Week of Peaks

Having the Canterbury Plains and my immediate running training ground, and it is great to have a variety of intersecting courses and varying distances to get stuck into.  The flat is also great for interval and tempo training.  And when I am confined to the flat, I run as much as I can on grass verges, which fortunately at the moment are littered with fallen trees (courtesy of the recent destructive 'weather bomb'), which gives me plenty to keep me focused on footwork and to leap over.  However, my real love lies on the trails and in the mountains, and as I have entered a few races of the steeper persuasion, I have been taking every opportunity to get out and train on the terrain that I find the most rewarding and the most challenging

I had a crack at Mt Somers a couple of days after the weather bomb (why do I so often decide to head into the wild after an extreme weather event?), and everywhere I went the ground was strewn with trees.  This was my second time running at Mt Somers, but I entered the trails from the eastern side, and did a quick warm up run to the Sharplin Falls before heading onto the trails of the mountain itself.

Ridgeline Running at Mt Somers

The first section of the climb was hard, full of fallen trees and excruciatingly technical.  Tree roots grabbed and my legs and feet with every step, desperately trying to trip me up, and an array of uneven sized rocks littered any vaguely flat section, forcing me to concentrate very hard on where I was putting my feet.  I figured that I must be finding the run hard as I hadn't headed up hill for a wee while.  The sun dappled through the bush, the picturesque effect quite lost on me, as I struggled to pick the safest and most runnable path through the mountainside debris, squinting against the flickering light and dark of the sun through the trees.  As challenging as I found this part of the run, I really enjoy running on the challenging and the technical, the more I practice the more proficient I will become, and I might eventually be able to get up some speed.  All of this will help me for some of the more extreme trail runs that I plan to do in the future.

As the trail climber higher, the gradient became friendlier (alternating between hands and knees steep, and reasonably runnable) and the track a lot smoother.  The gain in altitude soon had me running above the tree line, the expanse of the Plains behind me, and the snow capped peak towering beside me.  As I had embarked on my Mt Somers mission quite late in the day, I set myself a time limit for climbing, so as to give myself plenty of time for the return journey, I definitely didn't want to have to negotiate the minefield of storm debris on the lower slopes in the dark (even with the head torch I had cleverly brought).

One of the things that I really love about the mountain trails that I have been enjoying recently, is that they tend to follow ridge lines, meaning that I get incredibly rewarding views as I amble along.  The sides of the ridge that I was following were not as steep as those on Mt Peel, so although I think I climbed to about the same height, I didn't feel quite so vulnerable, or that one miss placed step might send me toppling into an abyss.  I ran through the vibrant alpine landscape for a while, gaining as much height as I dared in my self imposed time limit, before heading back again.

I would love to have a go at running the full circuit around Mt Sommers (around marathon distance), and when the snow melts, it would be fantastic to try for the summit too.

A couple of days later, I was in Christchurch, so decided that it would be fun to have a dash over the bridle path.  I walked the bridle path a few years ago, and remembered finding it steep and hard, so it seemed like to perfect short, steep run.  The path is well graded on the city face, and I quickly gained height, calves burning while my legs warmed up.  Even running the path, it wasn't as steep or difficult as I remembered it, and I quickly reached the summit, before plunging down the other side to get in a second climb.  The Lyttleton side, I don't think is as steep, but has gained some new rock formations courtesy of the earthquake.  The return climb seemed easier, thanks to warmed up legs, and the view of the harbor and peninsula.  All in all, enjoyable and quick, and something that I shall endeavor to repeat whenever I have a spare minute in Christchurch.

Later in the week, we found ourselves taking a day trip into the McKenzie Country to Lake Pukaki and Lake Tekapo.  I have gotten into the habit of throwing some running gear into the car when I head out, so that if the opportunity to run somewhere new or exciting arises, I am ready.  Mt John was my run of choice for the day, and is a trail I fondly recall from childhood holidays.  The path to the summit is like a footpath, well groomed and spongy with pine needles, and climbs steadily through the pines, glimpses of turquoise lake visible below.

Above the treeline the trail becomes more like a sheep track, winding its way through tussock and rock to the summit, before taking a looping, shallow descent to the lake shore.  The scenery, even on a grey day like the one I had, is just stunning.  The vibrant lake, snowy mountains brooding under veils of rain, the parched, tussocky valley concealing so much complex life.  Drinking in that view, I felt as though I could have run there forever.  Back at lake level, the trail undulated towards the township, and my legs were feeling strong and energetic as I bounded towards the car.  I imagine that elite and accomplished mountain runners always feel as though their progress is effortless and elegant.  I am not sure that my progress ever appears this way, but it is nice to FEEL as though it does.

View from Mt John

Back with my better half, we headed again to the summit to round off the day with a hot chocolate and carrot cake at the idyllically appointed observatory cafe.  That cafe must be one of the most spectacular places in the world to be a barista.

In other news, I have entered some exciting looking races in the next wee while: The Crater Rim Run (Christchurch), The Pyramid Run (Twizel) and The Bell Hill Challenge (Mid Canterbury).  So I plan to get in as much hill and trail work as I can in the mean time.

Finally, I have been enjoying a new route near home, which is an easy 15km, (with some added storm-debris-hopping), that is reliably and gloriously muddy.  I was a couple of km from home the other day, when an enormous and terrifying hell-magpie took exception to me invading her territory, and starting dive-bombing my head kamikaze style.  Huddling on the ground with arms over my head, seemed only to enrage the bird, and amuse those driving past, so I sprinted for a while (arms still over my head - not an easy feat) to escape.  Subsequent forays into this area have resulted in similar attacks, but I have gained a little bravery, just putting my head down and running like hell till she leave me alone.  At least I am getting some compulsory speed work added into my regime.