field. After some short jogging spurts and a quiz game to keep our minds active it was quite clear the energy levels were beginning to drop and the team was struggling to maintain the pace in the heat. Mal had another set back and the nausea and leg cramps had returned with a vengeance. This is where we finally stopped and he conceded that he could not continue. Andrew was called to pick up Mal from the course and drive him to a first aid station at Woori Yallock where he received treatment, he was in a serious way.
Owen remained with Mal as Dave and I continued along the course to arrive at checkpoint 7 some nearly 3hrs later. With 5 km’s to go Dave started to also suffer severe leg cramping and our pace slowed to nearly a crawl. I had not realised how bad Dave was until he started to vomit and he collapsed in immense pain 100 metres from checkpoint 7. His legs stopped functioning, he could no longer walk, he was experiencing sever cramping throughout both his legs. This is where the fear and anguish set in as I witnessed distressed bodies trying to deal with what they had endured during the day. We carried Dave to the check in point and stood proud as a team of four as we checked in for the last time having reached the 76km mark. We were now in 29th place.
Half an hour later we retired Dragmoe from the Oxfam event as Dave received medical attention for the next 3hrs. Woori Yallock Primary School was like a disaster zone, bodies had fallen everywhere and St John’s ambulance had to call in emergency paramedics to treat the sever cases. IV drips, oxygen and hyperthermia blankets were common place.
At checkpoint 7 we were the first team to retire to be followed by 196 other people that night. Checkpoint 8 at Millwarra was no better with 100 people suffering from the conditions of the day.
All in all 53 teams and 539 people retired from the event.
We would like to thank everyone who encouraged and supported us leading up to the event.
Our fantastic support crew of Kathryn, Lora and Andrew who dealt with our bad tempers, our unreasonable demands at each checkpoint and our utter disappointment and heartache at having to retire.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Six Hours Thirty-Four Minutes
I have a good reason for not posting for the past week, namely that after running for six hours and thirty four minutes last Saturday, I have been painting my parents house in Bathurst, a rural town three hours West of Sydney. Now for those who have run a marathon and a hard one knows that your legs are basically shot for the days and the pain of painting a house climbing up and down a ladder hurts enough without having run a marathon the day before.
The Six Foot Track marathon is truly the most amazing and beautiful marathon that I have ever run, and at the same stage the toughest race I have done to date. Even breaking it down into five-minute increments for Stuart and his battle, it was hard.
At major marathons around the world in cities like New York and Paris, there is an overwhelming sense of being at an event of magnitude. You can almost be in awe of the arrangements and logistics, not to mention the fact that you are running with world record holders.
At the start of the six-foot track marathon you milled around drinking tea and damper with golden syrup listening to the sounds of the bush waking up. There is no ramped up motivational music or stretching classes with aerobic instructors, instead you took the chance to stand around and just enjoy the moment rather than eyeing your watch every two minutes wondering whether to start fighting the crowd in get into a starting position.
Now a few words on the actual course, the one and only time you run on a sealed road is for the ten steps it takes to cross a road 39 km’s into the 45 km’s it runs. In the first km you drop off the Blue Mountain range and drop over 1000m vertical, in other words you are slipping and sliding in single file off muddy steps encased in a gully that reminds you of a scene from Jurassic Park or The Lost World. Sheers cliffs tower above and to see the sky you have to look vertically up, not recommended when running muddy steps as fast as you can down hill.
You enter the plains and find yourself on the most magical of tracks that go through low rolling hills, the smell of Eucalyptus from the Gum trees envelopes your sense of smell, At each fence on the Track is a sty over the barbed wire fence. At one point I found that I was running alone where I could see no one in front of me and no sound of footsteps behind me. All I could here were Whip O Will birds calling out there distinctive call and Kookaburras in the distance laughing, the river below raged through the bottom of the gorge and all I had to do was run in an environment like this, running was the most natural thing to do and I honestly felt the most relaxed I have ever done in a marathon or any other race at this point.
At 15 km’s the Cox River awaits and in most years this is barely a trickle, given that Australia is in its worst drought in 100 years you would expect that the river level would be so low that you could hop skip and jump without breaking stride. The week before the area had had rain for the first time in months and of course the river was now flowing,
“No worries, mate, she is only waist deep” said the Bush Fire Brigade Volunteer standing by the rope.
Then the sixty-four dollar question, do I take off my shoes and socks to wade across thus keeping them dry or do I just wade across and run with wet runners and socks.
I have trained and raced before with wet shoes and just jumped into the river, it was freezing cold and my leg muscles contracted rapidly as I stumbled through the water that upon reaching the height of my shorts caused an even greater intake of breath, I ask you when was the last time in a race that your poured ice cold water down the front of your shorts.
Coming out of the water I ran smugly past twenty or so runners who were putting there shoes and socks back on. I was feeling good but in my wet shoes all I could feel was small river pebbles and gravel cutting into my wet feet. So had to stop and try to clean my feet.
Had I made the right decision?
Well yes because in the next two km’s we had to go through three smaller rivers and thus everyone got wet shoes and socks. This year it could not be avoided.
Now I had studied the course profile and after this pleasant few km’s in the valley we would come to the first mountain climb, there are only two mountain climbs on the course, but what they do not tell “6ft virgins” is the sheer scale of these climbs, on rocky rutted tracks where every step is an effort to avoid twisting your ankle I started up the first climb.
One hour later, yes one hour later I reached the peak of Mini M Saddle, I was shot but then again everyone else was totally gutted.
To put some sense into the severity of these hills, in twenty four years history of the running of the six foot track marathon only one (that’s right “ONE”) person has ever run the complete marathon, everyone else walks some of us just walk more than others.
The track went down just as steeply as it had been on the rise for a couple of km’s then the next rise started. You could do nothing but hang your head and try to hang in as best you could, this where Stuart’s courage came to me and I would count in blocks of five. Five steps at a time I kept climbing and once again it takes nearly an hour to climb this Mountain.
When you reach the top I was shattered but then again everyone else was and time became a concern, because if you want a medal you have to finish in under seven hours, my calculations had been going ok till the two climbs and now I considered that perhaps I would not make the cut.
A pace maker caught up with me and he said stick with him and he would get me over the line at approx 6 hours 45 minutes, but man he seemed to be running fast, you know that it is mental but as you approach four hours of running in these conditions, you are not thinking straight.
Then the big mistake I took my eyes off the track, caught a rock with my toes and I did not have the leg strength to hold myself upright. Like a bad slo mo dream I was ploughing into the track. My left hand had skin ripped and was bleeding, my right arm and shoulder took the blunt of the fall and were grazed, and my right knee banged hard causing me to limp as I stood up.
The pace maker and another runner helped me up, I was sore and bloody. But I was not going to quit, I knew that if I kept running and my knee loosened up I would be ok. I thought about stopping at the next medical tent, but I figured out that it would cost me too much time and the cut off was still in my mind.
The bleeding slowed and stopped under the flapping skin, my grazes became a great source of interest and attraction for every fly in the bush. But most importantly my knee started to come good and I knew that I would make it.
By this stage everyone has the same strategy, you walk up an incline no matter how what, on the flats you tried to run if you could and downhill’s you ran.
People who have run with me know that I like to know what my splits are, whether the last km was 5 minutes 30 seconds or 6 minutes.
My watch beeped indicating that another km had been done and glancing down the readout was 5:26 , I felt this great boost of confidence that if I was putting out 5:26 mins/km then I was going very well.
Then about two minutes later looking down again to check my heart rate, the watch showed 5:28 and the seconds hand was ticking over.
I had not run a 5:26min/km. I had been running for 5 hours 26 minutes, the irony was that towards the end the same thing happened at 6:26, which says a lot for my mental status.
The last four km’s were probably the hardest, even tougher than the climbs, downhill on a very rocky and tree rooted single track barely wide enough for one person.
Your quad muscles and calves have by this stage given everything and moving them in the slightest twist causes you to cramp violently as you try to avoid falling off the side of the hill.
Down and down, cramp after cramp, moving faster felt better but it was the most technical and trickiest part of the Ultra.
The finishing line came and I did what I always do and that is dig down and try to sprint across the line, you feel the elation of finishing and at the same time the instant downer of its over.
Mum and Dad were there to great me, and then with my medal over my head I headed to the first aid tent and for the next thirty minutes had skin cut off and dirt flushed out from my cut hand, ice on my shoulder after being cleaned of fly excrement and vomit, and an ice pack on the knee.
It was my slowest time for 45 km’s but given everything that had happened in the days leading up and during the actual race, I rate this race as one of my best.
It is nice when time does not matter, as Stuart says hey another five minutes you should be happy.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Dedicated to Stuart
It is the day before the 6ft Track Ultra marathon and I find myself on the train going over the Blue Mountains blanketed in fog and mist, and down into Lithgow, where my mother will pick me up and take me onto Bathurst for the night. Before driving back into the mountains in the early morning to the start of Australia’s most famous off road Ultra Marathon, “The 6ft Track” all off road starting at the top of the Blue Mountain Range descending down to the Megalong Valley floor before a lung busting ascent up the Black Mountain Range and down to the finish at Jenolan Caves. 45km’s of torture is how it is portrayed, if you can do a marathon in four hours (which I have done) then expect to hopefully finish in six hours is how the race info puts it.
Now six hours is 360 minutes, but for my friend Stuart he would tell me that he looks it as 72 blocks of 5 minutes. Why five minute blocks?
Well I have spent the last few days with one of my oldest and closest friends Stuart. We met on the first day of High School together back even walked home together on that first day. We grew up and did everything wrong and good together that mates do as teenagers. We never had money and what money we did earn from doing paper rounds we spent together. We did our first holiday overseas together as young lads in Fiji and even when we went our own ways we never lost touch and somehow whenever we talked on the phone, it was like we had only spoken the day before. If I ever needed to hear a friendly voice of a mate it is always Stuart that I call.
Then last year Stuart, only older than me by six weeks got cancer of the bowels, he had an operation and they removed twenty cm’s (nearly a foot of his bowels). He fought and fought as hard as I have ever seen anyone fight, as a single father of a sixteen-year daughter he has too much to live for.
Then last week things went from looking positive to bad, as a side effect of the chemo he had developed a 6cm blood clot in his arm where the chemo went in, the clot had started to break and had passed thru his heart into his lungs.
The hard thing is that often friends do not tell you till to late what has happened, it is not embarrassment or fear that is behind their decision but courage and bravery. I spoke to Stuart Wednesday night after I found out he was back in hospital, he sounded awful but still positive. The next morning I walked into his room and saw what little remains of my best mate, he is fading in body but glowing in spirit and determination to beat this disease.
The good news was that the clots had been stabilized and that he was to be released that afternoon, still amazes me the ability of modern medicine to treat people and Stuart is probably at the best hospital in Australia.
We spent four hours together in the hospital, the amount of time it takes me to run a marathon. Just doing what we do best talk, laugh and plan our future lives.
When I rang him last night he was back home full of spirit and determination and when I asked what he was up to he told me
“ I only think of the next five minutes, I get through those five minutes grateful and I plan the next five minutes. Nothing more nothing less”
He added “have a great race Saturday”.
Running is in all honesty a solo sport, when it gets tough people and friends around you support you and get you thru the tough times but essentially it is you alone with two legs going left right repeat. Tomorrow will be different for me because when I feel bad or hurting, when I feel like there is nothing left and I want to stop. I will say to myself:
“ Five more minutes Mal, just five more minutes. Because if all Stuart wants from life now is five more minutes, then by god I am going to run hard for five more minutes for my best friend. Stuart tomorrow I run not for me but for you.
Friday March 9th 2007
Blue Mountains
Australia
Now six hours is 360 minutes, but for my friend Stuart he would tell me that he looks it as 72 blocks of 5 minutes. Why five minute blocks?
Well I have spent the last few days with one of my oldest and closest friends Stuart. We met on the first day of High School together back even walked home together on that first day. We grew up and did everything wrong and good together that mates do as teenagers. We never had money and what money we did earn from doing paper rounds we spent together. We did our first holiday overseas together as young lads in Fiji and even when we went our own ways we never lost touch and somehow whenever we talked on the phone, it was like we had only spoken the day before. If I ever needed to hear a friendly voice of a mate it is always Stuart that I call.
Then last year Stuart, only older than me by six weeks got cancer of the bowels, he had an operation and they removed twenty cm’s (nearly a foot of his bowels). He fought and fought as hard as I have ever seen anyone fight, as a single father of a sixteen-year daughter he has too much to live for.
Then last week things went from looking positive to bad, as a side effect of the chemo he had developed a 6cm blood clot in his arm where the chemo went in, the clot had started to break and had passed thru his heart into his lungs.
The hard thing is that often friends do not tell you till to late what has happened, it is not embarrassment or fear that is behind their decision but courage and bravery. I spoke to Stuart Wednesday night after I found out he was back in hospital, he sounded awful but still positive. The next morning I walked into his room and saw what little remains of my best mate, he is fading in body but glowing in spirit and determination to beat this disease.
The good news was that the clots had been stabilized and that he was to be released that afternoon, still amazes me the ability of modern medicine to treat people and Stuart is probably at the best hospital in Australia.
We spent four hours together in the hospital, the amount of time it takes me to run a marathon. Just doing what we do best talk, laugh and plan our future lives.
When I rang him last night he was back home full of spirit and determination and when I asked what he was up to he told me
“ I only think of the next five minutes, I get through those five minutes grateful and I plan the next five minutes. Nothing more nothing less”
He added “have a great race Saturday”.
Running is in all honesty a solo sport, when it gets tough people and friends around you support you and get you thru the tough times but essentially it is you alone with two legs going left right repeat. Tomorrow will be different for me because when I feel bad or hurting, when I feel like there is nothing left and I want to stop. I will say to myself:
“ Five more minutes Mal, just five more minutes. Because if all Stuart wants from life now is five more minutes, then by god I am going to run hard for five more minutes for my best friend. Stuart tomorrow I run not for me but for you.
Friday March 9th 2007
Blue Mountains
Australia
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
South Pacific Sweating
Yes even in the South Pacific I continue to train, every morning a five km loop on a Pacific Island. But alas my I pod is flat and all I can here is the sweat pouring out of me.
Have my 6ft track Ultra on March 10th followed by a 100km Ultra two weeks later so my holiday still has me running ragged, not to mention squeezing in two to three Scuba dives a day
Life and training continues, sans music
Mal
Port Vila
Vanuatu
Have my 6ft track Ultra on March 10th followed by a 100km Ultra two weeks later so my holiday still has me running ragged, not to mention squeezing in two to three Scuba dives a day
Life and training continues, sans music
Mal
Port Vila
Vanuatu
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Understanding
Not only have I joined a gym here whilst i am holiday, tell you what it is a total new experience to have a spin class where you actually understand every word. Then again the two classes I have done it is funny to listen to the accent, by the girls have had an "occa" / Australian heavy accent, that I had to smile to hear classic Aussie slang classics like "Youse"
More later only running with Molly and I have some stair work to do this morning
Mal
Sydney Australia
More later only running with Molly and I have some stair work to do this morning
Mal
Sydney Australia
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Has Mal been SLACK ?
Well no actually I have not neglected my training , sure I would like to have been swimming more. But since it was snowing in the UK, they do not have lap pools in Economy Class on Singapore Arlines or on trains thru Mountains, how was I to know that the Bathurst City Council would of closed its one and only pool to renovate it to Olympic standard. I do not have a bike with me here and I hope to find a spinning class today.
But running yes readers, only snow and flying has meant that I have not run every day. From the streets of London thru the suburb I grew up in as a boy, to rural Australia and post Country Showgrounds and with my old dog along creek banks with Kookaburras and Cocatoos
Hope to write more over the weekend before heading off to Fiji next Tuesday
But running yes readers, only snow and flying has meant that I have not run every day. From the streets of London thru the suburb I grew up in as a boy, to rural Australia and post Country Showgrounds and with my old dog along creek banks with Kookaburras and Cocatoos
Hope to write more over the weekend before heading off to Fiji next Tuesday
Running In Wales
I have never trained somewhere as cold and as hilly as the roads around here, from the guest house hotel it is literally an uphill stretch for a km and I mean uphill not some small gradient that you move up for two minutes and hit the flats, this is ten minutes uphill steady long windy small road with hedge row on both sides, and a permanent frost on the ground.
Fields with sheep and the green is so incredible, you could not go outside without a hat and gloves, the air is so cold that it almost hurts your lungs.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Chlorine & Peanuts
before I get to the story behind todays workout "Chlorine & Peanuts" , a reflection back on last nights run as shown here in the Heart Rate Readout. Met with Chaim and did the hills course close to his home, which are the same hills (Or hill) that we used to train on for the New York Marathon last year.
5 Solid repeats will have to go back and check how our times have improved or most likely gotten worse, (bad english I know). We motored up and jogged down, as hard as hills training is, I still enjoy doing this workout as it has a diefinite focus and a definite end.
This morning down to the Gym as it just opened, I had to do a swim session and a weights/core. Now on the way to the gym found a packet of peanuts in the car and decided in my wisdom to munch down a few handfuls. Fifteen minutes later doing laps I realised that chlorine in the mouth somehow managed to bring back the peanuts, not that i threw up but somehow the taste of peanuts became mixed with chlorine and that fellow athletes is something that should be avoided. So my training tip for today is that nothing tastes good with chlorine.
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