Fun Run

Competing in a running event is something I would never have seen myself doing. I hated running for a long time. Apart from a brief stint of morning running on my mission it was never something I enjoyed. I always felt heavy on my feet and it just didn't come naturally.
Since really changing my lifestyle over the last year my fitness became good enough to give running another go. When my friend Sarah mentioned an upcoming fun run that was on a Saturday for once, a group of ladies from church made the commitment to prepare for the run. It was 7.6km which I thought was the perfect distance for my level. Just challenging enough to make me work hard in preparation for the event. It was also for a truly wonderful cause. Kate and Turia were competing in an Ultra Marathon (that's 100 grueling kilometres) when a bushfire broke out. The race organisers failed to inform the runners and this resulted in the girls becoming trapped and then badly burned. It simply shouldn't have happened!!

One of the awesome trainers at my gym is a marathon runner and she helped me a lot as I was preparing for this run. She writes a race report after every event. She says it is a wonderful thing to look back on and it continues to inspire her to run because she can read how she overcame challenges along the way and can see how far she can push herself. She encouraged me to do my own race report so I've included that below.

Race Report: Ultra Spirit 7.6km 01/09/2012

After a pretty rough nights sleep of about 5 hours I woke up at 6am and had a big bowl of porridge with stra wberries and banana and half a smoothie. I dressed and then went out the door pretty sleepy. Had to wake up Peter to adjust the dicky car seat for me but I soon was on the way to my friend's house were a bunch of us were car pooling. It was really nice to have company and talk about our expectations and what not and we made it into the city in no time. We got a park quite close to the start line. It was fresh but the weather looked promising and it did end up turning into the most glorious spring day. 
 
There were 6 of us girls in our team and although we'd started off going for runs together it had ended up impossible to train together so we'd just stayed in touch and given encouragement along the way. Only a couple of us (including me) had done the whole distance before so it was a big challenge for our team. I'd done a practise run the Monday before the race and had done it in 45 mins (with a loo stop too) so I was hoping to be quicker on race day. 

A photo with my friend Moe. He is a friend at my gym who wanted to do his first fun run too

We registered really quickly and then did an all important loo stop. That was the one thing that I was nervous about because I have such a terrible bladder. I had drunk a little more than I wanted to but I had the beginnings of a sore throat for a couple of days and was just plain thirsty. I have 2 voltaren for my knee and hope it holds up well today.

I definitely felt the buzz of nervous energy as we chatted before the race. Pete got there about 5 mins before the race was due to start and I enjoyed a cuddle with him and Will before the race. Just as the organisers were wrapping up the housekeeping items I thought I'd better go to the loo again. I was coming back down the hill and I heard my team yelling out to me and waving madly. I ran down the little hill to the start line and made it to my group just as the race began (talk about cutting it fine). 

 

 

Although I was now all frazzled I was glad I'd gone to the loo again. The last thing I wanted was to be running with the urge to pee. We'd lined up around the middle of the pack but I kept my eye on Tiana (one of the girls in my group who is about my running pace). I basically followed her as she dodged and weaved through the crowd and we quickly got into a good pace. It felt quite fast but comfortable. However my headphones started cutting out after the first song on my playlist and I just took them out and ran without music. I found this really hard though as I hate hearing myself breathe and I like the music to help me keep a good pace up. So what do I do, I ring Pete and tell him to have my spare headphones ready to pass to me at the half way mark. I then keep running and just feel like I've lost my groove. I do however, start to notice the gorgeous surroundings of the Tan and the flowers smell incredible. I'm very happy to welcome in spring this way. 

It doesn't seem to take long before I'm at the half way mark. I've lost sight of my friend Tiana, which is a bit disappointing, but I've just gotta do my own thing now. I see Pete at the half way mark and just reach out and grab the headphones as I run past. I do my best to get them in and plugged into my phone and just get moving. As soon as the music starts I am feeling more energised and use the beat to give me a but of a push. However, the playlist keeps repeating the same song so I do have to reach down to the button a couple of times which is really annoying!! I think to myself, next time I'm going to have this sorted out so much better. What a stupid thing to throw me off. 

I'm so determined to do this second lap quicker and it does feel quicker (it wasn't in reality though...was about 45 seconds slower than the first lap). I have a drink at one of the fountains and check my watch. I have a rough idea that the first lap has taken me over 20 mins and I desperately want to do this in less than 45 mins. I run most of the way up Anderson Street hill but have a little break to walk. When I reach the top I start running and am soon overtaking the people who overtook me on the hill. I keep looking ahead and spot different people and make little targets of them and challenge myself to catch up to them one by one. I do pretty well for the most part and this combined with the music has me feeling pretty good. I don't even want to stop for water even though by now I'm getting pretty thirsty and have a little stitch just starting to niggle on my right hand side. In all the lead up to the race and all the runs I've done to prepare I hadn't experienced any stitches. I figure this is probably because I've drunk too much this morning (rookie mistake I guess). By now I realise I've got only a km to go and pick up the pace again. My glutes are sore and I'm feeling the extra pace put a bit of pressure in my hips but I'm not really in any pain and my knee is performing beautifully. Thank goodness for anti inflammatories :-) There is one girl who is going the same pace and we keep overtaking one another. I don't let her phase me but am determined that it will be me that finishes ahead. Silly, but the little competitiveness keeps me going. 

As I turn around the last bend I dig a little deeper and really pick up the pace. My chest starts to hurt just a little now and I can feel my breathing start to get heavier but I'm so close to finishing and have left the other girl behind. I see Pete and Will on the right hand side of the finish line and as I cross the finish line I actually think, I reckon I could run a but further than that! I notice that the time says 44 mins and I can't see the seconds but I'm so happy that I've managed to complete the race in 45 mins. I still can't help but feel disappointed that it wasn't faster and feel stupid because a lot of it was to do with fiddling with gadgets! I keep walking as I grab some water and a couple of lollies and enjoy a big hug from Pete and Will, who has thrown himself at mum for a hug.

 

I manage to hold onto him until Pete takes him from me. 13 kilos feels like 40 at the moment. 

I grab my goodie bag and medal and enjoy stretching on the grass and enjoy catching up with Tiana. She's finished it in 42 mins and I'm stoked for her. I know I could do that time too and already start thinking that my next goal is to do the same distance in sub 40! I catch up with my friend Moe from the gym and he tells me he did the race in 37 mins! I am super impressed and we have a photo together with our medals on. 

 

I'm so proud of the 2 of us and how far we've come. I am thrilled for my fellow team mates as they cross the finish line and see the look of accomplishment and exhaustion on their faces. We are very glad we did this! 



 When I was planning to do this race I didn't think I'd wan't to keep running or at least not do 'specific' training but as soon as the race was over my run started ticking over with goals I wanted to work towards. I really have developed a fondness for running. I'm definitely not a natural but I find it invigorating. I am buzzing for a long time after the race that's for sure.