Today in Sum

Training: 31k Bibbulmun Track




Recovery: 36 mins Fuji aerobatics

Reviewing my plans

I was a bit concerned that my "rest" month wasn't as much rest as it should have been, with the swap of running for riding (actually increasing training time). So I took it easy this week with the mileage and ran a few quality runs. A 15k hill run at Bold felt great and another 15k on bitumen the following day also felt good. I went out to do my "100k" pace and had to keep pulling myself back, which is a good thing. My endocrine system (roughly measured by my resting heart rate) seems to have recovered quickly from the AR, too. But, still, I kept the miles down slightly this week and just had a few quality runs.

I've re-thought Yurrebilla, and just can't justify doing it. While it would surely be heaps of fun - mud, steep hills, single track, great ultra runners to meet....it's just a $1,000 I don't need to spend. All my airmiles flying to Europe and back haven't even earned me a free ticket to Adelaide.

Although it's 3 months away, I do have the 6 Inch trail race to look forward to, which is local, so very cost effective.

But now I need some new goals to pursue for the next few months. I'm giving a lot of thought to going over east in November, instead, to the Moe 6 hr track race. There's really nothing else that fits into my calendar that gives me a goal I'm interested in. If I go to the track race, I can try to better my 50k time and pursue breaking another Canadian women's record.

I'm also now toying with doing a mtb race this month - I might come dead last, but it's a good excuse to practice up the mtb pea gravel skills over a morning!

And not doing Yurrebilla will be good news for the guy I'm supposed to be pacing at the end of this month in the fat-ass Waterous 100 miler - because it is the week before Yurrebilla, I was limited in the mileage and speed I was willing to do as his pacer. Now, I'll be free to run further and faster.

Next weekend a few of us have planned to do the Ridge Top Walk in the Stirling Ranges. It should be about 42k of hilly, rocky fun!

One new AR pic

Our team, The Tortoise and The Bear on the "finish line sofa."

I have a slightly dazed look because:

1. I'm slightly dazed

2. I have food in my mouth. The poor girl was having trouble getting a shot with me shovelling the fuel in!

More Support for my Ultra Adventures

Jon Tan at Langer Chiropractic, my chiro since moving to Perth 2 years ago, has agreed to help keep me training and racing well, with his sponsorship. I really lucked into finding Jon in the first place.... Knowing no one really to ask when I moved to Perth, I just noticed the sign while parked at a hardware store across the street.

It turned out that Jon has a real interest in sports chiropractic. He is the WA state coordinator for Sports Chiropractic Australia and the team chiropractor for the Subiaco Football Club (WAFL). He was also in the top 12 for Men's Health Man of the Year, so obviously takes health and fitness seriously for himself, as well.

And speaking of those ultra adventures....

This past weekend was the Caffeinated Espresso 24hr unsupported adventure race. This was my third AR (1999 and 2006 in Canada). I was fortunate to be asked to join three very fit and nav-savvy guys for this. So the camera stayed in the car (figuring I'd never get in front of all of them to get a good shot, anyway). I'll have to wait until some pics become available online that I can get my hands on.

Maps were handed out after a 9 AM briefing and we had a noon start. From 9 AM until noon, you have to plan all your navigation for the event and get all your gear into 3 crates, labelled A, B, and C. The race organisers take those crates to the transition areas (TA's). If you mess up getting shoes or fuel into a crate, tough luck. So while Mark and Wil planned the route, Simon and I planned what gear needed to be in what crate and started sorting things. Simon and Wil have tons of AR experience and Mark has a strong rogaining/nav background. They taught me a lot over the weekend.

The race was something like this (I don't have the "passport"/road book):

33k single track mtb (bitumen hill climb out of town first and one ~1k hike-a-bike)
~19k rogaine on foot
15k mtb (single track with a nasty long uphill grind and wide gravel up-and-down fire roads)
~25k? paddle on the Wellington Lake Dam as a rogaine, with bonus checkpoints (CPs)
9k mtb (single track and wide gravel)
orienteering event for ~1 hr (cancelled due to night fog and cold - race organisers were afraid there'd be hypothermia with racers falling as they tried to cross rivers in the fog).
15k mtb (wide gravel onto bitumen to town)

This turned out to be a "mountain biker's race" and single track MTBing was my weakest skill. I have only ridden trails once in the past two years here. Of course, this month, after I signed up for the event, I went out three more times, two being in the dark. That was so useful! Western Australia is just full of pea gravel, which is so unnerving for me.

The paddle was my favourite leg. Full moon, gorgeous night. We were six hours on the lake, getting every mandatory control plus all the bonus ones (giving time bonuses). One was on a dead tree in the middle of the lake! The last 45 minutes or so we were out there, the mist came in. Within about 20 minutes, all sight of anything beyond about 20 mtrs was gone. We had to keep the boats very close together and navigate by bearing, very carefully, as we couldn't see any headlands to aim for. We were lucky to have been one of the faster teams, off the water at 4.30 AM. Others were just heading out when we left the water and had no idea what lay in front of them. One team apparently got separated within 20 mtrs of shore and it took an hour before they got together again (one boat heading back to shore while the other headed for the CP).

We squeezed onto the podium in 3rd place, after a big push to the finish, in just under 20 hrs (unadjusted for time bonuses).

The Hammer Perpetuem served me well again - I used multi-hour bottles so I could drink straight water from my hydration pack. I tried one of their bars, as well, for variety (it stays soft even in the cold, which is nice to know if you've ever tried to eat a hard energy bar). And I had a few cashews and almonds. I pulled up well, body-wise, but am still headed to the massage therapist now for a little post-race care! :)

Ahhh, Taper Week Ahead....

Was feeling pretty tired yesterday afternoon and couldn't quite figure it out. Nutrition good, electrolytes good, sleep good. And it's my "rest" month, so my running mileage is well below 100k/wk.

This morning I had a look at last week's stats and I just wonder:

running (some flat, mostly hills, sand, and trails) 60k
mountain biking (all at night on trails) 85k

Still, that doesn't look too bad. But then I thought in terms of time. A typical running week might have me actually running for 9 hours. This week:

running ~6 hrs
mtb'ing ~9 hrs

So my training went from 9 hours to 15 hours this past week. And involved a lot more pushing a bike up a hill, where I used to just have to push myself up a hill.

But it sure has been a lot of fun! Even the massive stack "baseball player" style into a big puddle last night. Too bad I didn't get a picture of that. My white Compressports are now dyed Australian red-dirt. I might have to talk to them about bringing in a new colour for adventure racing!

Welcome to my New Sponsors!

The week just gets better.

Yesterday I signed a contract with Hammer Nutrition. These guys know their stuff. On the advice of a few very strong athlete friends of mine, I tried Hammer for the first time at my 24 hr event. In fact, I fueled solely with the product - how's that for a trial?!? And I found it brilliant. I am really pleased to have such quality backing me in my training and events.

And today I went in to meet the manager of Mainpeak (Osborne Park), who are also sponsoring me now. Mainpeak and I first started talking after my 24 hr race, as well. I had gone in there to kit Rolf out for crewing me for the 24 hr race (concerned to not have him freeze to death during the night).

I feel a special link to Mainpeak. They are a WA-specific outdoor adventure shop. When I moved to WA, my trail friends in Canada (Trailtrash) took me on a final mountain run and filled a running sock full of money. They gave me a little booklet signed by everyone. At the beginning of the booklet, one friend wrote "The Trailtrash gang wanted to give you some pocket money "Ozzie Outback Bankroll" so you could get properly "outfitted" for your adventures down under. Check out "Mainpeak" a MEC type store at 858 Hay St. Perth for maps, guide-books and gear."

And so I took my bankroll down there on arrival and did as they said - bought maps and books of my new world down under. (MEC is an awesome community-driven/co-op Canadian outdoor store, by the way).

Tonight I had a fantastic 15k hill run at Bold Park, steady, with some good pushes up the hills. I think there's some more night riding and paddling in the works for the next few days. My rogaine partner and I have decided to scrap the plan to compete this weekend, as it's not wise with the AR coming up.

Yay, I'm not an Ironman!

See my friend there in the distance headed for the ocean in her wetsuit? She's a multi-Ironman. Me, I'm not. So after our sand run, I got to do more sand running while she went swimming. Brrrrr!

It was such a nice day we had to top it off with 10k of paddling on the Swan River. My shoulders and neck needed the workout in preparation for the AR at the end of the month.


Then I heard that the latest issue of Runner's World is out. There were just a few slight inaccuracies. For example, my canoe paddles (which are sitting in my brother's basement in Canada) are actually bent shaft, not straight, as shown in the picture :) The maple leaf's pretty good, though, eh?