Friday 16 November 2012

More running - this is getting crazy 42.57kms this week!!!


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.