Eugh - I’ve signed up for the Tarawera Ultra Marathon 21km run in February 2023. It’s only 24 weeks and 2 days until the big day.
This race is going to occupy my mind every single day until then.
Why do this to myself?
I missed out on doing an actual event last year with the Taupō Ultra 24km being cancelled. I felt like I did all the training and missed out on the actual party. Even though I did a virtual run, it wasn’t the same.
I was targeting the Taupō event again this year, but thanks to Achilles injuries (that aren’t completely resolved), COVID-19 and all the other sicknesses, that wasn’t going to be realistic.
So, now that I’ve lost all the fitness I gained last year, I’m having a crack at another challenge.
It’s not just about getting that fitness back though, it’s an excuse to go and explore new parts of Wellington that I haven’t been to yet. I’m looking forward to checking out the Skyline Walkway, the Red Rocks Track, and even Mt Climie. These are places I’ve heard about but after 18 years in Wellington, I still haven’t explored them.
I think I’ll need to sign up to the Wild Things trail directory!
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Come with me
So, over the next few months, I’ll share the highs and lows of trail running, rehabbing injuries, some hints and hips, and trying to make time to make progress. While also trying out new coffees along the way.
You won’t see many stats, times, paces, or distance goals from me here - it’s not about that and I don’t want to put people off because of the metrics. I want people to feel like these challenges are available to everyone, at any fitness, at any skill level, at any time. If you want that stuff, you can hunt out my Strava.
I’ll be bringing my own take - shunning the bullshit fitness influencers that make it look all too easy, passing judgement when people don’t make an effort (*cough* Move it Mama *cough*), or making amazing progress because it turns out they’re super rich, don’t need to work and end up being able to train like a professional athlete - while pretending they’re just fitting it all in like the rest of us. A-holes.
No, I’ll be sharing the real life struggles and lack of glamour that is actually involved in doing stuff.
Some days I’ll do good, many days I will not. Some days I just won’t be in the mood. And that’s okay. It won’t mean I’ve failed. I won’t mean I’m “making excuses”. It’ll just mean I’m doing me.
And I’ll look like this:
The only nutrition hints and tips I’ll be sharing will be regarding coffee and it’s impact on the body when exercising. It think it’ll be fun to experiment with filter, instant and espresso, and figure out how my tum tum reacts to it.
There’ll be drama, there’ll be excitement, there’ll probably also be mid-run-trackside poos.
Dirt Church Radio - Greatest Run Ever
There’s a great New Zealand running podcast called Dirt Church Radio. It’s been going for a number of years and they have interesting chats with interesting runners. It’s often in my ears when I’m out and about.
They have a segment called ‘greatest run ever’ where people write in to share the run they think is the best one they’ve had.
I submitted one - partly to try and win an entry into TUM21, which I didn’t win. But it was a fun exercise.
While I fully recommend subscribing to DCR and listening to their pods, I’ve cut my GRE segment from the episode on 20 July 2022, and it’s available below for your listening pleasure.
Leshgo
With this post I announce my intentions to the world. It’s official. We’re off to the races.
And with just one proper training run under the belt, I’ve gone and done myself a mischief, further tweaking that bloody Achilles. Back to the physio then!
Nice! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the gritty ugly hard face of running. All that time I thought I could do it in full makeup, without breaking a sweat. I look forward to learning more about your journey, as you discover some of Wellington's tops. I am filled with sadness at not having done those three tracks you mentioned - I would really love to go and explore those.
I can add one recommendation in there - Stairway to Heaven is absolutely stunning! The views out over the ocean to Kapiti are utterly breathtaking. I love it so much.
Protip: when you catch the train back to the starting point, just 'forget' your wallet. They'll kick you off at the next stop, which just so happens to be where you want to get off ;)