My best forest run yet...
Monday 09/04/07:
Well the blahs of yesterday were dispelled today with a magnificent run in the Whitford Forest. Its just so beautiful and tranquil out there and its impossible to feel, well, blah! Not that yesterday was that major or too much of a struggle - I just wasn't really in the mood for running laps...
Today couldn't have been a more different run - it would have been nice to have some company, but I certainly wasn't bothered to be heading out on my own. I was at the forest by just after 8am and it was an absolutely stunning April morning - a perfectly clear blue sky and just a very gentle breeze. They had done some clearing near the entrance since I was last there and it looked quite different. After a bit of a walk to warmup and get up and over the first two hills, I headed off along the main access road. I ran further into the forest today than I ever have before and never saw another soul after the first 5mins. Its pretty isolated out there and I made sure I wore my lycra shorts that have a back pocket large enough to fit my cellphone. Sure there were probably some mountain bikers out there, but they use the many trails rather than the access road itself. I'd probably get myself horribly lost if I ventured onto the trails, so I don't!
Brisk walk warm-up: 10mins
Steady paced run: 1hr33mins, 15.55kms, Ave 6.01min/kms, Max 4.26min/km.
I call this a steady paced run because cardio-wise, thats what it felt like, despite the pace. Its very undulating all the way - constant ups and downs, twists and turns - but its a lovely wide trail of compacted gravel and today a thick carpet of pine needles in most parts as well. It really is the ideal running surface in my opinion. As well as the constant undulations, theres a few really long and steep hills so its not a place for an easy run, but it was a good challenge and I felt good throughout, if somewhat puffed in places! The scenery is great all the way, but not long before I turned back I got really quite high up and the views of the forest, rolling countryside and sea beyond, were stunning.
Due to having the cellphone in my back pocket, I didn't wear the Fuelbelt today. But it was very warm and I was sweating like mad, so when I got back to the car - after stretching of course! - I sat on the bonnet looking at the view out towards the city and quickly downed my 1.25lt bottle of Replace. At that moment, sitting in the sun, thinking about the run I'd just done, I couldn't think of any place I'd rather be really...
I'm glad I got this run done early, as by midday I was suffering from really bad T.O.M. cramps and barely able to walk, let alone run! That probably had a lot to do with why I had the blahs yesterday too! I can't believe the long weekend is already over and its back to work tomorrow - I could certainly do with another four days off! Oh well... looking on the bright side - it was nice to be able to do a long, enjoyable, off-road run on a Monday - and theres only a four day working week to get thru!
Oh and the other day I read on someones blog a comment about a chocolate "Bilby"... At the time I wondered what the hell it was...! Today we opened a bag of goodies my sister had sent over for Easter. What did she send me? Yep, a chocolate Bilby!! Love it!! She called tonight. They have spent Easter weekend driving from Melbourne to their new place in Townsville. Well they'll be living on Magnetic Island actually, but they're staying in Townsville tonight... She asked me if I could check out what official time she got for Run4Kids - she thought it would be somewhere on the Herald Sun website, but I had a quick check and couldn't find anything about it. I would appreciate it if someone in the know could point me in the right direction for the results/photos, as she won't be having internet access for a few days yet and I promised to text it to her if I could find it. Thanks!
Well the blahs of yesterday were dispelled today with a magnificent run in the Whitford Forest. Its just so beautiful and tranquil out there and its impossible to feel, well, blah! Not that yesterday was that major or too much of a struggle - I just wasn't really in the mood for running laps...
Today couldn't have been a more different run - it would have been nice to have some company, but I certainly wasn't bothered to be heading out on my own. I was at the forest by just after 8am and it was an absolutely stunning April morning - a perfectly clear blue sky and just a very gentle breeze. They had done some clearing near the entrance since I was last there and it looked quite different. After a bit of a walk to warmup and get up and over the first two hills, I headed off along the main access road. I ran further into the forest today than I ever have before and never saw another soul after the first 5mins. Its pretty isolated out there and I made sure I wore my lycra shorts that have a back pocket large enough to fit my cellphone. Sure there were probably some mountain bikers out there, but they use the many trails rather than the access road itself. I'd probably get myself horribly lost if I ventured onto the trails, so I don't!
Brisk walk warm-up: 10mins
Steady paced run: 1hr33mins, 15.55kms, Ave 6.01min/kms, Max 4.26min/km.
I call this a steady paced run because cardio-wise, thats what it felt like, despite the pace. Its very undulating all the way - constant ups and downs, twists and turns - but its a lovely wide trail of compacted gravel and today a thick carpet of pine needles in most parts as well. It really is the ideal running surface in my opinion. As well as the constant undulations, theres a few really long and steep hills so its not a place for an easy run, but it was a good challenge and I felt good throughout, if somewhat puffed in places! The scenery is great all the way, but not long before I turned back I got really quite high up and the views of the forest, rolling countryside and sea beyond, were stunning.
Due to having the cellphone in my back pocket, I didn't wear the Fuelbelt today. But it was very warm and I was sweating like mad, so when I got back to the car - after stretching of course! - I sat on the bonnet looking at the view out towards the city and quickly downed my 1.25lt bottle of Replace. At that moment, sitting in the sun, thinking about the run I'd just done, I couldn't think of any place I'd rather be really...
I'm glad I got this run done early, as by midday I was suffering from really bad T.O.M. cramps and barely able to walk, let alone run! That probably had a lot to do with why I had the blahs yesterday too! I can't believe the long weekend is already over and its back to work tomorrow - I could certainly do with another four days off! Oh well... looking on the bright side - it was nice to be able to do a long, enjoyable, off-road run on a Monday - and theres only a four day working week to get thru!
Oh and the other day I read on someones blog a comment about a chocolate "Bilby"... At the time I wondered what the hell it was...! Today we opened a bag of goodies my sister had sent over for Easter. What did she send me? Yep, a chocolate Bilby!! Love it!! She called tonight. They have spent Easter weekend driving from Melbourne to their new place in Townsville. Well they'll be living on Magnetic Island actually, but they're staying in Townsville tonight... She asked me if I could check out what official time she got for Run4Kids - she thought it would be somewhere on the Herald Sun website, but I had a quick check and couldn't find anything about it. I would appreciate it if someone in the know could point me in the right direction for the results/photos, as she won't be having internet access for a few days yet and I promised to text it to her if I could find it. Thanks!
posted by Vicky @ 4/09/2007 09:00:00 pm
5 Comments:
At Tue Apr 10, 07:40:00 pm,
Anonymous said…
Sounds like a gorgeous run, I was at home with bad cramps (what is it with us girls being in synch? lol) and couldn't face running. A forest run sounds just like what I need right now!
At Tue Apr 10, 09:25:00 pm,
Andrew(ajh) said…
That sounds like an absolutely magnificent run - you lucky thing you!
To get your sisters R4K result, go to http://www.runforthekids.com.au, then choose Results from the Entrants menu (may take a couple of minutes for the menu bar to load). Then you just need to type in first initial and surname to get the result.
At Wed Apr 11, 12:12:00 am,
Anonymous said…
Ahh, one of those Zen runs, they really are tops aren't they!
Spooky, I had TOM blahs on the weekend too with wicked cramps kicking in after my long run on Friday. Funny they always seem OK when I am running though. In fact the fitter I get the less I am troubled, another bonus (sorry boys)
At Wed Apr 11, 11:22:00 pm,
Samurai Running said…
That run in the forest sounds like a cracker! It's a great time of the year to run isn't it? With the weather cooling off I remember the Easter long weekend times in Australia to be the best time of year, weatherwise. It must be similar in NZ.
At Thu Apr 12, 12:14:00 am,
Ewen said…
You describe that run beautifully. Getting lost would be fun in a place like that!
Also, I was pleased to read you were sitting on the 'bonnet' and not the 'hood' :)
Your running is going so well - I'm sure you'll do a good time if you run the half marathon.
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