Training Log Archive: Trav

Hotel treadmill. 5 x 3.5 minutes with 1.5 at 6mph in between. Speed started at 9mph (I'm still looking for a treadmill in a Canadian hotel that runs metrically) and increased by .2 for each rep. Average cadende 90-92 bpm,

Good fast run with two k2 ascents and a few surges just for grins.

Turbo and Zoo in the Sahara. Results here:
http://www.4deserts.com/sahararace/results
After one day Turb is in 2nd, Zoo is 14 minutes behind him in 3rd. Leader is a hotshot Spaniard who took a half hour out of the field on the first day.

If you want to harangue or encourage either of them, you can send emails:
http://www.4deserts.com/sahararace/email

C • Sahara race 2

Couples smt with bent and bash. Rainy, but that made for dreamy washed out fall colors. All in a terrific run. We all agreed not to make abig deal of PH's awkward no show.

C • yeah 5

4.5 times artaban, the .5 was because Trix and I went down to the bottom and then ran tempo up half way and around Skunk Hollow and up Danish Hill.

Big one with Robin, Duane, Tracey and Trix. 8 - 3 - 8 - 3

Trix, Mikey and Greta took us for a terrific run around the single track. Showed everybody where the head smashed in deer jump happened

Stealth core.

Fine STM with turb, supe and girls. Spectacular colors. Stained glass window run.

Sunday morning run with turbo, Katy Mac and a pack of dogs. Anyone else?

Hotel treadmill. gradual increase in speed to 10mph. Held for 2 minutes then down slowly. Then two hill repeats at 10%

Downtown core core

Friday Night Lights at the Hottage is back! Let us know if you want to join in the fun. 8pm, but only if it's dark.

South Africa mountain bike photos:

C • Wow 2

6 4 6 4 6 or something like that.

Nice family run in the valley. Great colour.

Gym workout with friend Mark Bishop, whom we met in the Sahara race 5 years ago. Beautiful home in joberg. Cool gym.

Africore

Best cycling terrain in mushato. Lovely slick rock. Some good short sharp climbs. Hyenas, Jackals, elephants, beasts of all sorts. Feeling confident on the bike.

We rode to a traditional "boma", a kind of stockade, about 50 meters in diameter with cots spread around the outer edge of 6 foot wood pilings. Slept in the open Air under the mushatu tree. Lion sounds, elephant sounds, sounds of all sorts. Wonderful. Balogna and I were stunned by the wonder of it

Zebras, plenty of carcasses, giraffes, jackels. Elephant skin is like fiberglass. Disappointment at disappointment hill. Easy, riding. Breakfast interrupts by a herd of elephants, 8 of them, crossing 20 meters from camp over the Limpopo river bed to South Africa. Impala stew for dinner. Tasty.

Decided to call the whole area giraffic park. They're everywhere and they running slow motion.

Easy. Very slow start, but with a purpose. Mouussa was on the hunt for lion, which he found. A female about 200 meters off. Got a good look through the binos. Hyenas on the way to camp. Half a click out from camp we turned a corner and found ourselves waay too close to a an elephant. These guys don't like surprises and respond by stomping on everything. Moussaka gave the signal for emergency turn around. Balogna and Marcella sounds and were gone, but Andy and I kinda held our ground for some deeply stupid reason. The elephant wheeled our way, no more than 15 meters away and flared its ears. Then figured he couldnt be bothered with total idiots and walked nobly away. A very real moment.

Five hour drive to the botswana border. Assembled the bikes, loaded gear into cool land cruisers and and headed into the bush for a nice easy ride to camp beside the mighty Limpopo river--which was bone dry. Giraffe family, elephant family, impala, black mambo snake (these are nasty and had our hosts on high alert). Bush pig. Springbok. There will be no freelance running here. Guide is armed with large gauge rifle. This is no fooloin' around.

Ride down to Pilgrim's Rest. And a great pub meal. World gold mining championships were on. Canadians were showing as DFL.

Sundowner run. This time Kern joined in the fun. Last day at the camp. Tomorrow we go to Botswana.

Serengeti ride. Cycles past abandoned gold mines, herds of springbok and blessbok. They DO move like flocks of birds.

Lunch was at another dam where we were met by Trent's wife who brought their daughter and their pet meerkat, Tess. This wondrously charming little animal took a shine to me and thoroughly examined my nostrils and my teeth.

Sundowner run to my perfect g and t.

Times are rolling times. Each morning we left at 7:30 or so and rode until noon or 1. 8 of us in the group along with our guide Trent and the outfitters, Claire and Allister, all very strong cyclists and great game spotters. 2 Brits, a scot, 2 kiwis and our buddy from Scotland, Kern, the Northern California kid trapped in the oilfields of Bahrain.

Today was all about wildebeest, reebok, blessbok, warthogs and zebras. The ride was outstanding. Almost all single track, some good climbs and a terrific finish at a dam for a lunch of sausage and salads. Here sausage comes in two meter coils. Pretty cool.

Balogna suggested I run to the top of the valley to join the sundowner. Which struck me as a fine idea. And ski put on shoes and shorts and mashed up the hill. Trent hand me a perfect gin and tonic as I rejoined the group pleasantly winded.

Hotel treadmill hills at joberg airport prior to pickup by our MTB outfitter.

After a 5 hour bus ride into the Drakensberg mountains we arrived at our "homestead". A fishing lodge turned MTB paradise with 7 natural infinity pools draining away from the spectacular back deck. Lodging is at the bottom of a deep valley, which makes it necessary to go up for the mandatory sundowners that are a national passion. 3 of us rode to the top to test the gear. All system go. This is going to be sweet.

Airport core.

Kawabunga! 4:30am pickup by local friends. Fast drive around to the other side of table mountain. Balogna, kern--a friend from our Scotland trip and Berger and ryaan, two typically warm hearted hilarious strong South Africans And what a run. 1300meters of climbing in a 15 k round trip. Full on scramble. Astonishingly, jaw droppingly, stupidly pretty the whole way. Best Four Hour Run ever.

Along the Promenade with Balogna past the World Cup stadium. No vuvuzelas, but festive nonetheless

Sunset Cape Core. That's it no more stealth core for me. I'm comin' out. I am outing myself as core-er. And a more splendid setting for this announcement would be hard to find.