Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Test running the new sunnies

On my run last night I tested out the new sun glasses to see if they would fog up when I sweated.

well the good news is no, I need to test under a helmet though...

The new glasses - my first pair of glasses worth more than $20...Smith Slider mainlines.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Reps training

After about 2 years of training for various events both on the mountain bike and on foot, and probably more than 2 years of reading books, magazines and internet articles I finally did some 'interval' type training.

I got home from work early and the weather was just awesome, so I nipped over to Crum Park for a quick run

10 minute warm up
10 soccer kids soccer field length sprints and jog back
3 sessions up the steep hill to Titirangi Rd.

I would like to have done by of the hill climb but just couldnt.

I am doing the 10k run leg in a team tri at the weekend so will get some street running in this week.

You know you are getting old when....

One of your children leaves school...

On Friday my daughter finished school, probably for ever. She has just about landed herself a hair dressing apprenticeship, well she has been verbally offered it and should have confirmation today. The salon owners want to meet her parents which I think is a good touch and gives me some confidence.

EDIT [She did get the apprenticeship, starts on Jan 10 with a 3 month trial]

Today is also my 19th wedding anniversary, so yep - age is creeping in.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

New Sunglasses

Went shopping today for a couple of new business shirts for work, and got those OK, but I also ended up with some new sunglasses.

I had sunnies down on my Christmas list and after canvassing expert opinion on glasses with interchangeable lenses suitable for mountain biking I ended up with a choice between Adidas Evil Eyes Pro or Smiths Sliders. I had a look at the Adidas and really liked them but at $270 a pair they were really at the extreme end of what I wanted to pay, well miles past the extreme end...

I had a look in Sydney last week when I was there for work and they were even more expense at 330 AUD.

Today I ended up paying $150 for (admittadly) an older model pair Smiths Mainlines, 3 pairs of lenses and I was dead happy.

Some days I love shopping...

Mud glorious mud

Bruce and I went for a second training run yesterday. The weather had been pretty good for a while, but Friday night it rained and rained. Saturday morning dawned cloudy, windy and threatening to rain some more. We decided to run anyway and the weather held for us well.

To keep it interesting an avoid a real mud bath we decided to run up the unsealed road from the Huia dam for about 5.5 km then run the Nuggets track , 1.8km and return the the same way.

The run was good, pretty much up one way and down the other. The track was pretty sloppy, very greasy, very rooty and a good test for the new shoes, which passed well.

Wicked bush in that section of the Waitakeres as well. I will take the camera next time I run.

I caught my ankle on some bush lawyer so when I got back to the car my shoes and legs were nice and muddy and I had a trickle of blood to show I had really been on a track run.

Broken in shoes.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Well this week I had a semi-surprise trip to Sydney, semi in that it was only organised last Friday and a surprise as I really did not expect to travel with this job. sadly it was only for 1 night and the night was wasted.

I went over on Tuesday with the MD and sales manager. They went business and I went cattle, which I actually prefered as I am not a great flyer and I really did not relish the though of 3 hours on a plane with 2 people from work who I did not really know or feel particularily comfortable with. So I ended up down back with a new book (Carl Hiassen - Double Whammy - Ok it is hardly new, but I have not read it yet and I love his books), the latest MBA mag and 256mb of punk rock on the old MP3 player.

We had a project meeting with the Aussies that ran till 4.00 and then I went shopping in Sydney. I was looking for some Adidas Evil Eye cycling sunnies but they are way more expensive in Syndey than in NZ. Things have really turned around on the shopping front Sydney is now more expensive than NZ, I used to like to shop Sydney, but now the things are normally buy there, like T-shirts, work shirts etc are cheaper here.

Dinner with the bosses was loosely planned but never happene, I was a bit pissed about it, not that I wanted to eat with the bosses, I wanted to hook up with mates for a beer. I ended up in the hotel room by my self, watching hlaf of Sin City on DVD.

Wednesday morning I went for a 6.00 Am run around past the Opera House and through the domain which was just awesome, it is a nice place to run. In fact I do love Sydney, it is a cool city.

Had breakfast with Pete from Hudson which was great, caught up on the goss.

Wed was full of meetings with various people from the Aussie business, it was a good day really.

Of course I would have liked to stay longer and catch up with some old buddies...

Monday, November 21, 2005

First run in the new shoes

We had the work Christmas dinner on Friday night. My intentions were to get up early on Saturday and get an hour or so running in early in the day, but that was unlikely given the amount of red wine consumed. The work dinner was Ok. I have never been a big fan of work functions, though the Hudson ones were Ok in the end as I had some quite good drinking buddies there.

Saturday was a slooooooooooooooow day.

On Sunday I took my 12 year old and his cousin out to Piha for the first sea swim of the summer. The conditions were perfect - clear skys and an even break. As it was high tide body surfing sucked, but the water was cold so I was happy just to get in there for 20 minutes.

When I got home Aiden went out to a mates place leaving me home alone and ready to go out for a run to test the new shoes before this weekends long(ish) run. I ran down through Wood Bay, French Bay to Titirangi Beach and hen up the zig zag track to Park Rd and home. I didn't make it all the way up the Zig Zag this time, so there is a good training incentive for me. The shoes were OK, felt alright on the road, the Zig Zag has been covered in stones so it was not the good old rooty/rutty clay trail it used to be.

Still it wasn't a bad run.

Friday, November 18, 2005

New trail shoes


I bought my first pair of trail running shoes.

After a bit of a hunt around I ended up buying a pair of Vasque Velocity from Shoe Science. I had tried on a couple of different shoes and brands but in the end I guess it came down to price. I also trust Shoe Science, I think !

I will give them a test run at the weekend if I do not get too hammered at the work Christmas function tonight.

Running home from work

I have been thinking about running the 16 or so km home from work for a couple of years now, generally as part of some training plan for 1 event or another but I have not quite got around to it. This week I was planning on doing at least 1 swim and no running to give my legs a chane to recover after the weekend, as usual my plans did not work out. Work was busier than anticipated and meetings ran longer than scheduled.

So Wednesday, as I had all my gear in the office, including an empty hydrapak and the weather was perfect, I decided to run home. Including walking the first 1km as a warm up it took me 1 hour 45 which was longer than I expected for the distance but there are a few small climbs and running in the traffic is not easy. I was pretty stuffed when I got home though I was feeling Ok the next day.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Champs race results

Well I did as well as expected but not as well as I wanted.

I came 14th out of 27 in my grade - Sport vets, and 38 out of 77 who rode the same number of laps as I did, including some of the expert riders. Though not the expert masters as they kicked my ass.

I will not complain - last year I would have come last and 2 years ago I could not have even started...

It is now time to focus fully on running.

Tomorrow I swim though

Sunday, November 13, 2005

First go at a 'champs' race

After yesterday's 2 hour run/walk up the Waitakere's I was not sure how I would feel or go today. I had a lousy sleep as well, but the weather was fine, warm and sunny when I got up so off to Woodhill I went. I entered the sport vets class of round 3 of the Auckland MTB champs, which was a 2 lap race - each lap turned out to be about 13km.

Main tracks were Tree Huggers, Upland, Lightening, Enchanted Forest, Northern Exposure, No Brakes (my track - yay !), 1st half of Ironhorse, Anaconda, end of Haggis. Good tracks with plenty of climbing (by Woodhill standards anyway).

The race went well I finished in just under 1:40 I am not sure were I came as it started to rain at the end so I went home as I did not know any of the other competitors and it would have been an hour wait till prize giving. I hope to be on the positive side of mid-pack at the end, will have to wait a day or 2 for the results I guess.

I started slow, let the groms and other dead keen people fly off and cruised the first 5 or so KM, then started to pick them off as the burnt out from the quick start. I passed a lot of people and was only passed once myself. I was fine until the last 500 metres when my legs really started to hurt, I think they knew the end was coming and just said sod it.

Considering the run yesterday I was pretty happy with my ride, I am not sure if I will race the 4th round yet, it is getting too expensive to ride and run.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

First off road run !

Well today I completed my first off-road run !

It didn't go too badly, it went pretty OK actually, I ran with Bruce who has convinced me to do this damn race. Bruce is less of a runner than me but is a tramper, and knows the bush and how to move in it well. He is also built like a whippet and isn't carrying the extra 5kgs like me, plus he had proper shoes !

We ran/walked up the Karamatura Valley Track, round Bob Gordon loop and up to the top of Mt Donald Maclean (358m) we then ran/walked back down the Fletcher track back to the car, around 10kms in distance and probably 500 vertical metres. We walked the steep bits and pretty much ran the rest - it was hard going at times. I have never been good at hills, either running or riding so I am really going to have to focus on climbing for the next few months.

I had an old pair of road running shoes on and can definately say that off-road running is a hell of a lot harder than road running. There is a lot more leg work - lifting over logs, moving from side to side on the trails to miss roots, rocks and bogs. I really had to concentrate on where my feet were going to land.

Much the same as mountain biking is way tougher than road riding.

It took us just under 2 hours which sounds slow and probably was !!! but it was within our expectations.

It was tough and I am still feeling it 6 hours later.

Before the next run in 2 weeks I aim to buy some decent shoes.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Kaweka Challenge - the costs

I was meeting a friend for coffee yesterday afternoon and as he was running late and I was standing outside Katmandhu on Queen St I decided to nip in and grab their latest product catalogue to get some indicative pricing of the things I need to buy for the mountian run. This will also be the basis of my 'Christmas list'..

Even though the race is in February it still hits sub-alpine heights so there is quite a list of safety equipment that you have to carry to compete...

Thermal Gloves ??
Jacket have one
First aid kit have one
Thermal top have one
Thermal leggings have those
Whistle 10
Compass 25
Blanket 10
Bag to carry 170 light weight - good for running
Bladder 50
Shoes 250

Over $500 and I haven't even paid the entry fee and this is a running event - isn't running supposed to be cheap ?

I am going for a light run in the Waitakere ranges tomorrow morning with Bruce so I am really looking forward to my first off road running experience. I am hoping the knee will cope and my crappy old running shoes do not cause me any grief.

Then Sunday I am 'racing' in the XC Sport class. I have the Dawg in the shop getting the middle chain ring replaced today, so hopefully it will be all good for Sunday morning.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Wednesday night ride.

By lunch time yesterday I had had enough of work so decided to sneak off at 3.00, head home, grab my bike and get around for a ride before a pre-arranged 7.30 night ride. For a change the plan actually worked - I was out by 3.15 and in the forest by 5.30.

I had a nice ride, with the race on Sunday I wanted to ride at a slightly faster pace than normal and get the body working, which I acheived by tacking on to the backs of other riders going the same way I was.
I had heard that the trail I had built was going to be used in the race as well (that is so cool) so I wanted to hit that trail a couple of times as climbing is not a strength and the trail is all up hill. The second time I rode the trail I followed a couple of guys up and at the top I asked them what they thought of the track, they liked it - nice climb - flowed well. Nice feedback.

I now realise I do need to buy another middle chain ring for the Dawg as it was slipping a bit and I took a small chunk out of the skin on ankle on one slip. I also need a new Hydrapak bladder as mine was leaking really badly, it has been leaking on and off for a while but last night it was hosing out, in end I had to dump all the water as I was getting too wet. I had a spare shirt but not a spae pair of shorts and I am now suffering the consequences of riding in wet shorts...

GP arrived at 7.30 and we had a quick run through up to the Big Mama trail, it was a nice ride, lights for the 45 minutes. I hit the smallest of the top 3 jumps on the Travis trail in the dark which I was really pleased with. I have always avoided jumps in the dark, this jump is not big, but it is not small either. It is high enough that you cannot see the ground (unless you point the light down !) so you really do not know when you are going to land. It was good to finally do one in the dark...

Night riding is a hell of a lot of fun I must try and get out more than the once or twice a year I do go.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Sore foot

For some strange reason I work up on Monday with a pain in the soul of my foot. It feels like a bad bruise, but there is no obvious sign. By the end of the day I was limping. It is still tender today.

Tonight I am planning on a night ride, quick spin on the Kona, make sure everything is working OK on the bike and then I will race on Sunday.

Today the weather is stunning, why am I at work ?

I might leave at 3.00 and get to the forest a bit earlier and get a quick spin in before the lads arrive and night sets in.

Monday, November 07, 2005

My Local Bike Shop

My definition of a good Local Bike Shop (LBS), apart from being local, is a nice small shop, filled with passionate people, somewhat like a small bar where you can go hang out. It should also have a damn good mechanic, and maybe good coffee.

Bike Barn is my LBS, it is part of a small local chain so in that regard is possibly not a real LBS. Also the mechanic there is a bit inconsistant, some times thing work perfectly after a service and some times they don't, and it doesn't have good coffee - or any coffee for that matter. It is the closest shop to my house though so it does fulfill the local requirement.

What I do like about the shop and what keeps me going back is the staff, they are nice bunch of kids, they are all young, the manager is only 21 and he is the oldest guy there. They are always happy to have a chat about bikes and biking, 1 of the guys is an up and coming downhiller and he is always keen to share exploits, photos and race results. I find this quite cool as I am more than twice their age, and, well no matter how much I try to deny it, this is a serious age gap and most teenagers avoid old farts like me as if we were deseased.

While I do make most of my purchases in the shop, I do believe their friendliness and enthusiasm is not about keeping the customer happy so he spends more.

The thing I like most about the shop now is my 15 year old son started working there at the weekends. About 8 months ago we put his name down on the list for part time work and he got the call last week. He had his first day on Saturday really enjoyed the work. This will be good for him, to learn about customer service and working with customers, to get to really understand the bikes and components and some work ethic. Hopefully he will get to learn a bit of wrenching as well, then he can help work on the family bikes.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Kaweka Challenge - training begins

I had an invite from a fellow Vorber from Palmerston North, who I have met a couple of times at 12 hour events, to join a single speed team for the 24 hous of N-Duro in Feb. This was pretty cool as he is way way way fitter and fast than me so it was neat to be invited.

Sadly I am going to say no as I have now committed to Bruce to train and run the Kaweka Challenge which is also in Feb. I am really going to have to use my limited activity time to get some running and tramping in else I am really going to bonk badly on the event.

I did a reasonable run today, up through Titirangi to Shaw Rd, nice easy hour run with some climbing in it.

This coming Sunday I am going to have a go at my first MTB champs race in the sport class. If that goes OK I will do another round of the series in December and then put the bike in the shed for a few weeks while I run. If it is a dry summer then the biking at Woodhill will be bollocks anyway.

I went for a spin up there yesterday and must say my trail is riding sweetly. I still have not made it up the first section on the SS yet, but am getting very close, if I can just keep the front wheel on the ground.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Enger-land

I guess as my flight was delayed by 3 hours officially it was 20 years ago tomorrow that I went to England on my big OE, but the ticket was booked for the 2 November 1985.

I went to England, land of my birth, as a single young man and returned 2 and a bit years later as an expectant father and husband. In that time I had gotten married, travelled a small part of Europe, had 2 jobs, met some great new people, and turned into an adult. It was a good experience.

I went to England to get myself out of the hole I was digging for myself in New Zealand, getting drunk all the time, occasional drug use, 1 drug related arrest - this was not what I wanted out of life, not that I had any idea of what I did want. While I did not kick any of those habits for a long time, and still do get drunk on the odd occasion, I did reduce them to a rare occurance. I

am not sure if I ever found what I was looking for, but I came back to NZ a contented man.