December 2009
29 posts
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Running technique →
Running technique tips - nicely explained (although, it does omit to say that if you’re going to change your technique, you should do it slowly and carefully).
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With warmth
Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.
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Neuroanthropologists consider barefoot running →
Excellent article; thorough and well referenced. Plenty for barefoot sceptics and believers alike to chew on.
Thanks Arthur.
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Distance is like water
Two decent training runs in recent days; a bit short (2 hours is barely a scratch on the Hillary Trail), but nevertheless I’m feeling a little better seeing them in my training log!
Pleased to say that the heel pain wasn’t an issue and seems to be resolving on its own. I’ll just trust my body to heal up in time for the big day. I’d prefer to be injury-free. Distance is...
Silver linings
A glance at my training log shows I’ve not done a decent run since Sunday. I am going to have to increase my mileage from zero, if I’m to survive running the Hillary Trail.
The 15min burn through Unitec I did on Monday doesn’t count, except for giving me a new pain under my heel. I’m refusing to diagnose it. Better to ignore it and hope it goes away. If it doesn’t,...
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Note to self: don't over-engineer this
When I first decided to run the Hillary Trail, I imagined just rocking up with a few gels and a bladder and launching into it. However, it is a long way and I could permit myself a few support stops along the course I think! The beaches are the obvious places for a pit-stop and, as it happens, they’re nicely spaced:
Approx distances:
0 km Muriwai (start)
13km Te Henga (lake carpark)
...
This looks like a cool race (nice video too) →
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Reminiscing
Whats with the bike in the photos? Isn’t this a ‘running’ blog?
Sorry, I was reminiscing about a training session I did with my mate Robb back in 2008. Robb is coming over from Sydney this weekend which reminded me… I felt nostalgic, so I posted a few photos.
We parked at Dome Tearooms, stuffed our trail running shoes into backpacks, set off on our MTB’s through the...
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Short training window
Launch date for my attempt at running the Hillary Trail is firming up.
I was thinking I might try to run the trail on opening day, Monday 11 January 2010. However, I’ve got the chance to do something else kinda special that day, so I’m going to delay my start date until the following weekend.
So… either 16 or 17 January 2010.
Hopefully I won’t be needing a campsite.
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Revision
In an earlier post I said it doesn’t matter what shoes you wear so long as they don’t have a cushioned heel. I’d like to revise that statement.
Heel cushioning may have its place (I’m thinking: walking shoes) but in off-road running shoes, in my view, it is redundant and probably a danger (to your ankles).
There are qualities which I believe any good off-road running...
Thanks Allen
This dude has helpfully collated a selection of videos relating to barefoot running.
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The tender foot
I’m still digging prickles out of my feet after last night’s run through Western Springs. So, how do we protect our tender feet?
If we’re determined to go barefoot, we could just let our soles toughen up, so they’re better able to defend themselves against the cruel world. Thats cool, but ultimately won’t be enough - rocks will still hurt, thorns will pierce and...
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Onehunga Weed
Its that time of year again. In late spring / early summer the Onehunga Weed produces its mischevious fruit - little prickles that plunge into the soles of the passing barefoot runner.
I am still a barefoot noob - my soles are still soft, and especially tender between the balls of my feet and the pads of my toes - I’m an easy target for an Onehunga Weed ambush. Its a pity, because the stuff...
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In perspective
Jump on the internet and you will always find there is someone already doing what you’re doing only 100 times harder than you.
Via the internet I’m aware of many barefooters & ultra-marathoners who would run 65kms in the Waitakere Ranges without flinching. But I got a new surprise today courtesy of YouTube.
I’ve been running off-road for at least 6 years (mainly orienteering),...
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Barefoot running? Surely not...
I am very interested in the emerging “barefoot” running movement. I call it “barefoot” not in the literal sense, but rather in the sense of technique; running AS IF you were without shoes. There are barefoot running enthusiasts who do run without shoes; there are also shoes which simulate barefootedness. I’ll write more on this in later posts.
The central hypothesis of the...
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Where the air zings
I think the Hilary Trail will become an iconic walk.
The Waitakere Ranges offer such a powerful energetic landscape, such memorable coastline with the Tasman Sea wild and raw, asserting itself in a struggle against imposing black cliffs, rumbling onto isolated black beaches - the air just zings out there. People get hooked on it. I think these qualities, so close to Auckland, with the...
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Proposed route
It seems that there a few details to hammer out before they announce the final route for the Hilary Trail, but this map gives you the general idea.
The details won’t change the fact that its a long way to run! I don’t intend to do the Cascades branch. Muriwai to Arataki Visitor Centre (or vice versa) will be plenty!
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When should I start?
The Hillary Trail will open on 11 January 2010. It will be the second anniversary to mark the passing of Sir Ed; a lovely memorial for a great man, and yet another gift from him and his family to New Zealand. Peter and Sarah Hillary have always shared their father with us, and I’m very grateful to them for doing so once again, by lending their family name (and a section of track) to this epic West...
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Why am I doing this?
This is a hard post to write without boring you with my 30-something angst. It could just be the early on-set of my mid-life crisis and, well, I don’t wanna talk about it.
Look… this blog isn’t about me as much as it is about running. I want it to be about how we run, and why we run.
How we run, as in how and where we land our feet.
Why we run, as in how we think & feel about...
Running the Hillary Trail
I am going to run the Hillary Trail in one hit.
Its 65km of short sharp hills, slippery and rooty tracks, lush regenerating native New Zealand bush, dark towering sea cliffs and some of the most rugged & beautiful beaches you’ll see anywhere. And its in my back-yard.
I’ve never run an ultra-marathon. Or a marathon for that matter. As far as running goes I get along OK, but I’m nowhere near...