Grand Canyon adventure

Ever since I first hiked the Grand Canyon 8 years ago I had always wanted to run the Kaibab – Bright Angel loop in a day. The 28.5 km loop starts at the South rim drops 2300 m via the steep Kaibab trail down to the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon before climbing back up to the South rim via the Bright Angel trail.

Every year over 250 people are rescued from the Grand Canyon and there are a number of warning signs advising against making the trip in one day. With this in mind we made sure we carried enough water for the full trip so we did not have to rely on the sometimes dry water sources on route. We also planned to leave early in the morning to take advantage of the cooler part of the day and avoid the 35°C+ temps that the mid afternoon serves up.

All geared up my wife and I hit the trail at 6am ready to tackle the Grand Canyon. 

The descent down to the mighty Colorado River came and went very smoothly and we started up the climb to the top with legs feeling a little battered but feeling good. 

As we climbed the sun really started to heat up and the red dust that coated us started to become apparent as the sweat glands started to work. 

In the final 8km the climbing started to get serious and the trail was flooded with day hikers heading both up and down. With the feet really starting to feel the hammering they had taken we pushed on steadily to the top and finished comfortably in 6 hours 40 min.

Dunedin Winter Multisport Series RACE 1

Last weekend was the first race of the Dunedin Winter Multisport Series. The race was based at Whare Flat and consisted of a 3km off road run - 10km MTB and final 3km run. Check out this You tube video of the race

After a fast start on some very muddy tracks I took the lead. With my new Salomon Speed Cross 2 making short work of slippery conditions. On to the MTB I was racing next to Norman Dunroy over the opening stages. The MTB consisted of a lot of slippery roots, mud holes and obstacles which was a great test for my Giant XTC-1 29er. In these tight conditions the 29er excelled and by the end of the ride I was out of sight of 2nd place. Into the final run I managed to hold a good pace only running 1 minute slower than the first 3km run and by the end I had built up a 5 minute buffer over 2nd place Norman Dunroy.


It was great to get out and stretch the legs after a lack of racing recently.

Giant XTC-1 29er

I have had my new Giant XTC-1 29er for 2 weeks now and am loving it. At first I was skeptical of the 29er but now after putting it through its paces I am sold. I think that for multisport and marathon MTBing where the majority of riding is done on open trails and gravel roads the 29er is in its element. Even in tight single track where I had been told the 29er is disadvantaged compared to a 26, I feel that the 29er holds it own here as well. With my first race on the 29er being this weekend I look forward to giving it the real test.

Update

Well what a busy few months it has been.

I finally handed in my masters thesis which was the culmination of 2 years work investigating repeated high intensity training compared to endurance training and the changes in blood volume that they stimulate. Now that this is away getting marked I am working on getting it published in a research journal as well as seeking funding to go to Liverpool to present my findings at the European Collage of Sport Science conference in July http://www.ecss-congress.eu/2011/.

On the racing front I have just finished the Coast to Coast as part of a team with Grant Sime. We had a great weekend away and finished 7^th in the men’s teams. I managed to paddle the 6^th fastest time down the river which I was pleased with given I put a large hole in the side of my Sission Evolution Omega and had to stop a couple of time to empty the water out.

There is now 9 weeks until the national marathon kayak champs in Wellington. All going well I plan to be on the start line there to give the 28km loop course + portages a good nudge. The transition from multisport to K1 paddling has been an exciting one so far and the nationals will be a good indicator of where I am at. At the end of May there will also be a chance to try my hand in a few sprint competitions which I am really looking forward to.

So now as I wait to receive the results of my thesis I am busy coaching a number of athletes through Exponential Performance Coaching, working at university teaching undergrad labs as well as doing work for Bikenz with the national track squad.

First training session of summer

Some days down in Dunedin it is starting to feel like summer. This is a short video I made of a training session I did in the Dunedin sun a few weekends ago.
30km bike out to Taieri mouth and then a bit of a run along the Millennium track. All in all a good day out.

Braemar Gut Buster 12 Hr Adventure Race

While the rest of NZ was hunkered down to protect themselves from the storm the size of Australia that was on its way we were on our way towards Mt Cook for the Braemar Gut Buster.
I was teaming up with my supervisor Dr Jim Cotter and as well as racing we were there to over see a group of students taking on the challenge as part of the Multisport practical paper offered at the PE School.
With the 1st kayak being canceled and only three teams getting out on the trekking course before it closed it turned into a big mountain bike through A LOT of snow. With all of the changes out on the course through out the day no body knew where they were placed in the field. We finished the day up in second place.
For the official race report check out the link below
http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10741

Bendigo Rogaine

With Dunedin under water from all the recent rain it seemed like a crazy plan to head into the hills for a Rogaine. However as we travelled in land the weather cleared.

Now for those who do not know what rogaining is, it is a bit like orienteering but do it in a team (the team has to stay together), your team plans the route it will take and it’s done over a longer time period. There are a whole bunch of controls set up out in the middle of nowhere, each worth a different amount of points depending on the controls difficulty (e.g. a control on top of a mountain will be worth more than an easy to find control on the side of a road). There is a set time period, and during that time the goal is to get as many points as possible.

Out in the snow

This weekend we had entered a team from the PE school in the 6 hour race. The team consisted of my supervisor Jim Cotter, another lecturer Geoff Ockwell, student Hayden McCoy and myself. As Geoff and Hayden had never done on of these races before the goal for the race was to get out and have a look around at some of the high country around that area and if possible get up into some snow.

The team me, Jim, Hayden and Geoff

After a solid 6 hours out getting controls we were still not back at the finish which meant we would be penalised 10 points for every minute we were late. A big effort by the team running as hard as tired legs would let us. We made it back 20minutes late, which we thought would put us out of any placing. But to our surprise at the prize giving we had managed to take 1st place. All in all a great day out, we got to look around some great country, we found some snow and we managed to take first place.

The trusted gear

There was not much time to reflex on the day’s activities as it was straight back into the car to get home for the 3rd round of the Dunedin Winter Multisport Series the next morning.