Summer Walks

For 2011 we have had four summer walks with the caversham Club. I have participated in three of them.

29 October Mainly along Saddle Hill Road from Coalstage Road 9kms.

12 November I had the pleasure to lead the group up Signal Hill Road, across farmland overlooking the harbour to Cleghorn Street. Back down North Road to the Gardens. 10kms

10 December - Around Port Chalmers including Back Beach. Also walked up to the Scott Memorial

An Explanation

No I have not been tardy with this blog but the frailties of technolgy meant the blog would not let me do new posts until now. It has been so frustrating as I have done a number of interesting things walk wise so I will fill in the gaps retrospectively.

3-7 October 2011 A week in Queenstown

Denise had to work in Frankton for a week so I accompanied her. We stayed at the Gateway Motel for the week. My friend Danny was also in Queenstown so we did four walks together.

3 Oct. (by myself)
Frankton Arm Walkway (to Queenstown return)
Frankton – Remarkables Park Shopping Centre (return) 16kms

4 Oct. Started Kawarau Suspension Bridge - Gibbston River Trial. Gibbston Highway Trail, Waitiri Loop Track 17kms

5 Oct. Started at the Arrow River - To Macetown and onto the Anderson Battery (return) 33kms

6 Oct. Started at Kawarau Falls Bridge - Kelvin Heights Walkway including a walk around the golf course perimeter 14kms

7 Oct. (1) Queenstown Hill. (2) Frankton Arm Walkway from Queenstown to Frankton 8kms

6 November 2011 Coastal Classic

Craig and I drove to Taieri Mouth to do the 12km walk as part of the annual Coastal Classic. There are also Mountain Biking events at the same time. When we arrived there was a strong wind and intermittent rain. 86 (incl. 15 men) walkers set off at 10am. The walk included beach, road and farm land. There is one steady climb up a hill on the road just before heading onto farmland. I actually found the farmland challenging as there were lots of divots from the cows and I was worried about rolling an ankle.

I felt reasonably comfortable doing a time of 1:47:49 and was the second man home and placed 10th overall. I enjoyed the walk and would do it again. My mate Craig was the third male home and he was pleased with his time as he wanted to beat 2 hours.

Niagara Falls 1/2 Marathon Course

This morning after breakfast, my Canadian friend Les(who has run 30 marathons) took Peggy (who has run one marathon) and I to the start of our half marathon walk on the Niagara Falls Marathon course. He measured 21.1kms from his home and dropped us off on the Parkway, a walkway across the road from the Niagara Falls River. Les and Peggy's home is 3.5kms past the finish of the marathon course.The temperature was 23 degrees and conditions were ideal.

Peggy is looking so good and impressed with her fitness. Our start time was 8:03am. I felt we walked at a fast clip and after one hour we had done 5.8kms which was good as we talked non-stop and I stopped to take lots of photos. Some of the homes we passed were so huge and impressive. The next time I looked at my watch was after 2hrs and 10 mins and we had done 12.1kms according to my pedometer.

We soon came to the town of Chippawa and there is a monument to James Cameron, the film director (Titanic, Avatar) who came from this town. We reached here at 10.33am and headed to Tim Horton's (a fast food outlet that sells excellent coffee and hot chocolate) for a comfort stop and a hot drink. We stayed for 17 mins and only had 3.5kms to reach the finishing point at Niagara Falls remembering we had the additional kms to get to the house. It was neat walking towards the tall hotels andthe Skylon Tower. We could see the flume of mist coming from the Falls.

We reached the finishing point denoted by the letter "F" painted in a carpark. We did not wait to look at the Falls as we were keen to do a reasonable time. Peggy was really going for it as we weaved through dozens of tourists. It was nice to get home at 12:08pm meaning taking off our stop at Chaippawa we did a 3:48 time.

Les is a member of the Niagara Falls Marathon committee and he gave Peggy a medal that was given to all the finishers in the 2010 Niagara Falls Marathon. Peggy ceremoniously placed it around my neck.

A Terrible Month Walk-wise

I think June would be one of my worst months walking with a number of disruptions. Firstly I was working at the University as an Examination Supervisor from 8.30am until 5.45pm. I parked down by the University Rowing Club and walked the 2km to Chem Lab where I was supervising exams. Sometimes I squeezed in a few kilometres at lunchtime. I also missed some days because of a back injury and then influenza. On one day I was working from 7am until 9pm in my roles as a courier driver, principal appraiser and assisting a Board of Trustees choose their new principal.

Pineapple Track Club Walk

Saturday 4 June

It was my pleasure to lead 19 club members over Flagstaff via the Pineapple Track. Luckily the weather was good although we struck some cold breezes at the summit. I was conscious of catering for the various abilities. Being safety conscious I ensured we had lots of stops. Once at the top, four walkers asked if they could go on ahead as I sensed they were frustrated with the stopping. The majority of us did the walk in 2hrs 50mins

Pineapple Track Trial Run

On Saturday I have been asked to lead our walking group over the Pineapple Track. Today my mate Danny and I did a trial run. The 12.5km took around 2:45hrs. The weather was fine until we got out of the bush on the way up the track. The wind was very cool.

Laptop Problems

Over the past month or so I have laboured away on a slow internet connection and then I could not go online. After employing a computer technician I discovered my modem had died. Now with a new one, including a router so I can work on my laptop anywhere in the house.

Vice Presidents 5000 metres: This annual handicapped walking race took place at Forbury Park where we had to do five laps of the park. I was given a ten minute handicap with two runners on eleven minutes and one on twelve minutes. I was teamed up with Kieran our club captain. It was a tough handicap but I was pleased that I walked stride for stride with Kieran until he passed me within the last 50 metres. I was placed 23rd out of 31 walkers but was pleased with the 4th fastest time - my time was 35:50.

Gore 12km Walk: This very well run event was held the day following the VP's 5000 metres. I drove down with my mate Craig who had not walked a competitive race for well over a year. He had lost a lot of weight and had worked on his fitness through swimming, cycling and walking. I decided to go for it straight from the start. The walkers and runners did the course at the same time. The course was very well marshalled and did a loop via Croydon Lodge and the race course. I was particularly pleased with my finish which is usually not a strength.

In the results they did not differentiate between the walkers and runners. I was 81st home (31st male) out of 132. My time was 1:33:03 which was pleasing as I wanted gto do sub 8min kilometres. Craig did the remarkable time of 1:39:29.

Three Peaks Walk #2

After last year's inaugural walk where we were directed down the wrong track and not having enough marshalls I was looking forward to this event for the second time. The Leith Harrier Club had taken on board all the criticism by altering the course, having more marshalls and making it 10kms.

It had rained for almost three days so the course was very wet and slippery. Going across Chingford Park was the first obstacle as by the time we hit the footpath, everyone had wet feet. I was in third place for the first 1km as we headed past the Bethune's Gully entrance by 250m where the Moutain Bike track was. We followed this winding track back to the Bethunes Gully track. We then walked up the track until directed onto a bush track. It was steep and very muddy. I started to feel the effects of the walk. I was slow and pased by three walkers. At a plateau we walked through lots of mud and water. When we started to descend through sodden paddocks I found it very difficult to keep my footing, falling over a number of times. I was passed by more walkers as I struggled with my footing. Once on a gravel track and flat footpaths I was able to pass most of the walkers except two who had passed me. I managed 5th place out of 33 in a time of 1:07:04. This race cannot possibly be 10kms as my PB for 10kms is 1:13.

When I finished I looked as though I had been in a rugby match played on a muddy field.

Caversham Club 1500m Walking Race

On what started as a wet day. the Ted Brown, McStay and Walkers Cups were held at the Caledonian. As our leader Kieran was away I was asked to distribute the numbers which I willingly did. 21 walkers participated in this scratch event. I had been runner up in the previous two years so decided to give it my best shot. The club has at least 5 faster walkers than me but 3 of them did not participate. Colin and Gordon who had both beaten me in the previous attempts were walking.

I managed a good start with Colin and I in front for the first lap. Colin is such an accomplished walker that I would have been happy to just stick with him and try to record a PB. Somehow I managed to find some inner recerve and passed Colin and held the lead to the end. My time was 9:01 minutes with Colin 3 seconds behind.

During the race Dave Jackson a club stalwart indicated I was close to running. I was very conscious of this and tried hard to ensure I was walking. At the end of the race Dave spoke to me about my style and he thought it was suspect. I asked him for help in rectifying it. The last thing I want to do is irk my fellow walkers. If this was the case I would pull out of walking races and just do recreational walking.

After the club runners did their events, I led the fast group for an hour's walk up to Opoho via Lovelock Ave. The bush track to the cemetery was too muddy. Once at Opoho we came down Black's Road, along North Road and through the Gardens. From here it was along Leith and Dundas Streets and onto Butts Rd. The final section involved walking beside the Donaghy Tennis Courts, across part of Logan Park to our start at the Caledonian. The course was just over 5kms.

Karetai Challenge # 4

On Sunday 20 March I took part in my fourth Karetai Challenge. The weather was ideal for the 16.5km walk. The 53 walkers started 5 minutes after the 9am starting time. I felt good covering the first 3.2km in 25 minutes. The Tautuku Fishing Lodge at 7km was covered in under an hour. Enjoyed the hill section passing 3 walkers. However they passed me once on the sealed roads. I managed the walk in 2:13:12 which was 12 seconds slower that my PB. I was 15th overall and the 9th male home. FRom the club Tom was 3rd male, Colin 4th, Kieran 5th and Danny was 6th. All managed to complete the walk under 2hrs which is a great effort.

Both the Papatowai and Karetai walks are part of the Southern Coastal Challenge series.

Papatowai Challenge # 3

It was my pleasure to take my car to the Papatowai Challenge. In my car were Danny, Keiran and Peter Hughes, a runner from Caversham Harrier's Club.

It was an ideal day for walking with what appeared to be reduced numbers. I got away to a good start and felt good throughout the event. It was a thrill to do a PB by 2 minutes in a time of 2:07:02. I was the 13th male (out of 60) and 29th overall (430 walkers). Caversham did well with Tom (1:50:35), Gail (1:51:19), Colin (1:51:26)and Keiran (1:58:44)nall finishing under 2 hours. My friend Danny was 7th in 1:51:19.

http://www.sportotago.co.nz/images/stories/pdfs/2011_papatowai_challenge_results.pdf

Buskin and Paradise Tracks

Today 17 walkers from the club carpooled to the start of the Buskin Track on the Otago Peninsula. We walked down the track to the Boulder Beach entrance but sadly the beach was closed. From here we went back to the start of the Paradise Track. As we walked up the track the rain began. Once at the top of the track is was a walk on Highcliff Road, back to the cars. The 8km course took 1hr 45mins to do the loop.

Otago Peninsula Challenge 2011

Dunedin's temperature was 35 degrees which was the hottest day of the summer. 350 walkers participated in the walk. It was the second time I had done this walk so knew what to expect. I was delighted with the way I walked to the Papanui Inlet and was in 10th place. The boat ride across the inlet worked out well with hardly any waiting.

I managed to walk briskly along Victory Beach passing two more walkers. A funny incident was when the woman beside me was talking on her cellphone and entered a seal's space. The seal barked and moved towards the woman causing her to do a hasty retreat. She said, "Deserves me right for using my cellphone". There were a number of sealions and seals on the beach monitored by DoC staff. I still felt good.

The four wheel drive track was alright but when I reached the goat track I hit the wall. I had to stop often up the hill and was breathing heavily. This was the pattern for the last 5kms. For the first time I struggled and finished in 3:06:51 which was 28 minutes slower than two years ago. I was the 28th walker home (15th in 2009) and 9th male.

The problem was I did not do as much preparatory walking and lack of water. I took no water on the walk but decided to rely on the drink stations. The Otago Daily Times reported on its front page that two walkers were airlifted to Dunedin Hospital - one for dehydration and one for severe heat exhaustion.

Second 2011 Summer Walk

On a day that started with driving rain, only 9 people turned up for the second summer walk for the new year. Our walk two weeks ago was at Sandymount, a quiet 2.3km stroll.

Yesterday we carpooled to Macandrew Bay and walked up Greenacres Road to Highcliff Road. We headed along Highcliff Road to Camp Road and then onto Castlewood Road. When three of us got to the 5okph boundary, we turned round and walked back up the hill for almost a kilometre to meet the slower walkers. It was back down to Portobello Road and then to Macandrew Bay. It was a strong head win on the flat back to our cars. Kieran and Gail walked very well but I was a significant distance back. I need some more training. THe loop was 7.74km going by "MapMy Walk". The walk took just over 90 minutes.

2010 Statistics

2010 was my best ever year for walking since beginning in September 2006.

Distance covered 2726km
Days walked 360