Untitled Week

More time spent this week avoiding non-mandatory Christmas parties and eating than training. A few notable attendances however, one being a lap up Kedumba to the High Altitude Training Facility (KHATF) on Thursday night, and Scams ‘Tour-de-Locale-Trails’ on Saturday for 3hrs, 3 mins, 3 seconds (though I did cut one corner for 3 seconds).

Sunday AM was a casual paddle on kayaks with the ones to be obeyed (Scams doctrine not mine, but maybe why he is generally in less trouble than I).

Interestingly, as a kayaking novice and with my boat over turned on my head in the middle of Nepean River, I was abandoned by all and left to fend for myself. As I gasped for my last breath on the inside of the capsized hull, I took a private and mental note of the sympathy displayed to me by other more experienced runners, I mean paddlers. This reminds me, gees I’m looking forward to our next long run.

That brings me to Sunday’s BMMC Christmas party...... thanks Dr Phil for all the effort in organising the party. What I like about the BMMC is that when there is an event on, we rely upon only one person to do all the work, makes it easy for the rest of us.

Training stats: ..... [insert some philosophy here on why you don’t need big miles, hard reps etc etc at this time of the year]. Looking forward to some long hot runs over the Christmas period.

3 Days in the Wild

Trip to Mt Savage, Pinchgut Creek, Canoe Creek, Colo River, The Claw and Talon Ladder by S.T and the Bear

Following in the ways of Mark Allen’s ironman training technique of living in the Wild for a week with shaman Indians prior to his lead up to Hawaii (of which he won 6), last week I begun my build up to 6 Foot and TNF 100 in 2010 with a 3 day Wilderness expedition with Bear Grylls (not his real name) into the Wollemi NP.

Day 1:
The trip begun with a walk down Canoe Creek from the Grassy Hill Fire trail onto the Colo river. We then found out that climbing up the vertical cliffs that characterise the Colo isn’t something that you attempt, albeit years ago I would of risked it. However as you get older, and I dare say wiser, you learn I believe to fear, or assess danger more appropriately. When I was 25 I would of attempted to climb a risky cliff, not now.

So, Bear and I took shoes off, and trudged downstream to find a bend in the Colo where we hoped enough relief in the contour lines would permit us to climb up Mt Savage. Apparently, according to David Noble (SUBW), the log book on the Summit of Mt Savage (now removed) only recorded approx 33 walkers having reached this peak since the 1960s’, and I now know why as the climb was a horrendous scramble on all fours up a small re-entrant.

Bam, we were up on the ridge with 4ks to the peak. Bear and I got the comms we were carrying out and took either side of the ridge as we individually scoured the sides for small caves that we were sure would unveil rare cave art.

Radio chat and banter followed as we searched and both called in coalition air strikes on each other’s position – “fire all available on bears position, over” and “repeat, repeat you are shelling my position, over” we were like kids with new CB radios annoying truckies.

Anyway, we found nothing. We then reached the summit and found a featureless camp site in the shrub with no views, by now we were down to 3 litres of water until we got down to a creek tomorrow. Bear then started the first formal lesson, how to make fire with 2 black boy stems, kangaroo poo and a shoe lace. We got smoke going and made the appropriate tools to do so, but no actual fire..... with where is my lighter? being the closing remark. Discussion then turned to stories of bears other life, very interesting stuff.


Day 2:
Up at first light and downed brekky. I set off on Westerly bearing, Bear went due North with our RV being a notable creek Junction several Kms NW of our camp site..... whenever we got there. Again, we each found nothing, other than my first glimpse of the Tambo Creek system. Wow.

Upon reaching the RV, Bear was nowhere to be found and we were now out of line of sight - so radios were no use. OK, his not here, he can only be downstream looking for water, there is no point him walking up stream to me b/c this creek in bone motherless dry. 1hr later, I find Bear, shoes off, water bottles filled, resting for an hour, priceless.

As it was now over 30 degrees we found a cave and waited a few hours for it to cool. Hey that looks like a Yabbie in that rock pool? 6 BBQ’d yabbies later we were full, Bear telling me of the time he had to survive 4 days on nothing but catching yabbies in a dam.


At 2pm we charged back up Mt Savage to get our equipment, then turned around and headed off North East for the nights RV with a junction on Pinchgut Creek. Bam, we had water, heaps of food and a better spot to sleep, plus a fire to scare off the mossies. Bear hooked up his hammock in the trees; I curled up on the ground.

Day 3: Off downstream. Bam, we found some. A grinding pad on the creek very similar to many others I had seen. Locked it in the GPS position and we continued down an amazing creek with rock platforms, caves & dry water falls etc.

We then headed up Talons ladder (our name for it) and onto a limb called The Claw (our name for it too). An amazing climb up a direct route to another summit that places you almost directly 350m above the junction of Pinchgut Ck and the Colo. For sure this was the limb we would find the ancient rock art. Again, and you won’t believe this, nothing. After a common moment of dejection and photos high above the Colo we headed down for a swim 2hrs later in the river.

Time for the final climb up a nameless creek to the car. It was 2pm when we started this climb that ended up taking 2.5hrs to cover 3 or 4 ks all up hill. It was now over 35 degrees and we were in some fierce steep country with every sense focussing on the amount of energy spent vs water consumed divided by estimated time to go all raised to the power of 35 degrees. Anyway, someone’s great navigation (and lets forget earlier blunders) got us back precisely to the car to within in 100ms with 250mls of water left – well economised I thought.

Anyway, time to start training now.

Otford to Bundeena- BMMC celebrates 29th anniversary

Others will probably discuss the BMMCs first East of latitude 2773 training foray from Otford to Bundeena (O2B), so I will do what this blog was designed to do, post about my experiences with endurance activities.

Interestingly, the O2B is not only the birthplace of this nation (I’m sure Aboriginals landed at either Otford or Bundeena?), but also the place of my first experience with endurance activity in 1980 where as a hardened 5 year old I went on my first overnight camping trip, walking from the ferry at Bundeena to the Otford train station.

After the hysteria that is now 6 Foot race entry opening week, Scam had organised a full quorum of BMMC to retrace my original expedition along the superb RNP Coastal Walk, and on the 29th anniversary of the event.

For me it was the first return to Otford since 1980 when I had taken my Dad and elder brother (no, not the famous brother known as ‘’Scott the runner’’) on my maiden experience into the Wild.

In those days, we slept on a grassy slope overlooking one of the spectacular beaches of name I can’t remember now. No tent back then, still don’t believe in tents.

As we ran up the slopes beside each beach on Saturday, I tried to recall details of the first childhood trip. The RNP back then seemed about as remote a location as possible; full of danger, rabbits, the occasional deer sighting, waterholes, waves, sand, owls that hooted at night like an axe murderer, & otherwise general excitement.

Botanically, not much had changed since 1980; however a few other things had.

Like, who would have thought in 1980 while I was carrying a water bottle tied to my waist with a bed sheet mum had cut up, that one day we would be uploading photos onto a thing called ‘Facebook’ via a series of globally connected personal computers known as the ‘Interweb” while having a stretch?(Animal the gadget man)

Who would have thought in 1980 you would now be able to carry more calories in a single sachet than my entire dinner contained from a sachet of Chicken Noodle soup?

Who would have thought in 1980 that one day they would stop making sleeping bags that came with warm wee coloured rain water on the inside of them when you woke up?

Or that your brothers fishing rod, that you were “allowed” to carry, couldn’t actually catch the Shark you were planning to bring home as a pet.

All up, returning almost 30 years later as an adult, with friends and family, was just as memorable as my first trip long ago.

What a great place, thanks to the person who thought of the run, and that other person who gave the BMMC multi coloured little cupcakes at the finish to eat – they were great and you should open a shop.

Other runs this week, none of great note.

November 23-29

For my own record later:
Mon: 3k swim with Animal and channel swimmer
Tue: run, standard AM home loop with BMMC
Wed.... swim I think at lunch?
Thur: run AM BMMC hill circuit,
PM 51min mini tri with refs at Penruf Lakes
Fri: cant remember, maybe nothing
Sat: 2hrs with Scam in national park, enjoyable yet achey morning
PM 1k swim
Sun: Beach swim and 2k run
PM 2hr run out to Grose LO,& down track for swim, 16:57 up stairs from Grose with Shogun, Dr Phil and Welsh Exchange student(Noted 5th late run from last 6 starts, but who is counting)

No structure to anything, and very heavy, trying to do something of an intense nature every 2 or 3 days as a minimalists way of maintaining the system, feeling "Fit, Fat" - a new fitness level term I just invented (Ok I stole it from someone else who said it).

BMMC’s 6 Foot Track High Altitude Training Camp

The BMMCs first training clinic in the lead up to 2010 was held last Thursday at the Kedumba High Altitude Training Facility (BMMC-KHATF).

The clinic was held in unhospitably hot & dry conditions last week, starting behind the old hospital and including laps of Kedumba pass. After a fast 38min group decent(according to Mister G) to Jamison Creek, it was time for a dip in the murky cool waters of the Jamison.

On the return climb up Kedumba, it was Prince and Princess Donga’s at both the front and tail ends of the main ascending pack. But it was Action Man who set the early pace, keeping the Prince honest on his climb right to the finish – or so I heard as I didn’t figure in any of this action.

Only narrowly behind this action, was the strong BMMC 6 Foot Femme squad working hard as a team to get through the climb together. This type of camaraderie I’m sure will shine through come March 13.

The heat, the hill, the lack of recent physical activity, and a few extra kilos around the waistline all contributed to tough climbing.

The flying Weslhmen, in true keeping with his recent form, made it for 3 consecutive late runs in a row – hitting the Creek after the murky waters had settled from the Bilpin runner’s and my earlier frolic.

J-Glen and Prince Donga being the only two runners who actually made more than one rep of Kedumba, with J-Glen still out there, alone in the dark, long after the Watermelon was finished off by the main group.

All up a good hot late afternoon run in beautiful yet tough surrounds. Thanks to the aid station volunteers and clinic organiser mister G.

Eagles Reach – Out of Reach, Yet Again

Trip Report: 14/11/09
Sleep Train
Scam Bullant
LL#2

The Wollemi NP is half a million hectares of remote creeks, canyons and ridge tops. Apart from rare trees (like the Wolemi Pine) it also has some of the most significant Aboriginal rock art sites known to us. Locating these sites and then walking to them (for those who don’t own a helicopter) is a massive challenge. You could easily spend 2 life times walking around the Wollemi – and apart from seeing some of the most spectacular and rugged bush in Australia, find nothing but leeches, bruises and brown snakes.

So, it was with much anticipation that on Saturday I headed off into the Wollemi with two other BMMC members for a day of scrub bashing in search of the elusive “Dingos Lair” Indigenous rock art site, or, to make any other discoveries of ancient occupation of the Wollemi by its original custodians – the Darug & other tribes that regularly traversed the rugged Wollemi.

I've been looking for arguably the most famous Rock Art site in Australia known as 'Eagles Reach' that was first recorded in 2003. Eagles Reach has significant cutural meaning to the Aboriginals, along with potential global cultual significance due to the age of it. According to my own research and various assumptions, if I could find a cave known as 'Dingos Lair' I would possibly be in the right vacinity of Eagles Reach.... or so my theory goes.

I had deferred this quest in December 2008 when I became distracted with training for a marathon. But now I had some spare time to return to the Wollemi to continue my search.

It was fitting that I was joined by two of the most Senior members of the BMMC in Scam Bullant - a renowned local bush expert & leader of numerous groups on navigational & camping exercises in the remote Euroka Clearing – and the Six Foot Track Marathons own ‘Living Legend No. 2’ – aka LL#2 – a Blue Mtns archaeological expert (now), and the only BMMC member to have completed 24 Six Foot Track marathons so far.

The day started ominously at 6:30am when my MTB was unceremoniously ripped off the roof of Scams 4WD by a low hanging tree as we entered LL#2’s driveway at Faulconbridge. After I removed pieces of my MTB from the tree half of it was now hanging in, we headed off up Putty Road to our starting point on the Drip Rock Fire Trail.

Little time was wasted getting to the top of the designated Creek we planned to search. Time was 8:15am as we hid the bikes in the middle of the trail and charged off the ridge. In true ‘hardman’ fashion Scam had decided to go bare skinned in the scrub, leaving the long pants and long shirt at home.... time to get the skin acquainted with the serrated edges of Lawyer vine.

We had 6 creek junctions listed on our search map and slowly ticked off each one to no avail, except for the 5th junction where we noticed a series of small grooving marks on the edge of the unnamed creek we were following. The Darug made these grooves to sharpen their tools. However, we couldn’t find the cave known as Dingos Lair that has significant Rock Art. It could be anywhere, combined with any number of possibilities as to why we missed it, or were even in the wrong area completely, who knows? – but the searching is fun and a good excuse to go for a walk in the bush.

As the days temperature heated up we rested for a while for lunch on the creek. At lunch, the Scam promptly dosed off to sleep missing LL#2 regale me with his many training stories leading up to his 4th, 5th, 6th and 19th, 20th and 21st Six Foot track marathons. I’ve already been lucky enough to hear the stories from years 1, 2, 3 and 7 through to 10 previously – I guess I almost have the full set.

Story telling by aboriginal elders was a big part of their culture, and LL#2s story telling (one of my tribes elders) I felt was something the aboriginals who made the grooves we were sitting near, would of appreciated.

The humidity and heat under 7 feet of undergrowth is physically challenging, particularly when climbing with a small pack. Finally, we had to head back to the trail via climbing out of the creek, and then along a winding ridge for 4kms of scrub bashing. LL# 2 later stated he had no idea where we were when travelling this ridge, claiming he couldn’t believe we ended back on the trail? We then walked back to the bikes and rode to Scams car. Time was 6pm. 10 hrs up all with 7-8hrs of tough walking + 2 hrs of Mtn biking.

We were relieved to be out of the bush and enjoyed an ice cream at Windsor.

Coincidentally, the next day LL#2 calls to say there is a talk on Aboriginal rock art sites being held at Lawson by a full time archaeologist who is working on a project recording sites in the Blue Labyrinth, Kings Tableland and Dallawang Ridge area of the catchment.

I was blown away. The archaeologist, Michael Jackson, showed how he had identified over 1,000 occupation, art and grooving sites in his study area, including 140 sites he found on Saturday. It made our 1 small set of grooves seem insignificant and our skills of identification amateurish (which they are). He’d also been to some of the sites LL#2 and I had visited in the Wollemi in 2008, along with providing invaluable intelligence for future searches in the Blue Mtns and Wollemi.

LL# 2 may also now become famous for more than his 24 Six Foot Track completions. After the talk LL#2 took one of the archaeologists to a rock platform near his house in the bush that has a set of potentially very ancient ‘Emu Claw’ groovings. The archaeologist will now be doing a more extensive excavation of this site that LL#2 identified yesterday.

14th at World Mtn Running Champs: 10th October 2009, Soll, Austria

If you had asked me before the race would I be happy with finishing 14th in this race I would of emphatically said #uck NO! However in hindsight, and after an analysis of the event I’m extremely satisfied with the result given factors discussed in this race report.

After sitting around and sight seeing in Austria for more than a week before the race, the big day finally arrived. I’d trained on many sections of the course, tested the altitude and was mentally ready for some serious gradient, both positive and negative.

All up 35 nations were represented in the men’s category in what some described (not just me) as the best cast of Mtn runners ever assembled for a race. The first 21ks were comparatively flat, however this only meant approx 500m of level ground.

Off the front from the start was a Swiss runner that the lead pack assumed would blow up. After all, this pack included last years LDMR World Champ, Jethro Lennox, Jonothan Wyatt (who needs no CV attached), 3 Kenyans flown in especially, and every other name in the sport, plus some guy from the running plains of Australia, known locally as sleep train.

At 14k the main pack was 90secs down on the Swiss leader. By 21k, prior to the hills, the deficit was 2 mins.

Up until this time I had just been running off Wyatt (NZL) and Jethro (Scotland), drinking and getting ready for the hilly second half of the race. When they surged, I surged. When they stopped to relieve the bladder, I stopped etc.

We all surged out of the halfway drink station and braced for the first major climb of the day that loomed in front of us (Hartkaiser Mtn 708m - 1,673m).

Wyatt and the Kenyans quickly put distance between Jethro and I. As we climbed higher and higher it became evident this was a type of running tempo new to me. Again, and following Jethros experience, I matched what he did. When he power walked, I power walked, both of us swapping turns at the front as we wrestled our way up the first major climb.

Half way up, a German runner came past quite convincingly and was soon out of sight. How the *uck was he doing it I thought? Leg speed and length of stride weren’t useful here were they? he was a stocky bloke with a short gait.

By the top of Hartkaiser (30ks) it had now become foggy, as we had run from warm green pastures in the first 21k to the top of a baron Mtn top that had its own Alpine climate. I was working hard aerobically to handle the altitude as Jethro and I sumitted the first major obstacle together that concluded with a jog through a restaurant!

I estimated we were in 6th and 7th places respectively. Then at last, the first major down hill section started and kilometres 30 to 36 flew by as I managed to surge away from Jethro down this awesome descent that included numerous switch backs and cattle grills.

By the 36km aid station Jethro was behind and out of sight. I had specifically trained to run this section of the race hard and it seemed to have paid dividends. However, just as I hit the bottom, a British runner came past very strongly (Ricky Lightfoot, eventual 3rd place getter).

Now this is where I would like to end the race report. I’m in the top 10 (7th to be exact) and have run well. Unfortunately, there is still 3.2kms of the story to tell.

While I knew the last 3.2ks was the steepest part of the race going from 1,100m to 1829m in 3.2ks, I’d thought like many others its only 3.2k, I’ll just push hard and get to the finish line. A simple plan right: WRONG

I will try and describe this climb with numbers first. At the beginning of the climb I was 6-7 mins behind the swiss leader. By the top of Hohe Salve the deficit was 20 mins. This 3.2ks took over 28mins.

There was footage played at the presentation dinner of all top 3 finishers walking the final kilometres. I even saw footage of a Kenyan within in 20ms of the finish tape, and in 3rd position, be walked past by a runner from GBR (Ricky Lightfoot) who stole bronze right on the line.

As I started the climb, Jethro came walking past. I was walking, he was walking. He was walking faster. The legs didn’t feel that bad, it was just that getting power into them was becoming increasingly difficult. Altitude. No matter what I tried running was not an option any more as I kept turning my head upwards to try and see the top of this monolith through the clouds above.

Kilometre markers were aptly replaced with 100m markers beside the course. The crowds had also arrived in droves on the Mtn that just kept spiralling up and up. Europeans love cow bells for some reason, and every spectator had one with them that was enthusiastically rung as "encouragement" in your face.

Over the sound of the cow bells, and through the sound of my own heart popping though my ears I could hear and see the helicopter above that was following the leader. The action was happening just above me right now, literally only a few hundred metres up, but I was hundreds of metres away trying to keep my legs heaving me up this monster.

I would look back and not see anyone. Then I would look back and see someone coming, then someone walking past. This is when you realise there could be girls walking faster than this and the very real fear of being “chicked” enters your nightmare.

I finally finished like many did, collapsing across the line in an oxygen depleted giddiness. Glad it was all over, and in 3hrs 26mins I found out later I finished in 14th place. More people had gotten past in the final climb than I could recount, going from 7th or so to 14th as a result of the final climb.

I have never experienced a climb like Hohe Salve. Talking to the European runners, they said they do a lot of ‘Up and Down’ races on courses similar to the race finish, and thus have the experience I lacked.

Both the male and female race winners had also done one month and two month training camps respectively at altitude before the race. The Swiss male winner had done a month of training at 2,400m for the race in August. The Russian female winner had been living in town since July training at altitude while I was running around Blue Gum Swamp in Winmalee!

While I hadn’t experienced the steepness nor the altitude of the race before, I had felt the shock of reality before. The race experience reminded me of Six Foot Track in 2007 when Tony Fattorini effortlessly ran past me up Pluvio and I thought then to my self, WTF? – how can someone run so strongly up a hill like that and not even be out of breath?

How? with specific training of course!

Next years race is at Pikes Peak, Colorado in the USA and is also at altitude (3,000m+). A race that will require altitude training and doing as Jonothan Wyatt suggested to me after the race: “find some really, really steep hills that you can run for longer than an hour, and do that a few times a week” – good advice I guess.

So all up, I’m happy with my performance of 14th place given what I came to learn about this type of running race. Running against the best competition in the world, being tested by the course, and pushing yourself to the limit. Helps keep me interested and motivated for next time.

Upon reflecting on 2009 it has been a great year of running. Starting on New Years day with a casual LSD up the Oaks F.T with Ollie in 37 degrees and making a small decision to enter 6 Foot Track on that run. A marathon PB at the M7 in July, and finishing with a personal battle up the side of a Mtn called Hohe Salve in the beautiful Austrian Alps at a World Championships – for a runner and competitor it doesn’t get much better I guess?

Now I will be having a good long break. Been running consistently hard since mid January and the body and mind is tired and needs rest. I look forward to more running and blogging in early 2010.

Enjoy the journey and keep training!

Signing off for 2009,

Sleep Train.