3 weeks to Taupo

So three weeks to go until Taupo (Ironman New Zealand).  It's been a sharp training block this time and I feel good for it.  Arriving in NZ on the 1st Dec I was pretty out of shape, so it's been 10 weeks of decent training to get me up and running again.

I've done slightly more volume in all disciplines than I did in the last 10 weeks coming in to either Arizona or Zurich and until this week I've managed to feel fresh throughout.  This week it's been feeling tough, (maybe something to do with the huge rugby 7's weekend last weekend), but I'm hoping that just means I've done enough and I'm ready.  One more decent week next week, finishing off with a local half marathon on Sunday 21st Feb and then a couple of weeks of taper and I'm off.

I'll be chatting to Dave about the taper, but it seems I don't respond too well to dropping off hugely in the last two weeks, so it'll probably just be a bit less volume and an opportunity for the legs to get fully recovered.  Plus it's now I need to start getting my mind ready.  I've maintained better training discipline than ever before in this block and I'm feeling more confident in my ability than before.  Plus I'm trying not to put a time on my performance expectations.  I'm just keen to get out there, get through the swim and bike without any F ups and start running. 

Taupo looks to be a slow(er) course, with some undulations on the run and a heavy chip surface on the bike, so I'm probably not going to break any records...

But we'll see...

Tussock Traverse 27k trail run

Last Saturday I ran the Tussock Traverse, something a bit different and a great way to see a new bit of NZ, plus it would be a decent training run! This 27km point-to-point climbs through the dip between two active volcanos in the Tongariro National Park, namely Mt Ruapehu on our left shoulder and Ngaruhoe on our right. 

It was an incredible event and has opened my eyes to how tough trail / fell racers are, no wonder Brownlee is so damn good.

examples of the crazy terrain...

The first 2k were straight up, see pic below for the start line between two flags, I set out at what I thought was a fair pace (just above walking!), by 2k I was around 5th, then we turned off the 4*4 track and it got silly.  Apparently this is a relatively easy course, but I was impossibly slow going down over the scree and rocks.  I got overtaken by 4 or 5 others on the downhill and that was pretty much it for the next 25k.  Push hard when it was flat and I could actually run and take back a few places then lose them on the downhill.

After about 5k I started to get cocky and decided I this was easy, I looked up for a moment, to see how I was doing and promptly fell flat on my face.  It's not like running on the road!

By 20k I was in 4th and I think I just sneaked into 3rd for a few minutes before a local chap from Welly and a 17yr old girl (thankfully she is an amazing up and coming mountain marathon runner in NZ) overtook me heading down towards the finish, I had nothing left and crossed the line in 5th.

Finish time of 2:22 for 27k (5:15k's..) but the most incredible part was an average HR of 174bpm! That's 10k HR for over 2hrs.  No wonder I was ruined.  It was one of those finishes where you collapse, stand, collapse, and then jsut don't know what to do with yourself.  20min later I pulled myself together enough to cheer Leonie and Helen across the line and collapse again onto the grass with a brew and a sausage sizzle - Kiwi's know how to look after their athletes!

Next day I was in Taupo to check out the IM course and somehow managed a 5hr brick session, including a full lap of the run course (half marathon).  Needless to say this week I've not been running much. 

I guess it can only make me stronger - as it didn't kill me!