...not because of a lack of running, but a lack of running any different sections of trail.
There are various reasons why not; it's been a cold winter so far (poor excuse), been busy (another poor excuse) and... well, those are about it, because, really, it's been a lot of poor excuses!
There have been a couple of things though. Cleland parkrun has been getting closer! Last night, it even appeared on the parkrun website (as the link attests!) so it truly is getting close. That truly has taken some of my time. However, it has also meant that my attempts to get to all SA parkruns by the end of the year ('statesmanship') have needed to be ramped up a bit, so my touring/exploring has been directed to this rather than trails, before I'm locked in to Cleland most weeks for the next little while as we nurture our team of vollies. However, what has been great is that the kids have wanted to come along more lately, too; Grace is almost up to her 10th parkrun (and a white shirt!) and has ventured beyond Mount Barker to Victor with me and the dog. Alfie has done a few more, and will be on for a white shirt in the next little while I reckon. We even had my wife ("I don't do running/mornings/cold") out last week for her first! We'll head to Mawson Lakes this weekend, then Gawler for the launch next week, back to Mount Barker to volunteer and get G's 10 certificate (she's a bit excited!) before Cleland. And we have a couple of trials to run soon, too...
I did the TRSA Mt Misery mid-distance again the other week. I love this event! Some find it too hilly, but it's local and I have a soft spot for the pain that the hills can dish out! Even managed to pull off a 4th place in age group - a surprise, that left me a bit wondering 'what if?' for a 'placing'. Most importantly though, it was fun, with a bunch of folks out enjoying the trails that day. Next on the TRSA series is Mt Crawford - the long again this year, except it is no longer 25km - it's 36km! I went and ran some of the bits I'd not been too over in Watts Gully on the weekend (inc about 700m of Heysen Trail :D) as a reccy; it should make for a good day out and a good lead up to Wonderland Run.
Yep, I'm heading across the border. Over to Halls Gap in The Grampians for the 36km version of this race. What I've seen and heard, it's a great event, so I figured why not? I had a qualifier and I doubt that I'll be doing anything ultra distance next year, or realistically being able to get the time to head over, so I decided to pull the trigger now. Plus, I'll go Friday, via Mt Gambier, to do parkrun on the Saturday (tick another one off!) and make a roadtrip of it.
So yes, ultra distance seems off the cards for next year. Hoping to get uni up to full-time loading, so will, genuinely, be busier. Cleland will see me hanging closer to home more often to keep an eye on it, also. So likely, I'll be more focused on this project and the local TRSA series, than interstate races. But that does mean that I need to work out what I'm doing this year still...
I had loosely thought about Heysen 105. And, it is still on the cards. Current thinking is Crawford, Wonderland, YUM, H105 - that'd be 36km/~800m, 36/~1400, 56/~2000, 105/~2000. That builds nicely, with other training fitting in around it. And, at worst, I can drop YUM and do a shorter version of Heysen - the 57km or even 37km. So after Wonderland I will make a definite call, but I reckon the H105 is on; in reality, I'm trying to train as though it is - cramming just won't work for that distance, if I'm to enjoy it. And that will remove some nagging from my head about doing a 100km race next year, so I don't distract myself!!!
The only question in there really is YUM. It is fairly well supported, but it is expensive - and potentially that may see me just do my own thing instead. There are plenty of options: PWT double is one. Or another is a 'Summit to Summit' run - do Cleland parkrun, then up to Lofty Summit and run to Mt Barker summit via Heysen, PWT, backroads and Mount Barker parkrun course. Back it up with a another long run the next day for a solid weekend... not exactly sure yet. But doing own thing give a bit more flexibility in programming the training than a fixed 56km in there. 56, even if 'taken easy' is still a long way and a big ask. And with so many other runners around, it does increase the chances of keeping to someone elses pace and going too hard (in retrospect I did this a little last year, past Fox Dam in Morialta, with Blackhill climbs still to come!)
So there we go. Out in the open now. Bit of boring waffle here in some ways, but more of a 'Dear Diary...' post for me to actually put it out there. Can't back out now, can I?
