Out of retirement & Wild Stallions

Today marks two weeks since the Gold Coast Marathon. I had a very easy week after the race only running three times even though my body felt pretty good.

After publically stating on this blog that I was retired from ultra running, I am now having to eat my words. Never say never. Having such a terrible race at The North Face 100 I thought that I just couldn't go longer than the marathon without falling apart. But my love of running and my innate inability to leave something like this unfinished has found my thoughts wandering back to running long. It didn't help much that a few of my running friends were keen to run TNF100 next year.

Despite my failure in Katoomba I loved the scenery and even enjoyed the challenging course, despite thinking that they didn't need to make it that hard as I was slogging up Nellies Glen. I have to go back. I have to finish what I started. I enjoy the challenge and I will not let it beat me, even if I have to keep returning until I do.

Training for the Gold Coast Marathon was good and I enjoyed the faster running for a while but it also made me realise that I was always pushing to run at a particular pace. I found that this type of training was not as enjoyable as running at an easier pace for a longer time. I missed being able to talk with my friends while running or admire the view. I was also inspired by recent coverage of the Western States 100 mile and Badwater ultra marathons.

So I did what I do best, look for the next adventure. To start with I have entered the Flinders Tour which is on next weekend in the Glasshouse Mountains. I loved the area when I ran it last year and this will be my third 50km trail run. The race is only three weeks from the Gold Coast Marathon but I am looking further ahead and need to build my strength, endurance and mental stamina for what lies ahead.

This week has been really good with a big ramp up in distance from the previous three weeks (being the taper and recovery periods for the marathon).

Monday - 12.51km - 1hr 05mins 11secs - flat to undulating easy run
Tuesday - 25.11km - 2hrs 49mins 38secs - hilly trail run
Wednesday - 12.52km - 1hr 05mins 10secs - flat to undulating recovery run
Thursday - 25.10km - 2hrs 06mins 30secs - flat moderate run
Friday - 10.05km - 52mins 05secs - flat to undulating recovery run
Saturday - 45.21km - 3hrs 49mins 35secs - long road run after work
Sunday - 12.10km - 1hr 04mins 17secs - run with group up to saddle of Mt Archer

Weekly total - 143km - 12hrs 52mins 34secs

The trail run on Tuesday was a challenge all on its own. I had developed a head cold on Monday but running made me feel better. To prepare for next weekend's race I thought I better get out on the trails. The only problem is that the only one close by is Mt Archer and from a previous post I have recounted my encounters with the local fauna. I drove to Sunset Drive and parked the car at about 10:30am. I have run here a few times before and luckily there were no spiderwebs to great me as I weaved my way between the vegetation. I dodged the odd pile of horse droppings and was enjoying myself in the warm mid-morning sun. I was slightly underprepared and had only the minimum amount of food and fluid, so I had to carefully ration what I consumed. I made it to the summit of Mt Archer in about 1hr 32mins for 12.70km, which is pretty slow compared with road running. But that is the beauty of running on trails, you can escape, become lost in your own thoughts or the natural beauty of the area. I had a bit of a sore toe from one of my many little trip-ups along the technical single track rocky terrain.

It was sore but it didn't stop me running so I didn't worry too much about it. It wasn't until after the run that I saw the massive bruise and thought that it might be broken.

The run was taking longer than I had planned for but I was really enjoying myself. What more could I ask for, it was a warm sunny day, I didn't have to go to work, I was running in a beautiful place without a care in the world. That is until I ran into a couple of my equine friends. I had less than 1km left of the trail before I hit the housing estate, and as I rounded a bend I saw two massive beasts, they must have easily been 8ft tall, with coal black eyes, long unkempt manes and ghastly misshappen hooves.

In reality there was what appeared to be a mare and a younger horse which could have been a relative. I'm no horse expert but they didn't seem too worried. In fact the older horse walked past me and deposited some lovely fresh dung further up the track. The younger horse was a bit skittish and wouldn't pass. Each time I tried to walk past it to the side of the track, it would get frightened. The older horse came back to protect it. We had a stale-mate there on the trail. I was trying to appear calm and tame and would try and sneak to the side but was repelled each time. The older horse was becoming increasingly agitated and would stomp and blow air through her nostrils.

After what felt like two hours and was in fact more like 20 minutes, I tried one last time to get past. I had previously armed myself with a stick and tried to he-haw them away to no avail. As I sidled along the track the older horse decided she had had enough and began to charge towards me at a gallop. I was only about 10 metres away so it had only taken 2 or 3 strides before I turned and had taken a few steps myself before losing my footing and stumbling to the ground. I looked panically towards the threat of stomping hooves and a terrified nooooo escaped my lips. I don't know if it was my panicked voice or my smaller foetal-like position on the ground but the horse stopped and rejoined the younger horse.

I slowly stood up, backed away and dusted myself off. I had to bushwhack my way to the nearby river and make my way down the rocky bank to safety. I got back to my car just after 2pm and called Mel. She had been a bit worried as I had left home about 10:15 and expected me to be only a couple of hours.

My long run on Saturday was pretty good considering I ran solo after an early shift at work. I started at 3pm and ran the whole 45km on the roads around Rocky. What was really encouraging was that I used perpetuem for the first time. Perpetuem is a product from Hammer nutrition and is specially formulated for exercise over three hours as it contains protein and other essential nutrients for endurance training and racing. My energy stayed even throughout, I had no stomach issues and no muscle cramps at all. I had the cafe latte flavour which tasted pretty good (especially as I don't drink coffee!!). I had the Hammer recovery drink after the run which helps with recovery (pity it tastes terrible). I got the starter pack which had a whole heap of different products from electrolyte drinks to gels and bars. It also came with a nutrition guide outlining the companies products and philosophy backed up scientific studies and reports. So hopefully the Hammer nutrition products will help me overcome my previous stomach issues and allow me to reach my full potential in running long. I will use it next week at the Flinders Tour 50km and see how it goes.

My next post will be a race report re: The Flinders Tour.

Keep running.