Probably the theme of our week. We are both getting pretty good at waiting. Waiting for buses, waiting for internet, waiting for more buses, waiting for cablecars. Luckily its a pretty cool place up here and Tom has a real simple mind, so it hasn´t been too bad.
Training for the last few days has been full of variety. We have been to some maps north of Bolzano, little towns called Völs and Kasselruth. Both of these maps were luckily right on the edge of town, a couple of hundred meters from the bus stops. Steeper than Wölfl and with more cliff detail. The vegetation is resonably well mapped and the boulders seem to get bigger on every map we go to. Both of us now feel like were over the jet lag and looking forward to seeing the others tomorrow (Mark, Georgia and Angela).
We have been up another cablecar, apparently the oldest in the world. We have also seen the Ötzi (The Iceman), a 5000 year old mummy in one of the museums here. Tom has also seen lots of logs floating in the river and has lots of cranes to look at while we wait for things.
Tonight is our last night here before we head to asiago, and once Norm arrives in 3 days we should be able to get some photos and maps up.
Ciao
Tom and Greta
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wölfl
Went on another exciting orienteering adventure today inthe hills around Bolzano. On the menu today was a map called Wölfl in the middle of nowhere. No cable cars today instead we had an hour long bus ride that went through tunnels, up a gorge that makes the Buller gorge look pussy and up and down some ridiculously steep hills.
We got off at a little town called Nova Ponente and walked about 3km to the map. We didn´t mind the walk because the panoramic views of the Dolomites sprinked with snow took our mind off it.
The map was amazing! It is my new favourite. Had a forest floor like Gothenburg last year, the rocks were a little bigger than yesterday but still quite small andthe contours were a mix of flat swampy plateaus, big round hills and STEEP gullies. We did a course with some short legs to get into it and then some longer legs to finish. We are going to visit this map again later in the week. Its worth the 2 hours of bus ride and hour of walking return.
Some exciting things we saw today were a MASSIVE snail, a squashed frog, Heidi´s house, a St Bernard dog, a bus stop at a skifield.
Ciao
Tom and Greta
We got off at a little town called Nova Ponente and walked about 3km to the map. We didn´t mind the walk because the panoramic views of the Dolomites sprinked with snow took our mind off it.
The map was amazing! It is my new favourite. Had a forest floor like Gothenburg last year, the rocks were a little bigger than yesterday but still quite small andthe contours were a mix of flat swampy plateaus, big round hills and STEEP gullies. We did a course with some short legs to get into it and then some longer legs to finish. We are going to visit this map again later in the week. Its worth the 2 hours of bus ride and hour of walking return.
Some exciting things we saw today were a MASSIVE snail, a squashed frog, Heidi´s house, a St Bernard dog, a bus stop at a skifield.
Ciao
Tom and Greta
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Cable car to training, why not?!
Bolzano is very cool. 3 cable cars from town up into the mountains. We caught one to training today. We had light get-into-the-map session today and chose a map called Jenesien (Can´t get it online right now sorry). Turns out the best way there is via cable car. So we took the tiny cable car up over 1000m with some Italian women who looked quite surprised at our enthusiasm for what must have been a daily journey for them. Amazing views.
Map was fun, relatively clean, steep but not too bad with lots of subtle re-entrants. Rocks were like midget versions of what we would see in Aussie. Did a short course after we had got into the map.
Had our lunch on the edge of the forest in view of a house that could have been straight out of The Sound of Music. This combined with the German street signs and Cowbells made the area seem much more stereotypically Swiss or Austrian than Italian. Tomorrow we are heading furthur out to a place called Wölfl, no cable cars tomorrow only buses that conveniently run into the middle of nowhere.
We are working on figuring a way to get photos up and will bombard you once we can.
Ciao
Tom and Greta
Map was fun, relatively clean, steep but not too bad with lots of subtle re-entrants. Rocks were like midget versions of what we would see in Aussie. Did a short course after we had got into the map.
Had our lunch on the edge of the forest in view of a house that could have been straight out of The Sound of Music. This combined with the German street signs and Cowbells made the area seem much more stereotypically Swiss or Austrian than Italian. Tomorrow we are heading furthur out to a place called Wölfl, no cable cars tomorrow only buses that conveniently run into the middle of nowhere.
We are working on figuring a way to get photos up and will bombard you once we can.
Ciao
Tom and Greta
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Bolzano
Greta and I have made it to Bolzano. After 3 flights, 2 train rides, a bus and carrying our much too heavy packs a fair way we made it. Bolzano is amazing, more German than Italian, with lots of castles, a couple of big rivers and huge mountains all around.
We came through Dubai and Venice. We had a chance to have a quick look around Venice before getting a train to Verona for last night. Another train up here today and into the mountains. We will head out to a map tomorrow and see what o here is like. We will try and figure out a way to get some photos up soon too.
We came through Dubai and Venice. We had a chance to have a quick look around Venice before getting a train to Verona for last night. Another train up here today and into the mountains. We will head out to a map tomorrow and see what o here is like. We will try and figure out a way to get some photos up soon too.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Waitaks Run
Instead of writing I thought I'd do a photo essay as I thought it would be quciker. Of Course Murphy's law came into effect and its probably taken longer than writing! Anyway here it is. 1) Setting Out
2) Near the top of mountain road. Downed some Leppin while I was taking the photo
3) Near the top of my run. A panorama sweeping from north to the city. Its hard to make out due to it being an average day. The stick on the right is the radio mast. The centre is the city and Rangitoto
4) A shot toward the city and Rangitoto, Radio tower on right
5) The radio tower and the highest point of my run
6/7) A lookout on Scenic Drive. This is looking roughly SW
8) Looking south over the Manakau Harbour. You can see one of the dams in the foreground
9) 180 Degrees from the spot where I took eight. Looking N. The strip of water you can see is the Waitemata Harbour
10) One of the magnificent Kauri Trees
This was a long run. I wanted to go out in the bush but it had been raining quite a bit so I thought it wouldn't be worth it. However I highly recommend any one going out there for a walk some time. There are some amazing views and the tracks are well looked after. The best place to go is to park at Cascade or Waitakere Dam car park and head for Upper Kauri Track.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Flying away
This evening the first team members head over to Italy. Greta and I are making our way up to Bolzano for some training. Huge thanks to Jonas Rass who has helped us out with maps and trainings. We will try and get some photos and news up as often as we can. The rest of the team still has exams and will head over in the next few weeks.
Also I am really lucky that another company has come on board to support me. Icebreaker, makers of New Zealand grown Merino apparel are helping me out with some cool gear for racing and training. The skin baselayers are great heat modulating insulating layers, and the Icebreaker range includes some awesome jackets and jerseys. All New Zealand Merino of course.
Check out www.icebreaker.com for their products
Also I am really lucky that another company has come on board to support me. Icebreaker, makers of New Zealand grown Merino apparel are helping me out with some cool gear for racing and training. The skin baselayers are great heat modulating insulating layers, and the Icebreaker range includes some awesome jackets and jerseys. All New Zealand Merino of course.
Check out www.icebreaker.com for their products
Monday, June 8, 2009
Overtraining
Overtraining is a topical issue for us athletes at the moment, as most will have been training for a months in the build up to JWOC. While everyone is pumped and motivation is high to get out the door and run, it’s important not to flog the body. Being the fittest you can be at your race means that you need to at least be able to run- and being so shattered/injured that you can’t means you might as well have not trained. With that in mind, here is a little bit on over training.
Overtraining occurs when training beyond the ability of your body to recover. Thus without rest and recovery, hard and intense training (to try and win your race!) will actual backfire and decrease performance. When viewed in conjunction with the overload training principle there is a real risk that athletes will hit this ‘wall’. Orienteers are particular susceptible, as well as long distance athletes, due to the long and often monotonous hours of running.
Common warning signs include:
• Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
• Decreased appetite
• Increased incidence of injuries.
• A compulsive need to exercise
The hard part is distinguishing between fatigue from just going for a run, the stage of your training programme at the moment, and overtraining symptoms.
A simple way to try and objectively measure this is by recording your heart rate over time. If your pace starts to slow, your resting heart rate increases, and you feel some of the above symptoms, you may be heading towards over training. Another important monitoring method is by recording your resting heart rate each morning- a noticeable increase from the normal might mean you aren’t fully recovered.
Heikki Rusko (while working with cross country skiers) designed a method to try and recognise overing training. It goes as follows:
1. Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best).
2. At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute.
3. Then stand up
4. After 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute.
5. After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute.
6. After 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.
Athletes who are well rested should have a consistent heart rate in all measurements, but Rusko found those with an increase of 10 bpm or more in the last measurement where on the verge of over training.
HR monitors can help
The best (and by far the simplest) method, is to take a moment and check for psychological signs/symptoms. Do you have decreased positive feelings for the sport? Increased negative feelings after/towards training? Increased perception of exertion during training?
Unfortunately, most of the warning signs often go unnoticed, and many athletes do burn out.
So find the balance between pushing the body and resting it. Don’t feel pressured to get out and train when you’re feeling buggered- the people hassling you aren’t going to suffer if you push yourself too hard, you will. Sometimes the best form of training is actually resting!
Peace out,
Andrew
"Note: some, possibly all of this might or might not be correct."
Overtraining occurs when training beyond the ability of your body to recover. Thus without rest and recovery, hard and intense training (to try and win your race!) will actual backfire and decrease performance. When viewed in conjunction with the overload training principle there is a real risk that athletes will hit this ‘wall’. Orienteers are particular susceptible, as well as long distance athletes, due to the long and often monotonous hours of running.
Common warning signs include:
• Washed-out feeling, tired, drained, lack of energy
• Mild leg soreness, general aches and pains
• Pain in muscles and joints
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased immunity (increased number of colds, and sore throats)
• Decrease in training capacity / intensity
• Moodiness and irritability
• Depression
• Loss of enthusiasm for the sport
• Decreased appetite
• Increased incidence of injuries.
• A compulsive need to exercise
The hard part is distinguishing between fatigue from just going for a run, the stage of your training programme at the moment, and overtraining symptoms.
A simple way to try and objectively measure this is by recording your heart rate over time. If your pace starts to slow, your resting heart rate increases, and you feel some of the above symptoms, you may be heading towards over training. Another important monitoring method is by recording your resting heart rate each morning- a noticeable increase from the normal might mean you aren’t fully recovered.
Heikki Rusko (while working with cross country skiers) designed a method to try and recognise overing training. It goes as follows:
1. Lay down and rest comfortably for 10 minutes the same time each day (morning is best).
2. At the end of 10 minutes, record your heart rate in beats per minute.
3. Then stand up
4. After 15 seconds, take a second heart rate in beats per minute.
5. After 90 seconds, take a third heart rate in beats per minute.
6. After 120 seconds, take a fourth heart rate in beats per minute.
Athletes who are well rested should have a consistent heart rate in all measurements, but Rusko found those with an increase of 10 bpm or more in the last measurement where on the verge of over training.
HR monitors can help
The best (and by far the simplest) method, is to take a moment and check for psychological signs/symptoms. Do you have decreased positive feelings for the sport? Increased negative feelings after/towards training? Increased perception of exertion during training?
Unfortunately, most of the warning signs often go unnoticed, and many athletes do burn out.
So find the balance between pushing the body and resting it. Don’t feel pressured to get out and train when you’re feeling buggered- the people hassling you aren’t going to suffer if you push yourself too hard, you will. Sometimes the best form of training is actually resting!
Peace out,
Andrew
"Note: some, possibly all of this might or might not be correct."
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