Work, Run, Play!

Over the last 7 days I have done a bit of everything, Mountain biking, trail running and even a grass track session today. I have clocked just over 135km for the week with 46 hours in work too.. Busy week to say the least. My distances covered for the week is nothing compared to some athletes but I have never been a big milage runner.. I just don't ever seem to find the time apart from when I am holiday I end up running way more than at home on a normal week.

Great track to work out on..

I mentioned above what I have been up to this week but here's a little break down on how it pans out : Mountain Bike - To and from work as normal each week
Trail Running - Exploring trails and tracks around Queenstown and Frankton
Track Session - Grass Track at the Queenstown Event Centre, 400m with 30secs rest, 800m with 30secs rest, 1200m with 30secs rest, 1600m with 90secs rest, 1600m with 30secs rest, 1200m with 30secs rest, 800m with 30secs rest finished off with a 400m. For me who doesn't do any speed work, this kind of session killed me!! Felt better after a 50km trail race than I did this morning after my session. But all good as usual..

Not my usual map recording from my Suunto Ambit but still as fun.. Round and round we go!

I also used the Nathan QuickShot Plus as hydration this week, what a great little bit of kit. It's basically a glove with a small 10oz shaped bottle what fits into the palm of you hand. It's really comfortable to run with and it just fits perfectly around the hand no movement, chaffing or irritations. For anyone who doesn't enjoy carrying a bladder on their back for a shorter run this is perfect for you and I highly recommend them. Comes with a little zipped pocket too for your keys etc..

Another great bit of kit from Nathan! 

With only 48 days to go till this years Tarawera Ultra Marathon 100km trail race, I am looking forward to receiving my new pair of Hoka one one in the post this week to get a few longer runs in before race day. Will report as I go along!

Thanks to everyone who takes the time to follow and read my posts! 

Cheers

Paul

A week of ups and downs!

Over looking Lake Wanaka on a stunning morning!

As another week goes by in my build up to the Tarawera 100km Ultra Marathon. It's been a week of ups and downs, training has gone OK.. managed to get 3 runs in this week on top of my 10km a day mountain bike to and from work around my busy work schedule.

But to finish the week off nicely me and Gemma decided to cycle over to Wanaka to watch and support some friends in the Challenge Wanaka Ironman Triathlons which was a great 70km ride on our mountain bikes over the 'Alpine Route' basically up and over a mountain pass rather than going round 3300ft of climbing.. Never have done anything the easy way! Had a great 2 days over there camping and supporting the event, on our return today we set off as planned from Wanaka only to get roughly 10km's down the road before Gems bike decided to start having some mechanical issues with her gears coming very loose what obviously wasn't great to go back over a mountain pass. With having left my bike tools back at home in Queenstown we decided to call a bus company who shuttles between Wanaka and Queenstown, luckily they had some spaces available for us on their next shuttle what got us home safety.

Swimmers starting in the Challenge Wanaka Triathlon.

2014 Winner crossing the line at Challenge Wanaka.

I think after watching a Ironman Triathlon, it does cement to myself that one day I will part take in one as a one off event to see what Triathletes have to go through!!

On another note, I unfortunately I wasn't luckily enough to get picked out of the draw for a place in this years TNF Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc.. Therefore I will have twice the chance to get into the event next year.. Fingers crossed!

So it looks like I will only get to race in two of the World Ultra Tour Races this year (Which I can't complain about really, many people would love to get to race in one!)

Tarawera 100km Ultra Marathon and the TNF100 Australila in the Blue mountains.

Cheers to everyone who takes time to read my updates on here, and to Nathan NZ for their continued support in the latest Hydrations packs and belts they have on offer for me!

Lots of excitement coming out of the Ultra Trail Running World..

 Any trail/mountain or ultra running (including me) is eagerly awaiting many new exciting news press releases at the moment.. One being, the registration for the world famous UTMB has now closed and everyone now awaits for the 15th of January to see if they get in or not.. As you can see below again this year its well over subscribed with runners and unfortunately some runners will have to wait yet another year to run in their dream race :

Dear Everybody,

Registrations are now closed!

Here is an update concerning registration for the 2014 The North Face® Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc®.
Last night at midnight, 14113 runners, representing 75 different nationalities are candidates.

• The UTMB®, is today, 226% full: there will less than 1/2 chance of being successful in the draw.
• The CCC®, is today, 174% full; there will be a 1 in 2 chance in the draw.
• The TDS™, with more than 1400 runners already registered, has more than last year, but probably won’t need to have a draw. It is therefore the only event which offers an almost certain chance of participating in 2014. It will not, however, have the capacity to accept those unlucky in the 2 other draws (*).
• The OCC, is today, 164% full; there will be about 3 in 5 chance in the draw.
• The PTL™ is full - Enrolments are closed (quota full).

The results of the draw will be announced at 10:00 January 15th (Paris time) here

(*) runners not accepted due to the draw for the UTMB® or the CCC® who choose to transfer their registration to the TDS™ renounce the benefit of a coefficient of 2 for the 2015 draw.

The other exciting news this week regarding trail and ultra running is for the UK. Skyrunning series is coming to the UK for the first time ever! This has been long awaited and I'm sure will be a huge success for many years to come. The board over at Skyrunning UK are slowly working their way through races to be included in this years calendar, but earlier this week the first race of the series was announced. '3 x 3000 Ultra' this is an 80km ultra trail marathon with 4,000m/13,000 ascent over very tough mountain trails incorporating three classic Lakeland peaks. Scafell Pike, Hellvellyn and Skiddaw.. Now anyone who knows the Lake District will agree this is an awesome route and will have some stunning views along the way. Ian and Emily over at High Terrain Events have done a great job at many other events in the past and I'm sure this will become one of them classic UK events over the next few years.
Check out all the details here and get entered!! - http://www.highterrainevents.co.uk/index.html

 

All other Skyrunning UK details can be found here on the rest of the series as it unfolds. http://skyrunninguk.com

Exciting times ahead. I know I will hopefully compete in these races when I'm back in the UK for sure.. 

Good Luck to everyone this week who are awaiting their place in this years UTMB also! 

Thanks for reading 

Paul 

 

Finding a true hidden gem of a trail!

This morning Gemma and I decided not to worry to much on pace or distance on our run but just time on the legs and go exploring on some new trails out the other side of Queenstown.
We set off from Frankton towards Queenstown along the trail beside the lake side, the sky was cloudy but is was warm and humid with a small shower every now and again.. Perfect for trail running!

This sign wasn't wrong..

On leaving Queenstown towards Glenorchy the sign above described perfectly what we was about to run around! Paradise.. If ever I felt like I was back in Hawaii it was today. The single file, undulating trail was a mix of technical and smooth trails with plenty of options for views across Sunshine Bay. Some of the views where just breath taking. We both had smiles from ear to ear whilst running along this beautiful track. Most of the views were very dramatic due to the clouds and choppy lake, but breathtaking neither the less!

Another dramatic view! 

A few km's later we had reach Sunshine Bay area where their was a few people and cars around but up till this point we had not really seen a sole along the track what made it even more of a hidden gem! We stopped and took in the fresh air from the lake side whist enjoying the views before turning around to head back towards Queenstown again then onwards to Frankton. On our return legs we just happen to stop for a second to take in the views and noticed this rock with the quote " Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have" We both thought yeah how true is that! In the middle of no where on a trail it says this! Someone must of been feeling what we was whist exploring the trail.

So true… 

After a few most breath takings views along this hidden gem of a trail we ended back in Queenstown for a drink stop then continued back to Frankton to get home. We had the most delicious drink, Greek yogurt, fresh mango, fresh coconut and honey all blended together. Was really nice and refreshing and set us up nicely for a slow run back home for the final 5kms of our route.

Leading the way to paradise. 

2.5 hours later we had arrived back home full of smiles because of what we had just found, one of the most beautiful trails I have ever ran on! True New Zealand… Here's to our next discovery :-)

The return leg. 

Thanks for reading and following everyone. 2014 has started off really well, wonder what the rest of the year has in store!
Paul

Overlooking Sunshine Bay Trails.