Showing posts with label trail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trail. Show all posts

Road Race Series versus Trail Race Series

Posted by Jenny at Thursday, October 29, 2015 2 comments
This year I took part in two different race series one was the Run/Walk series which are road races that lead up to the Auckland Marathon and other distances and the other one was the Blackmores XTERRA trail series.

Run/Walk Series


I did this series for the first time last year and entered the one lap option and then ran the Auckland Quarter Marathon.  I enjoyed this series a lot and looked forward to doing it this year in the hope that I would show improvement and I did (with the exception of the last one by seconds).



This is a road race series so it's mostly on roads and pavements with a couple of park paths at some locations.  I'm more familiar with this sort of terrain as I have done most of my running in the past on roads, pavements and the treadmill.  Its easy terrain to navigate, it's fast, and time/distance/pace is easier to compare between runs even if they are done on different stretches of road.

The series is progressive and the courses are 2.5k, 5k, 6k, 7k, and 8k with options to do 1, 2 ,3 or 4 laps.

The 5 race series plus entry to the quarter marathon (or 12k as it is this year) is $175 and this gets you a series t-shirt and an Auckland 12k t-shirt.  The courses are well marshalled and the aid stations well tended with water and sports drink available and there's a banana at the end.  There are no medals or prizes for race or series winners, but there are some spot prizes of shoes and such like.

I was super pleased to find that I was 5th Female in the series and that Kane was 1st Male!

Race Reports:
Race Report: RunWalk Series Race 1 - Unitec Mt Albert
Race Report: RunWalk Series Race 2 - Alexandra Park
Race Report: RunWalk Series Race 3 - Devonport
Race Report: RunWalk Series Race 4 - Highbrook
Race Report: RunWalk Series Race 5 - Barry Curtis Park

Blackmores XTERRA Trail Series


This was the first year I did this series and actually my first go at trail running and I loved it.  The series is suitable for most abilities and there are runners and walkers.  It also encourages the whole family to take part.  More than once was I overtaken by fit senior citizens and small children :/



There were 4 course options to choose from: short(5-7km), mid(10-14k), long(16-20km) and super long(21k+).  I chose the short course option which aimed to keep the distances under 7km.  You could also select from either runner or walker.

I didn't know what to expect of the trails and it turned out that every race was different.  One race was straight up a steep hill and then down the other side, one was knee deep mud, one was quite sandy, one was surprisingly flat(ish).  At first I tried to compare my times to road running and then I tried to compare my times with the other trails, but it was impossible. 


The 7 race series is $345 and this gets you a hoody and a goody bag with a toiletry bag, tote bag, anti-inflammatory cream and vouchers.  The courses were well signposted and taped and the aid stations had water and sports drink.  At the end there were sausages, beer and sports drinks.  There were a few spot prizes at the end of every race and there was a prize giving for the series participants.

Kane placed 5th Male and I placed 10th Female for the series, but we ran all the races together otherwise I'm certain Mr Speedy would have placed much higher!

Race Reports:
Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 1 - Shakespear Regional Park

Next Year


I really enjoyed both of these series and had planned to do them both again next year, however next years dates have been posted and they clash!!

I'm toying with the idea of training for a marathon, but right now I need to train be fit enough to start training!  Depending on how that goes, that may or may not help me make a decision on which series to go for.

What's your favourite, road race or trail race?  Have you used trail running to train for a road marathon?
 

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 7 - Hunua Ranges

Posted by Jenny at Monday, September 21, 2015 1 comments
Race Website: Blackmores XTERRA Race 7 - Hunua Ranges

The last race of this trail series fell on Sunday and it was a brilliant event to finish on.  I'm so glad that I did this series and I'm planning on signing up for next year.  I think I'll do a separate post to talk about my first experience with trail running and what I've learned and sum up this series, but first on to the race report.

Official Stats:

Distance: 6.2km
Time:  0:53:34
Elevation: 74m

Pre-Race

We had, what has become our tradition, of a pasta meal for dinner the night before, but also we had tickets to see the opera Tosca which resulted in a later-than-usual bed time.  Thankfully these trail races have a much more social start time of 10.30am but usually require about 1 hours drive to get to the event base.

We woke at a good time, but too much dithering around meant that there wasn't enough time to make porridge, so breakfast was a fruity English muffin and a glass of orange juice.  Coffee was consumed in the car on the way to race.

We arrived a little later than I would have preferred as the race briefing had already started and I had to pay a visit to the port-a-loo while Kane went and picked up our race bibs and chips.  The briefing announcer was telling us that there was things that look like green weetbix on the course that is ".. poisonous to mammals, YOU are a mammal". 

New Zealand's native species are mostly birds (and they're often ground nesting birds) and we have no natural predators, certain things have been introduced either on purpose or by accident so sometimes these poisons are used in an effort to reduce introduced species in order to protect the native wildlife that are put at risk.  I really hate that this happens and I hope that they can come up with a better way.  But we made a mental note to make sure our clothes and shoes were kept away from our cats when we got home.

On the Course

So before we knew it we were off and on our way.  We had no time to check out the course map, elevation chart, or even to find out what the distance was!  Yes, not very well prepared at all.  All we knew was that someone who was doing one of the longer distances had said that it was really tough, so we were expecting the worst.

0 - 3 km

Caught in the pack, we started off running but this is not a good strategy for me if I haven't had a chance to warm up and the long sit in the car to get here meant I could use a little walking to get the joints and muscles to wake up so we eased into a walk and let all the runners pass us.  We kept striding it out for a few minutes until we heard the hooter go off for the walkers to start and then we started jogging. 

It was a long, wide and mostly flat gravel road that we ran along until we reached the water station, which was at 2.9 km.  We heard it said in the race briefing that there was an aid station at 2. something km, but we didn't know how far we had come.

\\ Image from Blackmores Xterra Trail Run/Walk Series Facebook Page

3 - 5 km

We had made a good steady pace for the first 3km but after the water station we turned off the gravel road and onto the trails.  The path was a narrow single track and was very undulating and twisty. 

One of my favourite parts was where you could either wade through the water or walk a bouncy narrow plank across to the other side.  Plenty of people plunged right into the freezing cold water, I chose the plank which still dipped into the water but my feet didn't get too wet.  A few people who chose the plank fell into the water anyway :S

Our course had merged with at least one of the other courses so there were lots of calls of "on your right" as the faster runners negotiated around people on the narrow trail.  We, an a good few others around us would run for a while and then take a walk break so we were constantly passing and being passed by the same people too.  I had a lot of fun on this trail and tried to run most of the up hills and take it easier on the downs.

\\ Image from Blackmores Xterra Trail Run/Walk Series Facebook Page

5 - 6.2 km

At around 5k we popped back out onto the road we had ran along in the beginning; the wide, flat gravel road.  So far this race hadn't been as tough as I expected and it felt quite short too, so I was half expecting some kind of cruel hill at the end like at the first event.  However, no such thing happened and we had a nice easy stretch to the finish line.  This is the first (and only) race of this series that we've finished in under an hour!  This was probably why it felt short to us, and I'm hoping that it's also a result of getting fitter.





Post Race


We grabbed some water and some energy drink and joined the beer and sausage queue.  An onion sandwich and tasty Speight's was had before we made our way back to the car and then home.




The weather had been very pleasant, with it being warm in the sun but cool in shade, perfect really.  On the way home it started to rain, and really heavy at times so I think we lucked out there!

Although I didn't see any poison, as soon as we got home all our kit got thrown in the washing machine just in case.  And then after a shower I spent the whole afternoon playing a computer game before it was time to make dinner - a day well spent!

Other races in the series:


 

 

 

 

 

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 5 - Waharau Regional Park

Posted by Jenny at Monday, August 10, 2015 3 comments
Race Website: Blackmores XTERRA Race 5 - Waharau Regional Park

Official Stats:

Distance: 5.4 km (I measured 5.83 km)
Time: 1:14:20
Elevation: 250m

Pre-Race

I was dreading this one all week.  It was listed as a tough, technical course with a 4/5 toughness factor.

It was forcasted for heavy rain over the weekend too and I didn't fancy another mud bath like the Riverhead race, so I had already planned my excuses to bow out of this one.

We still went through our night before rituals of having a pasta dinner and Kane made an excellent wine, cream and mushroom sauce with spaghetti.

In the morning we woke to the sound of rain and I was ready to spend the morning wrapped in a nice warm quilt, however the rain promptly stopped and the sunny skies evaporated my excuses.

I made us some porridge and coffee for breakfast and then we set off .

We arrived with a few minutes to spare and we grabbed our series numbers from the box - there were heaps of numbers left and I think most people decided to give this one a miss.  I checked the elevation profile again and wished I had too.



On the Course

We pinned on our numbers and attached our timing chips and before we knew it we were off.

0 - 1 km  We started running and it was long low incline and perfectly manageable but too quickly it got a bit steep and most of us just started walking at this point.

1 - 3 km We got a little bit of a downhill that we too advantage of and ran a little but then it got very steep very quickly and then it was just straight up.  I had a great idea, Kane thought I was delirious, but I still think donkey first aid transport (Donk-bulance) could be the next big thing.

I cannot express how hard I found this horrible hill and every time I thought I had reached the top, there was a turn and it carried on up some more.  I thought I was in an Escher painting or something.


3 - 5 km My calves got a reprieve from climbing, but the downhill was just as steep and it was time for my quads to suffer.  On two downhill sections it was a little muddy and a bit slippy but not too much trouble.  We then got onto a nice narrow trail and we were able to run through the trees for a short while before having to go down stairs.



5 - Finish I was conserving energy for a hill that I was expecting towards the end, but the loop came out after the hill and we had a nice downhill run to the finish line.  I had plenty left in the tank so managed a sprint finish to the end!

Post Race

The finish area was a complete mud bath!  I nearly lost a shoe while removing my chip and race number!  We got our Speight's and watched some children diving into the mud and throwing mud at each other.  I was going to get a massage but the wait was going to be too long so picked up our bag from the gear tent, which had gotten muddy in there (Kane was not impressed) and headed for the car.  I learned my lesson after Riverhead and had towels, jandals and a change of clothes in a bag, just in case I needed them!

At the time I wasn't sure if I was glad to have done this race because the uphill was quite torturous!  But now I am glad that I did it, because in comparing my time to others that we've finished close with in other races I can see that I was quite a bit slower and I think its because I psyched myself out and built it up to be a scarier beast than it really was.  I finished the race with plenty left in tank which means that I could have given more on the way back instead of conserving energy for a hill that never came!

Other races in the series:




 

 

 

 

 

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 4 - Waiuku Forest

Posted by Jenny at Monday, July 20, 2015 2 comments
Race Website: Blackmores XTERRA Race 4 - Waiuku Forest

Official Stats:

Distance: 6.5km (I measured 6.8km)
Time: 1:00:19

Pre-Race

After a PB at the RunWalk 2.5k and then catching a cold, I hadn't done any runs during the week and wasn't sure what I could expect of myself on race day.

Friday night and Saturday was spent resting up, making poor food choices and watching TV, mostly due to the torrential rain.  My pre race dinner was hot chips, cheese and gravy which was too tasty to regret!

After a good nights sleep, we were up early as this race was about a 1.5 hour drive away, but with the bad weather and unfamiliar roads I factored in 2 hours.  I had toast and coffee breakfast and we headed off.

The weather cleared up really quickly and it was a beautiful drive to Waiuku Forest through part of Auckland that I hadn't been to before.  We had to park a bit of a walk away but we arrived with over 30 minutes to spare so I had a soy latte from the coffee cart.  I realised that I had forgotten my water, and I could have bought some, but there's a water station on course and I felt that would be fine.

On the Course

After the race briefing, we crowded up to the start line and off we went.  The first part of this race was a downhill so like the last race Kane and I decided to just start running with the crowd.

0 - 3 km  The first km, was along the road (shown in the top two pictures below) and then we turned and headed along a forest trail which was covered in pine needles it was soft to run on.

 
Then we came out at the beach.  I think the tide was coming in and we ran in single file along the black sand, jumping and climbing over tree trunks and drift wood.
 
after a short while we climbed back out and into the forest again.  At first I thought the trail was muddy, but when I ran on it I realised it was sand.  How strange to find sand in the forest with the pine trees!  It made the downhill parts easier on the knees but the uphill parts could be tricky if you walked, it was better to keep the feet moving faster.  Thankfully this race was not very hilly.
 
3 - 5 km It was around the 3km mark when the first of the super fast walkers over took us.  We came out onto an uphill road and this was where super fast walker Jan (who told us of this series) passed us, marching very quickly up the hill.  At around the 5km mark we had reached a hill top with beautiful views over the sea and we knew we were now headed back towards the finish.
 
 
5 - Finish  We got overtaken by 2 senior citizens who were walking and I jokingly said to Kane that I was feeling demoralised.  I was actually really impressed by the speed and agility of the couple and it reminded me of one of the reasons that we chose to live here in NZ because one day I want us to be like that old couple.  Kane reckoned that we only had a km to go and I thought that would be about 2 songs worth of running away, so I started to sing a song in my head to keep me from stopping and walking.  We hit a small incline and I had to walk a little but then we came out onto the road that we had parked on so I knew we weren't far away then.  Further down the road we turned off back into the trails and it was a flat run to the finish line.

Post Race

I was really pleased with how this race went.  I think it was the flattest of the trail races we've done so far and we ran most of it which felt great.  It was such a beautiful course with the water, hills and trees, we are hoping that we can come camping here in the summer.


Other races in the series:




 

 

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 3 - Totara Park

Posted by Jenny at Thursday, July 02, 2015 1 comments

Race Website: Blackmores XTERRA Race 3 - Totara Park

Official Stats:

Distance: 6.5km (I measured 7.47km)
Elevation: 138m
Time: 1:10:22

Pre-Race

I had been on holiday the week before this race and hadn't done any running - shame on me - however this meant that I went into this race feeling fresh.

I love that these races start at 10.30am and this one was the least driving distance away so I stayed in bed maybe a bit longer than I should have.  Breakfast ended up being toast instead of the usual porridge and I felt like I could have used something a bit more substantial later on during the race.

On the Course

The first kilometre was flat and since we had not long had a nice brisk 5 minute walk from the car park we decided to just start running with the crowd.  It was a mixture of path and wooded trail and there was a bottle neck at one set of stairs

//images from Total Sport Xterra Trail Run Series - Auckland Facebook

1 - 2 km was an uphill section that I mostly walked but we were on a dirt and gravel road and I was super grateful that there was no mud like last time.

2 - 3 km was a mixture of flat and gentle up uphill sections.  We were told there would be a water station at 2.5km and we felt like there should have been one here but there wasn't.  This made us think that we hadn't even done 2.5k yet and we started to doubt that we had been going as long as we felt we had!

3 - 4 km was a lovely long downhill stretch but it was a super narrow single track and you had to watch your footing very carefully.  It was a bit difficult to pass people here but we managed to pass quite a few.

4 - 5 km this was where there water station was!

5 - 6 km there was a bonus water station here too.  This was the start of a loop so we saw people coming in the opposite direction and they had the uphill bit, we went off to the left but all the way round I knew that the evil hill was coming!  We were in a wooded trail and there were lots of stairs going up.

//Image from Google


6 - 7 km was still in the wooded area but it was more flat and then there were more stairs but this time going down.  And then it was the evil hill which wasn't that bad in the end.

7 - 7.47 km it started of with a bit of a downhill and then there was a steepish uphill section but we knew we were close to the finish and there were a couple of people in front of us that we wanted to pass so I dug deep and found some energy from somewhere and made a good finish.
 

Post Race

I forgot to turn off my app straight away so my time is a bit out and I was sad that there were no One Square Meals this time as I really could have used one.  However, I did get my onions on bread and a Speight's Mid Ale so I was happy.

After last time I had brought a full change of clothes but thankfully I didn't need them :)


Other in the series:

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 2 - Riverhead Forest

Posted by Jenny at Thursday, June 11, 2015 2 comments



Race Website: Blackmores XTERRA Race 2 - Riverhead Forest

Official Stats:

Distance: 6.7km but we were advised during the race briefing that it was actually over 7km
Elevation: 172m
Time: 1:56:29

Pre-Race

The day before the race I went to a morning hot flow yoga class.  It was a great class and I really got a lot of it.  Later in the evening I went to a Blues rugby game but being aware of our early start, we didn't hang around after the afterwards.

After working out the logistics for getting to the race, we didn't have to get up too early and had plenty of time for a relaxed breakfast of porridge and coffee before we left the house at 8am.

Getting to the race was super easy, even if we hadn't used google maps the direction in the race email sent the day before and the Total Sport signage along the way made sure that we go to where we were going without any problems.  Once we saw the huge line of parked cars along an otherwise empty country road, we knew we were in the right place and parked up.  It was a very short walk to registration to pick up our bibs and chips.

After the last race where they ran out of safety pins, we decided just to bring our own this time.  I think many other people did the same and there was no shortage of safety pins this time.

On The Course

The first kilometre was my fastest as we started running up a gravel road before turning off into the forest trail.


As soon as we entered the forest we were presented with mud and this set the tone for the rest of the race.  I wasn't able to do much running as I kept sliding and often my legs go one way and my upper body in the opposite direction, arms flailing wildly trying to stay upright!

There were about 3 points that had vertical drops and whilst we managed to negotiate 2 of them staying upright, on one we had no choice but to bum slide down.  I accidently stomped into a muddy puddle once and twice slid and fell over into the mud.  I saw it happen to plenty of other people too so I know I was in good company! 

The few times where we could pick up the pace we did but it was all very slow going.  I finished with plenty of energy left - a real contrast to the last race!  My inexperience with trails and in particular negotiating mud is really noticeable in my time.

I saw a couple of injuries on the course, and I heard one woman's Achilles snap which still makes me feel ill thinking about it.

Post-Race


Again we got a One Square Meal (apricot flavour this time), cooked onions on bread, and a Speight's summer ale.

Due to not have a change of clothes or towels, and certainly not wanting to get mud all over the car, we had to try and discretely remove our muddy clothes at the car and then drive home in our underwear and hoodies!
 
 Here is my report for race 1 of the series: Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 1 - Shakespear Regional Park

Race Report: Blackmores XTERRA Race 1 - Shakespear Regional Park

Posted by Jenny at Wednesday, May 20, 2015 0 comments
Here I go at my first attempt at a race report.

Blackmores XTERRA Race 1 - Shakespear Regional Park

Official Stats

Distance: 6.5km
Elevation: 175m
Time: 1:05:51

Pre-race

I had a friends birthday party to go to the night before so pre-race meal was pizza and it was a bit of a later night that I wanted but my race later in the morning so I didn't need to leave the house until 8am and I could have left it later since we were there with heaps of time to spare.

We wandered around the finish area, picked up our numbers and chip and got a coffee whilst watching the earlier runners that were doing the longer distances run up and along the top of a very large hill.  I felt a bit nervous at this point but also a bit in denial, reminding myself that this was for all abilities.

On The Course

The race is 6.5km, my gps mapped it as 6.7km.

0 - 1km

The horn sounded and the first part of the course was up hill on the road.  Everyone started running but I wanted to start with a walk to warm up and not tire myself out right at the start - I think this was a good choice.  Once we got onto the flat we ran to the electric gate where we turned to go up a bit of an incline between some bushes and we continued to jog until it got too steep.

1 - 2km

We came out into a paddock and we hiked up the hill to cattle gate where we turned left along a dirt road.  It was a small incline and we jogged along until we came to another cattle gate and we turned to run down a big hill.

2 - 4km

We then entered a very nice trail and we had to keep a look out for tree roots and overhead branches and vines.  The path was very narrow in places but we were able to run and keep a nice pace through this section. 

4 - 5.5km

When we came out of the trail we were back in paddocks and heading up hill towards the electric gate again.  We then had the dirt incline between the bushes and back up the first hill in the paddock.  Once through the cattle gate this time we took a right and were heading gently downhill towards the finish area.  A few people around us were saying that this was the last hill and with the finishing line in sight I was feeling pretty happy with my efforts.  However it was neither the finish nor the last hill.

5.5 - 6.7km

We ran along the flat behind the finish line and then it was a crazy massive hill with long grass.  I was feeling tightness in both my calves on and off but thankfully it never got any worse.  Once I got to the top of the hill I was pretty much done in.  The downhill was hell and my muscles were too fatigued.  It was also incredibly muddy and slippery here.  Once off the hill there was a nice flat section which I jogged and then we were on a short section of sandy beach to navigate before we turned off and crossed the finish line.

Post-race

I got handed a One Square Meal and munched on that while waiting in the grill line.  I went and got us our free Speights and since they didn't have any vegetarian sausages we got a pile of cooked onions and covered them with ketchup and wholegrain mustard - so delicious!

At home, I had a bit of a nap before Choir and the next day I used The Stick on my quads and calves but didn't feel too sore.  I was a bit stiffer on Tuesday but thankfully had my physio appointment and got my calves worked on (which was sooo sore!).





Couch to 5k: Week 6

Posted by Jenny at Monday, May 18, 2015 0 comments
It's taken 10 weeks to get to week 6 of this Couch to 5k program!  Here's the rest of the series:

Week 6 Recap

I'm not going to lie, week 6 was HARD.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Warm Up: Walk 5 min Warm Up: Walk 5 min Warm Up: Walk 5 min
Run: 10 min
Walk: 5 min		 Run: 10 min
Walk: 3 min		 Run: 15 min
Walk: 3 min
Run: 10 min Run: 10 min Run: 5 min
Cool Down: Walk 5 min Cool Down: Walk 5 min Cool Down: Walk 5 min
Total time: 35 min Total time: 33 min Total time: 33 min

Day 1 was awesome and I totally nailed it and really wanted to tell every person I saw that I had just run for 10 minutes .. twice!  I was definitely feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Day 2 was a bit more of a struggle, I managed the first 10 minute run, but struggled on the second one and had to take a couple of sneaky walk breaks.

Day 3 was the toughest, I think I managed about 5 minutes before I had to take a walk break and I ended the run feeling a bit deflated.  A complete turn around from the start of the week.

I also ran my first trail race on Sunday.  Come to think of it, this was also my first trail run - and I did it in brand new shoes and a brand new top.  I'm not sure how many more race commandments I could have broken!!  It all went well though and it was fun (except that giant hill at the end).

Next Weeks Plan

I feel I need to repeat week 6 again, and I might even have to do it again the week after since I don't feel quite ready for that 15 minute run segment.

After my trail race I realise that I need to get some strength in my little legs, but it might take a couple of days of rest and foam rolling before I'm ready to load them up.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Labels

 

Jenny a'things © 2011 DheTemplate.com.