Training Log Archive: Tim C

#trainingintherain (+mist)

Really nice run on some trails in Fernwood. Found some nice forest sections+ a waterfall+ went to check out the bushmans paintings quickly. Also chased some springbok+blesbok+hartebeest (well they just ran away as I came past).

On antibiotics for the next 5days (burst my eardrum..), so gonna have to take it relatively easy.

C • Burst eardrum 2

To the dam+ then racing the car back to the house. Won by about 2metres!

FKT (fastest known time) attempt from Monks Cowl office (about 1500masl) to Champagne Castle (3377masl) and back down.

Decided last night I might as well have a go at it. Up at 4:30am and started at 4:57am- pretty impressed with myself!

From the office, up sphinx to Blindmans corner, then along the contour path to hlatikulu nek, then up the valley towards Grays, into the riverbed+along, then up Grays, I quick detour to the river to fill up water, and then carrying on up to Champagne castle (with a false cairn about 300m from the summit hurting me a bit mentally..). Then a quick 5min break on top (pretty cool being on top of the clouds) for some food+some photo evidence of me being there, then back down the same way.

Perfect weather conditions! Probably about 15degrees pretty much the whole way. Only problem is lack of water.. Only about 3 places en route to fill up compared to the normal 10 or so, so had to carry quite a lot.

Going down Grays hurt me a bit, and then the last 9/10km were a struggle as well (even though they were mostly down).

Ended up breaking the old record by about 2hours and 34min (if the time Stijn had was correct, but I'm sure it was :P)

Monks Cowl- Blindmans (49min) (6km)

Blindmans to bottom of grays (1:40) (51min) (7.5km)

Up Grays (2:44) (1:04) (2.5km)

Grays to Champagne (3:18) (:34) (3km)

Champagne to Grays (3:44) (:26) (with 5min break) (3km)

Down Grays (4:21) (:37) (2.5km)

To Blindmans (5:16) (:55) (7.5km)

Down Sphinx (5:54) (:38) (6km) - much slower than it should have been..

Pretty broken by the end!

3400/8850 (8850 is a lot of climb.. :/ )

C • Nice Job! 3

Same start as yesterday (up to the lower slopes of Matterhorn and all the way along the cattle tracks to the end), then down past the small village+ back to Ulundi on the Jeep track.

900/8850 (hopefully going to get a bit of a bigger chunk of climb tomorrow)

In the berg for the next week, so should be some decent long runs+climb :D

I'll see if I can get the climb up to everest (8850) by the 24th (7 days). Should probably take it easy for big5 after that..

C • FKTs 3

From the house, up the road to the corner, up to the lower slopes of the matterhorn, all the way along to near the end, then up the back and all the way along the ridgeline to the trig beacon and then down the front face.

So great to be back in the berg! Love being able to run pretty much anywhere you want and not get cut to pieces by bushes.

Down the front face was pretty steep, so ended up having to walk all of that (think I was slower coming down than going up.. )


600/8850

Thunderstorm meant I couldnt get out until rather late. so just decided to take a rest day + go for a short one. 2 laps of the block+added loops in those laps. Perfect running conditions!!

Some O training at Groenkloof (on 1:10 000). Stuck mostly to the ridges.

Blesbok, hartebeest, zebra+ lots and lots of guineafowl.

Jog to fountains planning on doing a course around there, but there seemed to be some event on+huge amounts of people, so gave it a skip.