Building a Base for the Surf Coast Century

After the Roller Coaster Run, I was pretty sore, but managed to get in the commute and a 15 to get 70km for the week. The next week was without a long run, but numerous mid distance got me to another 70km. I finished off March with a 34km from Drysdale to Queenscliff and back, tracking 5:16min/km average - it was getting easier to hold more reasonable paces over longer distances. I finished up March with 281km, 1km over the plan. With Roller Coaster down, it was time to start looking at some on-course training for the Surf Coast Century.

Sunrise from the car park at the corner of Eagle Rock Parade and Boundary Road.

Since I'd run a bit of the trails in the first half, I mapped out some of the second half of the course, with a 35km run from Aireys Inlet, crossing over the Great Ocean Road and up to Currawong Falls, then following the course through Distillery Creek, Moggs Creek and Fairhaven back to Aireys Inlet. I started out just after 7am on a Sunday morning just near the first drop off to the beach. I ran past the turn off a bit to try out some sand running, then came back up to the Great Ocean Road to find a way up to the fire trail. I was repeatedly met with 'Private Property' signs, so I bush bashed my way up a hill side and finally met up with the trail.

Nice view looking back while climbing through the scrub up a hill from the Great Ocean Road.

After that it was pretty smooth sailing, albeit with some navigational errors corrected by the MapMyRun app on my phone. I was amazed by the diversity of trails and scenery along this second half of the course, although it was certainly more challenging with 1200m gain (over double the first half). At least with the shorter course I'd got to skip Heartbreak Hill! I managed fairly well through the rest of the course, but was a little tired and struggled through hills more than expected, especially the climb out of Moggs Creek.

My favourite view of the course. You can see the coast and lighthouse off in the distance, but you feel so remote from everything - makes you really appreciate that you've run far enough to be out on your own and away from it all.

It ended up being 39km in 4:10 with the extra Id covered trying to cut across from the Great Ocean Road and a 6:26 min/km average. Not what I was going for, but it was certainly tougher than I expected as well - not in the main climb, but holding onto the climbs in the later stages as they kept coming. After a first week of 70km, this run with a few 6's and a 15 gave me my second 80km week.

Another great view after Moggs Creek before heading back to Aireys Inlet.

I recovered quite well, so the next weekend I set out for a marathon length run from Queenscliff to Barwon Heads. It was a beautiful course, with 7km of sand each way, but unfortunately the tides didn't align on the way back and I was forced to run a steep camber in soft sand which brought me to a walk. I finished just under 4 hours and after a half marathon and a 15km, picked up my first 90km week. The next week was a 33km from Moolap to Bunyip Pool and back, holding steady at just under 5min/km, then some more mid distance for another 90km. The nutrition was working great and I was getting through the runs without too much trouble (apart from the usual last 5/10km struggle). I took the next week as an opportunity to cut back to 70km, with no long run and all mid distance and finished up April with 323km, 3km over planned.

My new Inov8 Roclites and gaiters hard at work. Still provide good traction even with all that mud.

In early May, I picked up some Inov8 Roclite 295s to try out as I was unhappy with some of the shoes I'd picked up earlier. These seemed suitable as they had great tread, a roomy fit to prevent losing toenails and were the most cushioned in the Roclite line-up, but still fairly minimal compared to the pair of Salomon XA Pro Ultra 2 GTX (which were a great shoe, but 100g heavier). I also picked up a Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin Set 5 hydration vest, which was a huge improvement over the Camelbak which, to be fair, was a fairly bulky model even for them. The reduced bounce, better fit and breatheability made for a much better experience overall and best of all it had two bottle holsters up front so I could drop the belt bottle combo.

The new Salomon pack out on the SCC trails. A running vest is much better in the heat and the light weight certainly helps.

I also signed up for the You Yangs 50km at the start of May, so I was going to need to incorporate more training out there, which suited my need for more hill strength after the SCC 2nd half run previously. My first full week of May was scheduled to be my first 100km, and I ran 31km through the You Yangs covering the more difficult parts of the trail, a 12, a half marathon, a 17 and a 6 (plus the usual 15km of commute). I'd had to pick up the last two on the same day to get it through, but I'd finally ticked off my goal - a solid 100km week. The training plan seemed to be working as I wasn't a complete wreck and continued on the following week with 80km (cutting back a little by dropping the long run to be safe), then running the whole first half of the Surf Coast Century course and two 15km's for another 100km week.

A 360 of an intersection of the trails around Eumerella near Anglesea on the first half of the SCC course. Definitely a case for tracking the course by GPS using the MapMyRun app on my phone.

I finished up the final week with a cut back to 70km and the inaugural Surf Coast Trail Runners social run out at the You Yangs for 20km. It was a great way to finish off my best month of training yet, putting faces to names and gaining more appreciation for everyone's own take on trail running and running in general. I finished May with slightly over 400km, clearing my stretch goal of a 400km month and 40km over the 360km I had planned. With May over, my first training plan had come to an end and I had completed just over 1500km in 5 months, with all goals met (with some shuffling required). I'd worked my way up to 100km weeks without pushing too hard too soon and got there injury free. I was in a pretty good place for the You Yangs 50km and well on my way to the 100.

My First Roller Coaster Ride

My training partner had been looking for a challenge that would serve as good training for a trail ultra and had come across the Roller Coaster Run. The scenery was beautiful, it was 43km which seemed manageable and the total elevation gain of around 2000m didn't seem too scary without any previous events to compare it to. We compared average gradients of the main climbs and descents to what we'd seen in the You Yangs so (we thought) we'd have a rough idea of what we were in for. Knowing that being able to run big hills was going to be critical for this run, we scheduled in a few You Yangs runs.

Flinders Peak, The You Yangs - This quickly became a very familiar sight being the top of the biggest climb, 196m over 1.5km (13% average gradient). Not huge, but good training if you do it a few times, especially if you go up using intervals.

 For February's long runs, I ran a You Yangs 24km with about 1000m gain, a nice flat marathon from Portarlington to Edwards point and back, another solid You Yangs 26km with another 1000m gain and a Bells Beach to Anglesea 39km run incorporating almost every bit of trail around Eumerella for another 1000m gain. I was mixing in 5km, 15km, half marathons and my work commutes to hit my weekly mileages and was tracking well at 60km (first cut back week), 70km, 70km and 80km. I also ran my first night half marathon which can be great for picking up mileage while the kids are asleep, so long as you're not falling asleep yourself.

Edwards Point, St Leonards - This is the southern most point of St Leonards and the turn-around for my third marathon length (or greater) run. This was another run that I got very little sleep for, but was my marathon PB for a while at 3:50.

In the final long run of the month (around Eumerella), I experimented with running both a pack with bladder and the bottle belt to keep clean water in the bladder and concentrated fuel in the bottle. Was bit awkward at first, but the combination worked well and was a well timed change as the bladder in the pack split, leaking clean water all over me rather than stick electrolyte mix. The nutrition combination was working well now, with the maltodextrin and electrolytes in the Science in Sports GO!, the protein and fat from the ZipVit protein bars and some gels and water to pad it out. February finished with 290km down, 50km over the goal of 240km and much better than on track.

Point Addis, between Bells Beach and Anglesea. Makes for a great stop over with some nice views.

I'd decided on a two week taper for the Roller Coaster Run, with 60km and 40km prior. For the first long run of march, we ran a nice 18km through the You Yangs, without the Flinders Peak climb and came out feeling great. The final lead up week consisted of a 15 and an easy 10 from Torquay to Bells on the weekend, then a 10 and a 5 Tuesday and Thursday to keep me moving. The day was almost upon us. The night before I laid out all my gear which was as follows:

• Nike Alvord 10 WS shoes
• Nike shirt, tech shorts and light gloves.
• 2XU compression tights.
• Inov8 Hot Peak 60 hat.
• Garmin 910XT watch with HRM and foot pod (for cadence and better instantaneous speed).
• Camelbak Octane 18X with 2.5 litres of water - didn't want to have to stop at check points and I'd run with this weight before.
• Nike bottle belt with 550ml of fluid containing 200g of SiS GO!.
• 3 GU Vanilla Bean gels, half of one taken every hour.
• 2 ZipVit Protein bars, 1/3 every hour.

By this point I was using a(nother) spread sheet for nutrition calculation:

My nutrition calculations - all based on the advice from Steve Born (Hammer Nutrition representation). My theory is to take this part seriously up front, so I won't have to on the day.

And had worked out my splits and paces based on the break down of hills for each lap and printed them to carry with me so I could check on my progress and adjust accordingly if I was well behind or in front of expectations:

My Roller Coaster Run pace calculations - like I said, I love this stuff! :)

Finally the day had arrived and we were up at 3am and out the door by 4am for a 6:00am arrival - we allowed two and half hours from Geelong, so we could be there at registration open at 6:30am. We registered, sorted out our gear and after a not so quick toilet stop (there was already a queue!) we moved to the start line to see the first wave off (single lap / 21km runners went 15 minutes ahead). Due to light levels, it was delayed 15 minutes, but we were off 15 minutes after them at 7:30am. All my gear was sitting well (you'll notice at this stage I was slinging the bottle over the front for easier access) and I was feeling pretty comfortable for the first downhill stretch. Then the hills set in.

Eager to start at SkyHigh, Mount Dandenong. First serious distance event (over 15km).

It's funny when I look at the Garmin connect activity for this run and the only comment I added was 'Lots of really, really bad hills.' I still stand by that statement, especially for anybody fairly new to this stuff (as myself and training partner were). The descent was pretty tough, dropping 325m from 2.5km to 5.5km, but I was fairly good on the down-hill, so I used it to my advantage. Then over the next 1.5km (Dodds Track), we climbed 215m (14% average gradient) - tougher than the Flinders Peak climb, without the stairs. I new the climbs would be un-runnable, but they almost seemed un-walkable at the time. Another 300m drop over the next 4km and then we climbed and desceneded for the next 6km (pretty rough on both still) until the main climb back to the start began - Singleton Terrace.

Feeling strong on the first lap.

The remaining climb was 350m over 5km (7% average gradient), but it was half flat sections, so the climb was just as steep (if not worse) than previously. I was managing okay up the hills and then hit the final stretch of climb 2km out. Since it was so close to the finish, I figured there couldn't be too much left, but I still remember that final stretch of goat track as the single toughest stretch of the day. It was narrower than single track for some of it, fairly rough terrain and when it climbed you felt like you should be using your hands. I finally hit the peak at 2:24 into it and was dead on track - I had been checking my splits and without trying to match them, they were all within a few minutes of what I'd wanted.

Getting some nutrition in on one of the less demanding descents.

I knew straight away on starting out the second lap that it was going to be an entirely different experience. For the first lap there had been runners every where as a large proportion run the single lap. Having people around to talk to and pace off was great to break things up - as soon as I began the first lap, it was quiet. I passed the occasional runner, was passed by others, but mostly I was on my own. The first lap I'd also enjoyed the scenery, the second I'd already seen it and was just interested in keeping it together until the end. I was feeling fairly reasonable after the punishment I'd endured and was keeping to my paces and hammering the down-hills. I was holding low 4 minute km's fairly regularly on the descents and then taking it easy on the climbs.

Everything was holding together pretty well, and the nutrition plan was working and manageable. The up hills were really hurting (I remember walking backwards every now and then to change up the loading) but I was managing them considerably well. The down-hills I was maintaining at a strong pace, hammering down them at cadences of up to 120spm - I think the ability to move my feet quickly, especially while fatigued, is what saved me on those descents. Small, quick steps allowed me to adjust to the terrain as I moved and not load up my legs as heavily with each step. The additional speed that allowed me also enabled me to use the gravity of the descent to my advantage, resulting in a fairly steady heart rate throughout, averaging 159bpm.

The final climb my legs felt like lead and I remember thinking that I'd envied the local runners of the area having such great trails for training and the scenery, but that they could now keep them. I hauled myself up the last stretch of goat track, just behind another runner who had been passing me on the hills and me passing him on the descents for a while. As we reached the peak, I threw everything into it and yelled as I pushed forward. He must have heard me as he picked up as well and we both sprinted with what was left to the finish. He beat me by 6 seconds, but it was about finishing strong, not taking the place.

My finisher's medal - a treasured possession and reminder to a huge accomplishment.

After four hours and fifty-three minutes, I had crossed the finished line, with nothing left in the tank. I'd dug deep to hold on to those climbs when I'd lost the desire to continue and it had paid off, running only 4 minutes behind my goal time (although the course ended up being 44km, not 43km by my Garmin), but more importantly, achieving my best case goal of sub 5 hours. While it was a difficult event, all the most rewarding ones are and I can highly recommend it to anyone looking to challenge themselves. If you're looking more to enjoy it, however, maybe stick to the single lap... :)

Training With a Plan - Learning from My Mistakes

After completing my first marathon, my body wasn't in a good way. Both posterior tibial tendons were considerably inflamed despite regular icing and some attempts at "time off" (only running short runs), my right pes anserine (meeting point of three key tendons just below the inside of the knee) was quite tight, causing my right leg to stiffen up and make the hamstring difficult to stretch and both tibialis anterior muscles seemed to fatigue quite quickly, but would pick up during the run. The posterior tibial tendon issues were exacerbated by forefoot running and minimal shoes (although I'm not against this) and combined with the other issues, added up to a case of too much too soon.

I'd been running as much as I felt I could manage without knowing that it's not the sudden injuries that always stop a runner, but often those that build up over time. If I was going to be able to run without issues I needed to take some real time off my feet and hope that things improved. I took the next month off training, something I hadn't done since my iliotibial band issues that brought my running to a grinding halt years ago.

It was a very long month, not only due to being unable to run, but being so unsure as to when, or even if, these injuries would improve. I tried regular icing, stretching, massage, creams, NSAIDs, but it didn't really seem to be improving (although at least it wasn't getting any worse). Endless googling (yes, it's a thing - if you trust the internet) revealed that strength exercises, such as any physio would likely have recommended, may do more for recovery that simply waiting for it to heal. I added regular heel raises, one legged squats and even some hopping to my daily routine. The tendons seemed to respond quite well almost immediately. By early January I was starting to feel like I was ready to get back out and give it a go.

I wasn't about to jump back into this and ruin all my hard work (or lack there-of, really). I decided that perhaps there was merit in the "10% rule" and that I should design a training schedule around that, or at least close to it. I didn't stick to 10% increases, but I did ensure that it never increased by more than 10km a week, every 4th week was a cut back week (drop 20km) and that every new distance over 60km was held for two weeks before increasing again. I find I tend to get better results when I plan out the distances for the runs that will make up a week, and then work out what days when I get to each week. Being a software developer (and possibly a bit OCD about these things), I didn't stop there. I planned for 5 months concluding with two 100km runs in the final month (May) for a total distance of 1500km comprised of 200km in January, 240km in February, 280km in March, 320km in April and 360km in May (although I'd need to pick up an extra 100km in order to meet 1500km).

My first serious training plan in all its glory. And yes, I love Excel, maybe too much :)

Time to put some of this into practice. I ran two 5km runs over a week around 21:30 - nothing special, but everything felt okay. I even added in a 6km night run at an easy pace to see if backing up two runs in the same day would be an issue, but it seemed good. That Saturday my training partner was getting out for a run from Portarlington to St Leonards and back so I joined in. It was a half marathon length and a bit of a stretch, but I planned to take it easy. It went well and I picked up towards the end, even throwing in several 4:30min/km 800m intervals. Worried I might have overdone it, I made sure I iced straight away and took the next two days pretty easy. I kept up some 5km runs throughout the week, but saved myself for the weekend. We were heading to Lake Beaufort (not far past Skipton and before Ararat) for the weekend and I'd looked up potential hiking trails to run and found the Beeripmo Walk.

Beeripmo Walk - beautiful views and scenery throughout the whole trail.

The Beeripmo Walk is a 21km trail and intended as a two day hike. Seeing only the distances with no elevation graphs, that seemed quite manageable, so I geared up early Saturday morning and drove 30 minutes to the starting point at Richards camp ground. I found it without too much trouble (although it didn't look like the place attracted too many visitors) and started out the run. I'd brought electrolytes with plenty of water, protein bars and some gels, so I had more than enough to keep me going. It started out okay, but I quickly noticed that there was going to be some steep climbing. It took me 40 minutes to climb the first 4km which, according to my elevation charts from the run, was 400m gain. I picked up for the next 2km with downhill and flat and then hit another 200m climb over the next 2km. It was hard going, but it was worth it. The trail seemed hardly used, so it was a little overgrown and harder to navigate, but it made you really feel like you were experiencing something in its raw form, rather than a well cultivated path worn in by others.

At the Beeripmo Campground - the end of day one if you're hiking it.

After the first two climbs it was a lot more reasonable, but still undulating. I reached the climb to Mount Buangor, which is the main lookout on the walk, and headed up. The view was great despite the previous overcast weather, drizzle and fog (which actually added a lot to the feel of the run) and was worth the trip up, although it wasn't the climb that the first two were. I headed back down and ended up following the wrong marker and getting 1.5km (downhill) to Beeripmo Campground again before turning back and heading the right way through the lookout turn-off. The run out from there was great as the end drops 500m steadily over the last 6km; great fun and a relief after the climbs earlier. The whole trail at this point was literally covered in thousands of orange butterflies that flew into the air as you ran through - I actually had to cover my face as I ran so I didn't inhale one of them. An amazing experience.

The view from Mount Buangor Lookout.

After Beeripmo I was feeling pretty good and everything was holding up okay. I'd met the weekly distance goals of 40, 50 and 60 so far for the month and had 70 for the last week. I was keeping on top of recovery (icing, protein, stretching and strength exercises), so I was bouncing back better than before. I was planning to run a 50km at some stage as the next big thing and it occurred to me that if I ran it before the end of the month I could possibly maintain one marathon length or longer run every month until the century. I'd been watching Steve Born's (from Hammer Nutrition) talk titled 'Improve Your Athletic Performance' and formulated a new nutrition plan based on Science in Sport GO! Electrolyte as the base, gels for additional calories and 1/3 ZipVit protein bar an hour for the fat and protein component. It added up as a nutritional substitute to Perpetuem and was a more comfortable choice at the time as it was less of a change from what I knew was working for me.

I headed out on my half century from home to Queenscliff and back at 6 in the morning and I was to meet up with my running partner somewhere between Drysdale and Queenscliff and run with him for part of his 35km. I managed to track 5min/km until I caught him 22km in (he'd started from Drysdale later on) and we ran together until just outside of Drysdale where I managed to pick up 5:30min/km until home. It was a pretty tough run, and had seemed entirely too ambitious, but I pulled up pretty well and now had a 50km under my belt in 5 hours for a 6 min/km average. I finished January with 213km, 13km over the goal and was on track. It was about that time we signed up for two loops of Roller Coaster...

The Road (and Off-Road) to a Marathon

Note: I've linked my Garmin Connect runs to the runs mentioned throughout. Prior to my 910XT I was using the Garmin Fit app on my phone (in addition to my FR60) to track the course and listing it as hiking as in the links above. The distance of the FR60 was over by about 7% and the phone's GPS was even less accurate, so all times and distances were a bit rough until December.

At the Bellarine Rail Trail run back in August 2012, I'd been given a pamphlet for the Surf Coast Century. I don't remember exactly how the idea came about, but I remember looking at the picture and thinking how great it looked and that it would be an incredible accomplishment if I could pull it off. I toyed with the idea a bit and decided to myself that I would start looking into it, but really had no idea what would get me from having only run once over a half marathon and only two actual half marathons to 100km (let alone the fact that it was all off-road!) I remember talking to a friend at the Salomon Trail Series #4 in Anglesea and saying that I was planning to run 70km a week, which I'd increased from 50km because I figured then it would be more than enough. He seemed convinced, so I started out with that plan in mind.
 
Previously I'd been only running over 30km a week since mid August and only ever run 70km once, two weeks before the race in Anglesea. It was comprised of my work commute (two 1.5km runs each work day for 15km), one 17km, one 12km, one 10km and three 5km. I figured this would work alright as a training plan if I ran 15km long on Sundays, 10km on Monday, 5km Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and 15km again on Friday (again adding the 15km commute). The first week, starting in October, went fairly well and hit dead on target. The second week I ran a half marathon from Portarlington to St Leonards and back, but missed Thursday and Friday's run due to fatigue, hitting 55km. I got in one last half marathon the following Sunday from Ocean Grove to Barwon Heads and another 5km before we headed off to the Twin Waters (near Maroochydore) and then Gold Coast for 10 days on holiday with the family (just the three of us then).

View from Barwon Heads Bluff - Great views running from Ocean Grove as a half marathon.

Twin Waters was great for running and I already had it mapped out using MapMyRun. The second day I ran 10km around the streets, followed by a 7.5km along the beach (started the mapping late). It's a beautiful place to run, even around the streets as it's all exposed aggregate foot-paths with palm trees, gardens and bridges. The beach was tough (I'd never run on sand before) but gave me a chance to try out my new Vibram Bikilas without beating myself up too much. The Vibrams were great to run in but keeping off my heels by running forefoot really hammered my calves which weren't ready for that load. I got in a final 25km (or quarter century as I liked to call it) to nearby Maroochydore and back.

Crossing a bridge in Twin Waters - If I had to run roads, I'd want to do it here.

 We moved on to the Gold Coast (for all the usual touristy things) and I started off with a 10km through the streets from Mermaid Beach to Surfer's Paradise. While fairly scenic, after the pristine conditions of Twin Waters, the hard concrete paths and traffic of the Gold Coast made it much less appealing. My calves were still pretty sore from the forefoot running and it was a pretty average run. I managed to get out for one more run and ran south to Burleigh Heads. Little did I know there was some beautiful trail running through Burleigh Head National Park and a 10km run turned into 18km.

Loved this little spot at the top of the zig zag hill climb in Burleigh Head National Park.

I was hooked on running in new and beautiful places at this stage and really cemented the idea of trail running for me. What better way to continue hiking when time poor? Once we got back I was on a bit of a high and got out to try a 35km run from home to Queens Park Bridge and back. I had been investigating nutrition as I'd only been running on Staminade and since I had the Dextro energy bar which I'd got for free from the Anglesea race I decided to try out eating on the run. The bar was a little chewy, but the run went well, clearing 35km in just under 3 hours for just over a 5min/km average. I was still feeling alright, but there were some niggling things that were starting to add up. I'd been averaging around 50km a week (short of the 70km due to tired legs) and had just finished on a 65km, hitting 268km for October.

Crossing the Barwon River - not quite as scenic as Queensland, but still beats running roads.

 As I'd only been running with a bottle belt and the mandatory gear list for the Surf Coast Century was quite lengthy (to a newby like me), I started ordering some gear. With my limited knowledge and exposure, I figured Camelbak would be a great option and the more storage the better, so I got the Octane 18X 3 litre hydration pack (I did make it work though!). Having watched Steve Born's You Tube presentation on nutrition from the Hammer web site I wanted to add in protein for my long runs - I was already on electrolyte and gels so adding 1/3 of a ZipVit protein bar and hour seemed like a reasonable plan. I ordered a Garmin 910XT (the same one I still use today), Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes (longest shoe name, ever), a Petzel TacTikka Plus head torch, some proper Oakley running sunglasses, a hat, thermal blanket, first aid kit and some thermal gear (top, beanie and gloves). I'd already acquired some cheap Nike Alvords (not a bad shoe for the price), so I finally had what I figured would be decent trail running gear (it was for the most part).

My first round of real gear - Nike Storm Fit Gloves, Nike phone strap, Garmin 910XT + HRM, Petzel TacTikka Plus head torch, LifeSystems first aid kit and space blanket, Inov8 Hot Peak 60 cap, Altura Night Vision Safety Vest, Camelbak Octane 18X 3 litre hydration pack, Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes, Nike Alvord 10 GTX shoes, ZipVit protein bars, Gu gels and a borrowed Pearl Izumi wind proof jacket.

 I'd signed up for the Eureka Stair Climb with some friends from my personal training group sessions but also committed to do Run Geelong 12km without realising they were the same date. Since the run was first and it allowed enough time to get to Melbourne I decided to do both. I tapered over the last two weeks prior, running 25km on the Saturdays and taking it fairly easy throughout the week. I'd originally planned for a 4min/km average and managed to hit 4:05min/km for 49:10 over the 12km. Given the different niggles I'd had and was still trying to manage (and the stitch I had for the entire run), I was very happy with that result. It was also the second run I used gels on since the BRT (where I only had one out of interest), one 15 minutes before and one half an hour in and it seemed to work great. The stair climb wasn't too bad but I think it was the beginning of the end. I got in one  more long run for November the following weekend with 30km from Torquay to Point Addis and back with my running partner which was by far our most enjoyable run to date. The trails that kick in after Bells Beach near the Jarosite track were great fun, especially for two inexperienced trail runners.

View from Point Addis - first time it really felt like I'd left the world behind and was somewhere special.

After that we realised that the You Yangs could be a great trail running option and had never really been out there much. I mapped out a half marathon (figuring it couldn't be too bad) and we gave it a crack the following weekend. It was a tough run, but we got through it and thoroughly enjoyed it. The ongoing issues I'd been having with both my posterior tibial tendons and the tightness in my legs was really adding up at this stage. Not wanting to face the inevitable, I went straight to the opposite - planning a marathon. I mapped out 42.2km from home to Fyansford and set out at quarter past six on the following Saturday morning (running the FR60 + phone combo as I'd left my 910XT on and it went flat). It was going to reach 37 that day so I had to get it done before it got hot.

View from Flinders Peak - what a climb for two newbys!

I started off well, tracking 5 min/km to Bunyip Pool (a picnic site near Fyansford), but started to run into trouble on heading back along the river. In hindsite, I'd say I depleted (as I was still running on Staminade and didn't take enough gels) and had to resort to walking for over a kilometre. I kept the pace up and eventually felt I could run again. I kept up 5:30 min/km for long stretches and then would walk for 500m. Towards the end I ran out of water (all 3 litres gone - 750ml an hour!) and walked more to avoid dehydration. I was ducking into people's front yards to steal a drink and wet my hat. To add to the whole thing, I met up with a guy who told me he'd just passed a sizable brown snake along the side of the trail in the direction I was going. I figured I'd think about what to do about that if I saw it, and fortunately I didn't. I got within 3km of home and ran the last stretch, falling short by 500m and having to run 250m past and back again.

Bunyip Pool - I'll always have fond memories of this place. It was so rewarding to reach such a scenic and shady spot, especially knowing it was literally on the other side of Geelong. Didn't know it was there until I passed a sign leading to it.

I'd finished my first marathon length run in a time of 4:03 for an average pace of 5:45 min/km. Not what I'd set out for, but was pretty good for the conditions and I was definitely well underway with distance and off-road training for a trail ultra.

Beginnings

Without stretching the imagination too far, I figured the best post to start with would be about my early experiences with running. A lot of this may not be all that interesting for the rest of you, but it's also something I can look back over later (when my memory begins to fail me :P).

My background in running, and sport in general, is fairly limited. In school I never participated in team sports and had limited involvement with athletics. For a while I was in the local little athletics and managed some wins in hurdles, but wasn't all that interested. The only time I recall actually being excited about doing any physical activity was hiking. We used to go camping quite a bit growing up, often to the Grampians which has some great hiking trails and beautiful terrain. I always used to run off up ahead, then run back and repeat. Outside of that, riding my bike to and from school was my sole form of exercise, but was only about 2km each way (although I did get pretty quick as I left from home later and later).

Hiking the Grampians in 2008. Covered most of the main trails in two days in scorching heat (although it certainly pales in comparison to running Badwater). At least I had the sense to bring a bladder (even if it was a cheap knock-off).

After high school, I got into roller hockey for a while, which is actually pretty fun. I reckon the twisting and turning, fast stops and general control required helped develop strong ankles, good balance and quick feet. We did alright in the end, but I eventually moved on to karate, which I ran with for about 3 years. I loved the discipline and finesse required, but the main thing I really got out of it was how to push through when fatigued, and enjoy it! We were encouraged at gradings to put in 100% for the entire duration, so I would try to do exactly that. Of course, as anyone that's ever attempted to put in 100% into any physical activity can tell you, you can't maintain that for more than a short amount of time - but that's when you really get to do something significant. That's when you get to prove something to yourself about what you're actually capable of.

After moving on from karate I really didn't do any exercise other than walking in and out of work, but my desk job as a software developer can really take its toll on your back and neck if you don't stay active. A year or so on some friends of ours decided to take up running as one of them had been into running quite a lot in their earlier days. I wasn't really into the idea of running much, but liked the idea of getting outdoors, particularly along the bank of the Barwon river. I think largely due to my low weight (from my fast metabolism), I picked up pretty quickly and started adding in solo runs around the local park, usually running a total of 5km by first running 1km and walking, then 2.5, building up through running the whole 5km to eventually 10km and slightly over.

That's when my first real injury struck - Illiotibial Band (ITB) Syndrome. I imagine pretty close to all runners are familiar with this, if most haven't also experienced it personally. It started with sore and tight knees on the outside, worsening as runs continued. As I'm used to pushing through that sort of thing, it didn't bother me enough to stop until it got bad enough to look into it. Once I realised the only real treatment was cutting back, I stopped altogether to give it a chance to heal.

Unfortunately I didn't start running again for a year or more until early 2011, when the company I was with at the time entered into a corporate team triathlon (I signed up for the 5km run stretch). This time I formed a rough plan of running 5km every weekend and 3km in and out of work two or three days a week. I'd been riding in and out of work on and off for about a year, so I wasn't in bad shape and managed 5km again on my second run (although it did take over 30 minutes). With rigorous stretching each night, I managed to avoid ITB issues recurring and training went pretty well. I got sick in the last week before the event, but ran the event in April in a time of 20:55, which I was pretty happy with.

Running the Harwood Andrews 2011 Corporate Triathlon - Love the running gear? :) At this point, any shorts I could find, a hiking top and a pair of Nike Structures were the extent of my gear.

From there I kept running 5km on the weekend and having switched to job in the city, ran the 1.5km in and out of work to get a few extra kms. I ran on and off with some friends, and ran anywhere from 10 to 25km a week. I got my first running watch (a Garmin FR60) in June and started running a bit more regularly. I started focusing on my 1500m runs and got them down to around 3:45min/km average by the end of the year. In December, having only run one a handful of 10km runs before, I ran a 17km in 1:17 and a half marathon in 1:40 (although I think the FR60 was tracking up to 7% short, making my paces seem faster than they were).

I continued on in much the same, with the occassional 10km or longer run (mostly 5km was still my 'long' run), and picked up circuit training once a week to add some strength and help balance the running. By July 2012 I was doing okay and managed a half marathon in 1:33 (again, the FR60 may be giving me a bit more than it should) and was running with a few people I'd got onto through my personal trainer. We had a few runs of around 10km, but it quickly dropped back to two of us. After a few weekends, we ran the Bellarine Rail Trail run, which had been limited to a 22km out and back due to flooding. The original plan for my running partner was only for 17km, with a stretch to a half marathon. Since we were at different points in our training, I ran from Leopold and racked up about 32km that day, being my first real distance run as I see it. My partner struggled from the 18km mark and fell short of his goal, but remained dedicated to getting stronger, faster and pushing for more on every run. It was a great run despite being very wet and muddy and got us excited about looking for other places to run.

BRT Run 2012 - Starting to get some gear together! I ran this one in Nike Lunar Eclipse, a Nike technical top, Nike tech shorts and some new 2XU Compression tights (love these for cold weather and recovery).

We started looking around and found Portarlington to St Leonards, Torquay to Bells Beach, St Leonards to Edward Point and finally the Salomon Trail Series #4 - Anglesea. We'd signed up for this run fairly late in the game. It seemed pretty straight-forward as it was 'only' 14.6km. I ended up getting only around 5 hours sleep (ironically the same as for my recent 100km), but ran it in 1:08 for a 4:40 min/km average. It seemed a little disappointing at the time, but looking back it was a great first effort onto trails. My running partner had a great day pulling in a 6 min/km average which was a great accomplishment given the hills we faced that day, learning for the first time that elevation charts rarely accurately reflect the difficulty of the course. I remember slipping around a bit in the old pair of Nike Lunar Eclipse I was wearing, getting wet while running through the river mouth and having to walk because I was caught behind people on single track and hadn't placed myself well at the start - all very new experiences. It was our first serious attempt at trail running and we loved it.

Salomon Trail Series #4 - Anglesea. Pretty much the same gear in different colours. And no, I don't recommend Nike Lunar Eclipse for trail running :P

Looking back, the writing was on the wall for me. A love of beautiful terrain, running hiking trails, pushing through barriers and developing complex technique - all adding up to my current passion: ultra distance trail raining.

Welcome to another blog! :)

Since recently completing my journey from first trail run to running the Surf Coast Century solo over the last year, I've decided to get some of the thoughts, planning, gear, training and, most importantly of all, the trails that went into this process. Hopefully you'll get something out of it and I'll have something to reflect over after my next major milestone (TNF, 100 miler?). I'll post the specifics of the Surf Coast Century planning and training over several parts and add a few separate posts about other trails I've managed to pick up here and there.