“Run until you can’t go any further, and then take one more step” – Unknown
I am so fascinated at the moment by what is possible when you push yourself. I’ve started noticing how endurance builds and your body gets stronger. I’ve started noticing how much more my body can tolerate than others, because I’m in the mind set to go further. There is no greater feeling than learning to be confident outside your comfort zone, and feeling that zone get smaller and smaller.
With all of this in mind, and with the support of some very important people I have decided to compete in an adventure race, something which when originally suggested I laughed thinking it wouldn’t be possible. With the more thought that went into the idea I slowly found myself rising to the challenge, to the point now where I’m actually excited.
GeoQuest is the race I have in mind, either the half or full course will need to be completed by the whole team of 4 in just 48hrs. Sleep is optional. It’s held over the June long weekend every year, giving me 44 weeks to prepare from the time I decided to take it on. To quote the website:
“Mountain Designs GeoQuest 48hr is the ultimate test of your physical and mental limits. There is no question, the race is tough and it is real adventure. Your body will be totally exhausted, your brain will be begging you to stop and you’ll have had little or no sleep for 48 hours. Then if you are one of the lucky teams, you will crawl across the finish line. This is certainly not your average weekend!
Why do people do it then? Because for the competitors who attain the ultimate prize of crossing the finish line, will come to them an elation and sense of achievement like nothing else. They will have taken their body and mind past anywhere it has been before. They will have shared incomparable experiences with their team mates and learnt about themselves. Ultimately they will have found that their limits are just an illusion…”
Half Course:
60km Mountain biking
35km Trail running
25km Open water kayaking
Full course:
120km Mountain biking
70km Trail running
50km Open water kayaking
Crazy I know! Originally I only considered doing the half marathon since I’m starting from scratch on all legs, but again, as I come around to the idea I now find myself considering the full course. Ultimately the final decision will come down to the fitness levels and confidence of myself and the team come registration time. I’ve come a long way in preparation already, though still have a lot of work ahead of me. See below for the progress so far, and keep an eye out for future posts on achievements and adventures I take along the way.
August –
I took the plunge and got a personal trainer, we now meet once a week and work on endurance training to improve my strength for the event. Weekly tasks are given (ie 3 x 45min cardio workouts between now and our next session) and she’s made some big changes to my diet. Goal setting with her has made everything seem so possible, and there’s nothing like training with a project in mind.
September –
The dreaded has happened! Shin splints have returned taking me off running for 4 weeks. My trainer is amazing though and has tailored our sessions to work around this with boxing, core and strength workouts.
In other news – I bought a bike! The Giant Lust 2 cost a pretty penny but means there’s no excuses for not riding now!
I participated in Decanyonathlon as Support Team, Coogee Rover Crews Crew Challenge involving 10 canyons in 48hrs. See next post for full details of the incredible trip.
The Team is now coming together with Andrew, Rose and Matto now confirmed and showing interest. I’m yet to get us all together and talk training but it’s on the horizon. This is a huge step in the right direction, 3 other people crazy enough to take on the adventure! Proposed team name “The Rambling Rovers” 🙂
October –
New runners and compression socks has made running possible again, plus I’ve shaved 34seconds off my 1km circuit run. Small wins!
Rose and I hiked the 30km Coastal track in The Royal National Park in 10hrs! Being a 36degree day we were extremely happy with the time, and now have something to measure against for the next time we doing this as training closer to GeoQuest. My knees and hips are a problem and seem to cause me pain on anything over 10km. More details on the trip in the Coastal Track post.
Keep an eye out – there’s plenty more training to come!!
