My life is less a story in search of a headline, than a series of disorganised stories in search of chapter headings. To try and capture
some of the current madness, I am just going to put a lump of it under the
banner of “Hounslow Classic”, a 75km event I am running (walking,
scrambling, crawling, crying) through in October 2015. Blackheath - Govett's Leap - Evan's Lookout - Grand Canyon - Govett's Leap (again) - Pulpit Rock - Perry's Lookdown - Blue Gum Forest - Lockley's Pylon - the Pinnacles; then turn around and run the same way all the way back again. Time to start training.
I
know other runners have all kinds of impressive looking training
plans, but my brain tends to work along different lines. Like all
good preschool teachers I believe that play is the key to learning.
Unlike most preschool teachers though, it usually applies to my own life.
Yes, I am a big kid. So here is how a not very serious preschool
teacher trains for a seriously tough 75km ultra running event on an unbelievably
difficult course.
First arrange some kind of scouting
of the area. A romantic week end away with the wife that is coincidentally
in close proximity to the course makes for a good starting point. You have to make sure you at least try keeping the Domestic Harmony Index in the black (however at some point you know that you are going to screw up somehow and send the DHI screaming into the red zone). I stumbled upon a tiny cottage
called Albert Hall in Leura catering for couples wanting one night
stays. Small, simple, perfect for us (the lovely Cait is small, and
well, I am simple). Nutrition is important and was covered by ZEST
Restaurant in Leura. What a hidden gem of middle Eastern cuisine. Hydration requirements were nicely covered by half a bottle of red wine. Training should also include a day at
Scenic World doing all the rides and walking the Rain Forest
Boardwalk. I got lost on a training run last year and had a great
time thundering around the rain forest board walks all alone in the dawn and have
wanted to return with the lovely Cait ever since then. It is such a
brilliant creation. Today was the day. In return I had to ride the
Skyway and assorted rides. Hanging by a thread over great heights is
not one of my favourite things, but quid pro quo as she was walking
with me on the morrow. I have to admit I had a ball.
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| enjoying the views from the Skyway |
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| How cool. The floor becomes see through and you can see how far you are going to fall to your death |
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| 2.5 km of board walk along the rain forest floor. Not a "real" bushwalk, but heaps of fun |
The
Hounslow Classic starts in Blackheath, but today the lovely Cait and I
were starting from Govett's Leap, heading up to Evan's Lookout, down
Neate's Glen, through the Grand Canyon, Rodriguez Pass, Junction
Rock, then back up to Govett's Leap ("leap" being a Scottish word for waterfall). I had mapped it out to be about
14.5 km. This turned out to be quite short of the actual
distance. By "quite short" I mean "way off". It finished up being 19km according to both our GPS watches.
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| Views from Govett's Leap. Run down from the left, up the right, then repeat. Add some extra bits to make it longer. That's the Hounslow course in a very big nutshell. |
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| the lovely Cait and some idiot photo bomber |
We
set out our usual jaunty selves along the Cliff Top walk. Our first
water crossing gave me an opportunity to sprawl across a rock and
practice my mermaid skills. After the first photo, the wife suggested that a mermaid should possibly keep his legs more together. Take 2.
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| The Little Mermaid |
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| Govett's Leap with all the those lovely stairs winding up the cliff face |
Evan's Lookout is spectacular and we
spent a while here ooohing and aaahing appropriately. As we wandered
up to the Neate's Glen car park we encountered a distressed woman
redirecting traffic as her husband attempted to reverse a very large
campervan along the road. Apparently even enormous warning signs are
not large enough for some. Great big vehicles, little tiny brains.
We
arrived at what we guessed was the Neate's Glen car park. An
abundance of signs had guided us here, but no sign actually announced where we
were. We asked a couple donning enormous packs “is this the
Neate's Glen car park ? Is that the track down to Neate's Glen?”
They had never heard of the place, yet appeared to be heading off
into the wilderness for what looked like a month. We left them to
their fate and set off down what seemed to be the right trail (it was).
We,
however, were off through the Rodriguez Pass. Bright yellow warning
signs had the lovely Cait looking at me enquiringly, but she trusts
me (silly woman). Maybe she was feeling a little less trusting grasping a steel cable as she later crossed a cliff wall; but she
didn't fall, so all good.
The
climb down to Greave's Creek is not a simple dawdle along a trail. In places it becomes
a full scramble over rocks, and lots of scouting to pick up the
trail. Eventually we hit clear trail again and moved along nicely.
However, at one point we saw a couple down below us who were clearly
lost and heading towards Beauchamp Falls along a smooth and slippery (and
increasingly dangerous) water course. We yelled for them to stop, and led them
back down stream to the point where they had missed the creek
crossing. As they set off, we wished them luck. I thought the man
might need it, as the woman looked less than impressed at proceedings
and there were so many places a man could fall to his death with just
an innocent nudge.
Greave's
Creek met up with Govett's Creek, and it was a pleasant stroll. We
found a clearing with a creepy wooden hut which the lovely Cait
refused to enter (possibly my ill timed Ivan Milat joke didn't help).
After a bite to eat by the lovely Govett's Creek, we set off again.
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| The Milat Meditation Centre |
By
now both our GPS watches suggested we should be near finished, which
obviously was not the case. I began to worry that the “lovely
walk” I promised was becoming a horrible slog, and maybe I had missed
a turn. Cait was pushing on fast up front, but I felt obliged to mention that last time in this area I has seen more than a few black snakes. She thanked me for the advice, and suddenly I was pushing on up front. Eventually, though, we reached Junction Rock, I breathed a sigh of relief, and we headed west
on the last stretch up towards Govett's Leap. Not, however, before the lovely Cait came to within a
half a whisker of taking a massive plummet down a waterfall. I
won't mention that we were only crossing because I misread a sign and
it was actually a needless recrossing back to the right side.
From
here on it was a long up up up, with endless zig zags and small water crossings.
It was strange to look at the time and think it was only early
afternoon, because it was so dark in places that it felt like night
was rapidly closing in upon us. It seemed to be taking forever. To my surprise, the
lovely Cait turned to me and said that if I needed to spend a bit
more time than usual up here training, she would
understand. I kindly thanked her for her support, but by now was
secretly thinking I was mad for signing up. I had been concerned
about the extra distance, but the lovely Cait was thundering along.
She was proclaiming her gazelle like performance as she leaped from rock to rock, whereas I, ultra
runner in training, was struggling. At last we hit the base of Govett's Leap and the beginning of
the final climb. Along the way, Cait made friends with what was
later identified as a Superb Lyrebird. It just kept hopping and
flying alongside her all the way to the very top. A very special way
to end the day (and partially took her mind off the fact that I had
majorly underestimated the distance).
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| Cait's little mate |
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| Govett's Leap |
A
great day out, a good work out, a lot of course knowledge tucked away
and the beginnings off a race strategy (“don't do it”); all made
even better by a stop off at Wentworth Falls to pick up some Mountain High Pies
for dinner. A good start to the training cycle.
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