Bipolar in Transition

In many ways, the Six Inch trail marathon has defined my time as Bipolar in Transition. It was the event that mentally broke me in 2014 , leading me to diagnosis and treatment for BP2 disorder . It has been the yardstick by which I measure my achievements (to the point of beating myself up when I don't get to those levels). And it introduced me to the wonderful world of the WA trail running community, many of whom I now call friends. This year I was always going to come back. For training, I tried to concentrate on quality over quantity. In 2014, I had pounded and pounded the kms to accumulate a good base, but hadn't spent a lot of time on trails and lost my focus any time I had to walk. This time, no run had been greater than 30km in length. The kicker was that all of my long runs had a fair bit of elevation, trying to equal or exceed the total elevation (approx 950m) of the 6" course. Runs in the Porongorup and Stirling Ranges, returns to Bald Head and even the Alban...

It's been somewhat of an interesting few weeks. I've been busier than busy with work, but this week still managed to crank out my longest weekly run total in two years. I've come off a pretty dark depressive period which lead me back to the GP for a new referral to see my psych, which I've ignored and let lapse for about 11 months (I'm nothing if not responsible). The smartphone app I'm running as part of a non-clinical trial for SANE Australia is telling me I've had less than optimal sleep for the last four days. And I'm just about to start a run of night shifts. Nothing is ever simple it seems. But... I've spent time out refreshing the mind. 30k yesterday putting together two routes in to one. cracked out a quick parkrun time. Caught up with the ginger ninja Richard Avery who's on the comeback trail from surgery. Spent time looking at the art exhibition for my daughters art class at school. Seen my eldest son finish school and take on ...

Week number 4 of training. This is around the time where I either break down in body and mind, or find a new gear. Thankfully, it seems to be the latter. As I alluded to last time, I'm prioritising quality of runs over quantity. So I took in a quickish and hilly 10k on the Mt Clarence boardwalk, a slow 5k wander with my beloved and two long runs with serious elevation to bookend my week. Long run #1 - Bluff Knoll half and a bit (22.5km/1,149m - 3:06:12) Expectation Bluff Knoll is the third highest peak in WA, and about an hours drive from Albany. It is utterly spectacular. I've hiked to the summit a number of times over the years (once with the worst hangover known to mankind after a friends 21st) and every time is a little different. This year we've had snow on the peak five times, which is almost unheard of - the last was only a week before this run. Needless to say, I was excited. There is a Strava segment which runs from the entry gate to the summit and ba...

Back in 2014, I ran the Six Inch trail marathon - a lovely 48km jaunt between North Dandalup and Dwellingup along parts of the Munda Biddi trail. After entering on a whim, I took to training like a man with a yet un-diagnosed mental illness, pushing myself to the limit and sometimes beyond. There were red flags along the way - like the time I decided running along the Bibbulmun trail for over 30km in November with less than a litre of water and no phone reception was a great idea. There were the almost weekly bouts of shin splint pain which made me cut down on my midweek runs and then try to catch up on the weekends (which in turn lead me to Altra shoes, but that's a story for another time), and the pigheaded reluctance to listen to friends who said that setting myself a goal time of less than five hours was perhaps a touch on the silly side. "Idiots." I thought. "They don't know what I can do." Turns out, neither did I. Five hours, four minutes and ...