Saturday, February 16, 2008

To Set a World Record


This year I have a two-fold aim: set an athletic world record and invent a new religion that makes all the others obsolete. See elsewhere for the later ;-)

On February 15, I complete my fifth long distance training run. Weekly or fortnightly I have jog-walked 20, 30, 40, 50 and now 60 kilometres. A few notes about the last outing to be written up later:

7 a.m. start - duration 9.25.30. Cold weather: the high of 14 didn't eventuate, and it didn't make the minimum of 12 degrees either! At one point I heard that it was 11.6 degrees Celsius. Strong winds too. Showers. The sun came out for a total of perhaps 10 minutes.

I completed 36 'C' laps (see elsewhere) and I ran every third. 18 min on average, when walking, 9 when running. I saved 13 minutes of every hour for each 5 kilometres. A touch of iliotibial band friction syndrome at about the midway stage, but jogging (as opposed to walking) worked it away.

I felt fresh all the way. Not much pain in that spot in my neck that I usually get. Rhythm boken by numerous 'pit stops' - no probs with hydration, and a 3-min 'number two'. The rugby club toiletes are handy for that, but so are the bushes at the back and even the Students' Centre. I once lost my key that wore a hole in my pocket.

My blue stain shorts were fine, though they chaffed slightly. Also wore a tee-shirt, a light jersey, a windbreaker and a woolen hat. No shoes of course! In the future I must bring some gloves.

The best thing I caught on the radio through the walkman (which I delayed using for a few hours) was Hey Joe by Otis Taylor on a banjo.

In terms of food, the mainstays were: garlic bread, a peanut slab, and 1 bar of a One Square Meal (OSM).

I found a single earplug that I stuffed in to cut down traffic noise. It was sportsday for a school (or schools) and at the marathon stage I was able to run with and overtake a number of pupils doing a Logan lap.

A couple of days after, I'm already running. Ran 11 kilometres with Mami. We have the Otago Rail Trail to take part in at the end of the week. The next long training session I'll do in about 2 weeks. This time I'll go for time - 12 hours, perhaps a little slower than before. Maybe 72 kilometres.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Third time on the trail


In a week's time, I revisit the Otago Rail Trail.

This time, I shall take part socially. Together with Mami and Paul, we've made up a team of three. I've volunteered to do a cycling and a running leg on both days. This is a first for me.

I've never competed on a bicycle before, although I've cycle-toured thousands of kilometres. The pain from cycling hard outweighs the pain from any degree of running, I've always felt. So anyway - a new experience to look forward to.

I thought of using a single-speed road cycle instead of a mountain bike, but I've been talked out of it. Maybe one day. It's just that without ugly dérailleurs they look so cool, and they must be more efficient. And the trail is relatively flat, as I well know.

But I suppose that as well as inclines, you can get a headwind. And so I'll do it the conventional way.