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.

Beautiful but brutal

Yesterday was round 2 of the Xterra Wellington trail run series, this time in the beautiful Catchpool Valley area of Rimutaka Forest Park. I was feeling pretty good coming in to this one. After a good 12km training run last weekend along the Skyline Track I was confident that I could handle the medium distance course of a similar length.

After a very wet and at times freezing cold week it was a relief to wake up to a crisp, clear and calm morning, especially after the soaking wet mud fest that was round one!  On the drive over to the start, Wainuiomata was shrouded in a thin veil of fog that broke to a glorious sunshine and a forecast of a barmy (for this time of year) 17 degrees.

The calm before the storm on a glorious Wellington morning.

 The thought of piking out from the step up in distance crossed my mind at registration when asked if I was doing the short course (the distance I'd nominated when registering for the whole series), but I managed to force out "I think I'll do medium today thanks". It would have been a shame to drive out here on such a magnificent day and have the run over in well under an hour (although 10km in I was regretting the decision!).

The pre-race briefing described the course as a demanding climb that could be walked in half an hour, a few kilometres of fantastic bush running along the ridge before a technical "slip and you won't stop till you get to the bottom" descent back to the main tracks of the valley where you could finally push hard if you still had the energy.

Well they weren't joking about the climb up the quite aptly named Butchers Track. I can attest to it being able to be walked in half an hour... a little under even. The lack of passing opportunities meant I had to accept the slow pace for much of it. In hindsight though I'm not complaining. My heart rate was umm... elevated. And the muscles burning by the time the top was finally reached.

Heavy breathing was the order of the day on the Butchers Track climb.

The view back down the valley and out over the harbour was amazing though. What little glimpses I could take in anyways! I would have loved at this moment to sit down for a few minutes and just soak in the glorious sunshine and panoramic vista. But there was still the small matter of another 9km of running to get out of the way.

Wellington off in the distance from atop Cattle Ridge.

 The track along Cattle Ridge was fantastic. The trail twisted and turned through the native forest and I found myself slowing often just to get my bearings and ensure that I hadn't strayed off the barely defined track. But it was great fun... dodging and ducking around trees and vines and ensuring that none of the constant tree roots punished a lazy foot fall with a face plant into the leaf litter (as happened to one poor person ahead of me). So much fun that I felt I could have enjoyed it all day long... but it came to an end all to soon.

The end of the flattish ridge came with a highly technical, slippery descent down to the Orongorongo Track. Whilst only a few hundred metres long, it was slow going. One little slip onto my arse was enough motivation to not push too hard, like the faster, more experienced long course runners now coming past me, and possibly invite more serious disaster.

At the bottom a track sign promising 4.5km back to the carpark indicated the start of the homeward stretch and the opportunity to push hard on what was now a well formed trail.  The first couple of ks of this went ok but then any thought I had of pushing to the end disappeared in a sudden fog of "I've had enough of this now" as the dreaded food knock caught up to me.

I had been going  for about an hour and a half and should have ingested something more substantial than sips of water from my hydration pack. I was carrying a couple of gels so have no one to blame but myself for the rapid slip into survival mode. I had no doubt that I would finish though... I wasn't exactly going to turn around and go back the way I'd came!! But for those last couple of kilometres I was well and truly in the hurt zone. Any slope upwards had me walking and when it flattened or tilted back downwards I had to fight my mind and body to get my legs back to a jog.

The thinning of the trees was a welcome sight, the light at the end of a very dark tunnel signalling the last few hundred metres to the finish line. Pride and adrenalin took over at this point and I managed to muster enough energy to not be seen walking by the good crowd of spectators and finished fellow runners.

Never has a finish line been a more welcome sight than this one.

This run destroyed me. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Those last couple of kilometres put me in a pretty bad place psychologically and physically. But after getting home and soaking away some of my aches and pains in the spa I could reflect back and see that it was the failure to ingest some calories that was the root cause of the problems. We learn from our mistakes and move on. Or at least we should do. I remember from my cycling days food knocking badly and telling myself the same thing. I must be definitely am a slow learner! 

Xterra round 2 by the numbers...

11.79km long
599m of vertical ascent
2,119 calories burned.

Would I do this one again... Hell yes!!

Logan Ackers, aka. Buffman has put together a cool little video of the day that pretty much sums up the awesome vibe of Xterra events.

Mad props to the guy who biked 58km out to the start, ran the 20km long course and then biked home.

The pain has passed and I'm looking forward to round 3 in the dark at Wainuiomata mountain bike park in a couple of weeks time.

A jaunt along Skyline and a shoe review

The training is going pretty well. I'm starting to settle into a regular routine of running, mixing it up between lunchtime runs around the streets of Johnsonville and Khandallah and early morning runs from home up on the trails of Mt Victoria.

I had planned to do an 11km trail run this weekend up in Owhango (part of the T42 Central Plateau event) but other commitments ruled this out. So with this in mind, and a week out from the second round of the Xterra Wellington series, I set out on Saturday morning to do at least 11km of trail running.

The destination was the Skyline Track along the hills to the west of the city. Starting at the Makara Road end, I planned to set out for a target 6km before turning around and heading back again. The conditions were perfect for running with it being a cool but not cold morning and with little to no wind. The views in the colourful dawn light were spectacular.

Dawn over Karori

 

 

 

This run also gave me the opportunity to test out a couple of new items of gear. Firstly my new Craft Elite Run Light jacket was ideal for keeping the chill off until I had warmed up properly. My Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab 5 was providing me with hydration and storage for my keys, iPhone, camera and jacket (when it came off). Lastly my new shoes... Salomon XR Crossmax 2s, were providing a more trail specific solution to the road shoes I've been running in to date. Keep reading as the XR Crossmaxs are the subject of my first gear review!

The terrain was a mix of single-track and 4WD farm track. In general a pretty easy surface for running on although the single track was a bit slippery in places due to a decent dose of rain earlier in the week. Nothing to throw me off my feet though.

Looking north. Mt Kaukau in the distance.

The outward leg was nothing fast. I was trying to keep within my limits knowing that 11 - 12km was a significant step up in distance from my previous longest run (7.9km at Xterra round 1) in this journey back to getting fit. I was also slowed by the distraction of running with a camera, the photographer in me having to stop every few minutes to snap yet another vista.

On cameras... the point and shoot that I was carrying is a waterproof Samsung WP10. The briefest of reviews of this is that it is largely a disappointment. Results in all but the most consistent of light are erratic at best. I'm looking at other options for a waterproof point and shoot.

As I approached the 6km mark I was approaching a fence line atop one of the numerous hills I'd navigated. This provide the ideal demarcation point to turn around and head back to the car. It was also a point that provided an awesome panorama of a waking Wellington.

 On the return leg, I paid far less attention to the scenery and concentrated more on the running. The only hiccup along the way was a bout of stitch passing through the 10km mark, but this passed fairly quickly and didn't slow me much. Emerging from the trees to the Makara Rd carpark I had notched up an incredibly satisfying 12.1km with plenty of energy still in the tank.

Skyline Track - out and back run. Saturday, 4 May 2013.

Roll on Cattle Ridge in the Rimutakas next Sunday!!


GEAR REVIEW: Salomon XR Crossmax 2

Road shoes just aren't cut out for any decent amount of trail running. This was no more evident than in the mud at Makara during the first round of the Xterra series. A dedicated trail-running option was called for and in dedicated gearhead fashion I immediately ordered three pairs to cover both training and racing. 

The first of these to arrive were the Salomon XR Crossmax 2 - described by Salomon as "the ideal training shoe for running from your door to any trail, anytime". They come from Salomon's door to trail range and are in all effect a hybrid road and trail shoe that utilizes a multi-compound sole to provide grip on a number of surfaces. 

Salomon XR Crossmax 2

 
The real test of comfort was the fact that I took these out of the box, ripped the tags off and then put them on for what was the longest run that I've done for a number of years. Initially I thought they might be a tad narrow but once my feetwere in I was surprised at how deceivingly accommodating they are in the toe box. After 12kms I had no comfort issues at all and had completely forgotten that I was wearing a brand new, straight out of the box pair of shoes.

Salomon XR Crossmax 2

 Salomon's Quicklace system is fantastic. Give it a pull, slide the tab down to secure and then tuck away into the lace pocket in the tongue. Fast to put on and take off but importantly no worrying about laces coming undone at inopportune moments (like on the descent, less than a kilometre to the finish of Xterra 1!)

The light weight of the shoes is impressive, and they certainly look to be well constructed. The multi-compound Contragrip sole is nowhere near as aggressive as dedicated trail shoes such as the Speedcross 3 (of which I'm awaiting a pair) but provided adequate grip for the predominantly 4WD farm track, and forest single track that I tested them upon. A completely different league to road shoes on this terrain which would have really struggled on some of the wet, steeper sections of trail.

Salomon XR Crossmax 2

The only issue that I could identify was a distinct feeling of less than perfect stability on rocky terrain. This corresponds with the feelings of other reviewers, but still they provide an infinitely better platform offroad than the road shoes I had come from.

The reason I picked Salomon shoes was because they engineer trail shoes from the ground up rather than adapt existing other use designs for trail use like a lot of the other big name athletic shoe brands.  And I must say that my first impression of their product is very positive. I think I've found the ideal training shoe and I look forward to experiencing the Speedcross 3 and XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 that I have on the way.

As far as price goes. They have a RRP of $279 here in New Zealand but are available for significantly less online. As I write this, R&R Sports have them on sale for $195.30 and UK sites Wiggle and Chain Reaction have them for about $130 to $150 depending on discounts and exchange rate. I picked up mine from Chain Reaction.

If you're looking for a training shoe for trail-running then I can highly recommend these.

Mud, mud... glorious mud.

Running has become a pretty big part of my journey back to a fitter, lighter me. I’ve always said that I’ve hated running with a passion and whilst I’ve done the odd running event in the past, training regularly has always been a struggle. Maybe it’s the monotony of pounding the streets, or the aching muscles afterwards… I don’t know. This time around though I’ve eased myself into it, progressively ramping up distances and intensity and I’m enjoying it.

The other big contributor to the enjoyment factor has been trail running. I get a buzz from running off-road. There’s something infinitely more rewarding about being in the bush away from the traffic, running along trails that constantly twist and turn. There’s very little of the monotonous rhythm of road-running and you need to be engaged with your body, conscious that a misjudged footfall could send you over a rock or tree root and face first into the dirt at any moment.

So when I came across Xterra Wellington I was hooked and immediately signed up for the whole four race series.

Xterra Wellington round 1: Mad Makara

 

Wellington had been blessed with an extraordinary summer this year. There was month after month of glorious sunshine and little to no rain. However the end of daylight savings also signaled an abrupt end to the good weather. The first event I did, the Porirua Grand Traverse a couple of weeks ago, came with a biting cold southerly and patchy drizzle. 

The second event was round one of Xterra, held last Sunday on the fantastic trails of the Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park. It rained all day the day before, it rained all night too and by the time I lined up for the start there was no sign of the deluge easing. What this also meant was that the trails, that a week earlier would have been a great hard-pack surface to run on, were today covered by the slickest layer of clay mud imaginable.

For my first Xterra event I was only game enough to try out the short course option which turned out to be a smidgin under 8km. Basically the course climbed relentlessly for the first 5ks and then had a steeper descent back to the finish. There was no respite from the slick mud, other than on a couple of short pieces of four wheel drive track that also happened to be the steepest pitches of the climb! 

Being predominantly single track, there were few opportunities to pass other runners which had me feeling that I could go faster than the pace that was being set for much of the climb.  But I also wasn't really game enough to expend the energy required to push past the half dozen or so ahead of me to get clear track, least I blew up spectacularly and looked like a fool. Any thoughts of making up for lost time by striding out on the descent were dashed thanks to the mud. The downhill section was a constant battle to balance speed with staying on my feet.

I wasn’t out to set any records for pace anyway so am happy with my decision to just settle into the rhythm of the group and complete the course, without having a heart attack or ending up on my arse . 

Nevertheless after a spirited sprint over the last couple of hundred metres, I had to fight hard not to throw-up after crossing the finish line! I’ll put that down to running on an empty stomach.

Xterra round 1 - Makara Peak MTB Park    (photo: Mark Lynch)

I was pretty stoked too for my good friend Jess who finished strongly a few seconds ahead of me. She took on the event together with a work colleague and had no real idea of what to expect. I have a sneaking suspicion that this won’t be the only Xterra event she has a go at.

I’m a bit of a gear freak and my sporting interests are a great way to indulge my addiction for buying gadgets. One of these is my Garmin Forerunner 910XT multisport GPS watch. Used properly it’s a fantastic training tool that delivers a plethora of performance, health and scheduling metrics through Garmin Connect’s online portal. I’ll do a proper review of it at some point in the future. Right now though, its player feature is a great way to relive events such as this and to indulge my analytical side. 

http://connect.garmin.com/player/300736558

This was just my first taste of Xterra but I’m impressed with how well organised an event the Welllington team put together. I’m really looking forward to round two on 12 May in the Catchpool Valley part of Rimutaka Forest Park… and possibly a step up in distance from the short course to medium and a run of about 12km. 

 Gotta keep on training!!

 

The First Steps To Redemption

 In mid-September I'm heading over to Italy for a month to have a look around and to watch the road cycling world championships and Tour of Lombardy. I want to be able to enjoy myself... I want to be able to walk all day and take in the sights and I don't want to try that at 130kgs, or 120kgs for that matter. So I set a goal... to lose 25kgs by September.

How's that going? It's 12 weeks on from my reaching peak weight. In those 12 weeks I've managed to shed 16kgs and it's still coming off. I'm confident that I'm on track to hit that goal and I'm going to try my hardest to knock it out of the water. But I need to be diligent about keeping up the good work that I've started.

There's no secrets and no special diets. I'm not giving anything up... if I want a night out or a burger then I'm going to indulge. What I've changed though is just being conscious of what's going in on a regular basis and making "better food choices". Sandwiches for weekday lunch have become salads and instead of a coke I'm drinking a lot more water with a squeeze of lemon. I've actually been surprised at how easy the change has been.

The second key thing has been exercise. Essentially getting off my arse and doing something everyday (well, maybe one day off a week sometimes!!). At first this was walking. Walking at lunchtimes, walking before work or walking after work. Gradually though I felt this wasn't enough and at this year's annual work trip to the Great Lake Relay up in Taupo, I felt that I was underdoing myself and the team by doing a walking leg (for the second year in a row). Then on my daily walks I often found myself wanting to go faster... to run.

I've always hated running.

One morning, halfway into a 5km morning walk the urge to run got the better of me. Since then I've discovered that, for the first time in my life, I'm enjoying running [WTF?].

So here is a second goal. To finish my year off by doing The Goat - a 21km alpine run on Mt Ruapehu from Whakapapa to Turoa skifields. Now this looks like a pretty tough race... basically a half marathon, off-road with 1,000m of vertical ascent. That's going to take some serious training.

Well the preparation is underway. It started with the Porirua Grand Traverse and their option of a 7.5km "fun-run". With a couple of training runs under my belt, I headed down there on what turned out to be the coldest day of the year so far. Arriving in Porirua it was a chilly 6 degrees but with a real feel of 3 degrees thanks to a brisk southerly and cold light rain. The run was only 7.5km long but came with over 200m of vertical ascent, the bulk of which was in the first kilometre from the Titahi Bay beach up to the top of Mt Cooper in Whitirea Park.

The view from Mt Cooper back towards the start on Titahi Bay beach.

I had set myself a very conservative target of 1:05:00, but was really hoping to go under one hour. When I reached the finish line though I was pretty stoked to look down at my Garmin 910XT to see a moving time of 54:29.

And I still felt pretty good. That afternoon I still felt good (warmed up after a nice hot spa when I got home!!) and was even more surprised to not really have any aches and pains the next day. So I've kept on running.

The next target is the Xterra Wellington trail running series. It kicks off this Sunday with an explore of the Makara Peak mountain bike park. I may only be taking on the short course but I'm still just taking baby steps.