Alpine Race Report Part 2: Up to Warby Corner

Race day started at about 3:15 in the morning. Our little cabin was full of activity and nerves as we all rushed around getting ready. Todd and I were ready to walk to the start line around 4:10, but Tamyka still seemed to be getting ready. I knew something was wrong but didn’t want to bother her when she looked stressed. Todd and I headed up and hoped to see Tamyka soon. Luckily, she knew what she was doing, because signing in took all of 30 seconds, and she was there with plenty of time to spare.

The race started out the front of Bogong Jack pub in Bogong Village and we headed up the road briefly before joining the Magazine Cable Track. I started with Tamyka but she was struggling with an upset tummy and soon it was just Todd and I together. Not long after we came to Spion Kopje fire trail, I let Todd run off in front of me and I was just surrounded by people I didn’t know, but happy to not be alone. Everyone seemed to be in teams and it was pretty easy just to follow them.

The Rocky Valley Creek Ford arrived in no time. This has been greatly improved since the last time I did it, when I ended up with water up to my thighs and struggled to find any stable ground on the rocky, uneven and slippery surface. I grabbed the chain and charged through the water, across in no time. Then it was up Spion Kopje for quite a few kilometres. It was in that time that my tummy started to cramp. It wasn’t too bad just yet, but I knew it was probably going to get worse.

Spion Kopje was not as bad as I remembered. Although it was a long climb, it certainly wasn’t as steep as it seemed in 2009. It is amazing how some fitness changes your perspective on what is steep. I think the other big difference was that the trail wasn’t blocked by massive trees that had fallen down in storms. During our hike, Tamyka and I had to throw our packs over these huge trees and then crawl or climb over ourselves. The tree fall this time was not such a hindrance as the trees were quite small.

Finally, after gaining about 1000m in elevation, the climb up Spion kopje was over. The trail was just a little bit runable now and I started to move quicker. I even passed a couple of people. Running along the aqueduct I easily located the crossing and was then off to Warby Corner.

Alpine Race Report Part 1: The Beginning

It started with a text message. My friend Tamyka suggested I enter the 100km at the Alpine Challenge. At the time I laughed (or LOL’d) this off as a rather ridiculous idea. I had hiked about 50km of the course with Tamyka back in 2009 and could still remember the agony of hiking up T-Spur to summit Mount Bogong, and the bewilderment I had at the idea that she was planning to run the course. Thinking of that, I was certain there was no way I could run that course, and then there was the navigation to worry about too.

　
I am always a little taken in by Tamyka’s ideas though. In some way, I think she is better at gauging my abilities than I am and the more we trained together, the more the idea started to resonate with me. After a while, I knew I had to do it. I had no idea if I could finish, or even find my way, but I just had to try. I consider this to be the toughest 100km trail run in Australia and that is something I couldn’t miss out on having a go at.

My proper training started around December, when I finally committed to signing up. Having spent the end of 2010 and the first half of 2011 sidelined with injuries, I put a lot of thought into how to train for this event. It is quite apparent that my body can’t handle high mileage training and I only had to look at my record of overuse injuries to see that. So my Alpine training plan involved a lot of cross training. I also tried to avoid consecutive running days for the first couple of months. A normal week looked like this: run 20-70km, swim 2-3km, ride 70-100km and throw in some weights training.

I am proud to say that I didn’t get injured. In fact, I haven’t had an injury since I came out of that horrid moon boot back in April last year. I experienced minor niggles about 3 times and on each occasion identified the cause, rested and was niggle free within a couple of days. This is quite possibly my biggest running achievement to date.

By the end of February I was pretty exhausted from training. Although my mileage was low, I still found myself extremely busy. I all but gave up my free time and social life for training. I have no idea how people manage 100km plus weeks. Finally March arrived which meant tapering! I was very happy to give my exhausted self a rest.

Unfortunately, tapering is when the panic starts. With a bit of free time, I found I actually had time to think of the challenge ahead. Although the physical challenge was daunting – 100km with over 4000m of ascent – that isn’t what really worried me. I was fitter and stronger than ever and I had something far scarier to worry about – navigation!

This is not a marked course. There was no flagging tape in trees, no signs at junctions and sometimes, the trails become quite indistinct. I can read a map and use a compass. I found my way around the Canadian Rockies just fine, and the one time that I did get lost, I managed to use the contour lines and some landmarks on the map to figure out where I was and scramble back to safety. Feeling confident in those skills would be rational however, and all I could think about was when I had hiked the area 2 years earlier with no map reading or navigation experience to speak of. Back then I had to rely entirely on Tamyka. Even worse, I remembered coming down Quartz Ridge and losing the path several times because it was indistinct and overgrown.

In the spare time I had between packing and coming up with a race plan, I studied the map. This only made me panic more. On top of this, there was talk of a course change due to all the rain, so I was absolutely convinced I was going to get lost. Most likely this would happen in the dark. I am afraid of the dark. By race week I was feeling ill with worry. I somehow managed to stuff a suitcase full of all the gear I would need, plus some I didn’t, get on a plane and eventually end up in Bogong village.

Nervous much...

So it has been a while since I wrote anything. I have a good excuse for once though – I have been busy training. Now it is just 5 sleeps to go until Alpine Challenge 100km and although I know I am the fittest and strongest I have ever been, I remain very, very nervous. Although I know the physical challenge will be the toughest I have ever faced, that is not what scares me this time. I am worried about getting lost and about the feeling of complete isolation as I run alone for hours and hours in unknown surrounds. That is half the reason I signed up though, so I am just gonna suck it up and go with it.

This is the hardest I have ever trained for a race. By the time I started my taper, I honestly felt that I could not manage one more week of training because I was so tired. I have only been running about 60km a week, but that is actually a lot for me as I have always battled overuse injuries when I have done anything more than 50km. I have also thrown in about 80km on the bike each week and 3km of swimming, plus some weights sessions.

There have been some fantastic runs in that training. Almost every week, I went out for a night run with Tam and/or Todd for 2 – 3 hours at Coot-tha. We ran when it was pouring rain and got to see a very impassable Simpson’s Falls, as well as wade through creeks. We saw rocket frogs (these things are cool – google em) and a tiny little possum (sorry they are still cute even if they are pests).

I have also been making it out most weeks for the moon light run with the girls. These are great social runs. If you live in the Brisbane area and want to go for a mid week night time run, are a lady and don’t like to run up hills (who does), let me know and I will bring you along.

There has also been a start on the Trail Walker training. Our whole team got together and did a fantastic 35km(ish) loop in BFP back in Jan. Mallani took us down and up Township Break which is rather steep. I stood at the top of one hill and said to Tam, "I just can’t see a safe line to take. Oh well, stuff it, I’m just gonna go and hope for the best". Then off I went, fast, tiny steps and all. In no time I had lost control and was hurtling down the hill at about 20km/h, arms and legs flying everywhere. How I managed to stay upright, I don’t know. Libby was very upset with me for this performance. I hope she forgives me someday.

Finally, there has been the long weekend runs. My favourite was a 50km run I did with Tam. I started at Chapel Hill and ran up to Channel 9 at Mt Coot-tha via the Kokoda trail where I met Tam at the top of Powerful Owl. We then ran out to Mt Nebo. The weather had been horrible in the few days before our run and it was forecast to continue that day. We were lucky though, making it almost all the way to Mt Nebo without getting wet. The rain started as we ran the last little bit through the rainforest up to the café. As we sat eating our lunch at the café, I noticed a leach on Tamyka’s hand. Then we noticed a whole lot of leaches all over our shoes and legs. Needless to say, squealing ensued and the mountain bikers and motor cyclists had quite a laugh at us. I don’t care, leaches are disgusting. We then ran all the way back to Mt coot-tha. I left Tam at the top of Quail Trail and headed down to Gap Creek Reserve and then into Chapel Hill, while she still had to go up Highwood Rd and then down Powerful Owl.

All up, this has been a fantastic 3 or so months of training, but I am also excited at the prospect of having some spare me again! During my taper I have actually managed to sleep in twice and cross quite a few items off my To Do List (which is 3 A4 pages long).

Yesterday I worked out my race plan. It seems a little pointless when the course is likely to be changed due to flooding, but all the same, it gives me peace of mind to know I have something. Now all that is left is familiarising myself with the map a bit more and packing. Oh and pre-race dinner where I plan to consume all the calories that I will burn the following day. So… five more sleeps and off I go into the wilderness. Oh dear.