RollerCoaster Run 2013

5:15 on a Saturday morning and the alarm goes off. Far too early for some. 

Then I look at the course elevatation map for todays Rollercoaster run: 

Yes, this trail run was to be one wild ride - coasting up and down Mt Dandenong about an hour out of Melbourne. 

What was I thinking. If this is not one of the toughest half marathons going around then I don't know what is. With a goal to run a sub 1:30 on a flat course, I was aiming to run 2:20-2:30 on this one. So, nearly an hour longer over the same distance... Well, it is actually 21.5km so that might explain it. 

With the bag packed and the trailrocs (my review here) on I hit the road at 5:35 and arrived at Sky High @ Mt Dandenong at 5:55 - much quicker than I anticipated. The great short cut (and fully legal mind you) got me there in record time. On arrival I could see the tent set up and the music was already pumping, a great atmosphere. 

My new Inov-8 t-shirt at the start

Before long I saw a few of my fellow Dandy Runners and was getting excited about the race. I picked up my tags and got sorted before the anticipated start. The view over Melbourne was stunning, my pics don't do it justice. As the light grew so did the buzz. Numerous prerace announcements ensured we all knew where we were going and it was just a matter of literally waiting for the sun to come up. As well planned as the whole thing had been so far, why couldn't they have ordered a clear day? The covering clouds meant that we were waiting for about an additional 15 minutes before we could take off. Would my previous weeks hill training run pay off?



Finally, the nod was given and we shuffled to the line. Hear rate monitor on, GPS watch on, 3,2,1 go go go. I took of at a leisurely pace as I knew that the first 4kms or so was down hill. With the thumping of feet on the road we took off and after 300m rounded the corner onto the trails. The first section was a steep descent on the technical Kyeema track - rocks, roots, branches and fairly loose gravel. We descended for a few minutes before levelling out for a good stretch along a nicely made trail before hitting the first of the crazies. Crazy steep, inch thick dust that made it not only hard to know what was under your feet, but damn hard to see as well! This section was called the zig zag track... After a few hundred meters the dust settled and I was able to find my rhythm and early place in the run. Hopefully somewhere top 50ish. This lead to the start of about 2km of down hill on the trail, a nice wide section of track that made running easy. I got chatting to quite a few different runners during this section as I sort of bounced from one person to another as we went up and down the terrain. It was very enjoyable. 

We soon came to the first hill climb - Dodds track. As we turned off the road and onto the trail I went to round the safety gate and leapt for one of the stones that stop the trail bikes. Well, they stopped me flat. Literally as I missed my step and landed flat on my face. No injuries save my ego. After the gasps of all around turned to the are you okays I continued on. This was a fairly steep incline and I was able to reel in two or three runners ahead of me. At this stage I was feeling good until the track took it's next turn - up a serious little incline into a single man track Within 50m most runners were walking so I took a gamble and kept running. Light on my toes, power from the calves I picked of about 10 or so runners before finally giving in about 2/3 of the way up. Hey, everyone else was walking so I was not going to lose any places. Finally the track peaked (well, in a slightly less painful incline kind of way) and we commenced running again. A quick check of the HR and I found it was 173! 

The trail levelled out and widened and we ran on. As it took a turn downwards down school track I picked up a few other runners and got chatting again and the ks seemed to race on past. This section was quite undulating and got me thinking that is certainly was a 'rollercoaster' course. I really enjoyed this section of the trail and before we knew it we were running Doongalla Rd and at the checkpoint. I took on a cup of Coke and rejoined the run, almost missing the electronic timer point. Again I got running with another runner a we chatted briefly as we went through the scenic and reasonably flattish Edgar, golf course and stables tracks. I passed a few and had the first of the 43km runners pass me along this stretch before a runner picked me up and we got running together. At this stage I was glad for a mate. The converastion was easy and the pace he was running at kept me at 160-170bpm and really moving along, quicker than I would have run by myself at this stage of the race. Bills track took us back to Edgar track and the incline began. We pushed through together and hit the Camilia track. At this stage the incline really began to rise and we went our ways as he took backed off the pace a little.

A huge kudos to the organisers at this point. The trail was exceptionally well marked all the way. The few times I was running solo and came to a turn, I knew exactly where to go.

I pushed on an was enjoying the run until the 16km region when my right calf began to twitch. Well, I was not happy and I told him so. Not now you devil I told him, and with all sorts of self encouragement and a change in gait for a while and it seemed to subside. I soon hit link track and my mate caught and passed me as I was really happy with my time at this stage and was thinking just keep cruising and you'll crack 2:10-2:15! From Singleton the track took a steeper gradient and I picked up with one of the female runners and had a great chat with her. We were both finding it hard be the conversation kept us at a great pace and we got through this section without walking. 

At about 19km we parted ways as I pushed on - she was using this as a training run and was running again this afternoon! I also found out she almost won the 43km last year so was an exceptional runner. As I rounded the corner to near the end of Old Mountain Rd I passed another couple of runners and was feeling great. Round the sharp corner to the 20km aid station and into the bush. Literally. This was Trig track, a 500m insane technical section. I literally had to grab a tree to stop toppling over the edge. On a fresh set of legs I would have loved this. After 20 massive kms I felt like I was falling off the side of the track. I don't think I was but that was the feeling. And it was steep. I somehow emerged from the scrub and that's when I was hit. Both legs, major calf cramps. Hmmm, 20kms, Two Bays readers will know that this was when I hit the wall in that run, and at about the two hour mark. It was nearly soul destroying. Less than 1km from the finish and I didn't know if I was going to make it. I pulled over and pushed a tree and stretched out the calves and managed another 200m. Fortunately the steep track ahead meant that other runners were also fatigued and walking. With mind over matter being the mantra I ran a 100m, walked a 100m before I got smacked down again. The place I was holding was slipping but I had to finish. I stretched out again, sacrificing time for sanity. I hobbled another 100 to the top of the hill and with 500m to go up on the same crazy hill that we started on I walked on. I was supported by fellow runners, the same ones I had run with earlier so that was an amazing feeling and with their strength I walked up the last section. 

It was devastating. I knew that I could out run these guys had I had the legs - my HR was sky high all the race and I had learned that I could maintain a much higher threshold than I thought I could. I would have run them down. At as fast a walk as I could muster, me and a fellow runner rounded that same first corner which was also our last. I dug as deep as I could and ran/hobbled/no ran the last 200m. In as much pain as I have ever been in, the emotions, adrenaline and seeing Peter from the Dandy runners got me over the line - where the unlucky medal giver got an emotional hug as I collapsed.

One day I'll be on the podium

I had done it. 21.5km, the hardest 21.5km I'd run and there I was, collapsed on the ground. Lying in the rain.  I assured people I was ok and somehow got up. My calves were burnt out, my knees tight like you would not believe and my quads burning. I found Peter from the Dandy runners and thanked him for all the support over the last few weekends and forced myself to hobble around for a while. After 4-5 minutes I was feeling much, much better and was beginning to walk normally again. As I headed back to the car I thought about what I had achieved. In all honesty, I'm damn proud of my self. 

The final figures. For 2:20.59 my heart rate had averaged 161 BPM and maxed at 193. I had reached my theoretical limits and pushed beyond them. 

I placed 37th over the line and 32nd male. I wanted to run 2:20-2:30, tick. I wanted to place top 50, tick. I wanted to finish top 10%, with some quick maths I finished in about the top 12%. Near enough to three big ticks. 

This is one happy fish. 

 Use the fish followers code fish10 to get 10% discount on Inov-8 shoes and the rest of the range at barefootinc!

Running in the Dandenong Ranges 3 - Puffing Billy Training

This mornings (Monday) run was pitched as 15kms of moderate to fast tempo with some hills to ascend and some others to stride out at pace. A perfect session to check my speed and stamina for the up and coming Geelong Half, The great train race - Puffing Billy on the first Sunday in May and also a reminder of how damn tough the hills will be next week when I tackle the quad burning, lung busting, calves demolishing 21km Roller Coaster Run next Saturday the 16th of March. 

So you've got your entries in and your scouting for tips on Puffing Billy or the Roller Coaster run... To save you the drama, here's this posts Puffing Billy training tip:

Get to know your local hills :) Learn to run them correctly - keeping a regular tempo and stride all the way to the top. It's a training run, do them harder and faster than you think you should. 

Value your rest at the peak. It's a training run so you need to condition yourself for race day. Gradually run at your race pace for a little longer each time - you have to know that you can do it come race day, but remember that you're not racing anyone during your training so build in adequate recovery. 

You wont be running quite as hard on race day (well, maybe you will...)  so you'll know that you can conquer the peaks. 

A small group of 4 met at the car park for our 7:00am departure and we set of at a brisk pace. The first 2 kms were at 5:10 pace and the 3rd was a sneaky 4:48. From here we hit a gradual incline and traversed from the tracks to road then tracks again. The pace was quick and I was working hard - 155-165 BPM, much harder than a usual run. Ah, but this was a power and endurance session so we would be taking adequate rest breaks to allow for recovery. Those were some words that I was happy to hear. 

At about 5km in we hit the first real incline - I think it was Glascow Road and it seemed to climb on and on. Each time you thought you had rounded the last bend another climb to the next bend was waiting. We reached the end point and took to the tracks again - this one about 400m of steady climbing. The terrain was quite a mix of rock and gravel: a bit of a gutter if you like so it was quite eroded. This was a part of the run I enjoyed. To come was the hill training part - What, I've just been running up hills for the last 3kms! 

The main hill in Puffing Billy is a section of gravel road that is about 2km long. I'm not sure of the degree of difficulty but do remember it being a killer. The next section of road that Peter had planned for us was at least 1.6km long and 12% incline - the road signs were there to prove it! Welcome to Old coach Road!

The same sign scares the living daylights out of me at the bottom! Had to prove I made it to the top...

This was going to be tough. The other 3 took off and I hit the road as well. They pulled away from me quite quickly, about 200m ahead for the length of this section. At 12% it's not the steepest hill I've done - cue Boundary and Darling roads near my house but at 1.6km or the imperial mile, it was certainly the longest. 

The final figures: 1 passing garbage truck (an insane driver on a gravel road), 13:24 minutes and an average HR of 171 BPM maxed at 177 BPM. I mastered the hill! The view at the top was worth the effort as was knowing that that was the toughest part of the run done.

Not a bad place to take a breather...

We had a further gradual incline for another 800m or so before we at the top of the mountain and ready for the return home. At Kalorama we hit the water taps and the conversation turned to running form. Is it stride length that matters? Is it the cadence of your legs? Is it both? From here it was to be a speed session, averaging a faster cadence and striding out on the down hill as we returned to the carpark via some really scenic trails. 

I really enjoyed this session. Although I let the others pull ahead, I was never too far behind. The GPS showed a good pace of about 4:15-4:30kms with a km section of 3:48 - that must have been the down hill. I focused on my form and felt really good. I found a great rhythm and was able to focus on my up lift and keeping the arms moving but keeping them straight up and down, not getting any body cross. Once again Peter gave some brilliant training tips - I'm leaning to training harder and faster but at the right distance. I need to call on this training on race day. 

The final 2km down Doongalla RD was to be a time trial, time to stride out and finish strongly. If' I'm going to beat that train it'll happen in the last 2kms. With watches checked we took off. How fast was I? The last 2km were about 3:55-4:00 min kms. Considering what I'd just been through I was really happy with that. 

End result of this weeks training - 14.8km in 1:29. My Max HR was 178 and averaged 156 over the course. It was certainly way up there during the hill climbs and faster sections, but as we had built in the recovery sessions it dropped back to 130ish at each break. 

So, The roller coaster run.... Goal time is a 2:20-2:30 over the 21kms. Fingers crossed....

Till next time, Lachie

Ah, the Roller coster course!

Running in the Dandenong Ranges - trail running

Today I was lucky enough to be able to run through Melbourne’s majestic Dandenong Ranges with the Dandy Runners. The touted runs were 16, 21 or 28kms. For me what distance, I was aiming for the 21km as I am commencing my training for the 21km Roller Coaster Run through the Dandenong’s and then the Geelong Half Marathon in April.

At about 6:50am on a mild Saturday morning – 14C I arrived at the Basin Theatre ready for the 7:00am run off. Not knowing a sole (yup, a poor attempt at humour) I gathered round as Peter gave us our last minute instructions and we set off. I settled into an easy pace and soon picked up Patricia (hey, someone else with the trailroc235s) and Ben – finally some other runners who were in some Inov-8s. My search was over! 

We got chatting as we headed up Doongalla Road and into the National Park. The conversation flowed easily and we took a left hand turn onto my first Mt Danedenong trail run. The first ascent began and the group soon spread out as everyone found their comfort zone. Not long into the run we hit the first and only drink/toilet stop and everyone regrouped before we took off into the unknown down what I think was the zig zag track. I could be completely wrong here J Well; the unknown for us newbs but Peter and the more experienced group members knew exactly where we were going. A short climb and a gentle descent and we came to our first junction. Again we regrouped and headed left – into the first of many climbs. At this time I was feeling really comfortable and enjoying the run with Ben – not far behind the front runners but for me a great pace that had the HR at around 155bpm.

The climb seemed to go on and on but eventually we hit the peak and again regrouped – a quick head count and off again. At this stage a big Kudos to Peter who was cool, calm and confident and really kept things moving. It was a privilege to be able to run with someone who has experience in these hills.  We were continuing the climb towards Kalorama and I was able to sneak a look out to my left and admire the views that Mt Dandenong is known for – you can see most of Melbourne’s Eastern Suburbs. An incredible way to start a Saturday morning and why I am starting to love trail running. Before we knew it the climb was starting to take its toll and my HR was hitting 173 BPM. Fortunately we hit a crest and after allowing the rest of the runners to catch up we again continued the climb. I must say I appreciated the chance to take a breather and hit the energy gel. A check of the watch and the HR had recovered to 140 BPM.

The trails at this stage were well marked (though I don’t remember their names – love to know what they are guys, hit me with the comments) and wide enough for vehicle access and for runners two or three abreast. The Inov-8 Trailrocs (hit the link for a great Aussie retailer) again served me well as I could pick my path among the stones, roots and car ruts and ran with confidence. I made the mental note to catch up with Patricia too see how she was finding her pair. Ben was wearing his Terrflys and we found both shoes really suited to the terrain. Finally the climb was over and we hit Kalorama – we’d actually came up and out behind Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd and started the mountain trail to Sky High – the pinnacle of the mountain. A short burst up the road and we took a right hand turn into a side street and quickly found the trails again. At this stage I allowed myself a smile as I recognised this track section, I’d run it during my Sky High run a month or so ago. This was probably the steepest section of the trail so far and quite technical. The terrain was very exposed – dry and dusty roots, ruts, rock and clumps of grass – and single file or just wider.

I dubbed it ‘heart break hill’ and found it was part of the Roller Coaster Run. I managed to successfully run this section, really enjoying springing from rock to rock, from dust to rock to grass clump to rock as we navigated our way to the top.  A well-earned rest awaited us at the top as we regrouped before heading down a fast section of track – with mud! I smashed through the puddles (apologies to the girls so close to that section) and continued the gentle but steady climb to the top. From here I think we turned down the channel 10 track which was a wider track that still required you to really place your feet but was a nice come down and recovery section after the climb.

When we reached the next junction Peter mentioned that we could tackle a 500m section of hill or go a little further and sort of circumnavigate it. Do the hill I said.

Well, it certainly was a hill. A straight and tight track with a continual incline, again the rocks and obstacles required to test your metal. It was a challenge but I really enjoyed it.  I think I managed to get about  2/3 of the way up the hill before I pulled the pin and walked a little before another short burst of running, a short walk, a little more running/ rock hopping before running the last 200m or so. A very tough hill but so rewarding. As a point of reference we were almost at the transmission towers visible at the top of the ranges.

A head check and off we went, and off I nearly went was we commenced our descent of the mountain. Was it a rock, a root, an unseen hole? Something caught me off balance and I almost came a cropper. Was it the grip of the Inov-8 trailroc 235 or amazing core strength or just pure luck? Somehow I managed to avoid going horizontal and kept my momentum and recovered to continue running. I had given my ankle a tweak and I hit the soft grass, then the track, as I tried to control my momentum for a while before gaining my rhythm again. This part of the run lead us down to another track which was nice and wide and I enjoyed the conversation with Ben and Patricia.

This section was a flatter section with some gentle ups and downs and we soon hit a road that would lead us back towards the Basin. We were about a km or so down the road before I felt my right calf go wobbly, then twinge and I had to pull up and stretch it out – thanks Runners World for the tit bits on handling cramps. I tried to push a tree over for a minute or so then the old push back on the single leg stretch and it seemed to calm the calf down and I could catch the rest of the runners. It did take a little tweaking of my stride and finding the flattest section of road camber to keep it at bay, but after 500m or so I found a rhythm that was comfortable and I caught the group again.

All to soon Peter had pulled us up and the option to continue on for the 21km loop was offered or we could take the track back to the car park to keep it at about 18km. Brave and foolish Lachie so wanted to continue on – it had been one of the best runs I’ve ever done and was really enjoying it but sensible Lachie with the tweaked ankle and calf said this is where I say goodbye and I’ll catch you next time. A couple of other guys were heading back as well so we followed Peters directions – a lovely long downhill section that was not too technical was the perfect way to cool down and practice my hill descents was all that was needed to get back to the car.

All in all everyone I ran with today was warm and welcoming. I loved the trail running. The pace was perfect – those who wanted to run on could and we always waited for those who needed a little more time to get up the hills. For someone wanting to do the Roller Coaster run it is the perfect way to learn the tracks and learn about trail running. My thanks to everyone – looking forward to the next time I can run the Dandenong ranges trails, the best of Melbournes running trails!

Cheers, Lachie