Karen writes: Making Recovery Interesting
I don't do taper well, I don't do recovery well. Well, that's according to some. Actually my version of taper still seems to work as in I turn up on the day, feel fine and finish. My post marathon recovery works too as I very quickly return to normal and don't seem to have ill effects. Last week was the case in point for recovery. After the drive back from Rotorua on Sunday, hopped on the plane on Monday for a conference in Queenstown. I was up a mountain in my free time ASAP. I love being fit enough to head out for a walk, and come back 5 hours later having climbed a mountain. Albeit a fairly small one in the scheme of things. Did two mountains while I was there actually, and an early morning 5km quick run along the lakeside, this run is a traditional part of the NZ Society for the Study of Diabetes conference.
The mountain I'm standing on in the picture above is Ben Lomond. The saddle where I got to was roughly 1300 meters high. I started out just for a trip up to the Gondola, had a look around there, then headed down again. I missed the turning to go back to where I started and ended up on a platform overlooking the lake. There was a sign which said 'Gondola' or 'Ben Lomond'. A young woman was there looking at the sign too, we decided we would head up the mountain together and see how it went.
Now this young woman, I will call her S, was from the Czech Republic and it seemed she was wandering round the world. She was wearing shorts and a singlet in the cold (low single figures), and I found myself wondering if I was going to end up treating her for hypothermia on a mountain top somewhere. I tend to be a bit paranoid myself and go over the top, carrying everything to excess. Take me out of my comfort zone and I'm in full survival mode, my pack had food, water, warm clothes, space blanket, first aid, water-proofs and more food and I still felt under-prepared. Eventually S reassured me that she was used to mountains where she came from, and that she had more clothes and knew when she was getting cold. Anyway, we hiked, and talked, and slogged up the steep paths to the saddle where she left me as she wanted to keep on going towards the summit. I started on my way down again and the next thing S came running past, she had received a phonecall to do with a job and needed to be back in Queenstown in an hour and a half and could just do it if she ran all the way. If you look very closely at the photo you can see a tiny figure in green running furiously.
I took my time, wandered back to the Gondola, then back to town. I stopped for a milkshake (funny the things you crave after strenuous exercise) and a young woman in office attire comes running up to me. It was S. She gave me a hug, we wished each other luck knowing we would never see each other again and went back to our lives. My life would be much less interesting if I didn't run, I just know it.
Now this young woman, I will call her S, was from the Czech Republic and it seemed she was wandering round the world. She was wearing shorts and a singlet in the cold (low single figures), and I found myself wondering if I was going to end up treating her for hypothermia on a mountain top somewhere. I tend to be a bit paranoid myself and go over the top, carrying everything to excess. Take me out of my comfort zone and I'm in full survival mode, my pack had food, water, warm clothes, space blanket, first aid, water-proofs and more food and I still felt under-prepared. Eventually S reassured me that she was used to mountains where she came from, and that she had more clothes and knew when she was getting cold. Anyway, we hiked, and talked, and slogged up the steep paths to the saddle where she left me as she wanted to keep on going towards the summit. I started on my way down again and the next thing S came running past, she had received a phonecall to do with a job and needed to be back in Queenstown in an hour and a half and could just do it if she ran all the way. If you look very closely at the photo you can see a tiny figure in green running furiously.
I took my time, wandered back to the Gondola, then back to town. I stopped for a milkshake (funny the things you crave after strenuous exercise) and a young woman in office attire comes running up to me. It was S. She gave me a hug, we wished each other luck knowing we would never see each other again and went back to our lives. My life would be much less interesting if I didn't run, I just know it.
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