Why we do what we do.

About 2 weeks ago, I tripped while out on a run and injured my leg. I had a big cut on my knee, and the knee became stiff and swollen. I had trouble both bending and straightening that leg for about a week, but then the wound started to scab and the leg and joint started to ease and loosen. For the past few days, while I've been driving too and from work, whenever I've seen people running I've thought to myself, "I wish that was me running".

My knee after my tumble 2 weeks ago.

While I've been unable to run it has allowed me to think at times about why I do run. That sounds a bit weird, but let me explain. In about 2 months I'm going to be running a race over 13km, and I had built a training program to help build strength, speed and stamina. But really, I'm not bothered about how fast I go, or even how far I go. To me it's just important to be able to go out and run, and I really enjoy it. So when I couldn't run I missed the actual physical workouts. I didn't miss running certain distances, or running at certain speeds, but I did miss 'just running'.

This morning, I ran for the first time in 2 weeks, and it was pretty tiring. I ran a very leisurely 5km and found my muscles were aching afterwards, and I was short of breath during the run. The knee didn't bother me, though I was aware of it. All in all, it was nothing more than a short, slow recovery run, and that is the way things will be for at least this week. And after this I have decided to reset my goals. Instead of going for longer and faster, I am just going to run, however far and however fast I want to. I have a general aim of running half marathon distances, but it's the actual joy of getting out and doing what I do that is what I get a buzz from.

My new goal is to run 4 times a week, though this might not happen for a couple of weeks while I recover fully.  I have also set goals in some other activities that I enjoy, but learning from this experience may alter those aims, as I try to work out what it really is I want from each thing I do. I think that a short period of being unable to do something that I really enjoy has given me a different perspective on why I do that thing, and sometimes we get so involved that with details that we lose the bigger picture.

Run faster? Run longer? Or just run and enjoy the glorious views along the way?

A day in the Life....

I am a very lucky man. I have a job I love, I live in a place I love, with a person I absolutely adore. Life is beautiful. Take today for instance. A normal Wednesday for me starts with a class at 8am before school starts properly. This means getting up about 6.30am, getting ready and driving to wherever I have to teach. En route to my first school I pick up a coffee to start the day, and if I get to the school early, then I just sit and read a book to kill the time. So it's a pretty relaxed start to the day, and as I love my job as a chess coach, things don't get much more stressful. The first lesson, in a primary school goes sweetly enough with a mixture of kids who I taught last year and some raw beginners. Teaching groups of mixed ability is perhaps the most testing part of my job, but I've had plenty of experience and things run pretty smoothly.

9am and I leave my first school with a 4 hour break before my next class at about 1pm. Today I will not finish work until about 7.30pm, which some people would consider too long a day. However, the breaks I get in the day compensate these things for me, and during the morning break today, I visited Port Melbourne to check out the World liner which is docked in Melbourne. It was a beautiful morning, about 20C with mainly blue skies and a pleasure to walk along the promenade. While there it seemed natural to grab a coffee and some breakfast at one of my favourite cafe's in nearby Albert Park, and I was still back home for about 10.30am.

The World in sunny Port Melbourne

This gave me some time to do some admin work and preparation for my classes. Again, I got to admit that as my job involves teaching my favourite pastime, chess, preparing for classes is quite enjoyable for me. Then came the hard part of the day for me. From about 1pm through to 7.30pm I am either doing classes or travelling between classes. These were on the whole pretty good fun, as the classes had a range of different level kids. I have one toddler class, a couple of Primary School classes, and a Secondary class. These classes need to approached and handled differently, so I have a great diversity in the material I show and the teaching methods I employ. Boredom does not enter my job but with the amount of classes I do There is a fatigue factor, which can almost be described as burn out which usually starts to happen around week 7 or 8 of the 10 week terms we have in Australia. Luckily, to compensate for this I get school holidays mostly off to recharge. That works out as about 12 weeks of holiday per year, so I don't suppose I can grumble too much if my hours are slightly antisocial.

I'm currently at home writing this article and looking at some chess articles partly for work and partly for pleasure. It's 9pm and I'll be awake for a few hours more, relaxing with my wife and 2 cats and at some stage, I guess I'll wonder how it was that I became so lucky as to end up in this idyllic life.

Running around work

I recently set myself a running program based on a workout every second day. This would give me plenty of exercise, and some rest days. Well, I have my work timetable and it's fairly long hours for 4 days (Tuesday-Friday 8am-7pm) and a whole Saturday 9am-3pm. So it has become harder to fit my running schedule around this. I have therefore decided to change it, and will now try to run 4 times a week. The workouts will be:

Tuesday steady 8-10km
Thursday steady 8-10km
Saturday long run building up to 20km
Sunday recovery run

The plan is now to get the miles into my legs, and not worry about speed. I want to be able to run a half marathon in 2013, though I'm just concerned about the distance, not any time. Maybe I'll enter the Melbourne Marathon which is around October time, though there are plenty to choose from.

In the meantime, the entries have opened for the Puffing Billy Great Train Run. My boss has entered the race already so I better get my act in gear. The race is over 13.2km of pretty hilly countryside which should be a big test. My longest run so far was just over 13km last week and that took me about 78 minutes which gives me a rough guide to how I'll run. Although the course is harder than what I normally run, I will be running with others, whereas I usually run alone. I'm guessing these factors will wipe each other out and anything under 80 minutes will be good for me. The race is on May 6th which gives me 2 and a half months to train for it. I will hopefully have a 15km run behind me before May!

I've been using 2 websites a lot recently to do with running. Endomondo is an app for your phone which has GPS tracking that can monitor your workouts. It has a whole lot more on the website, including challenges and a community based feel. As an example of a challenge, I've entered a challenge to run 1000 miles in 2012. I'm a little behind schedule, but I intend to pick up the training over the year. The other site is a forum which is packed with information. Coolrunning Australia, is where I found out about the Puffing Billy Run and I've seen much more, including other events, health issues, equipment discussions and good old fashioned banter.

Milford Sound

The final day of our walk in NZ fiordland took us on a 21km hike from MacKinnon Pass to the sea at Milford Sound. Although this was a half marathon in distance it was a lot easier walking than the previous day as it was basically flat, with perhaps a little descent over the day. Still 20km is a fair distance and the majority of our group were carrying aches and pains from the day before. Once over the MacKinnon Pass the climate becomes a lot wetter with metres more rainfall during the year! We were fortunate enough to have a rainy day for our walk on this final hike. I say fortunate because we were walking through rain forest and the sights and smells came to life for us. Things started well as crossing a river which leaves our lodge behind we spotted a pair of rare blue ducks. This sight even got the guides excited! The rain cooled the air which made walking easier than on the first day, and it also added to the eeriness of the rain forest. Thick hangings of moss, tree ferns and mist on the mountains around us gave the whole area a fantasy feeling.

 Fantasy feel at Mackay Falls

Rare blue ducks having an early morning swim

The great thing about the rain that day was the effect on the waterfalls. Mackay Falls, and Giants Gate Falls were both spectacular (I was particularly wowed by Mackay which were gushing and booming magnificently). But saying that is was just a magical way for the tour to end, and breathtakingly beautiful and atmospheric. At the end of the walk, there is a short boat ride to the town of Milford Sound where we stayed for the night. The lodge was more like a decent hotel full of luxury, and Ultimate Hikes transported prepacked bags for us which were waiting in our rooms with fresh clothes and whatever else we wanted. We had a great final evening before turning in including a presentation of certificates to everyone for making it along the hike.

The following day was to start with a boat ride around Milford Sound followed by a bus ride back to Queenstown. The trip around the Sound was again spectacular. Every day on this trip saw different scenery and each day only added to the whole. On the boat trip we saw seals, and amazing mountainous scenery. To be honest, by the end of the cruise I was about ready to admit defeat when it came down to sightseeing. I just wanted to close my eyes and savour that which I'd already witnessed. Even the bus journey back to Queenstown went through the alpine road which was pretty spectacular. I'll finish with some photo's taken around the Sound and a full recommendation to anyone to go to this beautiful part of the World. Thanks very much to Ultimate Hikes who were excellent guides and got us through it with minimum harm!

 View from Milford Sound towards the sea

 Atmospheric views with cloud shrouded mountains.

 Plenty of waterfalls lined the Sound...it was photographers dreamscape

 View from the sea looking back down the Sound

Steady rain for 2 days ensured the waterfalls flowed magnificently 

Mitre Peak, which we could see from our room in the lodge!

Running Program 2012

It was my 2012 New Year's resolution to run some races this year with the first being the Puffing Billy run in May. So I've set myself a training program in blocks of 10 days running every second day. This should give me a chance to improve, time to recover between runs, and still fit around my work and the rest of my life. While running has become a very pleasurable hobby for me, I don't want it to take over my life and finding the right balance is important to me.

So the training program will look something like this:

1. 8-12km steady run
2. Interval training, either hills or speed work
3. Longer distance run, building to 20km
4. Interval training, either hills or speed work
5. 8-12km steady run

I have finished the first set of sessions now and feel really good. My first run was the day after I landed from New Zealand and I managed 10km but was painfully slow. I felt a bit stiff to start with, but ran this off, loosened up, but couldn't build to a decent rhythm. The second run I chose a hill near where I live and ran around the block going up the hill 4 times. The hill isn't too steep, nor too long, but I was breathing more heavily than usual at the top of it. The first couple of hills weren't too bad, but it then became tough going and the end of the fourth run was a real struggle. In hindsight I realise that I was trying to run the hills too fast rather than to take them at a steady pace and was therefore tiring sooner than I should have.

My long run was great. I felt really good, and ran over 11km (I'd previously only run 10.5km) in the same time it took me to run 10km a few days before. I fell into a pace after about 1.5km and held it through till about 9.5km when I started to tire. I then ran the hills again, but this time tried to run at a steady pace and managed 5 repeats of the climb feeling better than when I'd done 4. I was able to recover comfortably as I slowly ran to the bottom of the hill, and after the hills, I even did a 2km cool down run and was able to pick up the pace a little towards the end. The last run of this session was 10km, but I really struggled as it was terribly hot, about 27C when I started my run. I ran at a decent pace, but had to stop at about the 7km mark where there is a drink fountain. So it was basically 2 runs, one of 7km and another about 3km with a break of 1 or 2 minutes between them.

I'm pretty happy with this start to the year and hope to build from there. I want to build my distance up to 20km eventually, but in the medium term, I want to get 15km and get a few runs of that distance in before the Puffing Billy run. I'm not so bothered about my speed as I'm already running faster than I'd expected to, but I've got in my mind 10km in 55 minutes which is an average of 5.30 per kilometre. I'm not far from there, so I see it as an achievable target. When I hit that target I'll think about something else!

Milford Track: The Big Climb

The view back from MacKinnon Pass

There is no doubt that the true 'Wow Factor' on the Milford Track comes about half way through day 2, as you cross the MacKinnon Pass. The day starts out quite leisurely, but there is always the pass looming ahead, and getting bigger the nearer you get to it. The path starts working it's way up, but it is the final climb up to the pass, on switchbacks or zigzags which is the real leg burner. It is a gradient of 1 in 8 over stony ground which can be awkward to cover at times. However, the views back along the Clinton Valley and around at the surrounding mountains are truly spectacular. So the climb can be readily halted for breathtaking views, while you're trying to catch your breath. I think Caroline suffered a bit more up the hill than I did that day, but once at the top she got a second wind, and was scooting around the pass snapping photo's in every direction.

With camera in hand, Caroline looks fresh on the MacKinnon Pass

For me, and I think for many in our group, the way down was worse than the way up. Lunch on the MacKinnon Pass was followed by a steep descent to the rainy side of the mountains. This was difficult as it was very rocky and often jarring on knees and ankles. About a kilometre down (it was a 4.5km hike to our next stop) my legs were aching, and we stopped many times on the way down. Luckily there was much to see, including the reverse side of MacKinnon Pass, glacial waterfalls on the surrounding mountains, and the beautiful Margaret Falls, where we were fortunate to be shown a beautiful wild orchid by one of our guides (thankyou Mio). But the way down became a drag, and both Caroline and myself were ready at times to just stop and give in. Our rallying call, and something that quite a few in the group also used was, "it should only be another 10 minutes". I think I said this to Caroline about 5 times and possibly believed in it 3 times....ok, so I'm a born optimist!

 Great Mountain Views

 Native fauna - Yellow Marguerite

Spectacular Waterfalls - Margaret Falls

The Lodge at the bottom of the valley was a most welcome site. Caroline and I had been slow all day, partly due to stops, but partly due to not coping well going up and down the mountain. Lots of the group received first aid from the guides that evening, mainly for sore muscles and joints. The camaraderie was great that evening though, as everyone knew they had achieved something fantastic. And the following day was to be easier, even though it was longer in kilometres, a full half marathon of walking to look forward to!

Milford Track Part 1

The whole reason for going to New Zealand on holiday was to walk the Milford Track. Now I hadn't done much research before going out there, but expected extreme natural beauty. However, I was in no way prepared for quite how amazing the scenery was going to be. I also thought my recent running program would make me easily fit enough to do the walk without too many problems. I anticipated a tough downhill, which I've never been too good at, and a tiring last day at the end when we'd have to walk 20+km, but I generally wasn't worried about the hike from a physical point of view. I have to admit now that a bit of preparation would have put me in much better stead to have made the walk easier.

Day 1:

First stop on the Milford Track

There are 2 ways that this hike can be done: guided and unguided. As inexperienced walkers, Caroline and I took the guided option and paid out to Ultimate Hikes for a tour experience. In hindsight, this was an excellent decision, as we were definitely not prepared to have a go at this walk unassisted. We went to the Ultimate Hikes office for 9am and were soon on a coach heading to Lake Te Anau, New Zealand's biggest lake. The scenery on the way was pretty, with hills reminding us of Gippsland, and mountains always in the distance. We crossed rivers on narrow road bridges, followed lakeside roads, and passed deer and alpaca farms. At Te Anau, we stopped for lunch and then picked up a boat which took us to the start of the Milford Track.

A short walk, maybe 10 minutes took us to our first stop, Glade House. The lodges on the tour were excellent with bunk facilities and full time staff through the season. The rooms are clean, and food is provided on the guided tours, and the food was generally excellent. Constant hot water for showers is another big plus! There are bars where you can buy beer and wine, and teas and coffees are provided. I have to admit to going rugged man and drinking beer in the lodges.

We were offered the choice of chilling, going for a swim in the nearby Clinton River, or going for a short nature walk where a guide would show us some flora and fauna. Caroline and I went on the nature walk to Dore's Pass (yep, up a mountain, but only about 45 minutes round trip) where we were taken to a river that was completely clear. Caroline filled her water bottle from the stream which was the first time of many on the trip. It was fantastic that the water in rivers was clean enough to drink from!

Back at the lodge, we had dinner and an introduction session where we all got up (about 50 people in the group) and said something about ourselves and why we were doing the hike. It was a good laugh, and everyone joined in but it was a bit worrisome that there weren't many others beside us who hadn't hiked before. The guides gave us a briefing of the next day's hike, which is something they did every evening. This would include some housekeeping things about the lodges we were staying at and some things to look out for on the next day, including plants and animals. A few drinks later and we were all in bed aware that it was a 7.30am get up for an 8.30am start.

Sun tipped peaks in the morning

Day 2

When I looked out my room in the morning, there was sun on the tips of the mountains and there was a chill in the air, but the air was clean and fresh. This was our first full day of walking where we were going about 10 miles (16km) mainly on the flat and following the Clinton River. Straight off, we had to cross a swing bridge, which Caroline didn't like, but after that the day warmed up and it was like a summer stroll along the riverbank.

Unbelievably, that is a river behind Caroline and not just stones! The water is clean enough to drink from!

It took us about 5-6 hours but there were plenty of stops along the way including a few side paths leading to points of natural interest of great views. There were walks to wetlands where sun orchids grew, and to lakes that were fed by glacial waterfalls. It was a relatively easy introduction to the track although by the end of the day, there were a few with aches especially seeing it was so warm that day. At our stop, we had dinner made for us by the lodge staff and the guides offered first aid assistance for sore joints or muscles. And then again, it was a couple of beers and again it was a couple of beers and off to bed as it was an even earlier start the next day and a big climb to come.

Our first view of Mackinnon Pass, where we'd be walking over the next day!