Day out @ Dandenongs.. Fun Video!

Sorry its a bit short!

The Ultra Dandenong Project - Olinda 2

No I haven't forgotten about this project!

I've been putting off running in Mt Dandenong again for a while & really had no reason not to, today. So packed all the running gear into the car & off I went. I had no clue which part of Mt Dandenong I wanted to run until late this morning.. I've already covered Sherbrooke previously, Dongolla during the Rollercoaster run, did a run up the Kokoda 1000 steps up to One Tree Hill so pretty much covered that area too, and really needed to discover more of Olinda given the previous trips I only went as far as the RJ Arborterum, and another trip I visited the Silvan Reservoir thinking I could actually explore around it - only to find out the entire reservoir is fenced up and was at a higher ground from the Silvan picnic grounds (ie. no view). In summary, a missing gap in Olinda that needed filling up.

And so - today's route was like this... 13k, 646m elevation gain

Started at Olinda Falls Picnic Ground -> Cascade -> VW ->Barges -> Barlett ->Rifle Range Gully -> KC -> Vally Picnic Ground -> Boundary -> Eagle Nest -> Hermons -> Rifle Range Gully -> Barlett -> Olinda Falls Picnic Ground (13km)

Gorgeous trees awaited me along VW Track.. 

A captivating section of Bartlett Track

While the run along Rifle Range Gully Track was a damp soggy one..  I really didn't expect to pick up a leech along the way. Makes me curious now how big the local breeds are, coz this lil friend is puny compared to its counterparts in the tropics.

And the name of this log is JV.. this was shortly after the climb along KC track.

The scenery is not to be missed (Valley picnic ground), a very serene place for picnic, even if its just banana & nut bars :)

This was a beautiful section along Hermons Track

Back along Rifle Range Gully Track, the sun made beautiful silhouettes of the tall commanding trees

Couldn't resist snapping a few more rays of light.. 

The thing about Oz is you see these beautifully colored birds/parakeets and its almost like you're running in some exotic amazonian jungle paradise. 

So what did we establish today?

1) This section can be linked via Kalorama Picnic ground -> Olinda Creek Rd from the north.
2)  Route should def include Valley Picnic ground, it will make a good link towards south Olinda (RJ area) anyway

And as a little side-note, I also learnt 2 things:

1) I should not take Malaysia's waterfalls for granted (wasn't impressed by Olinda Falls!)
2) Malaysians really shouldn't take them for granted either (was impressed how clean the area was - and sad  coz we treat ours like a rubbish dumping ground)

So anyway.. that ends today's adventure & adds a little progression to this project of mine, thanks for reading folks.

Rollercoaster Run 2013 - Job Done!

Much pain? You betcha.
Made the cut-off? You BETCHA!

Proud of my run? Well...... :) the only reason why I'm not exactly jumping with joy is only coz 1. I really can't - legs are bladdy sore & 2. I had hoped for a sub-6 hours finish :) but in all honesty yesterday could've easily been a very different story if it wasn't for the weather & all the adjustments I made following my route survey on Monday. So really I have no grounds for complaints doing the official time of 6:07 (having said that Garmin clocked a sub-6 for 43k! :P). I'm especially proud that my 21.5k was sub-3 (2:47)... I felt good throughout & started the 2nd loop being in the best possible form I could be in. So that much deserves a personal pat on the back :)

The scene at 7am.. everyone's pumped & ready to go! 

0-20k. I was part of 2nd wave, & started at the back of the pack. No rush really. The weather was fantastic. Cloudy & cool at around 16 degrees with hints of drizzle. Flag off for us was around 0720 & it was all good for the first 20k. Paced myself accordingly, stuck to the plan - run the flats & downhills, fast walking for the ups & marching small steps for the steeps. Might have pushed a bit too hard on the uphills (15k onwards), but was pre-occupied with making the 21.5k cut-off with a decent time - wasn't even thinking much about 2nd loop at this stage.

2nd wave.. off we go! courtesy of Dandyrunner

Kalorama Bend

20-21.5k. The Kalorama bend & the final 1.5k turned out to be very technical trail for 0.5k & just pure steep uphill slog back up to the starting point at Skyhigh. Legs were doing good (I love technical trails! as opposed to a runner who gave way saying he 'hates all these technical shit' :D). It rejuvenated the legs too for the last 1k uphill where I was still able to run small sections of it. In the end I clocked in at 2:47 for 21.5k, not too shabby compared to the tormenting 3:15 on the Monday before.

21.5k. Spent a bit too long prepping for 2nd loop before setting off again. Chatted happily to the volunteers who were very helpful & friendly. Refilled the hydration bag, electrolyte drink, prepped the headphones for some music & grabbed a gel on the way out again. With Foo Fighters pumping in my ear, it felt like I was in best possible shape to tackle the 2nd loop!

21.5-28k. Legs were coping well with the downhill up to 26k when I felt the inner front quads pinching just a bit.. signs of things to come I knew. Came across a handful of some of the 43k front runners returning to Dongolla after Golf Course Track.. I applauded them & now having seen the results the top spot female runner Isobel Bespalov was definitely amongst this bunch of runners.. they were just happily blazing along. how cool.

This was at Burkes Lookout (2nd Loop). Courtesy of Dandy Runner

28-35k. I trudged along for all the uphills, trying my best to keep up with the group of runners I was with.. many exchange of positioning took place along Golf Course Track & the runners were also slowly spreading out. My legs started showing some signs of cramping & I decided to walk a fair bit of it. I kept sipping on the electrolyte drink & hoping it would slowly go away. Pulling into Dongolla water station finally I quickly prepped a fresh bottle of electrolytes.. grabbed a gel, downed a cup of coke & I was off again.. tried not to stop too long.

Approaching Dongolla for the final 7k! Courtesy of Dandyrunner

35k-40k. The climb at 37k was torturous. A stark contrast to how I felt during the first loop. I was just glad the legs were still able to jog ever so slowly on the flats & downhills. On the uphills I had to stop many times to prevent the accumulation of lactic & took in smaller portions of gel & smaller sips of electrolytes more regularly. I took time to soak in the views (eg. along Old Mountain Road & Kyeema Track leading back to Skyhigh) & it was here I remember laughing to myself becoz James Brown started singing 'shake your money maker' on the iPod.. I found it funny coz I really was in no physical state to do that :D.. it was nonetheless a very welcomed distraction :)

The climb towards Kalorama along Old Mountain Rd.. 

40-43k. Just as the Garmin watch lapped at 40k, it beeped 'Low Battery'. I was like 'seriously??'. Of all times. But having reached Kalorama the end was near. It started to drizzle quite heavily too. It was nice to have rain waking me up but the technical 0.5k wasn't as fun anymore. In my crawling speed I noticed mist had formed near the tree tops & it was a truly beautiful sight. What a shame I didn't bring my camera with me (I left it coz I knew I'd be distracted from the run!).

At the final 300m, Rohan the organizer was out to greet runners, he offered gums & sweets & asked me to cartwheel over the finishing line. I told him I will try if I don't end up cramping instead. :) The crowd had thinned significantly by now. The MC called out my name as he saw me running slowly round the bend & with the small crowd cheering I did a pathethic flying side-kick over the line.. hopefully no photographer took me doing that :P

And so. 6 hours 7 minutes of mental & physical anguish later, the race was finally over. I guess I can take pride that I had stretched just outside of my target 6 hours, & well within the cut-off of 7 hours. I certainly gave it all I have (& good on the old Garmin watch staying alive to the very end too).

A runner pulls into the finishing area.. sky cleared up a bit too by then

Standard of Run by the other runners was very high (for me). Average for the 43k was 5:30hours (holy crap!). And seeing the 43k folks out there pushing their bodies to the max & chugging up the hills non-stop was just remarkable.. I did not see any of the folks I ran with stop for one-second, at most just slowing down at certain stretches & of course at the aid/water station (& all just very briefly too). So yea. Hats off to all of them.. all were hard-core folks in my books.

and yea.. there were a few

Event Organization was commendable. Free parking at Skyhigh. Sun protection-lotions for runners. Volunteers were dressed up as clowns, helpful & always cheering.. the main drink stations were a-plenty with water + sports drinks + coke + gels.. Dongolla even had cake. There were a few photographers busy snapping away (yet to see any of their posting tho) so if I'm lucky might even get a nice photo of myself. So yea.. for route support, double thumbs up!

The clowns manning the water station at Kalorama.. :) was i glad to see them on the 2nd loop

My fav 3 volunteers! water, smiling faces & words of encouragement when i needed them most :)

The atmosphere for the 43k finishers was naturally less fantastic compared to when the 21.5k folks finished. We were only a 100+ strong contingent unlike the masses for the 21.5k. Also it did start to rain at some stage. Only regret if I had to be picky is that I didn't manage to explore Mizuno / any other sponsors - by the time I changed up, the party's kinda over & organizers were all packing up for the day. But no biggie really.

Would I do it again? Probably....... and that's a big probably. It's a tough trail to train for & it was good to be able to pit myself against some seasoned pros. I know now I'm 30mins off the average time & a good 1:30 to 2 hours behind the top boys. Long way more my friend. For now - I'll just take pride with my result & wished I had 1 more day to lie in before hobbling into the working week.. bleh.

Thanks for reading folks! Time to plan for the next run :)

Love the medal!

And some elevation info.. nasty piece of work eh? Gotta love it!

Rollercoaster - The Survey

Where else but in your own blog you can indulge in a bit of vanity photography :)

Rollercoaster Run. Rollercoaster Emotions.

Not quite ready for this onslaught - & well proven too when I went out for a 21k test run yesterday. I would be extremely lucky to make the cut-off, and need to plan my energy & hydration recovery very well if I were to survive the 2nd loop..

The slopes in the final few kilometres are not runnable by my standard. I know the final 5km will be at an absolute crawling pace.

My excuses for yday would be - I was running in the sweltering heat of 36 degrees & in the height of the afternoon. I didn't bring enough electrolytes. I was carrying extra weight which I won't be carrying on race day.

I also wasted time getting a bit lost here & there... and at least 10mins recording myself running :P all of which should shave off another 15mins from my recorded time. Allowing me to make the cut-off albeit cutting it way too close.

I can't say it's unexpected, this pain. Given I've not trained in the terrain before until yesterday. It's not even about the standard of run (which will be v high), I know I fight my own battles.. it's just that I wish I didn't feel so weak u know? it's as if all the running I've done to date is pathetically insufficient.. that's the more annoying thing to deal with.

Oh well, we'll see. One thing's for sure - the rollercoaster is no child's play & deserves serious attention. Anyway here are some pics of my adventure/torment yday:

Wedding at the 'The Secret Garden'
The bride was saying her vows when I ran past in my spandex.. 

The view from SkyHigh Mt Dandenong Observatory

The start.. 

Burkes Lookout.. way too warm to linger & enjoy

This was right after the first tormenting climb at Dodds Track

Banksia Track 

And this big fella along Stables/Bills Track

Back at SkyHigh (at long last)..  my spandex stained with salt residue..

So knackered didn't even notice this twig 

Dust & dirt.. no mercy shown to the poor legs

Job done.. but didn't exactly reinforce my confidence! 

The Ultra Dandenong Project - Sherbrooke & Olinda

I've been having wild plans & woke up one day thinking whether it's actually possible to plan an ultra route (50k?) around the dandenongs, and it has fuelled my process of discovery of this national park since.. so Dandenong is split into 5 zones: Sherbrooke, Olinda, Mount Evelyn, Doongalla, Fern Tree Gully.. as seen here:

So I was thinking - could it be possible to run, let's say, from Upper Ferntree Gully station, into FernTreeGully & find some path through to Doongalla, popping out perhaps Olinda & eventually back south towards Sherbrooke & complete an ultra distance & live to tell the tale. Or vice versa! It'd be one helluva feat that's for sure.

Sherbrooke

So I've been to the Dandenong twice to date - first trip was to Sherbrooke, covered only the north-western portion... here's my garmin track:

Map 1: Big portion of Sherbrooke still unexplored.. but in light of the Ultra LSD, the first part of the area I covered seem logical. To link up with Olinda we'll need to cut east into Sherbrooke Road. Most likely through Alfred Nichols Memorial Gardens & traverse along Sassafras Creek, link up with Perrins Creek + Howard Rd 

When I went it just rained the night before so it was nice soggy trails on the day, here are some pics to give you an idea how this particular section looks like.. pretty nice:

Ferns galore! This was along Hillclimb

This was in the Hackett Track zone, wider clearer trails.. pretty decent for runs.

Olinda

I made a separate trip to Olinda - took a bus from Upper Ferntree Gully & started the exploration from Olinda town itself. I walked towards the National Rhododendron Garden & then south towards R J Hamer Forest Arboretum. Coming from Olinda, you have to walk through either one to get to Dandenong National Park (Olinda Region).

Map 2 : from Map 1's description, you can see at the bottom of this map Perrins Creek & Howard Rd... and see how it links up with the Arboretum. That's the next adventure I guess.. to explore whether it's possible to link these two regions up via this route. 

National Rhododendrum Gardens - beautiful place to bring your mom!

There was a sign 'Scenic outlook' at the start of Chalet Rd - they weren't kidding! :)

Well - I sat here for a good 15mins admiring the view. Pictures don't do justice to sceneris as we all know.

Happy me & unmarked trail leading down towards Mathias Rd.

Flowers all stretched out for a bit of sun.. :) 

This was the furthest east I went - the track is Board Track that fences up the forest region surrounding Silvan Reservoir - now I know it's not accessible (my mission was to try to reach the reservoir, now I know it's not possible via this route!). If I persevered along Silvan Rd, I would've reached the reservoir eventually but I wasn't prepared to go that far this trip.

A blue-tongue lizard (a big one too!) sunbathing along Mathias Rd.. 

Knackered. Back waiting for the train at Upper Ferntree Gully station. 

Well basically what I've found out so far:

1) The major busy roads are Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd & Monbulk Rd (ie. can't run/hike these)
2) If I want bus service as back-up plan then it needs to be along these 2 main roads
3) Scenic spots (to date) - One Tree Hill Junction with Mt Dandy Tourist Rd, Monument Trek, Chalet Rd
4) Silvan Rd is a long gravel downhill - hard on the knees - avoid
5) Most like Sherbrooke-Olinda route will be this:

Map 3: 23km in total, good elevation challenge, 3 scenic spots - One Tree Hill Rd junction, Chalet Rd, Silvan Reservoir, brings us back towards main road where I can catch a bus back towards train station. I think this would be a good Part 1 of the Ultra Dandenong Project! 

Next, will need to find out:

1) Whether can link up Sherbrooke Rd & Chalet Rd via intended route as per Map 3
2) Best forest scenic route from RJ Hamer towards Silvan Reservoir
3) Mt Evelyn, Doongalla & Ferntree Gully regions

Stay tuned folks!