There is Always Someone Crazier!!!!

 An email went out asking who was interested in running in the Tararuas.  I was super keen as it's my favourite place to run but didn’t think I had the fitness, so I thought I was crazy taking on this challenge.

We started at the top Kaitoke car park, ran up Marchant Ridge, down Omega and out via Smiths Creek Shelter.

I found it a challenging run, it was raining and cold along the tops and it took 6 hours. One of the runners managed to do the whole run in his Vibrams – CRAZY!!!!!!

A Taste Of Adventure Racing And It Was Delicious!!!!

Greg and I don’t get many chances to race together so when an adventure race in Otaki was advertised, we jumped at the opportunity.  The first thing we discovered about adventure racing is that you need a lot of things, equipment and a fantastic support crew.  We enlisted Danielle and her parents who did a fantastic job!

Map given to competitors

Race briefing and registration, which involved a very thorough equipment check was held Friday evening. The organisation was superb to get over 60 teams checked so quickly.  At the briefing we were told where the race would start and that’s all we knew.

Lemans start

Saturday morning, we arrived just in time to receive our map and supporters pack.  We quickly assembled our bikes and headed off down to the river for a Lemans start.  I really like these types of races, lots of people in board shorts, sneakers and borrowed gear, all there just to give it a go.

At the back again

We thought we got off to a good start but judging by the number of people we passed in the early stages of the MTB we obliviously didn’t.  The mountain bike course was on a private farm, one big loop to the top of the ridge, along then down.  We soon discovered unless you are absolutely sure where you are going, which we weren’t, it doesn’t pay to be near the front.  As we reached the highest point a few teams were standing there trying to figure out which way to go.  After a few minutes of discussion, people headed off in all directions; luckily we went the right way.  It only took a quick glance back to realise all the effort we put in to pass people on the way up was lost with a solid line of riders following.  The ride finished with a neat down hill and time trial up the gorge road to T1.

Running along the river

The second stage was the run.  We started off running along the river to two different check points, then headed straight up the face of a hill/mountain to the top of the ridge. 

We happened to be at the right place at the right time as we were able to take advantage of following some other groups as they bush bashed their way up. Once at the top, it was a leisurely run along the ridge on a DOC track then down to T2.

Perfect shot Greg!

Danielle and her parents had all our gear laid out so it was a quick transition and off to the second challenge - gumboot throwing into our tubes before we started our tubing adventure.  Greg was spot on, I missed.  For every person that missed, the team had to sit in the penalty box for three minutes.  Bad luck if you were a 4 person team and all missed.



In the penalty box





The tubing was the highlight for me, we were neck and neck with three other teams as we 

This is the way to race!!!

entered the river.  Most people were happy to straight line it across the river bed but I chose to stay on my tube and enjoy the ride.  At the end of each set of major rapids were life guards in case anything went wrong.  They were surprised so many people were walking.  It soon became apparent, big tube = fast in the water but hard to carry across the rocks and a smallish tube = slower in the water but easier to carry across the rocks.

Possible short cut

Greg was able to dig deep and we came off the river in front of the other teams we started the tubing with to finish in 5:13hrs.  Overall it was a fantastic event and a great way to spend a Saturday.

Best Run In Wellington

12 weeks since my operation,  8 weeks of training, 22 weeks until the New Zealand Ironman and another good week of base training.

This week was an easy week for running. The opertation seems to have been a huge success but for some unknown reason, I'm getting a burning sensation in my right achilles tendon+.  The physio thinks it's due to weak muscles and will come right, I'm certainly hoping so.

Key training for this week:
Saturday
Run from YMCA (Kiwi Ranch) at the bottom of the Rimutakas into the Tararuas to the first hutt (Smiths Creek).  It is my all time favourite run, beautiful forest, nice terrain and in the summer the river is great to take a dip in.

Sunday - Vets Wairarapa Cycle Challenge
Despite waking up to heavy rain and coming close to turning off my alarm and going back to sleep, I got up and got ready.  The weather improved and I stuck to my plan to bike over the Rimutakas.  As I cruised into Featherston I was amazed to see so many cyclists warming up.  I'm not sure how many people entered but it certainly looked like a fantastic turnout.

Once again, I started near the back thinking I would be able to work my way to the front.  WRONG!!!!!
The pace was insane from the start, too many cyclists going backwards causing too many gaps to bridge. The only silver lining was that there were some great riders in my bunch.  We worked well together and managed to limit the amount of time lost to the front bunch.  The ride home was a little tough due to a strong head wind going UP the Rimutakas.

A big thank you to the Vets (Wellington Veterans Cycling Club) for putting on another great event.

Run on Saturday

Ride on Sunday