Nick's Jog Blog: May 2014

Ok, so I haven’t blogged in months. I will address the reasons in my next post (likely to be posted sometime in 2017)…but for now, some words about the past weekend, where I raced the most enjoyable race of my life- The North Face 100, 2014.

I wrote back in November that I’d entered a dirty long race in the Blue Mountains. 100km, 4500m of vertical climb, technical trails, steps, ladders and all sorts of hecticness involved. Considering that was six months back, you’d think I’d spend at least some time training for what would be my first ultra marathon, but that wasn’t really the case. Sure, I did a couple of long trail runs on the 3 month roadtrip, but they were more of the I-need-to-actually-run-twice-a-week-to-counteract-my-evergrowing-beer-belly kind of runs, and not really specific training runs for the event. The longest I did was a 30km run at Wilsons Prom, second longest was 21kms in the Flinders Ranges, and after that, maybe a mere 13kms was third longest! Needless to say, I was as underdone as a steak cooked during a blackout. I would need to have “smart” preparation to get away with a half decent race with no training. I bought just about every packet of pasta from Supabarn in order to carbo load in the lead up; I drove out to the mountains and scouted out some of the course so it was familiar in a week’s time (especially the night sections); I got Brad over to talk strategies for support crew as he’d kindly agreed to help Michelle with those duties; and I bought so many unnecessary items (blister pads, lipchap, strapping tape) I nearly went broke funding the thing!

When the Friday finally rolled around, I was “ready” and we headed to the mountains, and enjoyed the Friday night expo, with heaps of free goodies, a nice buffet dinner, and listened to some of the elite runners talk business up on stage, before heading back to the Katoomba Townhouses for around 6 hours sleep before the big day.Getting to the starting line at around 6am on Saturday, the atmosphere was electric. Not just because there were enough bright flashing lights to give a blind man an epileptic fit but because of the 1000 or so nervous runners, all getting ready for their race in their own way. Some were laughing, some were chatting, some were farting (well the old guy next to me did anyway). Me, I was in my own quiet little world ~~doing silent but deadlies~~, keeping warm in a tracksuit and trying to conserve as much energy as I could, and would smile for a few photos taken by my support crew of Michelle, Brad, and Kirsty. Before I could say “damn I wished I trained for this thing”, the sun starting peeking over the horizon, it was 6.48, and my group, group 5 (out of 6) had been counted down and we were off! I was actually doing this!

Just to backtrack a litte…My original goal of sub 17 hours had been well forgotten about several weeks earlier, somewhere around the time both my running buddies (Joel and Ben-I’m looking at you) withdrew from the race, and the time I spent living in a van on a diet largely based on two minute noodles and beer for three months around Australia. I figured, I would be happy to settle for a less ambitious goal. I kept telling everyone I would just “be happy to finish”, which was half true, but secretly I was hoping to be worthy of the sub 20 mark and in doing so, earn myself a sweet TNF Bronze Belt Buckle.

So with this in mind, I set out with “preservation” being the mantra…I wasn’t going to work up a sweat, or bomb down hills, or do anything stupid for the first half of the race-I wanted to finish- and setting out like Usain Bolt was a good way to be flat on your back (or pointing with two hands in the air, one bent, one outstretched, like Usain does) in no time. Either way, I wasn’t ready to find out, jogging for the most part, but slowing down to a powerwalk when I felt I was “overdoing it”.

Start to CP1 was a mere 10.5km, but had the 1000+ steps down into the valley, a technical trail along Federal Pass, and then a big climb up the Golden Stairs to get back onto Narrowneck Ridge. The fresh mountain morning and the atmosphere of the event made the first 10km fly by. Feeling good at the checkpoint, I quickly filled my water and shoved some fruit down my gob and was off again. I was constantly checking the Garmin to check my pace at each kilometre…7:45…9:04…8:39. They were all “slow” in normal running terms, but the fact that a 20 hour race goal converts to 12:00 minute kilometres (well a little quicker-to allow for checkpoint stops), I was actually going too fast! But by the time 20kms had come and gone, my mantra slowly shifted to “if it feels ok, just go with it-let’s bank some time up our sleeve with some faster kilometres so I can have some slower ones when the hills get bigger and my body is more fatigued in the second half of the race”. Yep, that’s one long and drawn out mantra…in fact I only had to repeat it eight times and the race was half over!

Narrowneck was an enjoyable part of the race, especially with so many other runners around. The downside to the large number of runners close by meant that by the time I got to Tarros Ladders the queue was deemed too long, and we were directed down the 400m longer Duncan’s Pass instead. Now it was a 100.4km race! Shaking that off, I continued along the singletrail and onto the fire trail that would lead me to Checkpoint 2.

Checkpoint 2-the 31km mark-was reached after 5 hours, and I again reloaded the bag with Clif Bars, lollies and water, and kept on trekking. The trail switched from mostly firetrails to singletrack again, and I wasn’t exactly sure of what to expect, as I hadn’t researched this part of the course. I certainly didn’t expect Ironpot Hill to be as sinister as it was, as the name kind of reminded me of the tea pot character out of Beauty and the Beast. It was a little beauty and lot of beast, and slowed a lot of runners down to a complete stop, having to catch their breath every few metres of serious elevation. The view at the top was something I wish I had more time to soak in…sheer cliff faces dropping down into lush green farmland, with nothing but blue sky above, and the sound of Aboriginals playing the didgeroo and clapping sticks up ahead (seriously-the event put them there, I didn’t get lost and find an uncontacted Aboriginal tribe or anything). After a short out and back section along the ridge, we descended once again, and once down in the farmland area I had just been admiring, I ran past horses, cows and more horses. In fact, I saw one runner up ahead who was stopped and patting one of the horses…I was unsure if she had planned this in her pacing, but she was still there by the time I passed her 30 seconds later! Whatever floats your boat I say, but I thought I’d save patting horses for after the race.

I hit the marathon mark of 42km, and instead of feeling absolutely drained like I’d expected, I was beginning to think I might actually finish this race. I thought I’d increase the tempo for a few kms to get me to the 46km Checkpoint 3, where I’d see the support crew and be able to have a quick breather. I could hear the cheering, and music and sweet vibes a good five minutes before I could see them-Checkpoint 3 was going off! People were everywhere, but the only ones I cared to see were Michelle, Brad and Kirsty who were ready to attend to my requests in super quick time like the champions they are. I sat down, shoved heaps of food in my face (most of it went in my mouth), and told them what I’d eaten as we had to keep track of calories so I wouldn’t fade away. I stocked up on some more food, and toilet paper (already two poos in 46kms-about average for me!) and left them after 11 minutes of rejuvenating. They were really positive and I think quite surprised at how good I looked, but I knew this was the easy part, and that the kms would only get increasingly harder as the day wears on. I was mentally preparing myself for the real battle to be fought from the 50km onwards.

With only 11kms to checkpoint 4, I kept the pace up a little, knowing that one of the toughest climbs was coming up at the 55km mark, called Nellies Glen, which would slow me right down. It was at this stage the ol’ stomach didn’t feel the greatest. Whether it was because today was the first time I was experimenting with salt tablets, or the fact that I’d eaten more lollies than a eight year old at a birthday party, or what the specific case was I wasn’t sure…but it wasn’t enough to slow me to a complete stop. Nellie’s Glen was extremely steep, and I just kept focused on “walking with purpose”, as I knew it was easy to let a 5.5km/h walking pace slip to a 3.5km/h walking pace without really noticing, which doesn’t seem like much-but over a race as long as this, is enough to add hours to the finishing time. The trail was tough, but certainly beautiful, and about halfway up, somewhere between the muddy steps and the trickling waterfalls pooling beside lush green ferns I found myself stopping quickly to take selfies of myself with the scenery…something I certainly haven’t done during any shorter distance races, but I now thought the girl who had stopped to pat the horses wasn’t so crazy after all!

Hiking up the steep trail, alongside the cliff faces, my Garmin lost satellite reception and-like me-was a little bit spaced out, and by the time it regathered itself, I was a little disheartened to learn that when my watch told me I had covered 57km, I was only up to the 55km mark. First world problems, I know, but another mental kick in the groin to deal with for the rest of the race.

Reaching the top of Nellies, I let out a loud “WOOOO!” knowing I’d just tackled one of the toughest climbs of the course, and my battlecry scared the wits out of one competitor who was taking a leak in the bushes nearby…sorry mate!

Back on the streets of Katoomba, the course was relatively flat (well flat compared to the trails but still hillier than most streets I’d run on!) and I could hear some spectators cheering people on by the Aquatic Centre, which was CP4, at the 57km mark. I entered the basketball courts to the crowd cheering and quickly found my crew. Once again, they were outstanding, tending to my every need, and telling me I look fantastic every thirty seconds. I’m sure I didn’t look fantastic but this was one of their duties-to keep my spirits up…Lucky they are good liars! I changed into some warmer gear, and after a quick 2 minute noodles (like I hadn’t had enough of those this year) had left the check point after about 14 minutes-a little longer than I had planned.

It was 5pm by the time I hit the road again, and with the sun dipping below the horizon, I got the trusty headlamp out and mentally prepared for another 21kms until the next CP. My night training had consisted of two runs, totalling a measly 10kms in the dark, and although I was underprepared and a little out of the comfort zone, the fact I had to concentrate on where I put each and every step actually took my mind off the enormity of the task at hand, with 43kms total still to be run.

It was a shame the sun had gone down just minutes earlier, as the section I was running would have looked unreal in the daylight! As I skirted along the cliff edge, I looked across to Scenic World, and saw a small trail of headlamps snaking their way up the tough Furber Steps. The lights would have been from some of the front runners of the race, considering we were now about 11 hours into the race. How nice it would be to be finishing now! But I still had eight or so hours left of running at this rate. I could just make out the outline of the Three Sisters and I made my way down the Giant Staircase…which is a staircase, which is giant-sized…it speaks for itself really! There were a few tourists lingering which slowed me down a bit, but it was a pretty slow section anyway, taking what felt like 10 minutes or so to reach the bottom. I was really relying on the handrails and using the muscles in my upper body to help lower me down the tight, winding steps, trying to conserve energy in my legs. Once at the bottom I thought this leg would be pretty straight forward and not too up and down, but boy was I wrong! I guess I should have studied the elevation profile for more than 30 seconds! Around the Leura Cascades area there were metal staircases that went on and on, and just when I thought I would be back out the valley, we’d go back down again, then up, then down, then up. It was hard to get a good pace going but I continued to jog any flat sections to keep my pace half respectable. It’s all a bit of a blur really, and the first thing I distinctly remember was getting to the Water Point at 66km and the volunteer yelling “We have water, we have lollies, we have high-fives!”…I didn’t need any water, but the lollies, and especially the high five was a boost!

I got some “real food” (a banana) into me along the road section just before Leura Golf Course and took the opportunity to chat to some of the other runners while we were side by side. I’d always start off with a Carl Barron-esque “how ya goin?”. To which they would reply with not much enthusiasm, or tell me about their injury concerns, or how much they were hurting. It seemed I was feeling a little better and more confident than the handful of people I’d small-talked with. I guess the people who were feeling better were ahead of me actually running, rather than making friends at snail pace like I was. I boosted along the fire trail and onto Tableland Road, recording a few quicker kilometres, knowing I could have a little rest at CP5, which was just up the road at the 78km mark. My opinion was that the leg between CP4 and CP5 was the hardest, with the constant change in surfaces, and ups and downs. I had a lot of close calls-nearly rolling an ankle three or four times as I wasn’t used to night running on trails and at that point my body was just shufflin' along, and not too agile. By this stage, I knew it wasn’t going to be fatigue that would be my undoing in the race, it would be a silly mistake such as tripping on a rock, or slipping off the track and injuring myself that would stop me. Each time I had a stumble I would berate myself, telling myself to slow down and concentrate, which was easier said than done in the mental state I was in.

With a nice hot soup (which tasted like heaven in a bowl) waiting for me at CP5, my awesome crew were on the ball and I was in and out of there without much fuss within 10 minutes. I’d told my crew all day that CP5 was when I’d need them the most, and that I could be pretty banged up by this stage, knowing that 70km was the most I’d ever run in a single day before (and that was 2+ years ago). Although I was about as fatigued as you’d expected from a bloke that’s just run 70kms, I had no real injuries, and felt relatively good and confident I’d get through the final 22kms-it was just a matter of how long it would take.

My goal of a sub-20 hour finish time had been pushed to the forefront of my mind since about the 50km mark, and I’d been slowly but steadily building up some “spare time” in the knowledge that the final 10kms had a vertical rise of nearly 1000m, and that I’d be knackered by then. Leaving CP5 I had 5 hours to run 22kms, and I knew IF nothing went wrong (that’s a big IF!) I would do it in roughly 4 hours. If something went wrong, an extra hour would be meaningless-I was well aware a cramp or stomach problems, or countless other problems would require me to have an extended stop on the last leg. With this in mind, as soon as trail started to descend down the Kedumba Walls, I let gravity assist me and I just let loose. Sure, I wasn’t as fresh as a daisy (however fresh that is), but I knew after roughly 10kms of steep downhill, I wouldn’t need my quads again, as it was all uphill. (It sounded like a good theory anyway!). I passed quite a few people on the way down, and no one passed me. With every “quick” kilometre that passed, I knew that would allow me a “slow” kilometre on the way back out the valley.
The emergency aid station at 91km was a good chance to stock up on some more lollies for the long slow climb (my teeth felt pretty much completely rotted from copious amounts of sugar consumed by this stage now anyway-what difference would an extra few snakes make?) .

I was glad I’d bombed down the hill, because I was slooooow on the way back up. Quite a few of the people I’d passed on the way down were now overtaking me again, which I had expected. The 91-95km were pretty hazy, and I could feel that I “wasn’t all there”…although my body kept moving forward, my mind had shut off. I was unsure if I needed more sugar, more salt, or more water. What I needed was a nice warm bed, but at the bottom of the Jamison Valley that wasn’t really an option! My Garmin had died by this stage and without knowing how far I’d gone or my pace, my mind didn’t really know what to concentrate on. Around the 95km mark there was a nice girl and guy who had caught up to me, but weren’t keen on overtaking me, and said they were happy with the pace I was setting. We talked as we powerwalked along the now relatively flat Federal Pass, with my headlamp leading my feet over rocks and branches. It was what I needed to stimulate my brain and keep me from slowing down, and we cheered together each time we saw the 96km, 97km and 98km marker. Although I was enjoying the company, knowing I was only 2km from the finish with a chance to now crack 19 hours, I decided I’d start up the jogging again. I starting dumping water as I reached the bottom of the Furber Steps, and starting the steep ascent up the buggers. They seemed to go on forever, and I would just keep counting each step to keep my mind off it. I got to over a thousand, so I either miscounted them (highly likely), or the race organisers lied to us by saying there were only 900. But either way, a few short steps later I could hear cheering and I popped up onto the familiar looking entrance of Scenic World. Up ahead I saw the North Face 100 banner, and underneath was the finish line. My crew started cheering and I crossed the line in 18:55, raising my arms in the air and let out another big “WOOOO!”, knowing that was the last kilometre I’d have to run.

After a few hugs and congratulations, the first thing I did was head to the table giving out the Bronze Belt Buckles. Putting the table up a flight of stairs was a bit cruel if you ask me, but I was happy to hobble up them, eager to see my prize.

The guys kept asking me how I was feeling, and I just couldn’t find the words. The mixture of extreme fatigue with the elation of beating my goal was balancing me out into a subdued idiot that just kept answering “I don’t know!” (or something equally as uninspiring) to every question they could throw at me. We drove back to the apartments and discussed the race a bit more, before heading to bed for a well-deserved sleep.

Looking back, I was proud of myself for managing my body to get through the 100kms without breaking down. I knew the lack of training meant I was vulnerable to screwing it all up in a number of different ways, and I’m surprised I didn’t! But with some good carb loading (one of my favourite things to do), conservative pacing, good research and a well thought out nutrition plan I think I got away with it! A small part of me knew I left a few hours out there on the course, and I know I will be a little more ambitious next time around, but knew I’d done about as well as I could without blowing up and DNFing.

All in all, it was an awesome race which I am already keen to get back to. The race director Tom and his team did an epic job to make the event run like clockwork. There were volunteers EVERYWHERE, who were extremely helpful, and although I hadn’t run any of the course previously, I wasn’t even close to getting lost (physically anyway-I was mentally lost from 91km onwards!). The event expo on the Friday night, and the presentation on the Sunday morning were both great, and after having the event marked down in the calendar for so long, I was reluctant to drive home and put an official end to the weekend. But knowing that there’s another TNF100 in 53 weeks’ time, I’m already looking forward to the next one!

Below are a ton of pictures...some from Aurora Images, some from the ol' IPhone and some from MAC Photography www.macphotography.biz , otherwise known as the lovely Michelle!