Monday, September 6, 2010

Off road at Kinloch


My first off road half marathon.... and I am hooked.

The Mizuno off road half marathon event was held in Kinloch, about 20km from Taupo. Kinloch is a gorgeous little get-away place with many beautiful holiday homes in the area.

The course was over an undulating terrain with two fairly gentle but long climbs and a large part of it was over the W2K mountain bike track. I was rather surprised to be feeling quite good in the first half of the race after the initial steady climb. Despite wiping out once quite early in the race, I picked myself up (with the aid of a couple people behind me) and kept going.

My calf muscles started to protest somewhere in the middle part of the race but I adjusted my running and ignored it the best I could. There were a few amazing views at the top when we finally got there - looking over at the lake, which was a good distraction from the pain.

The final 4km was pretty rough but I worked through it and turning the last corner and seeing the finish line was the best thing ever. I finished in 2:30:27, and just about gulped down a bucketful of GU drinks and water, and stuffed a chocolate fish which they were handing out, into my mouth.

It would have been good to carry some water with me. I had thought I would be OK without water for a half event in such cool weather, but that probably contributed to the calf cramps. It wasn't until we were walking back to the bach when I fell onto the side of the road - with severe calf cramps in both legs. It felt better after stretching it out, but it's pretty sore even two days after the event.

So, will I do an off road event again? Hell yes.

(Event on Sept 4th 2010)