Step Training

With new team member Dean keen to go  - we tackled a 15 km loop in the upper mountains last Sunday - up and down the cliff line a few times, not a big distance BUT lots of steep steps - affectionately known as "the steeps".  

Dean on Furber Steps

And just to make the day great - Carey joined us for her first training day in 6 months.  

She has weathered chemo and radiotherapy for Breast Cancer and has started her XPD 2013 campaign.  She can't race with us this year but has decided to volunteer so she can still be part of the adventure!  

Carey hopes to be out in some remote checkpoint or on a roping section in the Flinders.

Awesome effort by Carey after suffering 4 months of toxins!

Paddy Pallin 6 Hour Rogaine

Our first event as a Team was the Paddy Pallin Rogaine run on March 3rd in the mountains east of Canberra.  It was to be Dean's introduction to navigation on the run; one of the key components to Adventure Racing.

It was also the first time David and Robbo worked together as co-navigators.

The course appeared to be fast, open scrubland up to 1000m and crested both sides of the Great Dividing Range.  With Robbo's experience we quickly picked a course we reckoned could be done in 6 hrs and set a plan to complete it.

The clocked counted down to 9.30 am and over 150 people charged off in a myriad of directions.  Our plan was to stay cool and not get sucked into the hype of rushing at the start.

We had targeted 21 checkpoints in a course of approximately 22km - in the cool drizzle - we set about methodically ticking them off.

Apart from one slight error early on - we navigated accurately to all our points and remained on track to complete our goal in the time.  Each checkpoint is worth between 40 and 100 points.  If you are late back - each minute penalises the team 10 points - so it pays to manage you distance and time!

Robbo is a very competent navigator, which is a great asset to our new team.

We ended up finishing about 30th out of 150, pleased with our efforts and most importantly we got on great together as Team!

New Name, New Team

At the end of 2012 Team Five Ten changed it's name to Team Rubicon. And we began a search for new members who were crazy enough to enjoy Expedition Racing.  The first to join was Mark Roberts a past graduate of XPD Cairns, great navigator and ultra endurance runner.  Robbo as he prefers to be called, brings a wealth of experience and firepower to the team.

Roll on 2013 and Team Members were slim on the ground - with the GeoQuest looming, the recruitment drive ramped up.  Dean Grasselli and Rajan Thananayagam have recently joined; both are very experienced whitewater paddlers, enthusiastic and raring to go.  

Rajan has completed three full Ironmans and Dean is a great all round athlete.  And better still - we are now a very strong paddling team!  

And if we need to swim - Raj is our man!

Geo and XPD here we come!

Rocky Trail - GP8, Mt Stromlo

I sense early signs of an MTB enduro tragic, or maybe just a mid-life crisis?

I was planning a long training ride in the Brindabella's Saturday, that was until I came across the Rocky Trail GP 8hr race scheduled at Mt Stromlo the same day, now this had to be more fun than grinding out a bunch of miles on my lonesome.  A call to the race organisers late in the week to check entries were still open and a quick on-line registration and I was good to go... the Super Master category again.  Kind of like a day at the office, start at 9 and finish at 5, except the Met' Bureau were predicting 90% chance of rain with 10-20mm forecast, the potential for another mud fest had me a little nervous especially on a course like Stromlo.

Photo by Dave B - the Berm website.

This race was definitely a "gentlemen's" start with registration open from 7am and the race starting at 9am.  I managed to make registration in plenty of time, collected my race number and parked a discrete distance from race central.  I struck up a conversation with another racer Ian who was prep'ing his single speed for the 4hr event, the low and ominous cloud cover had us both thinking the day could easily get worse.

At a guess around 250-300 riders crowded the start area come 9am, the 8hr bunch were scheduled to go off first with the 4hr riders about one minute behind.  Although this didn't make sense to me, everyone was pretty well settled after the first lap.

I'd thought about 8 laps would be a good number to aim for on the day, it'd give me somewhere around 110-120km which I'd planned for on my own in the mountains that day.  I settled at the back of the 8hr bunch so I didn't get in anyone's way, however it seemed no time at all before I had lots of 4hr 'sprinters' up my clacker on the first lap.  The pressure was mounting as we crested Mt Stromlo and headed out along Western WedgeTail then SkyLine and into the Luge trail, it was towards the end of the Luge that I 'burped' a front tyre and came a cropper in the single track, not a good look.  It seemed to take ages to get a tube into the front wheel and sufficiently inflated so I could get back on the bike and complete my first lap, gravel rash and all.  The 29'er was performing beautifully throughout all of this by the way, I can assure you I was the weakest link.

A nice feature of the day was Mike Tomalaris from SBS Sport calling the race, it was pretty cool coming through the checkpoint area and having Mike call your name, number and time out over the loud speaker,  just as if you were at the Tour de France.

I'd ridden trail 2 at Stromlo a number of times before, this wasn't a lot different except the organisers had added a section of track to the start that extended the total circuit out to 12.2km, a lot of hill climbing but with some pretty classy downhill as well, it didn't take too many laps before I became intimately familiar with every rock and bump on Stromlo.  8hrs is a fair time to be racing technical single track so I settled into a pretty comfortable routine stopping briefly at the summit for a drink and a gel then again as I passed through the checkpoint area, my laps were around the hour mark and that suited me fine.

Throughout the day the weather varied from heavily overcast to sunny periods which raised a sweat on the climbs.  The 90% chance of rain really never eventuated thankfully, just a few drops of rain across the whole day.  The single track on Stromlo is really quite technical, this meant the day never became boring as it was always a challenge to nail difficult sections of track no matter what lap you were on.

We'd been warned at race briefing that due to the nature of the weather that day the organisers may cut the race short at 4pm, which they eventually did and this meant I officially completed 7 laps for the race, coming in at around 4:30pm.  What to do, head over to the event centre and a beer or go out for another lap, decisions, decisions?  I eventually came into the checkpoint area around 5:30pm having completed my 8 laps and the very last person on the course, by this stage the race organisers were handing out free beer and there was almost a party atmosphere developing... now that's an MTB race!

I missed the presentations while I was out on that last lap, so it wasn't until mid week that I eventually caught up on the results.  What a surprise to find I'd actually taken out the GP8 Super Masters category on the day, quite a thrill.  It's raining now in Canberra towards the end of the following week and all I want to do is go back out for a few more laps... now that's tragic!

Here's a tip, keep an eye out for Rocky Trails enduro events, they're a lot of fun... ;O)

Standard Training Plan - XPD 2011

A number of people have asked - how do you prepare for a 700 km race?  The short answer is -  I have no bloody idea!!  Ask me after we have finished and I will be able to tell you what we needed to do more of!  

Basically, each of us have targeted a number of major events during the last year as a lead up to the XPD.  This has enabled our bodies to become progressively tougher - at least, that is the hope!


Members of the Team have completed a number of Ultra Marathons:  Bogong to Hotham, Overland Track, 6ft Track, TNF 100 and OXFAM trailwalker 100.  The GeoQuest was entered as a major mid year adventure race as well as the Husky 100 MTB race.


Here's a typical 10 day training block for David.


Day 1:    Run 45 mins, Paddle 3 hrs
Day 2:    Ride 6 hrs
Day 3:    Gym 2 hrs, ride 1 1/2 hrs
Day 4:    Ride 1 1/2 hrs
Day 5:    Ride 2 hrs
Day 6:    Gym 2 hrs
Day 7:    Ride 1 1/2 hrs
Day 8:    Paddle 3 hrs
Day 9:    Walk 5 hrs
Day 10:  Gym 2 hrs, Ride 1 1/2hrs
Rest and repeat!


Elevation change 7000m - most sessions at aerobic to upper aerobic range.


Is it enough?  Probably not - but that's all I can do.....

OXFAM 2011 Trailwalker

A happy and NAIVE Team at the start

The more you disappear down the rabbit hole of Adventure Racing the more the "normal" world warps.  


The OXFAM trailwalker is a great example of this - most people consider walking 100km to be a major outing and one that requires significant dedication and preparation!  Our Team had fallen so far down the rabbit hole that we now have fur, long ears and stupidity to match.  How's that?  Well, we thought it would be a good idea to "do" the 100 as a simple training day, in preparation for this year's AR World Champs - the XPD in Tasmania.

17km down - crossing at Cowan Station

 Warping and weirdness ensured that we and 2000 other walkers toed the start line at Brooklyn on the shores of the Hawkesbury River in NSW.  The competitors were a mixture of regular folk, teens, oldies, clubs and corporates.  Hiding in the crowd were a sprinkling of serious runners and the odd ARer - a few GeoQuest, TNF 100 and XPD logos gave the game away.  The start was literally a circus, with horns blowing, party hats, costumes and officials "pumping" up the walkers - a party atmosphere prevailed but was short-lived as the clock counted to zero and the first steep hill appeared. 

Col ensuring he has enough vegemite sammies

The game was on.  Walk as fast as you can.  Minimise your stops - manage your tiredness, boredom, fatigue, hunger, pain, blisters, knees, crutch and any other "bit" that could hurt. Remember to eat, drink, refill water, change socks and shoes, lube up as required - tape up bits sooner rather than later.  Stay warm, stay cool, stay dry - keep rocks out of your shoes.  Ensure you have enough light to get through a dark night.  Don't forget the chocolate coated espresso beans, no doz, painkillers and rescue blanket - walking poles are handy if you want some form of knee left at the end.  Oh, and a good sense of humour is required - you'll need it.  Some parts of this walk are exceptionally tedious and painful!

The best way to describe the Hawkesbury to Sydney Harbour walk is as a continuous series of short steep 100 - 200m hills - up one side, along a ridge top then down into a creek bed - long stretches of tree roots, slippery rocks and technical walking - if you put your brain on auto - you would trip almost instantly!  Occasionally a fire trail would appear and give respite to creek beds.  We walked non-stop between checkpoints that were spaced every 10 - 15 km.  Starting at 9 am, we had covered 35 km by dark - the conga line of walkers on the narrow tracks created a line of headlamps disappearing into the distance.  The first 50 km went by in a respectable 12 hrs and 30 mins - our aim was to complete the 100km in 24 hrs.  Nothing flash - just consistent walking - the sort of effort that we envisage will be necessary for the XPD in Tasmania.

Wildflowers in abundance

Pizza for dinner at midnight - a slug of coke and we were on the move again - with 60 km down our wheels fell off!  Knee pain and blisters began to seriously hamper Carey and I wasn't far behind with my own problems.  Colin was suffering 
from Monkey Butt and Emma was challenged by the late hour.  Maybe a touch of reality would have helped in our preparation - 5 weeks is not enough time to prepare for something as arduous as the OXFAM trailwalker!  Living in the AR rabbit hole, it becomes easy to think - yep 100km - no worries - we're fit - stick it in the training plan.  Opps - 100km is a LONG way - especially in the type of terrain this walk covered! 


A bit of humbling is good for the soul!

Dawn Day 2 - 75 km down

With this in mind, the midnight to dawn stages dragged on and on.  Carey was a champion - her feet were becoming bloody pulps.  Add a painful knee to the feet and going downhill was becoming a mission  - with taped paws and gritted teeth the night disappeared.  First light found us close to Roseville Bridge and the 80 km checkpoint.  Carey spent an hour in first aid having her feet repaired. A cup of coffee later and we followed the Middle Harbour track along the foreshore until we came out of the bush and into the suburban jungle of cars, noise and expensive houses.

Just another bash along a creek

Carey receiving blister aid

What a shock - we had managed to walk almost entirely in bush through one of the most densely populated areas of Australia.  Such is the quality of the Great North Track that it was only now; at 90 km did we encounter the noise and rush of a big city.

Down and across the Spit Bridge - the urban experience was a surreal juxtaposition to the previous 24 hrs, up the hill and down to the "glamour" of Balmoral Beach and the Saturday morning brunchers.  We must have looked very shabby and alien in our sweat stained clothes, muddy legs, weary faces and distant eyes.  By now our feet felt as though a cheese grater had been run over them.  Every step burned.

Not so glamorous walkers at Balmoral Beach - 95km down

One last hill and thankfully it really was the last one!  And the finish line loomed.  A very pleasing sight - a bit of fanfare and Team Five Ten had completed the 2011 OXFAM Trailwalker.

6600m of elevation change - 100km - 28 hrs and 20 mins.

Colin, Emma, Carey and David 

It was a great training day.  We were pretty toasted.  

The Husky 100ker...

The rest of Team Five Ten have been powering on after Geo however lately my motivation for training has taken a downward spiral, no particular reason really but I seemed to be struggling with a Canberra Winter, a new job and house renovations that were dragging on and with no central heating through all of this.  So I needed something to freshen up my training, what about a 100K MTB enduro?


Well lady luck was definitely smiling on me when I came across the cancelled Husky 100ker from June, by all accounts it seemed the perfect race for a first timer and with some sweet sounding single track thrown in.  The organisers had pushed the rescheduled date out to the 7th August so I was in luck, I could squeeze in a few laps of Bruce Ridge (my local single track area) with a couple of outings to Sparrow/East Kowen in hope of whipping my MTB legs into shape in what time I had left.

Clearly the organisers of the Husky have respect.  When I registered I found I qualified for the 'Super Masters' category i.e. those over 50!  I liked the sound of the title... it seemed pretty cool, there were a total of 29 in my category out of a field of 294 starters, but don't let that fool you (mistake number one).


The Husky is based out of Callala beach, just south of Nowra on the NSW south coast.  Being only 3 hours drive from Canberra I decided to leave late Saturday, stay in Nowra and then get a not so early start Sunday morning to make registration by 6am, perfect.  It rained the whole way from Canberra to the coast and mud was on my mind for the Sunday race.  The motel in Nowra turned out to be ok and I settled on greasy take-away followed by a couple of coffees to top off my Saturday evening, jeez these MTB racers sure know how to have a good time!


At least the rain had stopped Sunday morning and by 6am the sky was clear and early registration was open at Callala.  I registered, got my race number and started to change and prep my bike.  I chatted with another racer named Spencer (who'd parked next to my car) about modern carbon fibre bikes and the fact I'd splashed out the previous day on a carbon fibre bidon cage for my Trek Superfly, with thanks to the crew at Bike Culture in Canberra.  By 7am the crowds were gathering at the start area and I lined up with everyone else at the back of the pack along with a guy on a uni-cycle, the fact he was wearing 5.10 shoes was a nice touch... ;O)


So what to expect when it had been raining most of the day before and all that night, mud and lots of it.  Yes the Husky 100ker this year was muddy, the single track was muddy, fire trails were muddy just lots of mud.  For most of the 100k my chain sounded like a coffee grinder and I dare to think what state the brake pads are in, however the aid stations were staffed by very friendly and happy folks dispensing Shotz tabs, water, lollies and fruit... what a fantastic crew.  Did I say that I hadn't ridden much mud before, well this was certainly an introduction to riding mud and I have to say I really enjoyed it.


The Husky is both 100k and 50k races, it was at the 50km mark that I thought I probably would have been better entering the 50ker, that way I could have gone home at that point for a nice afternoon nap!  I pushed on through more mud but in the knowledge that most of the folks around me were probably feeling the same way, put it down to a perverse sense of humour.  It was at about the 95km mark that I met Keith, another Super Master who was powering along a fire trail.  I pulled in behind his wheel and stayed with him as he stepped on the gas.  For a while I forgot about being tired and just enjoyed some fast racing as we shot down sections of very narrow trail in the big ring.  It wasn't long before we rode together discussing all sorts of things and then into the finish line at the back of the Callala beach RSL, me in about 7h08m... not a great time but Ok for an old guy I suppose and my first 100ker on a bike!


As I write this up I'm checking the results for the Husky... first in the Super Master category was home in 5h02m - yikes!  Not bad when you think the first Elite rider and race winner was home in 4h24m... go the old guys!


This should give my XPD training a good kick start!