GOW100 - On Track

View from Lost World

Things have been going well in training and racing. Since the hamstring injury has fixed itself up I've been concentrating a lot on getting some speed in the legs so have been busy down at the track and at the shorter races. About a month ago I settled on the Great Ocean Walk 100km event as my next big race instead of the Melbourne Marathon. The idea was to have a crack at sub 2:30 at Melbourne but I've decided to put this off, maybe forever, but I hope not.

A shame really, as the hamstring fixed itself up much quicker than I envisaged and I was able to get back to full training. On Saturday I raced a flat half marathon and was on 1:13-1:14 pace until a huge westerly wind whipped up which blew some of the later km splits out and I finished in 1:15:30. A pretty good time but at the end I felt like I could've held that pace for a lot longer - a good sign that the endurance and speed are coming together nicely.

So what does this all mean for the GOW100? It looks a faster course than TNF100 but then again, I don't know the course that well, so my customary detours off track are very likely! In any case, I know I am fit and ready to have a good crack at it.

Being school holidays, I've been able to get out and about and run some unknown Blue Mountains trails. Yesterday I did a bit off a duathlon, riding down to Springwood to Martin's Lookout and then ran a tough up and down track to Bunyan Lookout and Lost World. After a short break for some photos, I returned and then rode on very trashed legs back up to Woodford. A tough session but worth it. That's my last big hit out done and dusted.

On the gear front, I've been testing out the new Inov-8 Trailroc 245s. So far these shoes have exceeded all my expectations. With this model, it seems Inov-8 have designed the ideal shoe for Australian terrain. They are not so knobbly as the X-Talons, and are super light and super comfortable. With a 3mm differential, they give the support that I need and I can easily see myself going 100k in these without any discomfort. The boys at Ultra168 have done a great review of the 245 and the 255 here.

They are my new lucky shoes too. On Sunday I broke the run of seconds that I've been having by cracking a win at the local Running Wild race 17km race at Mt Portal. They handled beautifully on the leaf littered single trail and proved more than able on the steep descents.

Running Wild - Mt Portal