Paul Petch

Trail running in the Port Hills – lessons learnt

Time for a run in the Port Hills

What a glorious day it was today! I left earlyish and cycled to meet with Karen at her place and then after discussing my training plan for the Kepler (eeek) I headed off to the Rapaki Track with instructions to do a two hour run :D Next weekend my training program starts proper and a 2hr run or 4 hr tramp (both wearing a back pack) will be the start of the “longer runs” so my goal was to run 2hrs today. It was quite an odd feeling cycling to the first gate on the Rapaki Track and then “kitting up” to then head off on foot…as I’ve exclusively explored the hills on my mountain bike until just a few weeks ago.

Arriving on foot- I struck a bit of a problem in that there is nowhere to chain your bike! How odd I thought. After scratching my head for a while, I opted to simply fix it to the actual gate! This way it was safe and the gate could also open if required. I think that I’ll contact the Council about a bike rack….it makes total sense to have a bike rack there!

Anyway, with the sun shining and the iPod cranking off I went upwards. I’m not usually a fan of the Rapaki Track on my bike, but it was not to bad today on foot. The sunshine helped me along and I was at the top quicker than on bike too and had no issues climbing up the track- infact I enjoyed it. I then headed left over the rocky Witch Hill Reserve track and along the Summet Road trying to run on as much grass verge as possible to decrease the impact to my precious feet and legs :)

Once I arrived at the Castle Rock Track it was signposted as closed to bikes so off I went. This track is one of my favourites in the Hills on my bike and it did not dissapoint on foot either. What a blast it was leaping over rocks while trying to keep my momentum! With some more Summet Road KM’s I headed along the John Britten Track that was a challenge being so narrow. At the tree line I stopped for some food and watched a training session underway for a group to Paraglide. With the snow capped mountains in the background, sunshine and a perfect temperature….it was a great spot to relax for a while before heading towards the Green Wood Track.

Feet niggles

Up until this point things were all good- infact I felt great. At about half way down the track my right foot/ ankle started to feel the effects of being pounded for over an hour over seriously rocky and uneven terrain. As for my left foot- it was feeling sweet! The Poditraists meeting yesterday had resulted in some more modifications to the orthodics that have clearly fixed up the left side (at last!)- but now the right was being difficult. The run that I did last Friday in the Port Hills (on my 35th Birthday) had highlighted some pain in my right foot on the inside edge and in particular the heel area- if it landed or was tilted inwards. Today this pain and discomfort was very apparent and not just a one off as I had  suspected. The right side now needs working on so I’ll call Nick at Feet n Motion on Monday.

Adjusting the lacing slightly, and slowing the pace a little due to the right foot I continued to head down the rocky track and could not believe how technical this track is on  foot! On my bike I’ve become quite used to the Green Wood Track and it’s technical nature- but on foot it felt like another planet. What a blast. But on reaching the bottom I have to admit that the even ground was welcomed as it stopped my right foot rolling inwards. Looking at teh time I’d also got caught up in the run which was now greater than 1hr 30. Hmmm.

Fuelling up I took some more photos of the magnificent fog up in the hills and off I went back up the Green Wood Track and back the way that I had come. Thankfully the run back up was much better on my right foot, but now my outside knee on the right was not happy at all. I could not help but notice that no matter what I did, my right foot was pronated inwards quite badly and in particular the inner heel area. If I made a conscious effort to correct thismotion, the left side/ ankle pain mellowed. But as you can imagine, it did not do much for my technique! :D Regardless, I was able to dialin my left leg enough to correct stuff and continue forward…and upwards.

Think positively Paul…

I’ve become quite accustomed to the annoyances and frustrations of being broken when it comes to running for the first time and it seems that you fix up one problem to then highlight another. At this point of the run it could have been easy to let it all get to me and ruin my day….but this is Paul….and that was not going to happen! Yes it’s a pain….and yes….it was “another” niggle….and covered in frustration….but in such a short amount of time all the other issues since I’ve decided to run have been fixed up, so this problem won’t take long to correct either. This is only my second trail run too and my body and I are still learning stuff, as well as developing together to be pounding up/ down and up/over trails. So on that note- I turned up the iPod some more, found a thumping techno track and cranked up my focus…..and man the Green Wood Track is a buzz to run up with a beat in your ears and the sun on your face :D

Final KM’s

By the time I had got the the top of the road where the Castle Hill Track starts, I was seriously exhausted. I’d been on my feet now for close to 3 hrs and my feet and legs were feeling it. I could hardly lift my wary feet and no matter what I did, the pace was like an old man. With some more jelly beans I headed to the Rapaki Track with the sun lowering in the sky and then down to where the bike was still waiting (yay!) for me. Man oh man the Rapaki Track is freaking looooong on foot when you are tired!! haa. I was so happy to get on the bike and head off home as It had been a big day for me in the Hills. With a service station stop and a one square meal + strawberry milk shake later I had a quick stretch and off I went. I was cold, exhausted and in need of a protein shake and a proper stretch….oh and an hour in the hot tub! What a day!

Lessons learnt?

So what did I learn from today’s run? Quite a bit actually….

• When Karen advises a two hour run….she means a two hour run. If I had just done that, it would have been enough. Lesson learnt :/
• Take some proper food- and plan ahead like I do when I go mountain biking. Today I messed up my lunch real bad and basically skipped it. As you will come to realise, Im pretty cluey about my nutrition and diet and I should really know better.
• Accept that I’m still learning how to trail run and so is my body. It will get better….much better :D
• Try another back pack! The one I had today (Camelbak Cloud Walker) is fab for mountain biking but rubbed my neck all day! Grrrr.
• Focus on the positives. My progress has been fantastic to date….and I was on my feet running for more than 3 hrs today with a 4+ KG pack. Perspective is my friend :)
• I love baths :D

Here are some photos.

Related posts:

1. Port Hills Crater Rim 30KM trail run
2. Weekend run (week one) – Port Hills
3. The Flying Nun track – Port Hills
4. Port Hills and no dab into Sumner
5. Nearly 50% of my target distance DONE

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 7:44 am and is filed under Runs & Walks and tagged with podiatrist, port hills, trail running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.