Waitakere 11K fun run

On Sunday I ran in the Waitakere 11Kfun run  run out in West Auckland. The race was a quite a scenic tour of the West Auckland suburb, started and finished in the Waitakere stadium as well as running along a section of the Henderson Creek foreshore.

My buildup to this run had been a little disrupted in recent weeks.  I had two weeks off after the North Shore 10 K in late August due to a twinge in my calf which left me four weeks build up for Sundays run.

Then six days out from Sundays run I began feeling a twinge in my groin muscle and so rested again for the rest of the week.

I made sure I warmed up well  pre race but I still set out pretty gingerly unaware how the groin would hold up. I was aiming to try and maintain an 8 minute mile pace for starters and see how things progressed from there.

I covered the first mile in slightly under 8 minutes and was feeling fine so was comfortable trying to push a little harder and I covered the next four miles in 7:51, 7:48, 7:38 and 7:47. The 6th mile featured a long gradual climb which contributed to a slower 8:06.

I finally entered the stadium ran a lap of the track and crossed the line 53:39 (net time).

I placed a respectable 24 of 137 males and 6th of 17 males aged 40-49.

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North Shore 10K

Beautiful Takapuna Beach was the venue for the North Shore 10k today.

Today I ran my first 10K race at Takapuna. Based on my recent training I was shooting for a time of 47-48 minutes so I was please to cross the line this morning in a time 48:33. The course started out running the length of the beach in the above photo before doubling back along the road and to the far end of the neighboring Milford beach and then back to the start /finish line.

I was able to keep a fairly consistent pace for the duration of the race. My mile splits were 7:48,7:36,7:35,7:45,7:45 and 7:50.

Placed 8 of 49 men.  5th of 15 men 40-49.

Map of the course.

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Run Auckland - Western Springs 5K

Sunday was Race 4 in the Run Auckland series, this week at Western Springs in central Auckland.  It was my third 5k race of the winter.

My training has been going well in recent weeks and with the course being a pretty flat two lap circuit of the Western Springs lake I was reasonably confident of  a good time, though I hadn't set myself a goal time for some reason.

Being the middle of winter and with a early race start time of 8:00am the temperature was in the low single figures and though I went for a warm up run of  a half mile or so it was very hard to actually get warm.

Come the race start and I placed myself reasonably near the front of the field, having placed 15th and 14th male in the two previous events.

After a reasonably quick start all the runners soon settled into their rightful places and I settled into a comfortable pace that I was able to maintain for the first few k's  completing the first lap in a time of 11:45.  During the second lap I was still feeling good and was able to maintain that pace and even slightly pick it up overtaking a couple of other runners in the process.

I was very pleased to cross the line in a time of 23:16, 11th male overall (of 37) and 3rd male 40-49 (of 10). I ran the second lap in 11:31.

It was a pleasing result and I think shows I'm on the right track with my programme of three training runs a week combined with some cross training including weights , swimming or biking.

Looking ahead I will run two more 5 k over the next six weeks but continuing to build base mileage in training. I also have just entered a 10K race in late August.

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Run Auckland - Race 3 - Onepoto Domain 5K

 

Last weekend I entered my second Run Auckland 5k race of the year.  This race was at the Onepoto Domain in Northcote, taking in a 2.5 k circuit of the domain and local streets.

The Domain is the remains of an ancient volcanic crater which has been reclaimed and leveled off making for a flat start to the race before heading out to the surrounding streets where the there is a 50 meter vertical climb over the next two K before dropping back down to the start / finish area in the Domain.

My race time was 26:40 almost two minutes slower than my last outing, thanks mainly to the hilly course.

Age group wise I was again 4th male in the 40-49 age group.

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Run Auckland - Race 1 - 5K

Sunday marked my long awaited return to racing with race one of the Run Auckland series at Waiatarua Reserve, Remuera.  It is hard to believe that it is five years since my first five k race ,  which was coincidentally the same race back in 2007.  Back then I would not have believed it would be five years between races.

The lead up was not ideal having slightly pulled my left calf two weeks previously.  I took a six day break from running and then had three very short and light jogs of no more that 2 miles each in the last week.

A big thanks to Michelle also for the daily leg massages she so graciously agreed to all to help me get to the start line on Sunday.

Come race day I felt I was in good shape and ready to go. Based on my recent training I was aiming for a race time of 26:?? minutes.


The course was a two lap circuit of the reserve. I completed the first lap right on target pace at 12:40.   Midway through lap two and my calf was holding up well and I was feeling like I could push on through to the finish. I lifted the pace a notch holding a good pace right though tho the finish.

On crossing the finish line I was pleasantly surprised when checking my watch to see the stop watch had stopped at 25:01 .  That time placed me 4th in the 40 -49 year  old men and 15th of 37 men overall.

Looking back at my 2007 race , I was almost two minutes faster back then , finishing in 23:06

All I can say is its great to be back.  The goal now is to do a few more Run Auckland 5k races as well as a couple of the Xterra trail runs over the winter.  More later.

Course map.

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Disappointing effort at Xterra

The placing tells a disappointing story.

40th of 46 in the open men category or 86th of 111 men overall.


Setting up pre race.

I was reasonably confident going into the race, a 26 km Mountain Bike Race through the famed Whakarewarewa Forest, at Rotorua and was being raced as part Xterra festival. I hadn't done a huge amount of mileage on the bike in training, but in recent weeks and had increased my distances. I no illusions of posting a stunning result but I did think I could post a respectable result.

The one area that I was light on was actual off road training in true mountain bike trails. Only two rides in the last two months, one of around 20 km. I wasn't too concerned at this as I thought I has coped reasonably well on that ride. I was more concerned with spending ample time on the bike and riding some hills once a week to build strength hill climbing.

The race started near the shore of Rotorua's Blue Lake and we were straight away climbing back up the hill by road for perhaps a mile before heading into the forest. I placed my self near the back of the field at the start and settled into an easy pace for the first mile, feeling pretty comfortable going up the hill (again I did most of my training in road).


Underway.

We entered the forest and the track was now a rough and rocky but flat 4wd track. Though wary of the loose surface I was able to maintain my position through this section of the trail.

It was not long before we came to our first climb of the day. This hill was one of those demoralising hills that never seemed to end. Aptly named Hill Road, it snaked its way skywards, twisting and turning, as all the while you hoped that just around the next corner it would be over.

Ahead of me other riders were already walking their bikes a sure sign that others were too feeling some pain. Subconsciously I think I must have taken that as a sign that it was alright to do the same, as before long I too found myself walking up the hill. Thinking back now I must have only been climbing for minutes and it frustrates me that I gave in so early, perhaps only ten minutes into the race, and lacked the fight to continue riding up this hill.

Eventually the 4wd track linked with a single dirt track but the climb continued onwards and upwards through the Redwoods, via a series of switchbacks. I managed to get back on the bike temporarily through this section but still fatigued from the walk up the hill I was in no shape to push the pace and was again walking before I reached the top. I enjoyed the chance to regain my breath while negotiating the tight and technical downhill section that followed.


Photo by Rengber
The terrain of the Whakarewarewa forest, with its huge hill climbs and long challenging downhills, is so different to what we have at Woodhill in Auckland which though also forested is much more gently rolling terrain with small climbs and downhills and all on a nice sandy base.

Once on the flat again I soon caught two speedsters who had zoomed past me on the downhill. The flat soon gave may to another hill and the two in front were soon walking. Being a single track and still in no mood to try a passing manoeuvre I also elected to walk it.

Before long the single track linked with a 4wd track again. Straight away I was on my bike and from that point I didn't look back. I rode strongly all the way to the top of this climb, picking up a few other riders as I went. Over the other side and it was another enjoyable downhill which soon gave way to a fast section of flat quite open trail.

As I reached the shores of the Green Lake, I knew now I could push on to the finish and I and continued to make good time along this flat and open section of forestry road. I then successfully negotiated the final climb over the hill back to the southern end of the Blue Lake after which it was all downhill to the finish at the northern end of the lake.

My finish time was 2:08:50 which placed me 86th of 111 men overall or 40th of 46 in my division of men under 40.


Finished at last.

Looking back on why I ran out of puff going up Hill Road, clearly a lack of hill training is a factor and also terrain specific training. Two off road rides in the preceding two months was not enough preparation. I'm also afraid that I just lacked sufficient mental toughness to keep going. I will learn from that and next time I'm in a similar position I'll be challenging myself to carry on.

I'm not sure where to from here just yet. There's no more Mountain Biking events around locally over the winter so that might be getting a bit of a rest. I need to come up with something quick though as know I must stay active.

On a more positive note it was a great weekend away with the family. Michelle enjoyed taking in the racing at the Lake and the boys enjoyed the kids playground and other activities the organiser had set up for them. More on what else we got up to next time.

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2006 Auckland Half Marathon - Race Report

One more re run from the old Blog. This one is the race report on the 2006 Auckland Half Marathon, to date still the only race of this distance if run in. Check out the previous post also for the build up to this race.



After first setting my sights on the Auckland Half 18 months earlier, the day had finally come after much frustration and uncertainty along the way. It was a 6.30am start down at beautiful Devonport on Auckland's North Shore. I was running it with one other work colleague and we caught one of the buses the organisers put on from our local bus station. The bus was full of excited runners and trip to Devonport took about 20-30 minutes dropping us off right by the start. We dropped our bags at the bag drop and headed for the start line.

Memories of the pre start are pretty much limited to the long ques at the portoloos and thinking how are all these people going to make it to the start line in time. I fortunately found a quick moving que however my mate had a longer wait and we of course got separated. I will also remember the images of men standing at the waters edge relieving themselves straight into the harbour in order to avoid the long waits for the portos - note to self not to go swimming there on the day of a marathon!(I'll also say it wasn't just the men who took the beach over the long waits on land either!).

I took the chance to do a few stretchs while waiting for my mate some 50 meters back and to the side of the start but he was not to show up. The gun went. I was not too worried about starting near the back of the field as I had my race chip and it was the chip time that I would be taking as my race time in any event. Expectations / hopes were for a sub two hour run but I was really thinking that a 1:55 would be a realistic time also.

Here's the course.



As you can see the course takes us Northwards from Devonport toward Takapuna before crossing the northern motorway and turning south heading for the Harbour Bridge before ending at Victoria Park in the city. It is a predominantly flat course with the only notable climb being the harbour bridge.

So I started near the back and remembering the advice of my more experienced colleagues I just took it pretty slow from the start for the first couple of miles. I soon got into a good steady pace and I was feeling comfortable though the first hour. I don't really know what pace I was running at and I hardly picked up any distance markers either so it was pretty hard to judge how I was doing pace wise. I just had to go on feel and from my training experience in which I usually ran around 5:20 to 5:30 k's. I wasn't consciously running any quicker than I would normally so I was guessing the first 10k would be covered in at worst say 55 minutes.

At around the half way point my left foot was feeling quite numb and I stopped to stretch my calves. I must have lost about five minutes here and I was definitely a little concerned about the time that I was losing and whether the foot would hold up enough to get me across the bridge and to the finish.

I re joined the race, we crossed the motorway, ran past the netball courts and turned south back towards the city. It was comforting to have reached this point knowing that with each stride I was now actually getting closer to the finish instead of running away from it.

At around the seven mile point when I looked across and saw my mate I'd been separated from earlier. We ran together for the next mile or so chatting about how we were each holding up. Neil was in good shape and gradually I let him go and by the time we got to the bridge I was starting to lose sight of him.

Running over the harbour bridge was an experience. Definitely something that not many people ever get to do. I drive across the bridge virtually every day so the view was nothing new but you certainly get a different perspective. The climb up the bridge would be almost a kilometer and coming at the 14 K mark it was reasonably testing. I had done a fair amount of hill work in training though and got to the top quite comfortably.

The foot was holding up well and though I felt some slight numbness it didn't seem that this was going to be a problem. Down the other side of the bridge and we still had over five k's to go but I knew this area well, it is all flat, and I didn't expect it to pose any problems for me. I was feeling okay and was still running at a comfortable pace that I felt I could sustain.

Coming past the Westhaven marina we had about four K to go and I was starting to try and lift the pace knowing that it would soon be over. I finally saw a distance marker at 19 K and I thought that with only two K to go I could definitely afford to pull out all stops now and put the foot down so to speak. I managed to find some extra speed in the legs. I was passing quite a few runners at this point and still feeling okay. I eventually ran out of gas with around 500 meters to go, slowing to a jog but by that stage I was just soaking up the atmosphere of the finish and thinking to myself that I had made it.

It was a sweet feeling and the relief was enormous. I had put so much time and effort into preparing for this and as I was rounding the last corner near the finish my emotions almost overcame me as I realised I had accomplished something that had for so long seemed so far away.

I was very happy and a bit surprised with my time of 1:49. Had it not been for a stop to stretch it could easily have been sub 1:45.

Here's some picture of me finishing.

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Race Reports

This page is a summary of races entered;


October 2012 Waitakere 11  Fun Run
August 2012 North Shore 10K
June 2012 Run Auckland - Western Springs 5k
May 2012 Run Auckland - Onepoto Domain 5 K
April 2012 Run Auckland Remuera 5K
April 2009 Xterra 26KM Mountain Bike Race
April 2007 Run Auckland Remuera 5km
March 2007 Xterra 11km Trail race.
October 2006 Auckland Half Marathon

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Run Auckland, Waiatarua Reserve 5 KM

It's re run time again as I look back at the one and only 5K race I've entered. The Remuera leg of the 2007 Run Auckland series.




Today was Race One of a new series of running races being held in Auckland over the next three months called Run Auckland. The series has been put together to offer recreational and semi competitive runners the opportunity to take part in some regular challenging racing and also gives recreational runners a goal to aim for to assist with meeting their fitness goals. That's what appealed to me about the series. Being mainly a recreational runner who started this about two years ago when I decided that I unhappy with my weight, I find that I need a goal or purpose to keep me interested. This series offers just that.

Today's race is a 5km run around the Auckland suburb of St Johns. There was also a 10k race starting at the same time, obviously doing two laps. I've never run a 5 k before so was keen to start the series with the 5. Click here for the map.

The weather this morning was poor, and rain was threatening. I arrived at the race start around 45 minutes prior to the scheduled 8:00 am start for the pre race registration, the main purpose of which was to just get the timing chip. Unfortunately being a new series there were some organisational problems with the registration procedures and the organisers found themselves caught short with too few registration desks available to cater for the approx 500 runners who had turned up (most like me I would gather had pre entered online so no excuses here really). Eventually they got through the ques of people and the race got underway about 15 minutes late.

My calf was not feeling as bad today, still a bit sore but it wasn't going to be a factor today. My left shin was bothering me more than normal however during my little warm up jogs around the park waiting for the start. I wasn't going to let this stop me today however either.

I started near the front of the bunch and got off to a quick start to clear away from the bunch as quickly as I could before settling down at a steady pace. I had planned to do the first k in about 4:40 but this was probably around 4:20 - 4:30. The calf was felling good and the shin was soon forgotten.

The second k was just about maintaining a comfortable pace. I was happy with my position and was feeling okay. The course climbs a little over the third k and I had planned to ease off a bit at this stage to save myself for the last two k's. The persistent drizzle which had been around since registration was becoming heavier and I'm pretty wet by this stage.

Down the other side of the hill and I was able to pick up the pace somewhat on the run to the finish. The last k was all pretty flat. I was digging deep and was keen for a strong finish. I was able to maintain the pace right to the end. I'd held nothing back and was spent.

I finished in a race time of 23:18 (net time 23:06), just over three minutes behind the winner, Sam Morreau who finished the race in a time of 20:05. I'm stoked with my time as it was at the right top end of my goal time of 23 - 24 minutes.

I was the 8th male to cross line and 6th in the males 30-39 category. I'm also stoked with that placing for a first time 5 k'er. On plotting the run into Map My Run, I also found the run actually measured 5.25k. Who knows what time I might have achieved for an actual 5k

The results are interesting though. Of 174 finishers in the 5k race there were only 42 men. In the 10k race there were 242 finishers including 103 men. Why are then men staying away? Also interesting to note were the 5k split times for the 10k runners. The first 25 men all had a faster split time at 5k than my race time, with the first four all registering a quicker split than the 5k winner. Clearly the longer distances attract a greater number and quality of athletes.


Update, this series has really grown in popularity over the last two years and looks set to be a regular series on the Auckland running calender now. Will definitely be running so more of these in the future.

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Race Report - Xterra 11 Km

Here's another re run from the old blog. It's a race report on an Xterra trail run I entered in March 2007, around the beautiful and aptly named Blue Lake, near Rotorua.

Sorry for the delay in posting a report about the Xterra Trail run. It's been a bit of a hectic week. Monday week ago after my last post the family headed down to Hastings to visit family but particularly to visit my grandmother who had been unwell and in hospital for a week or so. She had been unwell for the last few years and was in and out of hospital on several occasions in recent months. She passed away peacefully last Friday. In the end her quality of life was not what she would have wanted and in some ways it is a blessing that she is no longer suffering.

I am glad that we were able to get down there and visit her and that she got to see the boys.

We got the news of her passing while we were on the road to Rotorua which is where I was to run in the Xterra and I decided that I would continue on and complete this race before heading back to Hastings for the Funeral which was held on Tuesday.

Race day dawned fine and clear but COLD. It was an 8.00 am start with the run set to take us twice around the picturesque Blue Lake near Rotorua but with the sun yet to reach above the surrounding bush covered hills it certainly made for a brisk morning (still nothing compared to what you North American readers have experienced over your winter though). I had my support crew with me being Michelle and the two boys.

I started out slowly with the pace largely being dictated by the large bunch for the first 500 meters or so. The first mile and a half took us halfway around the lake via the road and was slightly uphill. The bunch gradually spread out and I just settled into a steady but not too fast pace. At the south end of the lake we went off road and ventured into the bush trails which took us back to the start. Ground conditions were soft but not too slippery though with many small rocks and roots to watch out for. I'm glad I purchased some Trail shoes especially for the race though as my road shoes would have had me sliding all over the place.

I completed the first lap in about 33 minutes feeling in pretty good condition but for my left foot which I could sense was starting to go a bit numb as it often does at after 30 minutes or so. I was worried that I might have to stop and stretch. My calfs and shins were holding up well though.

Almost the entire second lap took us around the trail encircling the lake. The first part of the trail was narrow and offered little or no room to pass. After managing to make my way past several runners I found myself behind a female runner who was maintaining a steady pace that I was comfortable with so I just hung in behind her. This trail was also strewn with rocks and roots and near the southern end of the lake I landed awkwardly on a tree root spaining my ankle. For a few seconds I was unsure how serious this was and it slowed me, but fortunately I was able to work through that and before long I was back up to full pace. Man did I have a sore ankle by then end of the day though!!.

Once we had turned for home the trail widened significantly for the next mile before narrowing again however I was able to keep the pace up and neither the numbing foot, which had not worsened much, nor the ankle slowed me any. I'm sure that during the second lap I was not passed by a single runner though I managed to pass perhaps 15-20 runners.

I came out on to the beach at the finish and after briefly taking the wrong line (keen to do another lap) and also briefly stopping to say 'hi' to the family, I crossed the line in 1:02:57.

The official results confirmed that I was placed 23rd in the open men's in a field of 72 or 29th man overall (including masters) in a field of 115. Given this was my first Trail run I'm pretty pleased with that result. The time seems a little slow on the face of it but I guess that can be expected in this type of terrain plus I would have been a minute or so crossing the start line.

Click here to see some more photos from the event including of the Xterra Triathlon.

Update - Sorry the above links don't seem to be working anymore. Overall I loved this experience and it's part of the reason why I love to run. What better way to get out any explore some new ground while doing something that you love to do. I look forward to the day when I get another chance to run in this type of race. I understand there is a series of Xterra trail runs now so that's definitely a goal.

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Looking back - 2007 Round the Bays Run

As I mentioned in the opening post of this Blog, over the next few weeks I'm going to select a few posts from the old blog and 're-run' them here just to give this Blog some history to it and for any newer followers to learn a bit more about some of my races / training of the last few years. Here's a post I wrote in March 2007 following our annual fun run during which I suffered my first ever calf strain.

"Round the Bays Ends in Pain"

I ran in the Round the Bays Fun Run today. It's an 8.4Km run around the Auckland waterfront which attracts upwards of 70,000 runners and walkers of all shapes & sizes as well as a few outrageous costumes.



Distance - 8.4KM (5.2 miles)

Time - 39:50

Pace -4:45 min Kms (7:40 min miles)

Max HR 179Ave

HR 161



This is a flat course so I was hopeful of a time of 40 minutes or less so to achieve that goal was pleasing. The pace was faster than I have been running in my training and I was pretty pleased with the effort I put in to maintain that pace for as long as I did. I've done this run a few times over the years however always for the fun and social side of it. Whilst I did enjoy that side of it today also I was also keen to put in a good effort and achieve a good time. I started about 50 meters back from the start line and took about a minute to cross the line after the gun went off.



The start was pretty slow as the field spread out. By about the 1 Km stage the field had sufficiently spread out enough that I was able to run at a steady pace. I passed a marker at 5.5 km at about 25 minutes so I new that I had 15 minutes to cover the last 3Km to make my time. I tried searching for a little more pace to ensure I made my time and with about 1 Km go I was pretty much out of gas. My pace was slowing and breathing was very laboured.



Then it happened ... I felt a small twinge in my right calf muscle. I've never strained a calf before but this is what I imagined it was, definitely not just a case of tight or sore calfs. I managed to jog the remaining kilometer and crossed the line in just under 40 minutes. So, while pleased with the time a calf strain was not what I had in mind. I can only hope that it's a minor strain and that with some treatment and a bit of rest I will be back running again soon.



I had wanted to run another 10Km race next weekend and then an 11Km Trail race next month. ll be pretty gutted if I can't at least run the trail race as that's something I've never done and would love to give it a go.

Update - Fortunately that injury was over come relatively quickly and though I missed the follow up 10K race I made the trail race the next month.

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