The days are getting longer and the nights warmer. The team has survived the winter chill and now are gearing up for the next Adventure Racing challenge. The Merrel Eden Duo. With three teams entered we are all really excited. Jeff and Garth will be doing battle in the men's category while New Team member Nic Cuthbert and Jeff's son Brandon will be entered as juniors in the main race . Netski and I will be entered in the mixed category and trying to win back that title which Rhona and I lost last year.
With Chris plying his trade in Johannesburg for a large part of the year we have decided to add another member to our Team . This comes in the form of multi talented and all round nice guy Nic Cuthbert. Nic is at Oak Hill School in Knysna (where the Team has been involved with training the AR Teams for the past couple of years) . Nic is an awesome Trail Running talent but loves the multi sport aspect of AR. He also (like most youngsters today) is a bit of a computer wizard and will be helping us get a Face Book Page up and running as well as keeping the blog up to date.
Team Boss Sean Gannon was on the Breede this weekend with partner Phil Raymond. With the pair fuelled by GU for the first time this is what Phil had to say "Hi James, Thanks for the demo GU products you gave us to try on the Breede Canoe Marathon. Over my 50 Years I have done various endurance events (3-6 hours long)mainly as a "fish and chips " competitor,just wanting a finishers medal .
I have used numerous energy drinks and bars and convinced myself that they were doing something for me. I used the GU electrolyte Brew in my bottles for the first time this weekend
and found it refreshing and not nauseating and I didn't get any of those drops you get from taking sugar drinks. I also used the GU Energy Gels for the first time.This is awesome stuff I can honestly say that you feel it kicking in after 10 -15 minutes. You feel strong and mentally up and I didn't come crashing down like I have experienced with other Energy bars etc. I found it practical and easy to use and very palatable. I will definitely be using these products in the future. Phil"
See you all out there
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Petrosa Diaz Half Marathon - Nick Cuthbert
Saturday 3 September - The day was a potpourri of emotions for me, from the thrill of competition, to the despair in locking my father's keys in the car, to waiting anxiously for results, this day had it all.
It began, as races so often do, with a rudely early start. Snatching a bite for break fast, my father and I dashed off to make the 07h00 start in Mossel Bay. Just prior to registration, I saw a teacher I knew from Montessori Adventure Racing School (MARS). A veteran to the race, he offered me the following advice:
At promptly 7h00, the mad dash started, and I'm ashamed to say that I was blown along with it. I was not going my own pace, and I was to suffer for it later on. The route took us first through the town's shopping district, then looped back past the start line, continuing along the sea side for some time before heading into the less pleasant industrial area and the suburbs. Countries of the world broke the monotony at the water tables, where from spirited Scotland to sanguine Samoa competed for the reputation as the best service provider. It was a fast but flat race and my footsteps was synchronised with my heart rate, which rarely dropped below the 80% mark.
It was also a fairly lonely race, with the only real interaction with other runners coming in at about the 6km to go mark, when another junior came up from behind, as I'd stopped at a corner, unsure where to go. Those last 6km were brutal, as we diced one another. Finally at the finish line, however I managed at last to break free and cross the line before him. It was a matter of pride for me at this point, as I had no way of knowing my position in the race. I finished in a time of 1:27, thanks in a large part to GU.
Falling to the grass after downing a bottle of cooldrink, I stared up at the sky, until I noticed a stickiness upon my left leg. This is where the fun really commenced. My running style combined with the shoes I was wearing, had opened a small old wound upon my leg, which had as a result bled a lot. A Motion Pixel cameraman had evidently having noticed my situation, and drawn like a fly, smelt footage. So I was treated to an interview after which, the cameraman took some close-up shots of the gore. A few minutes after this, I made a trip to the first-aid van, where a couple of bored ambulance men wrapped the small wound in an enormously disproportionate bandage.
The wind outside the van was cold and having chilled after the run, I found my teeth literally chattering. I looked about for my father, but he was nowhere to be seen, so I took shelter in one of the tented around the finishing area at the campsite. During this time, I felt in a strange sense of Limbo- perhaps becuase of cryogenic temperatures and the lack of a jersey. Thankfully I found a school friend who was kindly willing to lend a phone and warm company until my dad could arrive. Thank you :)
Some minutes after this, after having pulled on a warm top and jeans, I managed to lock the keys inside the car, which neccessitated the call out of a locksmith. It was frightening how fast the smith could open a car door. I went to check my results, I was the third placed junior and thirty-sixth overall and by the time I walked (or rather limped) back to the vehicle, he had turned the drum and had the keys out.
My dad had to leave then and left me behind so that I could attend prize giving but he left the image burnt into my mind behind of scraping a pole as he drove off. So it was a day of disaster and clumsiness. The race was fun though. Thank you Pennypinchers Ar Team.
What I (re)learnt:
It began, as races so often do, with a rudely early start. Snatching a bite for break fast, my father and I dashed off to make the 07h00 start in Mossel Bay. Just prior to registration, I saw a teacher I knew from Montessori Adventure Racing School (MARS). A veteran to the race, he offered me the following advice:"Don't start the first half too fast. It's a there and back race and the second half can be demoralising."In the chilly dawn, this was a fairly sobering statement which I mulled on for only a few seconds before getting caught in the excitement at registration. Marathon runners certainly enjoy being tagged and numbered and it took some minutes (with assistance) before I could confidently stride up to the jam packed start line on the main street; with the gargantuan sum of prize money at stake, there were many runners and most of them were not racing for the joy of it.
At promptly 7h00, the mad dash started, and I'm ashamed to say that I was blown along with it. I was not going my own pace, and I was to suffer for it later on. The route took us first through the town's shopping district, then looped back past the start line, continuing along the sea side for some time before heading into the less pleasant industrial area and the suburbs. Countries of the world broke the monotony at the water tables, where from spirited Scotland to sanguine Samoa competed for the reputation as the best service provider. It was a fast but flat race and my footsteps was synchronised with my heart rate, which rarely dropped below the 80% mark.
It was also a fairly lonely race, with the only real interaction with other runners coming in at about the 6km to go mark, when another junior came up from behind, as I'd stopped at a corner, unsure where to go. Those last 6km were brutal, as we diced one another. Finally at the finish line, however I managed at last to break free and cross the line before him. It was a matter of pride for me at this point, as I had no way of knowing my position in the race. I finished in a time of 1:27, thanks in a large part to GU.
Falling to the grass after downing a bottle of cooldrink, I stared up at the sky, until I noticed a stickiness upon my left leg. This is where the fun really commenced. My running style combined with the shoes I was wearing, had opened a small old wound upon my leg, which had as a result bled a lot. A Motion Pixel cameraman had evidently having noticed my situation, and drawn like a fly, smelt footage. So I was treated to an interview after which, the cameraman took some close-up shots of the gore. A few minutes after this, I made a trip to the first-aid van, where a couple of bored ambulance men wrapped the small wound in an enormously disproportionate bandage.
The wind outside the van was cold and having chilled after the run, I found my teeth literally chattering. I looked about for my father, but he was nowhere to be seen, so I took shelter in one of the tented around the finishing area at the campsite. During this time, I felt in a strange sense of Limbo- perhaps becuase of cryogenic temperatures and the lack of a jersey. Thankfully I found a school friend who was kindly willing to lend a phone and warm company until my dad could arrive. Thank you :)
Some minutes after this, after having pulled on a warm top and jeans, I managed to lock the keys inside the car, which neccessitated the call out of a locksmith. It was frightening how fast the smith could open a car door. I went to check my results, I was the third placed junior and thirty-sixth overall and by the time I walked (or rather limped) back to the vehicle, he had turned the drum and had the keys out.
My dad had to leave then and left me behind so that I could attend prize giving but he left the image burnt into my mind behind of scraping a pole as he drove off. So it was a day of disaster and clumsiness. The race was fun though. Thank you Pennypinchers Ar Team.
What I (re)learnt:
- Pace yourself, even in a road race.
- Carry your own fluids, I feel you have more control over intake and products (e.g. GU Brew electrolytre mixture rather than water, etc.)
- Train Harder :)
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