Gday ya'll! Hope this reaches you all well and that your being inspired to live each day to its full potential! The 1st of October...the start of a new month! This blog is about a new trial...and hopefully a new beginning! Ohhh, exciting!
Before I get into that, a quick back track. I have had a mixed September. I have trained quite well and had some good results with my weight loss at the start and middle of the month. I have managed to drop quite a few kg's, however toward the end of the month, I have gotten complacent. Whilst going well, I have been doing something I haven't done before seriously...calorie count. Let me tell you, the simple science behind it indicates that it has to work...and has been! Eat less than you burn in a day. Basic huh?! For those interested in losing a couple of kg's and have an Iphone or Android, I am using MyFitnessPal. Ask me to be your friend, I will be, I promise! It takes a bit of effort to start with but it is worth it and is a valuable tool in knowing how much/little we should eat and how much we burn. My bet is that probably 90% of you don't know how much you body actually requires to function each day, let alone when you includ your exercise/training...it is very interesting to find out!
That said, the start of October is bringing some new, exciting possibilities for me. I have decided to go back to (I have done so before for about 5months) a vegetarian lifestyle. The reasons for this aren't overly complex or deep. Basically, I feel better eating meat free, I don't feel as 'heavy' in day to day life and in particular when I run and I am a hippy at heart and love nature, ie. Animals! Ha!
Further to this decision, I am wanting to make a 13week commitment (October, November, December) to stick to my calorie counting, aim to be under my 'limit' each day, eat as much healthy food as possible (vegetarian) and reach my goal weight of 75kg's by the end of the year. At this point I will re-assess things but that is the aim for the next three months, starting October 1st...today!!
With these new goals in place and broadcast to the whole world (more accurately, about 10people who read my ramblings!) I will keep you all up to date with my progress, struggles and successes!
It is all very exciting and a challenge I look forward to.
As a side point, on the body side of things, I am still recovering from the 'miler' however almost there. My toenails are still falling off and the balls of my feet are still sore. A little more concerning though is that I still can not feel the whole inside of my left big toe properly...wonder if this will ever come good?! The minimal running and free feet can only be helping though. I guess time will tell.
On the training front, my 'four week minimal program' is still going well and I have to be honest...I LOVE my sandals! I am going to give them the rest of the four week plan and assess then but at this point, I may look at training for my next ultra in them...we'll see!
Anyway friends, that is all for today! I love you all! Be good to each other, love like there is no tomorrow, smile like a sucker and keep your chin up! Someone will clock you on the mellon otherwise! Life is good! Keep plodding mates and mate-esses and I hope to catch you on the dirt soon!
Run on...Mx
Friday, 30 September 2011
Thursday, 22 September 2011
The big announcement...
Well….I have an admission…I have been at it again! My usual scheming mind has been pondering since the day dad and I completed our run from Bundaberg to Brisbane
So, I had come up with an idea and was needing to find a worthy charity to work with and raise funds for. Through our Brissy run, we had a close relationship with Mel and Craig from Bundaberg McDonalds. They, have a close relationship with a charity called Forget Me Not Foundation. The foundation has sponsor children in Nepal and Uganda
Through Mel and Craig, I made contact with the foundations founder, Lars. I did a bit of research on the bloke and the foundation, met Lars and was VERY impressed. The heart of the foundation and in particular Lars for orphaned children was just amazing! He is a young man with incredible vision and motivation to make a difference in this world! I am a firm believer that an organisation is moulded from the top down, so I felt assured that Forget Me Not would be a fantastic, worthy charity to work with for my new adventure. For more information about their fantastic work and involvement in Nepal and Uganda
So…in saying all this, I am here to announce that commencing in May 2013, I will be running from the Western most point of Australia (Steep Point, Shark Bay WA) to the Eastern most point of Australia (Cape Byron, Byron Bay NSW)!!! 5000km in 90days! This equates to an average of approx 55km per day! I, along with my support crew and the staff at Forget Me Not will be aiming to raise approx $250,000, enough to build and support an Eco Village
Needless to say, I am VERY excited about this new adventure and the challenges/rewards it will bring! I am in for a heck of a lot of work/organising before departure date but will love every minute of it! I will obviously keep you all up to date through my blog as to progress and training and cant wait to share the experience with you all!
If any of you are interested in helping in anyway, or have any contacts for major/minor sponsorship possibilities please let me know.
So that is it, the cat is now out of the bag and I have committed myself! I am humbled by this new adventure, however will take a hold of it with both hands and fully commit myself to every aspect of it! I just want to thank you all for the support you have all been through my adventures thus far and I hope and pray you will stand by me in this and any other crazy things I conjure up!
Keep smiling friends and until next time…RUN ON!
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Prep, Hiccups and Glory!
Well, first up, I apologise for not blogging for so long! My computer has been out of action and then had a small procedure on my hand making it rather difficult to type!
So for those who don’t know, for the last few months I have been preparing to run a 100mile (161km) race through the Glasshouse Mountains
So, the 100mile it would be! I have had a healthy respect for the distance as it is kinda the ‘done’ race when it comes to ultras. I trained well (although I always want to do more!) and looked forward to the run! Not only that, but meeting up with friends made through The North Face event.
We headed to the Coast a couple of days early after packing a ridiculous amount of gear, and making me very nervous, and did some relaxing. We spent some time with Katie and her family which was great and also had a top lunch on Friday at Moolooaba Surf Club with runners Tylana (to do 50k), Dean (Injured but great moral support), Jaci (to do 50k), Andy (Resting/injured after a little run on the Nullabour), Ben (to do 100mile), Dad (to do 100k) and the rest of the family/support crew. There were many laughs had, even though the weather was making us a little more nervous (pouring rain at times and blowing about a squillion miles an hour!)
On the Friday night we headed to Beerburrum School
So after a nervous nights sleep on Friday (what would be my last for at least two days!) I awoke early Saturday Morning to a howling wind. No rain but WIND!!! At least it wouldn’t be hot! Tegs, Pria, Katie and I all then headed to the School for the start. After a few nervous hellos and good lucks we were into it.
This run would be a little different as Dad was doing the 100k and I was doing the miler. For some reason, distance I guess, at the 60km mark I had to do an extra 8km loop and leave dad to run on my own. Dad and I started out at a pretty decent pace and in good spirits. We got chatting to a few different people and soon made friends with a few new runners. After a short loop we headed up old Mt Beerburrum to the usual uphill slaughter! Love it! We then continued to trot along pretty well without incident (apart from Dad having a good stack!) We met with our crew regularly and also aide stations to good food and good laughs. It’s incredible how smiling faces and a bit of good food can lift your spirits!
It sounds funny, but one thing that I was worried about in this run is that it was relatively flat (Hummm) and we would be doing a fair bit of running. Due to the elevation at The North Face we did a fair bit of walking on the hills and it is a good break up/recovery. On this run however, running would occur more, possibly tiring me quicker. Only time would tell.
At about the 50k mark, I hit a low patch and found it pretty tough. It was a shame cause it was a really beautiful part of the course with lovely single track and pretty purple flowers everywhere! I will remember this section of the course for a long time for its secluded location and beauty!
During this section, I also tried to round a massive water hole and left my shoe behind in the mud! My dear father grabbed it for me and thought it would be a good idea to then throw it at me, covered in stinking mud! TA!
Dad and I stayed together until 60k and I sadly said my fair wells to him. He was looking strong and I did some maths and figured he would easily finish under 15hours…a great time!
Once he left me and I refuelled, I came good again and powered along from Checkpoint 8-10, about 30km. I then had another little low, but nothing substantial. By this time it was nearly dark and I met Tegan at Checkpoint 6 for a change of clothes (into warm gear), grab my headlamp and torch, and a good feed. After a brief stop and kiss from my bride and crazy kid, I said good by and good night to them and I headed off into the darkness on my own.
I have had a lot of people ask me about night time running through the bush and if I get scared, worried etc. It is actually the opposite for me. I really look forward to night fall as I seem to be able to get in a great headspace and really enjoy the nature, varying sounds and smells and stillness. It really is a unique feeling running in the middle of nowhere, on your own, under a beautiful full moon and bright stars. I LOVE IT!
For the first hour or two of this race at night however, for some reason it took me a while to get things right. I kept thinking I had missed markers and nearly fell a few times. I even had to stop and look at my map as I thought I had gone about 5km off track. I back tracked about 500m to a Checkpoint marker and to my relief I was heading in the right direction.
During this time, I got a phone call from mum saying dad had finished?!?! Amazing! I thought I was going along ok, but he must have been really cruising! I had allowed him 6hours to complete the last 40km on his own, in the dark and on trail and he did it in 4hrs 55min, finishing the race in 13hrs 55min! AMAZING!!! A super job!
I continued on and things continued to go well and I arrived back at the School (109km) ahead of my predicted schedule. I had a feed and refresh before getting ready to head out again. I almost got in a fight as I found out the winner of the 100mile was sitting a couple of chairs over from me…ALREADY DONE AND KICKING BACK! Bloody fast runners…incredible!
So I headed off again and did it a bit tough after the break at the School. Mentally I was ok, but just starting to get a bit tired as it was now after 10pm and had been on my feet for about 16 and a half hours.
The final 53km started on the western side of Steve Irwin Way
Things again were going ok and glad I was able to keep a shuffle/walk motion forward. I arrived at Checkpoint 9 in good spirits and had a laugh with the lovely aide station personnel and Mum, Dad and Ma who were now crewing for me, bless their hearts! I completed a short trip up and down Wild Horse Mountain
This went well apart from a small fall I had, landing on my sore hand! OW!
Upon arrival at Checkpoint 10 we were to complete two short loops, both returning to 10. Before going off on the first, I had a drink of Coke and immediately got gigantic hiccups! These continued for about 45min!!! They were so loud and violent, I reckon if anyone was within 500m of me they would have heard them! Funny, but a little embarrassing! After the 45min...they stopped???
I completed my first loop and then headed off on the second. I predicted this would take 1hr 30min – 1hr 45min…I did it in 1hr 15min and arrived back at Checkpoint 10 to find my crew all sleeping! Bless their hearts, it was a long night and I really appreciate them even being there! I woke them as I was leaving the aide station and kept on keeping on.
All went well through this section back to Checkpoint 9 and another trip up Wildhorse Mountain
A short way from the Checkpoint I remembered earlier in the day picking up an unopened ginger chew. I heard that ginger is a great way to help an upset stomach so I thought I would give it a crack. The things tasted horrible, but I tell you what it did the trick! All good I kept shuffling!
I was keen for a plain biscuit when I met the crew for the last time about 6km from the finish, only to find out they had left my esky of provisions at Checkpoint 9! Oh well, I got some others and kept going!
My spirits had really lifted by this stage as dawn had broken and I finally realised I was going to make the distance! I shuffled/walked a bit quicker and managed to pass two girls about a km from the finish!
As I approached the finish shoot, I felt a great sense of achievement and excitement that I had made it! It had been a long night but I had done it! I ran though the finish to the claps of Tegs, Pria, Mum, Dad my Ma and other persons at the finish. AMAZING! I managed to cross the line in 25hours 16minutes, well within my very rough guess of 24-30hours.
100MILES DONE!!!
AFTER THE FACT AND THINGS LEARNT:
My feet are a mess! They are VERY swollen, had and has a vast number of blisters and black, BLACK toenails! Only two good ones left now!
Always carry a ‘plugging agent’ in your kit! Lucky my Ma had some as I started getting the runs and needed the help! Also, always carry ginger and ibuprofene.
My family is amazing! For Tegan to be out all day with Pria was incredible and then for my Mum and Ma to go all day and night was amazing! Then Dad…what a lunatic! To back up and be my support crew after running 100k! What a top bloke and best mate! I kept telling him to go to sleep but he wouldn’t have a bar of it!
I had a minor hallucination (yeah it happens quite often in 100mile runs) thinking a pine cone was someones shoe…I remember thinking to myself ‘Gee it would be hard to finish the race with one shoe!’
Someone at Checkpoint 8 makes THE BEST peanut brittle I have ever tasted!
The further I go, the better I seem to get...my shuffle lasts forever! What is next?!
Thanks to all my friends who believed in me and encouraged me in this new adventure! It was amazing and I look forward to many more! Thanks also to all for the post race get together, great!
Keep on keeping on crew, love each other, love life and until next time...RUN ON!!!
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