Trail running in Mpumalanga
We were away for the weekend to go rafting. I’ll do a post on the weekend itself a bit later.
We camped at the most beautiful and tranquil place, close to Hazyview in Mpumalanga. I decided to have a run on Saturday morning before we went rafting. There were some quad-bike trials close to our camping site that snaked along the river through some stunning forests. It had the same feel of a rain forest, but not as extensive.
It was a gruelling run, but the environment definitely made up for the effort it required. The terrain was very very tricky with a LOT of small climbs, twists and bends. At times I wondered if a quad would even manage to get through that terrain. It’s quite hard to settle into a comfortable rhythm, but later on you get used to the weird broken style of running. It was great fun though! Wish I could have a run like that everyday.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 02/16/2008
- Time: 06:00:00
- Total Time: 00:51:55.00
- Average Heart rate: 158
- Max Heart rate: 182
- Calories: 631
- Distance: 7.16 km
- Average Pace: 7:15.31/km
- Ascent: 110 m
Filed under: Run, Trail Running
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Yeah! I swam 1km! Also going rafting tomorrow
Luckily the stormy weather cleared up and I was able to go for a dip. I swam 1km in total! (Pat on the back) Yeah, I know. 1km isn’t that far, but I’m taking baby steps…
I did do two sets of 500m. I also tried to work on my speed, so I increased my pace a bit. Got quite tired and decided to take 15-30 second breaks after each 100m.
Did not have my watch with me so I’m not sure what time I did in the end, but it wasn’t blindingly fast.
I’m leaving for a rafting weekend later today. I can’t wait. Apparently we’re going to do some level 5 rapids! I’ve only gone rafting once before, and at a place with level 4 rapids. It was great, but I can do with some more action. Hopefully it ‘ll be a very bumpy ride tomorrow!!
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 02/14/2008
- Time: 17:00:00
- Total Time: 00:30:00.00
- Calories: 257
- Distance: 1000 m
- Average Pace: 3:00/100m
Filed under: Swim
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Thunder & lightning
I packed my swimming gear today, hoping to do a long session after work. Unfortunately, the weather has other plans for me. A huge thunderstorm is approaching fast, so I’ll just have to forget about that plan… unless I want to get my hair frizzed.
Think I should just give up trying to train this week and start next week with a clean slate. Things aren’t really going my way this week…
Filed under: Swim, Thoughts
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Lantern 10km night race
I did a pretty cool race tonight. It is a 10km lantern running race. We set off at 6:30pm, just as it was getting dark. The entire route was marked by lanterns. The first 2-3km was frustrating as I battled to get through the crowd. I managed to get into a comfortable rhythm, but again my heart wasn’t too happy with my definition of comfortable. It shot up into the 170’s. I held myself back until the 7km mark where I decided to stuff it. I ran flat out until the end of the race and it felt awesome! My body just kept going. I didn’t feel tired at all and I was absolutely flying. I could get used to that pace.
I’m not really sure what to do about this heart rate issue. When I cycle, I really need to kill myself to keep it in the 170’s. But with running it easily goes into the 180’s.
Jeez, and I haven’t trained at all since Saturday morning. Would rather forget about the past 4 days. Work is a pain sometimes. Luckily its over now. Finished the project I was busy with. I’ll be able to end the week better than I started it.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 02/13/2008
- Time: 18:30:00
- Total Time: 00:56:23.00
- Average Heart rate: 176
- Max Heart rate: 189
- Calories: 457
- Distance: 10 km
- Average Pace: 5:38.35/km
- Ascent: 76 m
Filed under: Run, Race Report
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Missed training sessions
After Saturday’s race, I spent the entire weekend working on a project that some other douche couldn’t complete. As a result I missed two training session and feel quite frustrated.
Feeling frustrated, I started to wonder why I don’t usually feel this way after missing a session. I realized that usually it is my own doing (or lack thereof) that causes me to miss a session. I just feel disappointment then. Missing a session because of external factors causes frustration. I can stand the disappointment, but the frustration gets to me.
Hopefully I’ll be able to turn that frustration into a tough training session after work… Lets see how the day pans out.
Hope you all have a great week!
Filed under: Thoughts
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Logbook Daily Record for 02/11/2008
Logbook Day Info
- Date: 02/11/2008
- Weight: 72.2
- Mood: Normal
- Sleep Pattern: Normal
Filed under: Weight
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Ahhh… that’s better!
I did another 10km road running race this morning and I felt much better than during the 15km I did on Wednesday. It is my first sub-one-hour race and it was a comfortable race.
My heart rate was way to high though and I think I pushed my heart to hard, but my legs felt fine. I suppose gradually increasing training difficulty is the only way to bring that heart rate down.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 02/09/2008
- Time: 06:00:00
- Total Time: 00:57:08.00
- Average Heart rate: 173
- Max Heart rate: 189
- Calories: 481
- Distance: 10 km
- Average Pace: 5:42.86/km
- Ascent: 79 m
Filed under: Run, Race Report
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Dark & Dirty night rides
I’ve heard a lot about a bunch of guys that meet every Thursday evening and go out for night rides. They call these rides Dark & Dirty, which it is. I wanted to start going to these rides since November last year, but never got around to it until last night. Man, have I been missing out!! These rides are awesome!
It is really hard to describe the entire sensation. The entire ride consisted of single or jeep track. Some of the highlights were a twisty single track through the tall grass with the wind blowing them from side to side. It felt like a scene out of the movie the Gladiator. Indescribable how cool that was. At times you can’t see the track at all and your bike just manage to find the smooth path through the grass.
Another highlight was around half-way through the ride where we came across a huge heap of dirt (size of a small house). It looked like it should have been used for construction, but has been laying in the field for ages. One cycles around the back of this gigantic heap, over the top, and finally down a drop of 2-3 meters. I’m not used to this sort of (almost) stunt riding, but it was actually so easy and it came so naturally. No one fell on that part of the course, even though it looks like the place were you should get a few broken bones. I went down the drop a couple of times and got too cocky towards the end. I went down with a bit of speed and landed on my front wheel… bad idea. I didn’t fall, but I was lucky.
I did manage to wipe-out along another route, where I cut a corner through the grass and through a dip. Unfortunately there was a hidden ditch there and I ended up flying over the handlebars and into the tall grass. Luckily the grass broke my fall and it hardly hurt.
My Edge 305 fell off during the fall, but luckily I noticed it 20m down the trail. I ran back and found it lying between the thick grass. Pheeew… it would’ve sucked if I had lost it. I think my Garmin is worth more than my bike at this stage. The old Schwinn has a couple of km on it and would need replacing this year… or maybe I’m just looking for an excuse to get a new horse.
Well enough of that. I just wish everyone could experience a ride like this. It’s so much fun!
Logbook Activity
- Type: Cycle
- Date: 02/07/2008
- Time: 19:00:00
- Total Time: 1:52:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 134
- Max Heart rate: 171
- Calories: 737
- Distance: 22.6 km
- Average Speed: 12.11 kmph
- Max Speed: 41.5 kmph
- Ascent: 239 m
Filed under: Cycle, Mountain Biking, Night Ride
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Argh!!… I’m a weak runner
As part of my strategy to beef up my running performance, I wanted to do a half-marathon this Saturday. I figured I’ve done a few 12km sessions and several 10km runs. So I should be able to do a 21km, right? You only take your pace down and push through… well NO!
I did 15km today, just to see what the world beyond 12km feels like… and it felt terrible. I started struggle after the first 5km! The next 5km was on semi-single-track-trails. I love those trails, but they crawled by. The next 3km was on-road and quite easy, but the last 2km broke me. I ran home like a drunken pirate. My legs were dead tired.
So would I be able to a 21km? I suppose I would, but it wouldn’t be a very fun 2:30 of my life. So I decided to put the half-marathon on hold until I’m ready. I hate doing it though, but I exercise and race for the fun of it all. Unfortunately today wasn’t much fun, but still a good learning experience.
Hats off to all of you that have a marathon under the belt. You have my respect.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Run
- Date: 02/06/2008
- Time: 17:00:00
- Total Time: 1:42:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 168
- Max Heart rate: 179
- Calories: 817
- Distance: 15.17 km
- Average Pace: 6:43.59/km
- Ascent: 95 m
Filed under: Run, Trail Running
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Strength Training - 0.3 hours - 02/05/2008
Logbook Activity
- Type: Strength Training
- Date: 02/05/2008
- Time: 10:50:00
- Total Time: 00:20:00.00
- Calories: 50
Filed under: Strength Training
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