Stop Press

Firstly I would like to acknowledge that it has been a long time since I posted on my blog. I did not intend to wait so long but I needed to sort out some issues in my head before writing a race report from the Cairns to Port Douglas 74km Ultra I did four weeks ago. That report is still to come and I hope to post it here in the next week.

In short, I was again going to retire from doing long ultras (100km, 100mile, longer etc) after another sickness plagued race. I felt that it was the right decision even though I also felt like I was letting my friends down who were planning on travelling down with me and sharing in the adventure that is The North Face 100 in the Blue Mountains (Sorry Sean). Prior to the Port Douglas Ultra, I had planned out 2012 in my head as being a huge year for ultramarathon running but after that race I discarded those plans almost immediately. So when entries to the 2012 TNF100 opened I watched as everyone else posted their race numbers on Facebook or Coolrunning. Even though everyone else expressed their nervous excitement about the impending race I was steadfast in my resolve to stick to the shorter sprint type races such as marathons.

I had fielded a few inquiries from my training partners about whether I was still going to avoid the Blue Mountains, including an email link from Raelene that stated that there were only 25 more spots available before the race was full. So I surprised myself when I entered. For some unexplained reason I began analysing my recent race experiences and accomplishments, my last year of training and racing and my potential futures one which included my previous plan for ultra saturation. My first Ultramarathon was in September 2010 and I have experienced so much in that short time, I have had some great achievements and some spectacular failures and it is those failures as well as the potential to experience more adventures along this ultra journey that drives me to continue. I guess what I needed was some time to forget about structured running for a while, to recharge and refocus. I still need to sort out my nutritional problems but I will not give up, I am returning to TNF100 to finish what I started this year.

After the Port Douglas race I took two weeks off running, my first week back I ran three times with a total of almost 33km and this week I ran twice for a total of 26km. I am currently in New Zealand for the next three weeks and while I am here I plan on running some of my favourite trail and road runs in the area. The Wellington region is great for running with some good hills and trails which will give me a great base as I begin my preparation for an exciting 2012 of running long.

I will endeavour to publish posts more regularly on this blog as I continue to challenge myself along the exciting and challenging ultra path. I hope to encourage and motivate others to step outside their comfort zones, strive to achieve their goals and to have fun.

Keep running.