Happy Days

Another month, another road trip to Taupo and another half marathon. The third and final run in the 63.3 – 3 halves in 3 months series was the Kinloch Off-Road Challenge.  I went into this one feeling a lot better and healthier than the previous one a month ago. Just being healthy at the start line makes running 21+ kilometres that much less daunting. 

Kinloch threw up a pretty nice course. Double and single track through re-generating native bush on the Kinloch to Whakaipo Bay and Headland Loop tracks.  Nothing very technical and whilst the first half is pretty much climbing most of the way none of it is very steep. The toughest hill was the ridiculously shaped bridge over the marina less than a kilometre from the finish!!

I hadn’t quite done the running miles that I’d liked to have done in the weeks prior. But in the runs I had done I’d been noticing some quite big gains in speed and ability to recover. I’d also been able to clock up some pretty decent days on the bike. 

Having done my first off-road half marathon – the Tauhara Trail Run – two months earlier in 3:14 I felt confident that setting a target time of 3 hours was an achievable goal. Once underway and knowing that there was a lot of climbing to do in the first half I settled into a steady, comfortable rhythm  with those of similar pace. Even with a couple of photo stops along the way to pick up some snaps of the awesome Lake Taupo vistas that 3 hour target was never in jeopardy. 

 

Despite suffering a bit in the last 2 or 3 kilometres, no doubt due to the lack of longer training runs, I crossed the finish line in a satisfying 2:47.

Now the reality has sunk that I’ve achieved  what seemed like an incredibly lofty goal a few months ago for someone who just over 6 months ago weighed a very unhealthy 131kgs, of doing not just the Wellington half marathon  but then following this up a just a couple of weeks later with the first of the 63.3 series races.  So in just over three months I’ve run four half marathons – two on road and two off road, and in doing so dropped a pretty satisfying 29kg. 

I’m pretty much done with road running I think… it’s incredibly boring compared to trail running which I love.  I might do the 63.3 series again next year which will entail one on road event but I don’t see myself turning down the profitable few hours photographing the Wellington half as I did this year!

The next challenge for me is now a few months away in December. The fearsome Goat on Mt Ruapehu – a half marathon between Whakapapa and Turoa skifields with over 1,000km of vertical ascent! I’m also following this up with the Tussock Traverse – 26km around Ruapehu from Tukino skifield to the Chateau Tongariro. I’m also entertaining thoughts of adding the Routeburn Classic to my running bucket list. Maybe not next year but if things go well then I think I might have a crack at it in 2015.

First up though a holiday. This blog is being posted from the Koru lounge at Wellington Airport as I head off for an adventure in Dubai, Italy and France with plans to do a lot of photography, walking, bike race watching and the odd spot of running along the way.

Death warmed up

Mizuno Taupo Half-Marathon

What is it with getting sick ahead of big events? I suffered through the after effects of a head cold in the Wellington half-marathon back in June and on the Thursday before the Taupo half-marathon of last week the signs were not good… there was that tingle in the throat and general feeling that something wasn’t right with body. By Saturday I had a full-blown head cold again. Ever optimistic that I might wake up feeling better for the run on Sunday I hopped in the car for the long drive up to Taupo.

The general plan upon arrival would have been to register for the run and then spend the rest of the afternoon indulging in some photography. The camera never came out of its bag though. Instead, after a stop at the supermarket to grab supplies for the drive home again, I retreated to my motel room and the comfort of bed, TV and some music on my laptop.  Come morning, after a restless night coughing, I was worse not better.  I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower where a decent coughing fit began to expunge my body of all the horrible fluoro shit that had built up in my throat overnight.  Despite this, I continued dressing to run and headed on down to the start area.  I was early enough that I had a good 45 minutes to contemplate my state of health and decide whether or not to pull the plug. To be honest I felt like shit and when I turned on my Garmin my heart-rate was about 30 beats a minute higher than it should have been. In hindsight I should have accepted the signs and withdrawn from the run with my dignity intact. However, the thought of driving such a long distance to not run combined with the mood setting sounds of Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 album (possibly one of the greatest live performance albums of all time I might add), saw me leave the warmth of the car and head on down to the start line.

This day offered up perfect conditions for running. It was cool, overcast and there was barely a breath of wind. The course itself was fantastic! Out along the highway (for the most part) to the turnaround at 5 Mile Bay past the airport and back again along the waterfront reserve to the finish at Tongariro Domain in the centre of town.  It‘s a shame that my body wasn’t in sync though. I set off at an easy pace and felt pretty ok considering. But I noticed that whilst my heart rate was high whilst sitting in the car doing nothing, I now struggled to get it up to what I expect when I’m running. Typically I run with a heart-rate in the high 150s to low 160s range.  Today it seemed like 145 was an impenetrable barrier. But I battled on… at a slower pace than I’d hoped for.

The end came pretty quickly once the coughing started at about 15 kilometres in. I went from feeling averagely below par to like death in an instant. Then, just before the 18km mark, for the first time in an organised road event, I found myself reduced to a humiliating walk and any chance of maintaining any semblance of a respectable time rapidly disappeared. I tried to muster little bursts of running (if you could call it that), but it was a struggle and the small rise from the marina up to the Tongariro Domain entrance loomed like a cliff face. I battled on and managed to jog the last few hundred metres to the finish line. 

The finisher’s medal just added to my burden. It didn’t feel deserved. I felt humiliated and destroyed, not relieved and proud to have achieved another half-marathon result. 

I stumbled back to the car now facing the daunting prospect of having to drive the 4 ½  hours back home to Wellington. Firstly though I had to summon the courage to respond to the texts of encouragement and congratulations that had been building up on my phone while I was out on the road. I hope I put on enough of a brave face with my responses to those who were supporting me!

In at least one good moment of forethought I had loaded the car with an ample supply of liquids and sugary treats to rapidly recharge the body, and to keep it going for the trip home. First up was a can of Red Bull… gone in a matter of seconds as I struggled into some warm dry clothes. Knowing that there was no way that I could just turn on the engine and drive away as I had done after the Tauhara Trail Run a few weeks earlier, I just sat in the driver’s seat suckling on a bottle of water and scoffing back a banana and the occasional wine gum or M&M.  I might have even had a nap. At least I wasn’t alone in suffering. The person in the car parked alongside arrived back shortly after I did, hopped in and fully reclined her seat for a proper sleep. She was still in this position when I finally had the strength to face the drive home, after a good hour plus of rest and replenishment.

 I survived the drive home and even made it to work the next day. But only for a couple of hours. I was in a bad way and spent the next couple of days moving only between bed and the couch!!

So half-marathon number three of 2013 is going to be remembered for all the wrong reasons. At least by finishing I now have two of the three events needed for the 63.3, three halves in three months series in the bag. Next up is the Mizuno Kinloch Off-Road Half Marathon on 7 September. Then, 4 days after that I’m taking a break and it’s off to Italy for a month for the UCI Road World Championships and the race of the falling leaves – the Tour of Lombardy.

Meanwhile on another much better day...

I’m liking my new philosophy of enjoying my time on the bike, rather than slogging out mile after mile and the associated suffering that goes with it.  One recent ride in particular reflected this enjoyment.

I had been a bit perturbed since signing up for Strava back in March that my longest ride was only 38 kilometres… or in cycling terms, not much more than a jaunt to the shops and back. I felt I needed to do something about this. So one Saturday, with rain just starting to fall at home I decided to throw the bike in the car and go see what the weather was like over in the Wairarapa. 

The first challenge I had to overcome was the till then unanswered question of whether a road bike will fit in the back of a MINI Cooper S.  Thankfully the answer is yes. With both wheels off, there’s no problem at all taking a one person cycling road trip!

Martinborough, in its usual fashion, offered up weather that was considerably nicer than Wellington. Whilst it had obviously been raining lightly that morning, by the time I parked up at the Square, the cloud was beginning to lift and there was not even a sniff of a breeze.  I had a course in mind that, according to Garmin Connect, would offer up a nice loop to Gladstone and back of around 65km. Rolling out of town, past the golf course and vineyards, it was good to be underway on a ride that I’d been planning in my mind for a very long time. 

I pulled out the iPhone pretty early on and started snapping off photos as I rode along. In the 5 years that I’ve had my Specialized Tarmac, I’ve never been particularly confident about riding no handed on it, whereas on my previous Avanti I felt I could pretty much cruise along indefinitely without having to touch the handlebars. I don’t know what’s changed… maybe the nearly three years of essentially no riding, but today I finally think I’ve mastered the no-hands riding on the Specialized.  Which is great, as it means significantly less slowing down is required to remove and stash gloves, get iPhone out of pocket and then snap off a few photos. Trouble is now that I’ve got the cycling bug again, I’ve already started eyeing up new bikes, which will undoubtedly mean a subtle change in geometry and balance and a whole no-handed learning curve all over again!!

The only drama of the ride was a complete rookie error on my own part. As I had been intending originally to just ride from home but then changed my mind fairly quickly as the rain arrived, I just threw my bike into the car without first removing the two full bidons of water that were intended to keep me hydrated. Of course they leaked on the drive to Martinborough, which I discovered about half an hour into the ride as I went to take a drink and found that my first bidon contained only about three mouthfuls of water. Ok, not a big problem I thought. The nozzle was open and it leaked, so what… the second one looks closed. I should be sweet. But no… it was in fact completely empty, which I discovered just past the halfway mark. 

If this ride had been a serious hammer fest, or it had been a hot day this would have been a more serious problem. I did think about turning around at that point and heading back to the Gladstone Pub which I’d passed a kilometre or two before, to see if they’d be gracious and allow a refill. But I was feeling pretty comfortable in cruise mode anyways and it was less of a problem than a “fuck you’re an idiot” moment, so I just sucked back an energy gel and carried on regardless. The bottle of water in my car I’d packed for the drive home tasted pretty damn good and didn’t last long though!!

The back roads of the Wairarapa are cycling nirvana. Quiet, generally in good condition and with a variety of terrain to choose from. This particular ride was in general pretty flat – out along Hinakura and then the Masterton-Martinborough Roads as far as Gladstone, and then back via the slightly busier Ponatahi Road. When I rolled back up to my car which was parked at the Square in Martinborough, my Garmin Edge 500 computer had just ticked over 66km with a total elevation gain of just 277m.

I’ve plotted out a couple of other courses out this way and I hope to make more regular trips over the Rimutaka Hill to enjoy some more traffic free, scenic riding.

Half and half

First Half 

As I wrote my last post I was one week out from my first half marathon of the year - the Shoe Clinic Wellington Half Marathon... and I was coming down with a cold.

That cold hit pretty hard and for three days I felt like utter shit. After a primo bike ride on the Saturday afternoon I just struggled to get warm for the rest of the day. The next morning it was all on and I was moving no more than the distance between bed and the couch. By Wednesday, I was feeling up to returning to work but running was pretty much off the cards for the entire week. So come Sunday morning on the start line I wasn't really feeling to choice about the 21.1km of pounding the road ahead.

Run courses don't really get much flatter than this one. The biggest climb is the ramp back up to the stadium concourse at about 400m to go. The rest of it is pretty much pan flat, out and back around the Wellington waterfront and Evans Bay. The biggest factor that comes in to play, external to one's own physical condition, is the weather. The day before it was as shit as Wellington gets really... it literally rained all day and was frigidly cold. I was about ready to pull the plug if it hadn't eased off by morning. Thankfully it had and the run kicked off under overcast skies and into a cool and gusty southerly.

The first 7 or 8km were knocked out with nary a care in the world but from then on I began to feel the effects of having a glugged up head and my pace began to consistently tail off with each kilometre passed.

By kilometre 18, I was well and truly in the hurtbox. Thoughts had turned to the opportunity cost of this versus just about any other activity, and jealousy of the people sitting in the cafes along Oriental Bay. It became a struggle to keep the legs ticking over. Walking is not an option on a course this flat... walking would be giving in to the pain. I tried to force a positive thought into my mind and focused on just how good the hot spa at home would feel.

So struggle through I did and a little adrenalin boost carried me up the stadium ramp and over the finish line. The emotions were mixed at this point. There was the satisfaction of having finished, tinged with the disappointment of missing my target time by nearly 20 minutes (having not recovered from my cold, I can't really let this haunt me). Then came the soul destroying clincher.... as I hopped into the car my partner broke the news that a power surge in the recent storm had triggered an overload cut-off on our spa pool. She had turned it back on but there was no way it would have heated up enough for me by the time we got home. At this point, if it wasn't for the delicious, warm latte from Milk Crate that she had bought for me I think I would have cracked emotionally.

The detail:
Distance - 21.48km
Climbing -  116m
Calories burned - 2,300+

Second Half

Fast forward 2 weeks and I find myself in Taupo for half-marathon number two - the Tauhara Trail Run. I love Taupo - the lake, the mountains, the forests... it has everything outdoorsy so close at hand. I used to spend a lot of time here and it's always good to return. Even on an overcast  winter's day such as I had they day I arrived, there's still something special about the town.

Race day dawned a stunner and the start area under Mt Tauhara got to witness a spectacular sunrise. I watched from the warmth of my car after picking up my race pack and a tasty latte.

It was a crisp 4.5 degrees when proceedings got underway. Perfect once warmed up, but cold enough to start the run in a jacket and gloves. We set out across farmland and down my end of the field there were a couple of the usual standstill bottlenecks as several hundred people tried to squeeze through narrow farmgates all at the same time. But by the time we hit the forest proper the field was pretty well spread out and I easily sat into a good rhythm for the first few kilometres.

After about 4 or 5km we left the forestry road and headed up a short steep climb into a fantastic section of single track that twisted and turned through the pine forest. At this point, the first of the 10km runners started to come through. I had a moment of age envy as a kid came flying past like he ws doing parkour!! I thought about trying the same technique of leaping off every berm and drop but decided that I'd rather sleep tonight in my own bed back in Wellington and not Taupo hospital.

In the midst of this section was local freelancer Allan Ure, who had set up a couple of strobes to get some fantastic action shots of the runners.

photo: Allan Ure, photorecall.co.nz

 This fantastic flowing singletrack came to an all too sudden end after a couple of kilometres. At this point the 10km course split off and whilst it was a little tempting to slack off and join them, I managed to follow the half marathon arrows back onto a gravel forestry road. Shortly, this road began to tilt upwards and carried on so for a solid couple of kilometres. By now I was down to a walk on the climbs to conserve energy knowing that we weren't yet at the halfway point. A good chunk of this was an out and back section though, which was morale building knowing that for as long as we had to climb, there was going to be a fun chance to stretch the legs on the run back down again.

At the bottom of the descent, and through the halfway point, it was a hard left back into the pines  and a long undulating singletrack section with some mint switchbacks and long periods of solitude with runners now well and truly spaced apart. This section felt endless, but the kilometres slowly ticked past. When the track finally popped back out of the forest and onto another gravel road, thoughts turned to what was coming up.

The final climb was described by the organisers as an "honest climb but not a technical one, so get the head down and guts it out".  Or not... With 18km in the legs I took the option of grabbing a drink and instead of putting the head down and gutsing it out I settled into a casual walk, answering a couple of texts and snapping off an Instagram selfie for Facebook. I was hurting a bit by now, but was nowhere near the survival mode of the Wellington half two weeks earlier.

The top of this climb marked the highest point of the course, at 648m on the flank of Mt Tauhara. It also offered up a glimpse of the cars and tents down at the start/finish area, some 1.5km off in the distance.  That 1.5km was all downhill too. Time to kickstart the muscles and get the body running again, dodging cowpats up to and over the finish line.

photo: photorecall.co.nz

photo: photorecall.co.nz

I was pretty stoked to finish this one and still be in pretty good shape. I'll never be competitive in running so it has to be something that's enjoyable. Whilst this was the longest trail run I've ever done, and I found it pretty hard at times, I did enjoy myself and I'll definitely be back again next year. The reward for finishers was a bonus too... a cold cider and a bbq sausage. Thumbs up for that! They hit the spot before I had to jump in the car for the long drive back to Wellington. The big bonus of the day was that, unlike after the half two weeks ago, the spa pool was hot and ready when I got home!!

The detail...

Distance - 21.61km
Climbing -  771m
Calories burned -3,000 odd.

Next event: 4 August - Mizuno half-marathon, Taupo.

Running and riding

What a finish to the Xterra Wellington series last weekend. Light rain combined with what I found the most technical and slippery of the four events in the magnificent Meridian Energy West Wind Recreation Area and surrounding wind farm.

This course had a mix of everything. Single track through pine forest and native bush, narrow slippery sheep tracks traversing steep grassy slopes, assault course like ducking around and under fences and manuka bushes, and brutally steep climbs covered in thick, heavy clay mud. One of the descents was a 300m scramble down at an incredible -38.2 degrees. If you don't steep degrees... think cliff! One of the competitors, a much faster one than me at that described the climbs as cliffs too... muddy ones. The organisers weren't joking at the briefing when they described the day's two main climbs as being walkable in 15 minutes and unlikely to be runnable, but if you tried, would probably take 20 minutes!

Shoe choice was critical today. The aggressive tread pattern of Salomon's Speedcross 3s gave an added confidence as people slipped around me left, right and centre. But even then, I still had the odd moment of scrambling to maintain balance with the odd slip here and there. In some places slipping was definitely not advisable, with a long tumble to the bottom of the hill the likely result.

This was a tough end to a great series. Despite the weather and the hard course, there were still a lot of smiles on the faces of the competitors, my own included. Probably helped by the fact I remembered to suck back a couple of gels on the way around. This kept the dreaded hunger knock at bay thereby avoiding the suffering that I encountered in the last few kilometres of round 2 in the Orongorongos.

It's kind of a shame that Xterra is only four races. But I'm sure next year will roll around in no time. For now though, my running focus shifts to half-marathons with the Wellington half next weekend and then the Tauhara Trail Run up in Taupo two weeks later.

Round 4 - Xterra Wellington.
Distance: 11.2km
Climbing: 605m

Logan Ackers (aka. Buffman) put together a cool video of the run and I trot past the camera a couple of times.

The other cool thing this week was I found the motivation to dust off the road bike and do the commute from home in Newtown to work in Johnsonville, about a 35km round trip - up Ngauranga gorge on the way and down Ngaio gorge on the trip home. All this running is obviously doing the body some good. Aerobically I felt awesome and I found it all pretty easy (especially compared to last time I rode just after Xmas), so much so that I did it a second day as well.

So with barely a breath of wind yesterday, I figured I should make the most of it and I went for a spin around Lyall Bay, Miramar peninsula, up over Mt Crawford and back again. All up about 36.5km and 315m of climbing. 

In keeping with my declared philosophy of keeping my cycling fun, it was a slow ride with lots of photo taking on my iphone as I cruised along. In fact a photo essay is probably the best way to sum up what was a most enjoyable ride.

Quiet roads around Mahanga Bay. Roadie bliss...

I did thank you...

A pause to take in the scenery...

Alongside Burnham Wharf very close to where a sprint finish to a local club race went horribly wrong in 2007 and left me with a broken back and 6 months on crutches...

The cycling selfie. I may be fat and slow but I make sure I look pretty damn pro...

The view from Mt Crawford...

Photography, is a great passion of mine. Thankfully when I'm not running or cycling I pull out something more serious than an iPhone and spend a bit more time planning my shots. Last weekend I took a morning drive over to Featherston and down Western Lake Road, an area of the Wairarapa I'd never visited before.

Lake Wairarapa. Canon 1DMkIII, EF70-200mm f/2.8L and 10-stop ND + CPL long exposure. Processed in Adobe Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex Pro...

Fence in the bush. Canon 1DMkIII, EF70-200mm f/2.8L. Processed in Adobe Lightroom...

Derelict house south of Cross Creek. Canon 1DMkIII, EF70-200mm f/2.8L. 5 exposure HDR. Processed in Adobe Lightroom, Photomatix Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2...

And to finish, Western Lake Road. Panasonic Lumix GX1. 3 exposure HDR. Processed in Adobe Lightroom, Photomatix Pro and Nik Silver Efex Pro 2...

There's so much photo potential over in the Rapa. I must schedule in some more time to do a bit more exploring with the camera (and maybe the bike).

Meanwhile the mind shifts back to running. I just need to shake the cold that's sprung out of nowhere.

A rant, a run and a review...

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FIRSTLY A RANT...

Mining on conservation land, or the short-sighted perception of economic value being more important than natural value, has reared its ugly head again with the government last week disappointingly giving the go ahead for Australian mining company Bathurst Resources to conduct open cast mining for coal on 200 hectares of the West Coast’s Denniston Plateau. 

Supporters of the plan see the economic opportunity as being too big to be ignored, with the jobs created and economic wealth extracted being an ‘acceptable’ trade-off for the environmental impact. But what is the wisdom of sacrificing an area recognised for its intrinsic value and biodiversity for the sake of a few dollars extracted from non-renewable fossil fuel? The Environment Court itself found that the Denniston Plateau ecosystem will be "less fit, rich and diverse" after the mining, and planning commissioners believed that while jobs would be created, mining would result in the loss or rare native species.... yet the Court ultimately granted consent regardless. 

There are guarantees that Bathurst will restore the natural environment after 5 years. But there are unanswered questions about just how that can happen. We aren't talking a small hole in the ground here but a 200 hectare open cast mining operation that won't just disappear after it's economic viability fades. 

photo credit: Forest and Bird.

What will the biodiversity loss be whilst the mining is carried out and how much of this will be irreversable? The impact on surrounding waterways will extend far beyond the marked boundaries and scope of what Bathurst are obliged to restore. Is all that worth a destroying the natural character of an area, an are that we once deemed worthy of conservation protection? And these questions ignore the climate change implications of burning coal as an energy source... another big argument against this idea in its own right.  Potentially a dangerous precedent has been set that places that could open up other areas of our precious conservation estate for similar devastating exploitation.

Yay... let's rape a beautiful part of this country for a few dollars, some short term employment and a paltry $22 million bribe to fund "other" conservation projects. Fuck you "Conservation" Minister Nick Smith for encouraging this folly... fuck you very much.

SOME RUNNING...

I’ve now been running for a bit over two months and I’m still enjoying it. It’s pretty hard to describe just how surprised that statement still makes me. How could anyone enjoy running… let alone me, someone who declared running to be abhorrent and only done when required to prove to others that I could move at something other than a slow amble? But it’s true, I am enjoying it and I think that the mixing in of a good dose of trail running has helped stave off the boredom that comes with monotonous pounding of the streets.

Saturday just been saw the running of round three of this year’s Xterra Wellington trail run series, a night-time jaunt around the bush of the fantastic Wainuiomata Mountain Bike Park. In typical Wellington fashion there was a bitterly cold breeze, which made the waiting around for the race start just a tad uncomfortable. 

Awaiting the start of Xterra round three in Wainuiomata.

I toyed with the idea of the long option – about 12km but the prospect of running for a couple of hours and then not getting home till about 10pm saw me pussy out somewhat and choose the more conservative 6.2km short option. 

 

Runners doing the long course head off into the darkness.

Turns out it was a pretty good choice. I’d had a nagging thought that I had been pushing the training a bit hard over the last couple of weeks and the body had pretty much had enough. In fact after Thursday’s lunch time run around the streets of Johnsonville and Khandallah my calves were screaming at me enough to have the compression socks put back on and not removed until the next morning!! Sure enough, tonight I struggled on the steady climb over the first three kilometres with my body not wanting to settle into a rhythm and my heart rate noticeably elevated (I was really surprised to see a total vertical ascent of only 215m – it certainly felt a lot more).  I stuck it out though and the reward for what goes up was the going down again with the last two kilometres a great section of downhill twists and turns with just the round circle of white light from my headlamp illuminating the way. Great fun!!

The team at Xterra do a fantastic job of not only organising these runs but also in rewarding finishers with tasty treats. In Wainuiomata it was slices of Domino’s Pizza and the Orongorongos – raspberry and coconut rolls. My fave so far though was being welcomed at the Makara finish line in round one by yummy chocolate coated donuts! I wonder what they’ll have for us at round 4 out at West Wind Recreation Area in a couple of weeks’ time.

After Xterra finishes in a couple of weeks, my focus moves to half marathons. First up is the Harbour Capital half marathon here in Wellington. The one and only time I’ve done this before, 4 years ago, I did on virtually no training (although I probably had some lingering bike fitness still back then). So I reckon I should be able to at least knock out a much better time this year. Then two weeks after that it’s a road trip to Taupo and the Tauhara Trail Run. This is the first leg in Taupo’s 63.3 – three halves in three months challenge. If I can get through this series, I should be in pretty good shape to head over to Europe a week later for a nice rewarding holiday! At the moment I’m tracking pretty well towards my goal of losing 25 kg before then. Three months in and with three and a half to go I’ve already gone past 21kg so hopefully I can knock that 25kg target for six!!

 

Xterra Round 3 – Wainuiomata MTB Park.

Total distance: 6.2km

VAM: 215m

Speaking of holidays… A friend of mine is heading off in a couple of weeks on not so much of a holiday as an adventure. His ambitious plan is to complete his own Tour de France solo and self-supported. He’s thoroughly researched and created a course that recreates some of the great stages of years gone by, plus adds in a few detours along the way to ensure he notches up as many of the Tour’s legendary climbs as possible. All up it’s looking like well in excess of 4,000km in the saddle over about 5 weeks You can read all about it on his blog here. This is the kind of adventure that most people just dream about. John is taking those dreams and making it a reality. Awesome stuff! 

FINALLY A REVIEW...

Ok, I know my first, and only (so far) gear review was shoes but I’m not making any excuses for my second being more shoes! This time it’s Salomon’s XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 adventure trail shoes. 

Summed up by Salomon as “light, durable and stable on the most demanding trails”, I don’t disagree. As a race oriented shoe they are noticeably lighter than my door-to-trail training shoes (XR Crossmax 2) even with the obvious additional ruggedisation features befitting a dedicated “adventure trail” shoe. 

They are quite possibly the most comfortable, out of the box shoe that I’ve ever worn with superb cushioning and stability. The stability and grip was much appreciated given that their first outing was a night trail run, giving added confidence to push a little harder on singletrack lit only by headlamp and still slippery in places from the week’s rain.

The abundance of grip was a little surprising. The Contagrip sole isn’t particularly aggressive but held still gripped well on the muddy switchbacks of the downhill sections. This was great, as I could hear the runner behind me lamented on more than one occasion not having dedicated trail running shoes whereas only one slippery tree root that I’d missed seeing in the dark did anything to disrupt my stride. I’m not going to fault the shoes for that. I’d never intentionally seek out a wet tree root for a grip test in any shoe!

The real test will be the Tauhara TrailRun, a half marathon that’s predominantly on forestry roads and farm tracks, but I think these will be my go to shoe for most off road courses with the aggressively cleated soles of the Speedcross 3s kept in reserve for particularly demanding or wet and muddy courses.

I’ll try and review a couple of other gear items before turning my attention to the Speedcrosses though!!

Price wise, the XA Pro 3 have an RRP of NZD$279. But at the moment are going for a bargain $139.50 at Bivouac.  This is not too far off online giants Wiggle who currently have them for $121.50.

Footnote... my little helper as I was doing the shoe photos also wanted her own photo taken so I have to include it here!

Pepper - poser, photographer's assistant and stealer of socks.