Goats and Tussock Traverses

 THE GOAT TONGARIRO 2013

Returning from Europe, it was time to focus on perhaps the most ambitious fitness goal I set myself in 2013, The Goat – a 20km run on the side of Mt Ruapehu between Whakapapa and Turoa ski fields. I was under no illusions that this was going to be a tough race but I don’t think any level of preparation would have left me ready for just how tough.

The weather forecast wasn’t great and the organisation team doing the registration gear checks seemed to be quite diligent  that people were carrying the compulsory items of wet and cold weather clothing. It’s very easy to scoff at compulsory items as being an unnecessary burden at trail running events, until of course you get a day that you actually need to use that jacket, gloves and beanie [I hope never to have to use the safety blanket] that they insist you carry. Goat Saturday 2013 was one of those days. 

Pre-start at Whakapapa village was a thick pea-soup of freezing cloud and misty rain. Every man and his dog sought shelter in the cafe until as near to start time as possible. Conditions never really improved. Wind chill was a reported -6 or -7... not the summer conditions everyone had hoped for. And all the rain made for freezing cold stream crossings and mud. Lots of mud! 

This was pretty much the only photo I could find of myself in action, albeit through a very rain soaked lens. Kudos to the photographer for sticking it out in those conditions!!

The mud was incredible and it made for really slow going. At one point I dropped off a small bank into what looked like a normal ankle deep puddle, only to disappear up to nearly my chest in freezing cold water and thick mud.

By the time I reached the infamous rock scramble up the waterfall just a few kilometres from the finish, I was in a pretty bad place. Physically I was hurting a lot. Thanks to the cold, after every stream crossing my legs began cramping pretty badly and mentally I'd had enough. Thanks to an observant marshal who could see my hurt, and a dose of the cramp stop she was carrying with her, I got some respite and battled on. 

 Finally reaching the Turoa carpark and the finish line brought a massive wave of relief. The cold Mountain Goat beer and hot burger that they dished up was really appreciated. But there was no time to linger. Despite throwing on dry, warm clothes the cold just would not go away and like many of the other runners, I was showing early signs of hypothermia. It was down the mountain as quickly as possible for a long hot shower and a quick nap before the prizegiving.

I apologise to whoever had to clean my motel room. The black volcanic sand just seemed to come out of every item of clothing and bodily orifice.

On a good day I can knock out a half-marathon in around 2:10. Not fast but respectable enough for a fat bastard such as myself. Today the 20km and 1,350 vertical metres of the Goat took 4:50. It was that tough.  Surely the conditions can't be that bad two years in a row though. I'll be back in 2014.


TUSSOCK TRAVERSE 2014

Six weeks on from the Goat and it was back to Mt Ruapehu, this time for the 26km Tussock Traverse run from the Tukino access road to the Chateau Tongariro in Whakapapa village. Unlike the Goat weekend, this time there was the promise of sunshine and light winds.

It was a long bus ride around to the start on the Tukino side of the mountain where the run started with a 2km grunt up the ski field access road before dropping down into the moon like terrain of the Rangipo alpine desert.

The first 10 kilometres was through this barren landscape before the gin clear Ohinepango stream signalled a short bush section. At this point the heat of the January summer sun was starting to be a factor. And that stream looked so inviting but I resisted the urge for a quick swim.

After another four kilometres, and with a big climb looming, I did take a short detour off the course to a nearby stream. By this stage it was hot... really hot! A quick dunk of my head in the cold water was just the refreshing relief that I needed before tackling what was a relentless climb, followed quickly by another just like it.

I had no real idea of what the terrain was going to be like in this one. I've done a lot of tramping on and around Ruapehu, but never on this side of the Tama Lakes. In doing my research I'd found a couple of GPS logs from people who'd done the run previously. One suggested around 700m of vertical ascent and the other less than 400m. That's quite a bit of variation and both sounded a bit on the light side for a run of this length on the side of the North Island's highest mountain. Sure enough, my own data file when downloaded came up with closer to 1,000 VAM, a figure that corresponds with the pain I was feeling in my legs afterwards!

The heat and the relentless climbs took there toll and I found myself battling for the last 6 or 7km. But as I got past the Tama Lakes, I got back onto tracks that I was familiar with. Passing Taranaki Falls and knowing exactly what lay ahead gave me a little confidence boost to push through the pain barrier and enjoy the last bush section before popping out into the tussock again and the welcome sight of the Chateau Tongariro which marked the finish line.

A cold beer in the sunshine later and I could reflect back on how far I'd come compared to the state I'd let myself get into a year earlier.

Time for another challenge. The focus moves away from running for a bit and towards walking. In just two months time, a team of us from work plan to take on the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker event... the result of a drunken bet I'd made with another work colleague that I would never walk 100km.

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.