Tarawera Ultra 85km race report: Brig's big day out.

Quiet moment at the start

Where were the nerves? It felt really weird, the morning of my longest ever run, to not even need to go for a nervous pee. Minor panic - am I dehydrated already? The two weeks before I'd been scared as all get-out, complete with that whole "what made me think I could do this?" playing on a loop in my head. But suddenly, it was all gone. Head empty. Lining up for the 85km version of Tarawera Ultra, in the darkness and the light drizzle, I felt strangely comfortable. I remember smiling as we started off, and the tone was set for the day.

The event is split into four different stages: (you can see the race map here)  
Start to Okareka: 18.5km (about 2.5 hours for me)
Okareka to Okataina: 17.5 (3 hours)
Okataina to Tarawera Falls: 23.8km, and, with the Tarawera Forest closed, back again: Falls to Okataina (about 8.5 hours in total).

The trail quickly narrows, so those of us in the middle of the pack were walking and chatting pretty early on. As the sun started to rise and the field spread out, it was good to finally stretch out a bit along forestry roads toward Blue Lake. What a beautiful sight: still, stunningly clear water, and with an aid station after some sweet single track through the bush and wide, easy tracks. Yeeess!

Thanks to my sponsors!

I saw my crew for the first time at Tikitapu. My girls ran me in, and then cheered as I went on my way. There were also got cheers for the Collective, my fantastic sponsors. I was wearing a branded shirt, and had a few brand tattoos. It was a talking point - turns out the Collective products are favs in the ultra-running community.

The next short section to Lake Okareka was steady and easy, and then  the haul up Miller Road and onto the Western Okataina Walkway. Although I was right on time and feeling very comfortable, I was hesitant about this section. I'd had a huge blow-up here a month before (see A Beginner's Bonk), but on the day it couldn't have been more different. There were plenty of people around and moving through the groups was great fun. Topics of conversation: the price of avocados; Nissan Nivara vs Ford Ranger; IRD tax policy; bets on when we'd see the elites coming back the other way, a group planning a 40th birthday party at the 40km mark for one of their friends, and Ross Steele running in his Hawaiian shirt, a joyfully trippy tropical ultra-beacon, complete with leis.

At around the 35km point I found a comfortable rhythm. I hit the Lake Okataina aid station right on time for hugs, vegemite sammies, restock of Perpetuem and electrolytes, then off onto the bush tracks. It was a huge boost to see everyone; however the first few kilometres after Okataina were mentally the most difficult. I was running into what I'd mentally broken down into six stages, one between each of the three aid stations there and back.

A couple of things really helped at this point. I set back into my rhythm, and had 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 (repeat) in my head, one number for each step. Simple but effective! Secondly, I had my watch set to beep every 20 minutes to remind me to take a sip of Perpetuem, the liquid food I was taking that day. I went from sip to sip, 20 minutes to 20 minutes. 3 makes an hour done - that seemed manageable.I walked most of the uphills and focused on staying in control. A bit puffed? A bit thirsty? Take a moment, walk it out, have a drink, then trot off again.

From Humphries Bay to the Outlet, then on to the gorgeous Tarawera Falls, the field really spread out.  From about the 50km mark, I ran almost entirely alone. I had worried a bit about this, but found myself totally absorbed in staying upright on the jumbly rocky and tree-rooted sections, and making sure I ate and drank enough.

Arriving at Tarawera Falls and the flowing downhill to the aid station was great, but I knew that it would be a tough slog back up the hill. I decided to walk it and look after myself and it went really well. Back to the 20 minutes, 1-8 routine, and the kilometres ticked away. I was stoked to see the Outlet aid station and the volunteers and other runners. By the time I got to Humphries Bay I realised I was going at least at the same speed as the leg out, and that was really encouraging. The reception at Humphries Bay was wonderful. A quick shirt change, lots of encouragement from Jonathan, the Collective's biggest on-course fan (including a tweet to the Collective!), and I was away again.

In the gathering dark, on a quiet and still evening, the run back was incredibly peaceful. I was now going along with the confidence that I was going to get this done, and I was going to do it in good shape, just as I had hoped. No nausea, no injuries, and tired but very, very happy.

The finish, after 13 hours 14 minutes, was emotional - I was laughing and crying at the same time as I crossed the line with my husband and daughters. It was overwhelming, and that feeling continued for some time afterwards. I'm still getting the random happies - spontaneously bursting into a huge smile. It's a good side-effect of running a long way in an awesome place, and it guarantees a spare seat next to me on the bus in the morning.

I have to send out a huge vote of thanks the the organisers, the volunteers, all the other runners, and most importantly, my family for their encouragement, support, and expert vegemite sandwich management. Also sincere thanks to the team at the Collective, and to Malcolm and Shane who were great training partners, and their supporters for their help and cheers. Will I go back? YES!

Basics:
Fuel: Hammer Perpetuem - 70 grams mixed into a gel paste, a sip every 20 minutes, lasting 3 - 3.5 hrs. Perpetuem solids for variety (used 5 during the day). Vegemite and white bread sandwiches (2 in total).
A few chips and pretzels, 1-2 orange quarters and 1-2 watermelon chunks at aid stations. No other solid food. Hammer electrolyte Fizz tablets, 2 tabs per 2 litres in my camelbak, at all times throughout the day.

Kilometres run in training: 1207 over 5.5 months.

Raised for Kidscan: $1023. You can still donate here

Tarawera Training Camp: 2 days, 60 odd kms, 50 great people

Last weekend I did something I've never done before - went along to a running camp. To be honest I never would have considered going if I hadn't been offered the opportunity by the brilliant team at the Collective Dairy Co who are supporting my Tarawera effort. And I am so glad they did!

Mal Law and the crew from Running Wild NZ ran this weekend and got the mix just right.

The Okataina Outdoor Education Centre
(from runningwildnz.co.nz)

Meeting up with a couple of other Wellington-based runners, we converged on Lake Okataina Outdoor Centre with people from Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, Palmerston North and from as far as Westport. The vibe was totally relaxed, easy-going, welcoming and inclusive - the champions runners and those of us with a more leisurely pace were equally at ease.

There was also a mix of those who had run the event before, newbies, and those not doing the Ultra but along for a great weekend out.

The setting? In a word: brilliant. Go there!

5 finger cast

The programme was relaxed - a talk from Kerry Suter on Friday night, then on Saturday, a 36 or 18km run on the Tarawera Ultra Course. This was a good chance to check the course. The first few kms are up and down through the Redwood Forest. A few people have told me that they've ended up walking the first kilometre or so as the track hits stairs and narrows quite quickly. I can see how that would be a good thing - the first couple of hills are a good warm up. The track around Blue Lake is fantastic, and on to Lake Okataina. We had a water station there, manned by a guy with one Vibram 5 finger shoe, and one plaster cast. Sometimes the trail bites back.

The rest was on the Western Okataina Walkway, a gorgeous trail with a series of long, moderate climbs and slight descents for some rest. It was unnecessarily hard for me (see "Beginner's Bonk"), but lovely nonetheless.

Want inspiration? Tune in to Mal Law. His talk about the amazing, crazy, frankly torturous sounding South Coast Trail. Any pain, fatigue, despair or can't-believe-I-paid-to-do-thisness on the Tarawera day just won't cut it. I'm determined to remember Mal's efforts to put it into perspective. And to satisfy myself that, compared to some runners, I'm still sane.

Sunday was great - easy pace, beautiful track, fantastic company and just a lot of fun. I'm soooo looking forward to this section on the day. Topped it all off with a swim in the river, ginger beer, half a muesli bar I found at the bottom of my pack. Perfect. We didn't stop in to the aid stations on the way back. Something tells me that not knowing what's after the 60km mark might be a good thing. Plod on, honey.

Tarawera Falls - end of day two.

Now it's taper time. And eating time. And settling the nerves time. And looking forward to the post-race recovery time. I'm as ready as I'll ever be!

A beginner's bonk

I've been very fortunate in the time that I've been running never to have bonked, in that classic all-out blow-out of dehydration-induced misery. On Saturday morning, I set off on a 36 km run, these days a good sized but not unusual weekend run. These are the rules I broke:

from nolimitsendurance.com

Rule 1: Don't go out too hard

I went out too hard. It was a great morning, and being out with a great group, there was a kind a collective "Let's go!" And we went. I slogged along quite happily for quite a while.  I got tired early on but I didn't ease off. I was having too much fun!

Rule 2: Make sure you drink enough

I didn't drink enough. I know this because I still had at least 1.25 litres left after 2 hours. Opps.

Rule 3: Fuel properly

I didn't fuel properly. I only ate half a muesli bar and some gel shots before I started feeling too sick to eat. Yup - the trifecta.

By the time I got to the 20km mark, I was doing it harder than I should have been. The track was gorgeous but I couldn't quite make the most of it. And from there it went downhill into cramp, which I'm very lucky to not normally have; nausea, cold sweats and general lack of anything in the tank. No little people coming out from behind the trees but they probably weren't far away!

 Luckily I was with someone else also in a rough patch, but who knew what to do, and was getting himself better. He offered me an electrolyte tablet, which I refused. Ten minutes later he insisted (think getting a kid to swallow an aspirin), and kept me company and patiently got me through. I must have looked like the walking dead - during the times when I was actually walking. Oh yes, running pretty!

By the time I got to the end of the trail I was feeling much better, but it took a couple of hours to feel semi-normal. The next morning I felt like I'd been out on the tiles the night before, which in a bodily sense I had. And it was just as self-inflicted as any nasty hangover. Just less expensive and at least no-one got photos on Facebook.

Kind of embarrassing, kind a stupid, but something I'm pleased I did that day, and not on race day. No longer a bonking virgin - I've ticked that off and hopefully, learned my lessons well.

An 80km weekend. Enough already!

It's done: the Big Weekend comprising one 7 hour run of Saturday, and a further 4 on Sunday.
It was a massive plus. Good weather, great company, a decent number of kilometres covered, and all without injury or incident. Even the food stayed down - oh, and only one small blister!

I feel more confident now, especially recovering well from these two outings. In fact the days off are now the hardest bits - and that's all mental, definitely not physical!

A short run-down...

Typical Akatarawa Forest trails
(from  www.envirohistorynz.com) 

Saturday: the Akatarawa Effort - approx 50km

Today began at 5am with rude alarm waking. Even the dog wasn't keen to get up! Shane and I began our run from Whareroa Farm, near Paekakariki about 40 minutes out of Wellington. We headed up to Cameron Mill Road, and then into the forest across to Hydro Saddle via Hydro Road and through Norm's Crossing to Toi Toi Road. There's a great map here for anyone interested.

At the 3 hour-ish mark, we looked at the road running steeply down in front of us, at the topo map showing that it rose just as steeply on the other side, and decided that the best training would be to turn around and extend the run at the other end. We made it back to the Mill Road, then followed it all the way to Maungakotukutuku Road, a loop back to the car and then, with 40 minutes to go, a loop around QE II Park. We finished (by design) at an ice-cream kiosk. Well earned, I say!

I felt good when I got home, thanks to sandwiches and tea in the car (thanks family!) and didn't sleep that afternoon, but ate up a storm. Because that wasn't enough - fuelling up for tomorrow.

Sunday: Makara, Skyline, and a wobble on home (30 km)

Another 5am start, more unimpressed looks from the dog. Today's running buddy was Malcolm who, with Shane, is running the 100km Tarawera race. They have both done the 85 km and are generous with their advice. It's all much appreciated!

We headed for a Tour de Makara - we are very lucky to have this so close to home. After a couple of hours on those tracks we headed for the Skyline Walkway, then doubled back into Otari Wilton's Bush to finish off. Four hours, 30 km, only 2km of which were on tarmac. Sunshine, a coffee to finish off, and then the satisfaction of knowing the job was done.

Next steps - I've had an easy week, and don't have a lot on the programme for this weekend. Next week ramps up, culminating in the Tarawera Training Camp next weekend. It'll be great to finally see the course - I hope we get on well!

View from the top of the Skyline Walkway.
We didn't get up here on the Sunday, but it's always worth the effort! Photo by Butch Borlase

Ups and downs, and back ups

The Tarawera Ultra course doesn't have any massive hills, compared to Kepler for example, but there are fair few undulations. My training record looks a lot like that at the moment, except the last couple of weeks have been steep descent.

At this stage, my programme has me concentrating on long weekend runs every second week, with a couple of moderate week-day runs but no big distances through the week. It seems to be working well - I feel strong and fit, but I do get ancey after ten days without a really big run. And though for me its about time and not distance, I still like to see lots of kms on the clock.

Then last week I got a cold which isn't a big deal, granted, but enough to set me back and spend 7 days feeling miserable. You know the ad where God hands out goodies to the world and New Zealand gets pineapple lumps? I got the ability to make a cold last at least two weeks and add at least a URT infection to the mix. Snotty, boring, dispiriting.

But now for the up again - and a big up it will be, too. This weekend is the biggie: 7 hours on Saturday, backed up with 4 more hours on Sunday. And I'm really looking forward to it. This feels weird: I half expect the nice people in white coats to pop along to see me anytime soon. That's if they've got time after they've been to see everyone else who runs a lot further than I do!

The big run will be a physical boost and a confidence boost, and looking at the forecast, no bad way to spend a weekend in Wellington. In fact I'll be looking for shady spots to hang out. Maybe time to turn off Mr Brain and do laps around Otari. Here come the white coats...

ThursdayTomorrow

30 Jan

Fine

24°CHigh

16°COvernight

31 Jan

Fine

22°CHigh

14°COvernight

Friday

1 Feb

Fine

23°CHigh

16°COvernight

Saturday

2 Feb

Fine

22°CHigh

16°COvernight

Back on track

This last weekend was a goody. Five hours on Saturday and three on Sunday, and after that lot I feel much better about my chances of getting to the finish line at Tarawera.

That said, when I blogged about the start of the big weekends, I now understand that I had no idea what I was on about. Now I reckon I've reminded myself of Kepler just enough to have a clue.

View of Belmont Regional Park
(from antonykitchener.wordpress.com)

Saturday was a tour of Belmont Regional Park with a great local guide, a guy who did the 85km Tarawera last year and is doing the 100km this year. He's an inspiration and had lots of extremely useful first-hand information about the course, and the ups and downs of a long, good day's running. We had good weather but the kind of Wellington northerly that you can feel whistling through the mesh on your shoes as you get pushed sideways. Needless to say we had some missed steps on the ridgelines!

Sunday was a different story with drizzle AND wind, so I stayed mostly off the hills. This was also a nice preserver for my tired but still functioning pins. I ran about half the time with friends training for the Rotorua Marathon and the company and the pacing was very welcome.

Today I'm totally functional and not sore at all. Stoked with that. In fact I'm quite looking forward to the series of big weekends to come, every second weekend from now on. And a few extra 'mental health' runs in between, just to convince myself that I'm doing enough. The old saying is true:  it's really as much about the head as the legs.

Food is fuel - and fun!

Running a long way involves lots of eating, and this is something I truly excel at. In fact I spent a large proportion of my running time thinking about what I'll eat when I get home. That is, what I'll eat after the compulsory piece of toast and Vegemite.

I've taken the step of seeing a sports nutritionist: Kath Fuohy, so my eating keeps pace with but doesn't extend beyond my training, and so I don't get bored in an endless pasta rut. Based on her advice, I've delved around and found some recipes that satisfy as food and fuel - for me it has to be both, and be fun to cook.

Steel cut oat porridge, recipe and image from Ruth Pretty

Here are a couple of my favourites.

Perfect porridge

For a breakfast of champions (or least those dreaming of finishing), I love Ruth Pretty's recipe for steel cut oat porridge, which you can find here. It's deliciously nutty and creamy (without any added cream), and keeps brilliantly. I load mine into an empty Collective Dairy Straight Up container, and take it to work, where I eat it with big dollops of Straight Up, some bananas, chia seeds and cinnamon. Excellent fuel base for lunchtime running.


Yoghurt hotcakes

Straight Up deliciousness, from the Collective

This lovely recipe comes from the Wellington City Mission's book "Food for a Mission". Good for after run refuels, and for brekkie when running later on a weekend day. Nom noms!

2/3 c flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c milk
1/3 c yoghurt
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 c berries (optional)

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Stir in egg, milk, yoghurt and butter. Fold in the berries until just incorporated. Heat a heavy-based frypan to medium-hot (a wee drop of mix should sizzle), drop in 1/4c lots of the mixture and cook until golden on both sides - about a minute each way. Enjoy with more yoghurt (plain or flavoured), fruit, syrup, or whatever your favourite toppings are.

Holiday running

Facing the first really long runs of my training programme, I thought that going on holiday would present some really good opportunities to get out with company, run in some new places, and have my children engaged in fun stuff while I potter around the hills. And, of course, the chance to get active after the Christmas excess. For me, it's not Christmas without pud. And lots of it.

But the reality was a little different. I struggled with leaving the rest of the family to go out running, especially when it meant they needed to plan their days around me. I hadn't realised how important routine is to my running - meaning that without the usual constraints of work, school and my husband's schedule, there was no pressure to get out running, and to go NOW! We didn't get to do some of the runs we'd planned, but we did go exploring a totally new track and got some good kilometres done. And I did all but one of my scheduled runs, the missed one due to a turned ankle (now totally OK, luckily!)

On the way down from the trig at Ringawhati. My left knee shows what happens to
clumsy runners on this track!

That said, it's good to be home as I face up to the bigger weekends on my programme. This weekend, it's five hours on Saturday and three on Sunday. Those are pretty certain to get me back on track. I'm thinking bring it on, just not saying it all that loudly yet!