Training Log Archive: Mounty

It’s funny how things evolve sometimes. Bart put out the call for a long run earlier in the week, and I steered the location north due to Annika crashing my car last week creating transport challenges. The forecast was looking very warm, and so a route was sketched up to create swim opportunities and a beer finish….and the distance trimmed to 42k by Friday when the forecast had upgraded to very bloody warm. Switching to Saturday wasn’t an option, so we went for an early start plan and hit the road from Balgowlah at 7am.

While the forecast was low 40’s for parts of Sydney, weatherzone was showing 39 north-side and I figured in the trail shade and on the coast we’d be dealing with mid-30s. Long story short, it got hotter than that and the day turned in to a heat dodging adventure.

The shady Bantry Bay track was OK to start as I headed off with Ondrej and Bart, but the first sign of the fun to come was climbing up to the lookout in direct sunlight which felt f’ing hot at 7:45am. We crossed the natural bridge and headed for the Forestvlle Coles and strategic Icy Pole (Twist) stop #1. We bought an 8-pack as singles weren’t available and jogged off towards Garigal chomping each on our first….which tasted amaaazing enough that we kept eating until they were all gone. A sugar high, and the shadiest section of the track through to the Cascades made for the ‘calm before the storm’ section of the run.

Then shit got real with the climb up the Heath Track to Belrose - exposed fire trail in direct sun and temperature close to 40 - with respite eventually coming in the form of the Belrose IGA.

The doors of the IGA opened like the gates of heaven, and we were rewarded for our toil by a wall of cold air-conditioning...it was truly wonderful and we doubled down with a dash to the fridge for a large red bull and I filled my bladder with 2l of cold water. We stayed in the IGA cooling down for a bit, listening to the songs of angels and planning the now what. Original game plan was to cut back to Balgowlah thru' Red Hill, but that would have been stupid and we decided to head to the surf at Dee Why via a dip in Narrabeen lakes.

Oxford Falls served up the hottest section of the day with it's heat-reflecting white fire trail pushing Bart's watch in to the 41's, with the sight of the ocean up ahead keeping things moving. My Oxford Falls exploring a few months ago paid off when we were able to avod the climb of death with a shady track along Deep Creek and next swim in Narrabeen lakes.

Next stop was Collaroy for a swim in the surf, and Bart deciding to call it for the day until we worked out it was only 5k to the 4 Pines brewery...with the day ending there sitting in front of their giant fan and a couple of pints to share war stories.

Truly stupid, and very memorable.

C • “The doors of the IGA” 1

Running is a useful form of transport when your daughter crashes your car. Jogged from Balmoral to Manly via Spit walk to catch up with Jani & his sister at the skiff club for an afternoon drink.

Bit of a different session today, starting with a run up to Taphouse in Surry Hills to catch-up with old Stockholm friend Jani who is in town. After a chat over a pint of Balter XPA, I continued back down thru' Darlinghurst to Woolloomooloo and around the water back to the office.

I spontaneously threw in a Lady Mac chair interval - a staple of my Westpac days (early 2000's) and was quite pleased that a 2:34 came out without too much struggle - I would have been happy with that 15 years ago. I also reflected that the 2 young guys having a massive pash would likely have been more self-conscious than they were 15 years ago.

Downloaded an old summer series map of Sheldon Forest for some iPhone orienteering on a warm and pleasant evening. Feeling better than yesterday, Focused on breathing for the run home, trying out Bart's mindset that it's about getting rid of CO2 rather than collecting O2. Not bad.

Lunchy around Barangaroo and the eastern wharves to the gardens and back thru domain...which reminded me of why I prefer the westside runs over Pyrmont way - much quieter.

Struggled like yesterday but was at least struggling faster.

C • Yep 1

Lunchtime death march with Bart over the bridge to Berry Island. As first real run for a while I felt pretty crap most of the way, and was glad to be dragged around.