It’s been a while between drinks so I thought I better give
you a running update on my goal towards the Hobart Marathon in January 2013.
Since my last blog update I’ve clocked up 91.58kms and even
if I do say so myself there have been a few decent efforts in there.
Marysville Half Marathon – There is a Marathon Festival held
in Marysville each year to assist the town with rebuilding after it was
completely destroyed in the 2009 bushfires (37 locals lost their lives). They
ask you stay 2 nights when booking for the festival to contribute back to the
area so we headed up on the Friday afternoon. Saturday I stupidly decided a
bushwalk up a mountain trail would be a good idea and after 8kms or so realised
that the terrain was steep and tough and was feeling quite a bit worse for
wear. But the next day I fronted up for my second ever half marathon with the
only aim being to finish and have fun.
Finish I did, but not without a few issues. About 6 or 7kms
into the event (after climbing a massive hill – whilst walking, even the pros
didn’t run it), I was admiring the scenery and not looking at the terrain and
took a handy tumble. With cut hands, knee, hip and back and with a few decent
bruises I soldiered onto the 8km drink station where I washed the grit from my
wounds. It was then onto the 10km checkpoint where I took a few minutes time
out in the first aid station to get antiseptic applied and a couple of bandages
added before I headed off for the final 11 kms, up to Stevensons’ Falls and
then onto more riverside trails back to the finish line. My finishing time was
2:38.14 coming in 247th that
was only 9 mins 16 seconds slower than the Melbourne Half Marathon four weeks
prior and this event included hills, trails, a stack and time out in first aid
so I was ecstatic.
The fun was out of this world, the community feel, the
friendliness, the scenery, the trails, the whole weekend was an amazing
experience and I could be hooked into this trail running stuff (even if I am
slow).
Another highlight was competing in the BRW Corporate Relay
event with two colleagues from work, here you had to run 5kms, remove the
timing anklet, pass to your team mate in a crowded transition zone and then
cheer then on at the start of their run. I was the slowest of the three, but
given I’d run a half marathon 3 days prior and had backed up for a training run
of 7kms the day before it was amazing that I could run under 32 mins. We all
had a great time, finishing off with a further slow 6kms and then dinner at a
great vegetarian place in St Kilda.
Final highlight of the week was participating in ParkRun’s 1st
Birthday event, where the theme was Super Heroes and Villians. I turned up
dressed as Zorro and escorted my eight year old son (Batman) around the 5km
track in a slow time, but with a stack of people getting into the theme and
cakes, coffee, bananas and more at the finish line it was a fantastic morning.
Quite a few of us may have looked ridiculous, but we put smiles on heaps of
people’s faces, had fun fun fun got some fitness in and encouraged quite a few
bystanders to not take themselves so seriously. Another great event by the
ParkRun crew, and if you haven’t checked out their website to see if there is a
ParkRun near you I thoroughly recommend you do so at www.parkrun.com
I have now been running 4 times a week with one day being a
long run (that now means a single run every week of 20kms+ between now and the
new year). Tomorrow the plan is to push out a slow 22.5 kms – reckon I might be
a tad hungry tomorrow arvo!!!!
I’ll check in again in a few weeks’ time with a further
update on how I’m progressing to my first ever 42km event.
