The Runner In Winter - Anton Krupicka

12 hours of....watching.

So….I’m injured!

I burned myself at work last Friday, and after seeing the burns specialist at the hospital the other day, I’ve decided to take his advice and take it easy for a couple of weeks.

This obviously puts a huge dent in my plans to compete in the 12hr. track race next weekend..

My training had been going well and I felt this was going to be a good chance to set a new PB, but now I’m just going to go and support all my friends instead.

Having (forced) time off has given me time to reflect on running and it’s importance in my life, it wasn’t that long ago I’d nearly given it up. At the beginning of the summer I had a lot on my plate, job and family stress and running was beginning to seem like another chore, so I took a month off, my first break in two years. I’d had a few bad races and my motivation was waning, with the “6 inch trail” marathon (46k) looming and other life stresses I decided to take a break.

At first I was nice to not feel I had every free minute committed to running, I resolved to read some books, finish off the house and spend more time with the kids. By week two I was longing for something. “Maybe I need a new hobby” I decided, so I searched for a new sport, windsurfing? Rock climbing? Caving? Nothing fit…

Week three rolled around and I realized I missed all my friends (who are runners) and I found myself not knowing what to do on Saturday night with normal people.

“It’s almost 8:00 p.m.! shouldn’t we be going to bed so we can get up at 5:00 to be at the trail by 6:00??”

By week four I knew that I had to go back to running, I missed my friends, I missed the trails, and I missed the realness of pushing myself up a hill that only running can implant into you.

My mind is now filled with these lessons learned and I’m dying to get back out there.

But for now, I’ll enjoy supporting my friends as they go round the track!

Distance running: a budget alternative to a shrink?

It’s Tuesday night, I lace up my shoes and get my running kit on and I’m out the door. It’s a balmy night an the humidity is still relatively high, I’ve committed to a number in my mind and I head out to the footy oval near my house to turn that number into a reality. I’m aiming at 20k tonight and more importantly an aggregate of 100+ kilometers for the week to prepare for my upcoming track race.

Soon the awkwardness of moving, and the awareness of effort fade into that familiar rhythm, my gait finds it’s comfort zone and my mind is now free to process the days activities, this is when I’m feeling best. My mind goes into problem solving mode in a way that is seemingly much more efficient than when I dwell on them consciously As soon as I think about a problem at work or at home, the problem is met, addressed, and resolved in the space of a few hundred meters.

The time ticks away and I’m still moving well, the magic number is approaching and though it seemed, at first to be another chore to tend to for the day, the time has passed pleasantly enough and I get back home feeling more refreshed than when I left. It’s these subtle reminders that make me glad I’ve stumbled upon this sport. Happy trails. 

12 hours of fun

I’ve been thinking about doing a track race for awhile now, the “no support required” part of it makes it a lot easier to commit to compared to a 50 or 100 miler where you would need a lot of support for water and food drops, most of my long runs have been with full pack: 2lt. water, food, phone, light, first aid gear. Etc. So I’ve been keen to see what I can do (distance) when running naked (without pack)

The 12hr Track race is going to be my first foray on the track, and my only goal at this stage is to “tick off” 50 miles. I ran an unsuccessful 50 miler late last year with one other runner and by 40 miles I was in bad shape and elected to DNF, that race and distance in particular has haunted me ever since.

So its four weeks away and I’m coming off a successful (1^st place) finish at the recent “Fat Ass” race in Wungong Gorge, I’m feeling pretty strong and should be able to pass this milestone with relative ease. Enough typing time to run!

Week 1: 75k

Total as of 14/02/2011: 75k

In it for the "long run"

I'm a runner living in Western Australia; I've long given up road running and have turned my focus to the trail and ultra running (anything longer than the marathon distance of 26.2 miles).
You have to be "Special" to want to be an ultra runner...and I’m not talking about special ability, I'm not fast for example...nor am I even very good at running extreme distances, you just have to have the want to finish and a adventurous sprit... that, I can manage.
My (running) story began in 98' when I began running professionally, well maybe not professionally, but I was paid to do it by the Marine Corps. Every day in the Marines starts with a couple of miles on the trails, and after a few years I was hooked. I let my running slip a little when I left the military to focus on raising my kids and it wasn’t until about two years ago that I decided to have another look at my cobweb covered sneakers sitting in my garage.
Slowly I lost the sedentary me and started to hit the roads, my first 4 mile run felt like I’d been stabbed in the guts. I checked my ribs to make sure I hadn't been shot by gang crossfire or something, no I looked okay, so I plodded onward and arrived home an hour later, dying of thirst and swearing I’d never leave my couch again. But then "it" happened. I started to realize that I felt great. The bug had bitten me and I was again "a runner"
That was two years and several hundred miles ago, now 4 miles is where I start to warm up, roads have given way to hills and trails, fancy shoes have given way to minimalist trail shoes, and 12k fun runs have given way to ultra distance races.
Luckily there is a very small but dedicated group of local runners here, and with them and their encouragement I’ll be in it for the long run!