Kepler 2012 – All Set

Nothing to say, but I’ll spin the story out none the less. Anyone who has read the very first post and last years Kepler posting (http://runlongergeek.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/the-kepler-a-numbers-game/) will know that this is the race that started everything for this fatty and nothing has changed. I will run this for as long as I can, and as long as I feel good I’ll keep trying to get better. It took 8 years to break 6 hours, no reason why I can’t have a go at 5:30 one day. Probably not this year.

So here’s the summary. Volume seems to be key for me. As the years have progressed I’ve been able to sustain a bit more volume (unless injured) and the times have come down. This year I’ve done the K’s that I wanted to, when I wanted to. Last year I missed the 1^st few weeks because of injury.

The blue line below is the amount of training I’ve done in the 10 weeks leading into the Kepler each year. 2006 I had a stress fracture and rode the bike a lot, 2011 I missed the 1st 3 weeks due to a torn calf muscle in Wales. The red line is the time I’ve run each year. It’s still pointing down. A bit of a lull in 2009 and 2010 from Molesworth and World Rogaine Champs clashing and not being able to recover in

2 weeks.

 

This is the week by week that I’ve got through compared to last year. Similar low volume start, this time was recovering from the World Rogaine Champs in the Czech Republic. I’d tried training earlier but that just wasn’t happening. The lower red line is the magic 100 mile mark. The upper red line is the rumored 280km week that Vajin Armstrong has run.

So how quick can I go this year. I’d like to run under 5:40. That’s the Big Red Spot in the Top Plot. I still don’t think I’m running the 2^nd half as well as I should, so that’s where I hope to pick up the time. If I run that, then I’ll tick some more names of my hit list.
Michael Beaumont – 5:42:38
3 Names – 5:42:58
Dennis deMonchy – 5:43:16
Graham Harris – 5:44:59
Chris Gates – 5:48:21

Andrew Town just made the list too. That’s just to annoy people who want him to beat me.

They’re on there because they’re better than me. I have beaten Chris and Dennis but neither were at their best. Me beating them doesn’t make me any better but it sure helps with motivation when it gets shitty. Beaumont will know about for sure though and he’s lined up this year. Last year he thought I’d finally beaten him, until trotting along to Rainbow Reach he caught up and started hooting and hollering like he’d won the lottery. deMonchy will also get a txt.

The most amusing “Hit List” I’ve seen was perennial bunny Jason Gillespie, he once came in at 3 as a night watchman for Australia vs Bangladesh. He managed to work his way to a double hundred and as he did so kept raising his bat towards the pavilion as he went past the high scores of some very notable batsmen of recent history. Steve Waugh, David Boon, Mark Waugh, Ian Chappell and Mike Hussey now all sit lower than Gillespie on the list.

The last weekend of training was more of a hike suited to preparation for Northburn. I was out checking the control placement for the New Zealand Rogaine Championship this weekend. Phil Wood/Ross Rotherham and Greig Hamilton/Matt Scott are going to love the course and cover most of it. I loved my day out and saw some beautiful sights. They’re nearly 8 hours into it now. I’d expect the top teams will be up in the Tussocks cursing their route choice and hoping like hell they can get back on track. It’ll be interesting to see their choices. I covered just over half the course in 13.5 hours. I think they could go close to clearing the lot.