The old dog still has a few tricks!

Well, it seems a bit odd...an ultra runner writing a race report for a 6k event, but hay, don't be hatin, you just might enjoy it!

Go boy go!

Yesterday was Anzac Day...for those overseas who don't know, it is when we Australians and New Zealanders remember our fallen and current soldiers who have served for our respective countries   Bundy Road Runners put on a annual running event in memorial, and this year it was at Elliot Heads.

The race didn't start until 8:20am so dad and I decided to run down to the start line from my house.  It was a 21km trip and the weather was beautiful!  A magic day and the running was so easy!  We had a great little cruise down together and enjoyed the morning.

Once we had arrived, dad took off with mum back to town for the big service in the main street.  I grabbed my number, talked some rott and enjoyed a bit of sunshine.  Before starting a few mates and I decided 30min would be a good time, not hectic fast, just a nice hit out to enjoy the morning.  The course was three laps of a 2k course with a decent little hill and a run around the Anzac Memorial park by the beach which was fitting.

So, before long, we were off.  WHAT THE HECK!  I think I had a rocket and must have done the first two k's in well under four minute pace!  I had hit my lactic threshold!  This ultra boy aint done speed work for as long as I can remember and haven't run fast fast for even longer!  I needed to settle into a pace a bit slower but still maintain consistency  otherwise someone would have been scraping my tattooed corpse off the footpath!  As the race progressed I passed a number of guys and girls who must have gone out bit quick!  I also had the 'hill legs' to pass crew on those sections too.  I kept at it, hurting a bit but loving the morning and the different kind of racing.  Before long I was done and super surprised to see 26:14min on the clock!  I can not remember when I ran that fast!  I was stuffed but recovered quickly for a chat and a bit of socializing before heading home to study.  Slow is the new fast Keph!

Ahhh the finish!

It was super nice to do something different and have a ripper morning out in the sun!  I won't be changing over to shorter events anytime soon but variety is the spice of life right?!  I just want to thank Sherry and Keph for continuing to do awesome things with Bundy Road Runners.  Your efforts and hard work I know are appreciated by all!  A great morning out!

This morning I was a bit worried after running hard in the race...however, I managed a 17k at 5:16 pace so the fitness is improving, as is the recovery rate.

 My weight is coming down and things are going super good on the Engine 2 diet (wholegrain, low fat vegan diet).  GOLD!

So there you have it!  This old boy has still got a bit of speed and now looking forward to Cooks Tour in three weeks!  Next week will be a bit of a down week as I am getting my feet tattooed on Sunday, so hopefully that bit of rest will do me good and freshen me up for the weeks ahead!  Have fun all and run free, plant strong!!!

Challenge ahoy!

Well, after a week of easy running and recovering after Wild Horse, it is time for new challenges and new adventures!  I have done up my new training log for the next 12 weeks, including THREE races!  Yes!  I have also set myself possibly my biggest challenge yet...I am going to try and do the full program on the Engine 2 plan...which starts TOMORROW!! 

For those of you who don't know what Engine 2 is, it is - vegan eating, only wholegrains, no oil, no sugar and no stimulants (ie. coffee etc).  If you haven't been reading my blog long, I did the 28day challenge outlined in The Engine 2 Diet a few months ago.  Whilst it was hard, I lost some good weight, felt awesome and trained well!  This is going to be epic!  Check out http://engine2diet.com/ if your interested!  I am going to try and keep you all in the loop with my adventures and also, I need the accountability when things get hard (especially working in a coffee shop!)  I really hope this is going to break a few of the bad eating habits I have left and set me at a ripper weight and fitness going forward, all in preparation for hopefully two 100 + milers at the end of the year! 

As another quick note, my mate Lee and I are organising and event which will be called Bundy's Fat Ass! This will be a looped trail running even in Bundy on the 15th of June.  For those of you not familiar with Fat Ass events their slogan is No fees, No prizes, No aids and No whimps!  http://www.coolrunning.com.au/fatass/hq/index.php?title=Main_Page SO it will be a super fun, social outing with some good running in between.  The logistics are yet to be sorted out but there will be an ultra distance run, something around a marathon and something around a half marathon at this stage.  We will then possibly look at having a get together on the Sunday to slackline, talk rott and have a good laugh!  So, keep the date in your calendar, start training and stay tuned!

So, just a quick gday today crew!  I look forward to the next couple of months of exciting, challenging, ripper awesome times ahead!  Stay true, eat plants and we'll chat soon!

Wild Horse ripper Easter Day!

My sister, daughter and
me living it up at Caloundra pre-race.

Easter Sunday 2013 saw the Grills’ family first outing to the Wild Horse Trail Run.  As mentioned previously, my sister was to do the 30km and my Dad, mate Lee and myself were to do the 70 (72.8km) events.  We had a relaxing couple of days before hand at Caloundra, before getting sorted for the main event.

The locks are growing!

Our race was due to start at 2am. We headed down to the mountain earlyish and met up with Coach Jeff from The Running Podcast for a quick brew and a chat. We then went to the start/finish area and started getting our kit organized.  After some mucking around and a few laughs, we lined up at the start line and before long we were off. 

We set off into the darkness at a reasonable pace, dodging puddles and having a laugh.  The first half of the 10.4km loop was pretty straight forward with only a few wet patches and some sandy sections.  The second half however was a different story!  There was a section that was like running on soft sand at the beach and then the rest consisted of some serious water crossings, some up to waist height and there was lots of MUD!  Real slippery MUD!

In my element, SUPER awesome Easter!

In the year and a half that I have been running in my Luna Sandals I haven’t had any real problems however today was a different story!  Once the mud got between my feet and the sandals they were SUPER slippery and I had basically no traction!  Then we had to go almost all the way up Wild Horse Mountain and I had zero traction…then we had to go down a super steep side…again NO traction!  Flippen frustrating, dangerous and slow going!

I was pretty darn worried about this and thought I was going to be in for a super long day until I realized that if I went through some water, it fully restored the grip between the sandals and my feet!  Yes!  Although sometimes there was still some slipperyness going on, most of the time I was set!  Very happy to have figured this out!

We continued on through the darkness with the course working in a clockwise, anti-clockwise set up.  We were keeping a pretty good pace and really enjoying it!  Dad was a little behind us but kept pace exceptionally!  As the sun started to come up we ditched our lights and continued on into the morning.  We greeted the girls and kids for a quick g’day and kept plugging out the k’s.

I kicked a couple of sticks which hurt a little and twisted my ankle decently about half way through.  I kept going with minimal pain, but it came and went.  Dad, Lee and I re-gathered and kept plugging along together.  Dad was going super strong!  I hit a bit of a low patch about 50km but kept moving pretty well considering.  Things went by pretty much to plan, feeling the pinch bit by bit as we kept going along.  After the second last lap stop, Dad took off and it was clearly his day!  Lee was battling a fair bit so I decided to stay with him.  I then started to struggle too so we encouraged each other along.  Throughout the laps we had a little dip in a running creek which was freezing and very refreshing.  We did this again on our last lap before a short trot to the finish.

At race end...

Dad was the star of the day finishing in 8hrs and 27min.  Lee and I completed the course in 8hrs and 34min.  My sister also did really well finishing her first trail run, 30k in 3hrs and 48min. 

Lee and I at the finish.

As usual we had our beautiful support crew of my dear wife (most amazingly supportive top lady ever!), daughter Pria and our new baby on her first trail outing.  Mum and Lee’s wife was also there to make up a great support crew.  I just want to thank Alun for putting on an awesome event and a really top way to spend Easter Sunday.  I also want to thank Chris at the Mower Doctor in Bundy for his on-going support in sponsoring my running adventures!  Recovery is now on the cards and planning in place for the next outing.

I hope you all had a safe and blessed Easter and are all now working off your Easter eggs!  Catch up with y’all soon, stay safe friends and smile like a meerkat!