16 Days and Counting...

16 days to go! 

As I approach the final couple of weeks before Tarawera 100km Ultra race i have been doing a little less out on the trails, and trying to get my body feeling ready! Within my last blog I was talking about my body feeling sore and tired all the time and I ran less.. This has actually helped a great deal my legs feel much fresher this week and hopefully will continue for the next 2 weeks in the build up to race day! 

The final few weeks before a big event or any event for that matter you always feel that you could of done more! More training, better diet, a little more focus etc... Most of you will know how this feels as I'm sure most people go through the same feelings. Suprise suprise I am doing just this! Thinking could I have done more training and the answer is always yes. But here we are 2 weeks out before I fly to Rotarua for the event and now it's just to get on with it and not think of what I could of done but to think what can I do? It's exciting as it will be my first 100km trail race, I have raced the distance before but over the 100km mark (125km & 210km) but more exciting it will be Gem's first Ultra race, basically the first time she will have raced over the traditional 42km distance of a marathon.. Huge big luck to her :-) 

We are flying on Thursday before the event and arrive at the race HQ on Friday morning, just in good time to collect our race numbers and to pass through gear check. If your not familiar with Ultra Running, each runner has to carry a list of kit in a pack whilst competing for safety reasons, as you can be alone in the mountains or on the trails alone for a long period of time. The organisers want to ensure that each runner can look after them self for a period of time if anything happens to a competitor whilst alone on the trails. 

After collecting our race packs and being signed off for gear checks I think we will be having a relaxing afternoon before a very early start on the Saturday morning for race day! 

Excited to be apart of a race within the first year of the UTWT..

Then alls left to do is run!! 

Cheers for reading everyone

Paul 

Time for planning…

Since my last blog post, I haven't done a lot of running to be honest.. I have done a few runs and bike rides here and there on top of my usual 40km to and from work each week but nothing crazy! Sound crazy I know 4 weeks away from my 100km Ultra Trail Race in Tarawera but my body has just been sore and tired even after rest days. Therefore I decided to take this last week and a half easy..

Course Map - 100km

To keep my in the correct mind frame and focused on the event I decided to start looking more into the race, course maps, elevation charts and previous years results. Basically looked more into 'How' I am going to race the course in 3 weeks or so. I think most of my success in the 'Canadian Death Race' last year was down to just doing some planning before the event, as I wasn't super fit after coming back after an injury but my mind was really fired up after having a DNF in the Fernie 80km Ultra a few weeks before. I feel fit for Tarawera but not as fit as I could be, so I am going to be using the same tactic of fire up the mind to be ready! I have actually used this a few times over the years and often it has worked very well, if I can get my mind 'ready' I'm good to go!

Race breakdown, section by section.

I am actually really looking forward to this years Tarawera 100km race for a number of reasons :

1. It's a new part of the world to race and explore for me.
2. The course looks amazing, a great mixture of everything. (100km with 9100ft of climbing)
3. Tarawera this year is part of the 'World Ultra Series' 
4. Racing with the worlds best Ultra Runners is always fun!
5. My girlfriend, Gem's first Ultra Marathon, exciting times for her. 
6. Also I have raced a few ultra distances but never a straight 100km either

With all that in mind, there is still a lot of work to be done between now and race day. Planning, sorting race kit etc.. out and of course some last minute training.
Thank as always for everyone who follows my blogs etc.. And all the support as always from 'Nathan Sports'
Paul

Enough said! 

Taking on the Remarkables in search of Lake Alta

To top off this weeks training I decided to run up the mountain range I look at every morning and night out my window.. The Remarkables, in search of Lake Alta. People had told me it was a beautiful 'drive' up there.. But of course I wanted to run it :-)

Just one of many stunning views on the climb..

All up, then all down! 

I have been wanting to do it for a while now but just always gone for an easier option as it was going to be about 14km of straight up hill with a gain of 5000ft over the distance. After filling my Nathan race vest with all the fuel I wanted and got my my kit ready, I set off at an nice easy pace knowing what was coming up 5km down the road when I start to climb. Once I started the climb instantly I found out way people had said to me not to run it… It was just crazy, but since when have I ever listened! I started to find a little rhythm and just worked to close down them kms 1 by 1.. The views were just spectacular!! People love the look of the Remarkables from Queenstown, but they should see it from up there too. With a couple of cars passing my on the way up and kindly giving me some encouragement I pushed on after taking a few pictures here and there. After ascending for nearly 1:42 I came to the Remarkables Ski Resort signs, as much as I wanted to call it a day here and start heading down I continued up to Lake Alta a few more kms upwards (of course!) I'm really glad I did, from the ski resort you went onto a single file technical trail on the final climb up to Lake Alta. The weather was scorching by this time topping over 20 degrees, but I was determined to reach the glacier waters of Lake Alta. On nearing the lake it felt very 'Alpine' with that typical alpine look all around and little water streams running from the mountains. Even some snow still around in the hight of summer here!  It was a very beautiful area and I was really happy to reach the Lake, the waters felt amazingly cooling after all the climbing I had done over the last 14kms..

Lake Alta.. 

After a refuel session and a few pictures i started on my descent knowing I was only half way in my adventure at Lake Alta.. As every one know descending is so much easier than climbing!! Apart from the hammering on the legs the descent felt like it was going a lot faster than the climbing was.. Again just as stunning on the descent down, with clear blue skies and miles of mountains to be seen it was a great run all around.. On returning back down and nearing town I decided to take a little paddle in the Lake Wakatipu to ease the sore legs from all the descending down..
Really glad I did it and again a good challenging 40km run in the legs for the Tarawera Ultra 100km trail race I have coming up in just under 5 weeks. Fingers crossed I can stay injury free and continue to work hard to run a decent race in Rotorua followed by TNF Aus 100km I have 8 weeks later in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney, Australia..


Thanks to everyone for taking time to read my blog, and a huge thanks to 'Nathan NZ' For their support and world class hydration packs and gear…
Cheers guys!
Paul

Movescount readings of the climb and descent!

Map of the route up to Lake Alta.. 

Mixing up the trails!

This week for my days off I decided to mix up the trails I have been training on for the last few weeks. Me and my girlfriend decided to pop of to Te Anau for a couple of days, firstly to explore a new place but also to run on the world famous Kepler Track!

Starting point for a little journey.. 

Before this my weeks training has had been as normal as ever usual forward and back from work and a couple of runs here and there as extra, any one who follows my blog can tell by now I'm not a huge big millage trainer… I much prefer to be in the racing environment week in week out like I was back in UK. Not as easy over here with fewer races therefore I have been putting in more training as I should and using my days off to explore more and more of these world class trails around New Zealand's south island.

A mixture of everything on the trail! 

Whilst over in Te Anau we managed to fit in a 35km run on the Kepler Track in the scorching heat, all great training for the races I have planned for the next few months. To the start of the trail I was staying around 6km away so I decided to jog over to the track as a warm up, oh I am glad we did. From the start of the track till Brod Bay it was  great single file with some easy undulating involved but nothing crazy. After leaving Brod Bay area it soon registered with the legs that we was going upwards for a while as the kms ticked by so did the elevation! It was a great workout on the legs all the way up to Luxmore Peak (the highest point of the Kepler Track) We were rewarded several times with just stunning views in the breaks of the trees and the track its self was a great mix up from rock, technical tree stumps and hard packed dust paths. Exactly what I love running on the most!!

Nearing the top! 

On arriving above the tree line we had panoramic views all around of Te Anau Lake, and the surrounding mountains. I remember thinking to my self "this is why I go through the pain of running up all the mountains, the rewards at the end!" You just don't get the same feeling from running on the road around the cities. I'm sure every trail runner will agree with me?? After taking in all the amazing views and a few pictures we decided to descent down before it got to dark as we had only set off at 15:30pm. All in all, it was a great track and would love maybe one day get the time to run the 60km Ultra Race on this track.

My Nathan Vapour 12L pack was my choice of pack, what a great choice it was! Fully breathable around the straps and back of the pack which was essential for the hot weather we had (23+ degrees) I carried a full 2L bladder of fresh water, a couple of snacks and a jacket just incase the weather turned and my camera. Even with all this in the pack just doesn't move no bouncing, no chaffing and still plenty of room for many of other things if you was going further. Fully recommend this pack for people training or racing the longer ultra distance where you need to carry a big kit list and your water + fuel.

Thanks to everyone for reading!
Cheers
Paul

Playing around on the tops.. 

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