Counting down to the start

I’ve got one and a half days to go until the start of my first ultra marathon for 2019.
This one is the Hutt River Trails ultra – 60kms of mostly lovely running. The first bit is uphill, but nothing too taxing or technical. All of it is truly runnable, even for a little old man like me. And then it’s pretty much all downhill until you get to the finish.

As far as ultras go, this one is about as easy as you can get in terms of terrain. There are a few challenges however.

Like

• the first aid station, and thus the first water re-supply, is about 30kms into the race. So for the first half we need to be totally self-sufficient. That means having a really good hydration strategy and carefully monitoring how much you are drinking. Last year I think I ran out of water just before the aid station, and was very glad to see it.
• With so much downhill running, the toll on your quads and lower back is really quite high. My legs were sore for about four days after last weekend’s run over the ranges and back, and that was only 35kms.
• The temperature is one of the biggest challenges for this race, as it is in the middle of summer. The first half of the course is quite sheltered, and it can get really hot down at track level.
• The wind can also be an issue, and this year it will play a much bigger role.

Last year we had a super hot day with no wind. It was around 35 degrees and really still and humid. I struggled a lot to keep going, especially as the day wore on and the heat built up. This year the weather is a bit more runner friendly. It should only get up to 21 degrees and we have a 24km south easterly breeze. This should be enough to keep you cool without slowing you down at all.

All in all, it’s looking like good weather to put in a fast(er) time.

My plan this year is to go hard right from the start. (last year I started slowly and continued slowly to conserve my strength. It didn’t work.) I know my body is good for the first 30kms or so and then everything starts to hurt and I slow down, even if I start out slow. So I might as well cover as much ground as I can before the temperatures get high.

I know I can climb really well now, and having changed my running form, even a slower comfortable pace is faster than my old hard-out pace, so even when I start to slow down, I should still be going faster than last year.

This race will be a really good test to see how far I have come over the last year. I should be going into the race un-injured and well rested. (even my toenails have nearly all grown back now) So there are no excuses.

My time last year was: 9 hours 18 minutes. The first 30kms took me 3 hours and 53 minutes. What really killed me however was the last 20kms. It took me over 4 hours to run 20kms. That’s twice as long as it takes me to run the distance now without pushing at all.

To predict a finishing time for this year is a tricky thing. Anything can happen. But I do need a target to aim for, so here goes.

My target time for a good day out is 7.5 – 8 hours. That will see me across the finishing line before prize giving and before everyone goes home. I’d be happy with that.

The most important metric however is how I feel during the race – is it a struggle to keep moving or am I running with confidence?

And how well I can finish – do I stagger across the line and collapse, or can I run across the line with a smile (and wait until I get around the corner before collapsing)?

This will be the best indicator of my progress, and be a determining factor in deciding what race to do next.

I guess we will know the answer in a couple of days. I’m looking forward to it.

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Don't forget to check out my Dad's blog

Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!

Check out @len.george and find out what other madness he got up to!

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