The Quadruple Bypass

“Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out".”
― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness


Conrad was a seafarer, but if he was born in a different era, he may have written those words about the trails that beckon runners like me to see what we can find. 

Me, and I don't know how many others arrive at the Basin Theatre to run the Quadruple Bypass, a 26km route encompassing four ascents of Mount Dandenong. For argument's sake, let's say there's 20 of us. That's 20 people who apparently ignored the fact that this is a course that Peter Mitchell has not wanted to attempt since he last ran it 15 years ago. I get extra "crazy" points, because I'm doing it on a morning when my kids are at my parents and I have elected to go running instead of sleep in.

I arrive a few minutes before we're due to depart and learn that we'll be splitting into two groups - one led by Peter and one by miler-in-training Vanessa. I'm in Peter's group, which includes, among others:*

• Peter. Australian marathon representative, winner Gold Coast marathon, 2x winner Bogong to Hotham (B2H), winner Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne
• Kevin. Winner Maroondah Dam 50, multiple podiums including Maroondah Dam, B2H
• Ray. Multiple podiums including Maroondah Dam 50, B2H
• Rohan. Course record holder Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne
• Kirra. Winner You Yangs 50, winner Lake Manchester 22km trail
• Cheryl. Winner Salomon Plenty Gorge long course.

In other words, I'm looking around, thinking to myself "I hope these guys can keep up."

[* These achievements are based on trail running chats and a very quick Google search. It would not surprise me in the least if I have dramatically understated the wins and podiums of these men and women. In fact, I'm sure I have.]

Ascent 1. Dodds Track and Caterpillar Track (3.02km, 370m elevation gain, 12.3% average gradient)

If you've ever run the Roller Coaster course, you'll know Dodds Track - it's the nastiest climb on the course. On today's course, Dodds is a warm up, the early ground work of a sick joke whose punchline won't come for another three hours. After cresting Dodds, we continue on to a climb I've never been up before - Caterpillar Track, a little gem of a hill (420m @ 22%). I think I remember smiling as I went up that one. Oh, the hilarity.

Ascent 2. Ridge Track and Range Road (2.84km, 360m elevation gain, 12.7% average gradient) 

After heading down School and Banksia Tracks, we begin the next ascent to the top of Range Road. After run-walking up Ridge Track, you know what sounded like a good idea? Running side-by-side with Ray all the way to the top of Range Road. I haven't since asked the guys behind me if they could see the vapour of fuel tickets being burned, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did. Now that I think of it, I also didn't check to see if Ray was wearing a t-shirt with an "I'm with Stupid" arrow pointed at me.

Well, I got to the top of Range Road without stopping to walk and felt secure in the knowledge that I'd at least have a bloody good time for the Strava segment that someone, I was sure, had already created. Imagine my disappointment when I later discovered that the segment, for some inexplicable reason, ends about 100m AFTER the summit, which I reach after about five minutes of rest. If it's not on Strava.....

Ascent 3. Birthday Hill (1.39km, 372m elevation gain, 26.8% average gradient) 

You know when you're running with Peter and it's meant to be "all downhill from here"? Of course, the descent to the start of Birthday Hill included a couple of bonus inclines on Dandenong Creek Track. But those "hills" are forgotten as soon as we start the toughest test so far - Birthday Hill. Three single track segments linking Edgar Track to the top of Zig Zag Track. Ray runs off on us all, followed by Kevin and Rohan. I remember running up this first segment once. Ba hahahahahaha. 

And what's this? We get to the end of the first segment and those guys at the front aren't stopping. We ALWAYS stop here. Do I keep going? Do I wait for everyone else? Oh, ok, I guess I'll keep going. Somehow I manage to get to the top only 40 seconds slower than I had the previous week, when I had 'only' gone up Glasgow Track once before tackling Birthday Hill. In hindsight, I wish I had left just a bit more in the tank, because we had just a little 'pinch' to tackle before we could call it a day: Glasgow Track.

Birthday Hill

(Photo credit: Luke Johnston)

Ascent 4. Glasgow Track (1.33km, 389m elevation gain, 29.2% average gradient) 

Trust Peter to leave Glasgow to last. Known variously as "The Scar", "The Firebreak", "The Overcrowded Hiking Tour Group Mecca", it's a rutted, rocky track that goes straight up the west face of Mount Dandenong and has a kick like a mule, even before the point where it reaches 50% gradient. We meet up with Peter's wife Jenny at the foot of the climb, who has brought fresh, cold water, and a positive attitude. I vaguely recall having one of these, once. But not now.

The climb starts and I'm reduced to a walk before I even get off the bitumen lead-up to the main track. This is not going to be pleasant. I know what's coming, having gone up it (fresh) the week before, in 20:38. I know I have at least 25 minutes, maybe 30, before I get to the top of this bastard. Ray, Kevin and Rohan disappear like phantoms, with Cheryl in hot pursuit. Jenny, having probably decided that grunted, single word responses didn't exactly constitute great conversation, powers ahead too.

One. Foot. In. Front. Of. The. Other.

Stupid. Range. Road. Schoolboy. Error.

Stupid. Peter. Mitchell.

Wait a minute... I'm almost there. I'm almost there! I reach the top after nearly 26 minutes and it's not Stupid Peter Mitchell any more. He's the Peter Mitchell who, over the course of countless trail runs, has helped prepared me for runs like this. Peter Mitchell, who shares his time, knowledge of the trails, and words of wisdom with hacks like me who could never even dream of achieving what he has in this running caper. The Peter Mitchell I'm glad to call my friend.

At the top of Glasgow Track

(Photo credit: Cheryl Martin)

Once we're all at the top, we remember that we're not actually at the top. There's just one little climb to go - there always is. 

Extra Credit: Summit of Mount Dandenong

We partake in a wobbly-legged shuffle along Kyeema Track and just after the lookout, there it is - the track that leads to the highest point on Mount Dandenong (at least I think it is). We clamber up it and, like little kids, stand on a mound of gravel to make sure we're as high as possible. That's when Kevin reminds us that we're standing on the wrong mound, the official one is over there. And, again like kids, we run over and stand on that mound. 

Standing on the (wrong) summit

(Photo credit: Cheryl Martin)

For once, it is all downhill from here. We arrive back at the Basin Theatre car park and my watch tells me we've covered 26.3km and climbed 1,728m in 4 hours and 5 minutes. The pain is forgotten, the ... No, actually, the pain is still there. Big style. But it's worth it. Or at least it will be. When I can think of something other than the pain. 

Quadruple Bypass Profile

***

So, will it take me 15 years to run this course again? Well, after signing up for the 75km Buffalo Stampede next April, I dare say that it won't even be another 15 weeks before I give it another try. If you've read this far and you're thinking you might want to join me, all I can say is, "Come and find out".

Intervals

Intervals.

I hate you. 

I love you.

No other training session results in a war between Present Me and Future Me quite like intervals do.

Present Me is sitting at my desk, thinking "Am I really going to put my running gear on for the express purpose of inflicting pain on myself? Forget it."

Future Me is countering: "But I'll feel goooood after it's finished. I'll be proud and I'll be buzzing all afternoon. It's the most rewarding training run of the week."

And on it goes, until (usually, hopefully) Future Me prevails.

It happened this afternoon, of course. I didn't want to go out. I did want to go out. And I'm pleased to say, Future Me won the day. 

One of my goals is to run a sub 40 minute 10km. So my intervals are purposely hard (relatively speaking, of course): 5x1000m, aiming for less than 3:50 in the first and last, and less than 4:00 in the middle three, with a 250m jog recovery between intervals, at around 5:30 pace. My aim is therefore to have the session over (a total of 6km), in less than 25 minutes.

Today was a good day. I managed:

3:43 (my fastest ever 1000m)

3:53

3:57

3:57

3:48

And finished in 24:47 (a personal record).

And I was buzzing all afternoon.

Thanks, Future Me (who I suppose is now Historic Me).

Snapping out of it

I had a bad training week last week. One run - a solid 9k lunchtime run with a friend in 42 minutes something. 9k, when I aim to average at least 50 over the year.

I don't really know what happened. My ideal week at the moment looks something like this:

Mon or Tues: 5x1000m with 250 jog recovery between intervals. Aim to have the session over in 25 mins or less. If it's Monday, rest on Tuesday, and vice-versa

Wed: 7.5k tempo run. Aim for 4:15-4:20 pace

Thurs: 9k moderate pace, hopefully with a friend of mine if our diaries line up

Fri: 26km run in to work along the Gardiners Creek and Capital City Trails

Sat: rest

Sun: 1.5-2hr trail run. Lets say 17k, but could be more or less. 

That's about 65k. Sometimes I'll miss one or two of those runs for whatever reason, but last week I missed four out of five. Public holiday Monday, too busy at work Tuesday, blah blah blah. Not good enough, particularly with the first race of the Salomon Trail Series coming up in two weeks. (I'm doing the three Melbourne-based races in the mid-distance category.)

It's also not good enough if I want to achieve my list of running goals I have pinned up at my work:

1. Sub 15 min lap of the Tan

2. Sub 40 min 10k

3. Sub 55 min Puffing Billy

4. Sub 90 min half marathon

5. Sub 3:30 marathon

6. Sub 6:30 Two Bays 56km

7. Complete a 100km ultra.

Here's to getting back on track...

(Today ended up being a 'no run' day, so it's intervals tomorrow)

Welcome to Into The White

So on the advice of a friend I've decided to start this blog called Into The White. I'm not really sure what exactly, or how often, I'll be writing, but it'll mostly be about running. I say mostly, because there may be occasions when I'm taken by a whim and share my thoughts on matters outside the sphere of training runs, gear, races, etc.

Why 'Into The White'? I hear you ask ('you' that is, my currently non-existent dear reader). Well, fans of a certain band from Massachusetts might recognise the name of one of their songs and yes, I am a fan of that track, with its ambiguous meaning, and Kim's vocals in front of a wall of sound (seeing it played live was spellbinding).

But when I was thinking of a name, this song came to me because I think it's how I'd describe what I'm searching for sometimes on those runs, be it on the trails, roads or Tan. Into The White, where you block out whatever it is that you don't want to focus on, when you enter this state of mind and gain this sort of... clarity. Into The White, where it's just the beating of your heart, driving of your legs and your mind. Not every run is like that (in fact, most aren't), but when it is, I wish I could bottle it.

A little about myself. I'm a soon to be 34 year old guy with a beautiful wife and two boys (3yo and 1yo) who are the light of my life. I've been running since March 2010 and would like to consider myself a 'first half of the field' kind of guy for harder events (Roller Coaster 43k) , maybe top quartile for marathons and top 10% for more 'mass participation', events (Run for the Kids, Puffing Billy, etc), although each race is different. 

May 2012 was probably my peak, but then I had some hip problems and lost the better part of 6 months. Since then I've been working my way back and I'm probably where I was last May, maybe even a little ahead. I've got some goals (more on that in another post to come) which will hopefully drive me to bigger and better things.

But make no mistake, I'm largely a weekend (or lunchtime) warrior and I'm sure the more serious athletes would look on in horror (or pity) at the way I approach my training, nutrition, and race planning.

The last phantom question I'll respond to is 'why did you start this blog?' I guess I've always liked writing (but never been remotely good enough to be a writer), and a friend suggested that I might find writing about running to be fun. Hopefully he's right.

See you out there.

Nick