The Murphy's Bush labyrinth...
Sunday 04/02/07:
First of all I just want to say thanks to everyone for the encouraging comments. I am still rather buzzing from the Whitford run and with this under my belt I am so much more confident about the Forest HM. Any time I am faced with a hill in the next while I will think of Sandstone Rd and know I can do it!
Well I can honestly say that I suffered none of the aching legs or feelings of fatigue/heaviness in my legs that I normally would after doing such a run for the first time... Usually by the evening, this has set in. Not so last night... was it thanks to the ice bath? Who knows, but I wasn't complaining!
With Courtney at a sleep-over last night and with no urgency to get up and do my 35min jog that was schedueled for today, I had a blissful sleep-in and a bit of a lazy morning. When I did get up I had (and still have) some tightness in both hammies and a little in the quads, but otherwise felt fine... expected a lot worse to be honest and am very surprised that my calves aren't tight or sore at all.
By the time I had got myself organised to go out it was very hot and sunny - mind you, it was almost 11am! Mum had also not been for her walk yet, which she tries to do most days. So I suggested we walk to an area of bushland and reserve that is not far from our place and she could walk thru the coolness of the bushwalk trails, while I ran for 35mins, then we could walk back together. I had walked there once before with Courtney, when we first shifted here. But I don't run that way as the road is quite busy and rather narrow with no shoulder - the only really safe way to get there on foot is to walk up on the egde of the paddocks in the long grass and it is very uneven ground, so I wouldn't risk running on it I don't think! Also, the reserve is not that big and if you wanted to run a decent distance/time thru the bush, you would need to do many loops! But today it would provide a service by allowing me to run in the shade and coolness of the bush, despite the blazing sun - and be more off-road training, something I am trying to do plenty of in my buildup to the Forest HM.
It took us 20mins of brisk walking to get there and I was glad Mum was wearing her little backpack with our water bottles in it! Once at Murphy's Bush I headed off on the trails and followed all of the bushwalks several times, including popping out into various reserve areas and picnic areas, running the perimeter of them on the grass, before disappearing back into the dense shadiness of the bush. It was like being in a maze - trying to remember which paths I had already taken and which ones would get to where I wanted to go! But they all link up in places, so it didn't really matter! And running on soft dirt and a bed of dead leaves was really nice. Ended up running for 39mins, tried to keep the pace really easy, just stretch the legs, relax and enjoy the surrondings. Of course I have no idea of actual distance covered, but if I'd been running 6min/kms I would have done 6.5kms, so I'm sticking with that as I'm sure it was no slower...
After meeting back up with Mum, doing some stretching and having a drink, we walked the 20mins back home. So 40mins of walking and almost 40mins of running - not a bad effort on a very hot day.
So I ended up with an even 50kms this week - a bit of an increase on last weeks 39kms, but everything feels fine and I'm loving the new shoes.
Tomorrow the plan calls for another 35mins of jogging, which I will do on the roads. Fairly happy that thats all that is required as the hammies are still a bit tight. Tuesday is another public holiday (Waitangi Day) and its a bit of a bugger to have to work tomorrow, but there is no getting out of it. Half the staff had already put in to have the day off, hence making it a four day weekend, before I even realised it fell on a Tuesday this year... so I have definately drawn the short straw! Oh well!
Bummer about the IRB Rugby 7s - NZ got knocked out by Fiji in the semis, who then got beaten by Samoa in the finals. Also the Rugby Super 14 got underway this weekend - Auckland had a win, but apart from that it wasn't a great one for the NZ teams. I'm not a huge rugby-head or anything, but the Sevens are a great spectacle and only held here once a year as part of a circuit. Everyone dresses up in fancy dress, its a real party atmosphere and they have great entertainment.
First of all I just want to say thanks to everyone for the encouraging comments. I am still rather buzzing from the Whitford run and with this under my belt I am so much more confident about the Forest HM. Any time I am faced with a hill in the next while I will think of Sandstone Rd and know I can do it!
Well I can honestly say that I suffered none of the aching legs or feelings of fatigue/heaviness in my legs that I normally would after doing such a run for the first time... Usually by the evening, this has set in. Not so last night... was it thanks to the ice bath? Who knows, but I wasn't complaining!
With Courtney at a sleep-over last night and with no urgency to get up and do my 35min jog that was schedueled for today, I had a blissful sleep-in and a bit of a lazy morning. When I did get up I had (and still have) some tightness in both hammies and a little in the quads, but otherwise felt fine... expected a lot worse to be honest and am very surprised that my calves aren't tight or sore at all.
By the time I had got myself organised to go out it was very hot and sunny - mind you, it was almost 11am! Mum had also not been for her walk yet, which she tries to do most days. So I suggested we walk to an area of bushland and reserve that is not far from our place and she could walk thru the coolness of the bushwalk trails, while I ran for 35mins, then we could walk back together. I had walked there once before with Courtney, when we first shifted here. But I don't run that way as the road is quite busy and rather narrow with no shoulder - the only really safe way to get there on foot is to walk up on the egde of the paddocks in the long grass and it is very uneven ground, so I wouldn't risk running on it I don't think! Also, the reserve is not that big and if you wanted to run a decent distance/time thru the bush, you would need to do many loops! But today it would provide a service by allowing me to run in the shade and coolness of the bush, despite the blazing sun - and be more off-road training, something I am trying to do plenty of in my buildup to the Forest HM.
It took us 20mins of brisk walking to get there and I was glad Mum was wearing her little backpack with our water bottles in it! Once at Murphy's Bush I headed off on the trails and followed all of the bushwalks several times, including popping out into various reserve areas and picnic areas, running the perimeter of them on the grass, before disappearing back into the dense shadiness of the bush. It was like being in a maze - trying to remember which paths I had already taken and which ones would get to where I wanted to go! But they all link up in places, so it didn't really matter! And running on soft dirt and a bed of dead leaves was really nice. Ended up running for 39mins, tried to keep the pace really easy, just stretch the legs, relax and enjoy the surrondings. Of course I have no idea of actual distance covered, but if I'd been running 6min/kms I would have done 6.5kms, so I'm sticking with that as I'm sure it was no slower...
After meeting back up with Mum, doing some stretching and having a drink, we walked the 20mins back home. So 40mins of walking and almost 40mins of running - not a bad effort on a very hot day.
So I ended up with an even 50kms this week - a bit of an increase on last weeks 39kms, but everything feels fine and I'm loving the new shoes.
Tomorrow the plan calls for another 35mins of jogging, which I will do on the roads. Fairly happy that thats all that is required as the hammies are still a bit tight. Tuesday is another public holiday (Waitangi Day) and its a bit of a bugger to have to work tomorrow, but there is no getting out of it. Half the staff had already put in to have the day off, hence making it a four day weekend, before I even realised it fell on a Tuesday this year... so I have definately drawn the short straw! Oh well!
Bummer about the IRB Rugby 7s - NZ got knocked out by Fiji in the semis, who then got beaten by Samoa in the finals. Also the Rugby Super 14 got underway this weekend - Auckland had a win, but apart from that it wasn't a great one for the NZ teams. I'm not a huge rugby-head or anything, but the Sevens are a great spectacle and only held here once a year as part of a circuit. Everyone dresses up in fancy dress, its a real party atmosphere and they have great entertainment.
posted by Vicky @ 2/04/2007 10:15:00 pm
5 Comments:
At Mon Feb 05, 12:28:00 am,
2P said…
Always good to get out in the bush MAR ;-)
Nice work.
At Mon Feb 05, 10:57:00 am,
MorseyRuns said…
What a cool run- I wish I had trails like that nearby. Happy Waitangi Day (even if you have to work). What is Waitangi Day for?
At Mon Feb 05, 12:04:00 pm,
Anonymous said…
Your trails sound great :)
I have been thinking about that ice, no that my distances warrant it, lol! It is just that sometimes this old bod feels as though it has done a marathon!!
At Mon Feb 05, 12:15:00 pm,
Spark Driver said…
Trust your Mum to be carrying the bag with the drinks and all the goodies.
At Mon Feb 05, 05:44:00 pm,
Ewen said…
You forgot about the 1-dayer last night! Need I remind you of the score?
The ice must be helping. I also feel fine the day after a long run followed by a swim in the cool river.
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