Sooooo ... what's the next big thing?

Okay well first off today's Aths Club meet was an 8km and the venue was moved because of inclement weather expected not wanting a muddy track to run.  I knew we were in for a rough trot when Kellie texted me knowing I'd soon be heading for the coast and warned me not to look at the weather forecast but to wear long sleeves and bring gloves.  Oh joy!  

And it was cold.  Ouch.  Along the coastline the cold air was chilling and with His Nibs not running as he feels he's lost some condition since being laid up with the chest cold and not capable of 8km, I ended up at 4 min handicap but it still made me the first runner being that he wasn't there.  I went like the clappers in the first half and was at 6km almost back to the clubrooms when the avalanche of runners started passing me.  Still no shame.

It was good after the event as the President did a talk for aspiring marathon runners, which really was a talk for all of us - his ten top tips.  He didn't include the one I mentioned to him earlier about adjust the bra straps and make sure any undies wedgies were taken care of.  Hmmm.  I'd actually put that at the top tip!

And so this leads me to my (ta daaaaaah!!!!) NEXT . BIG . THING.

See these girls, these running legends, well they can talk a person into anything.  I get a message from Kellie one evening saying ... "Alison and I were wondering..." and I said "yes" before I even knew what was coming.  I just knew if these girls were part of something, I wanted in! haha. 

Soooooo........

This was what they were wondering ... mean anything to you?  I see three runners and a Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.

Yippee!!!  We're going to Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.   Entries have been done, flights booked, accommodation paid for.   How flipping exciting, we get to run ACROSS THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!   You can see the video at that link on their website.  How exciting does the route look - Sydney Harbour Bridge, the beautiful Harbour, Circular Quay and finishing at the Opera House.  Now all Sydney has to do is put on a nice day for it and we'll be set.  No nasty weather please!

So there you have it grasshoppers.  My next half marathon is in Sydney.  :-)    I have races before then, but this is the one where the excitement is building.

Mind you four weeks after this one I have my fourth half marathon for the year in Melbourne.  I don't do things by halves now do I?  Or maybe I do! ha.

Last days of #runfortania

And so the last days of the six day challenge, hooley dooley I've not run every day like this in ... well ... forever!  Not sure my knees really like it.

#runfortania - day 5 (Wednesday)

So it was one of those lovely winter afternoons so I went for my run afterwork.  I was aiming for 5, ended up 6.5, yay!   And it was absolutely glorious, I ran up to Thunder Point, love that run, what views we get up there.

#runfortania - day 6 (Thursday)

Last day, what a difference a day makes.  The weather app said it was going to rain 24 hours, eeeeek!  It was still raining when I left work.  Hmm wonder if it will be better at home.  Nope.  I said to Mike when I walked in the door that I think this last day might be a miss.  He once again said you have to finish what you started, what's a bit of water anyway, mind you it was icy outside and the wind had picked up.  Said he who was about to sit down and eat pizza in the warmth of the house!  

So dressed in two long sleeved running shirts, a running rain jacket, a reflective over vest for the dark, beanie, gloves, long tights, and headlamp, I decided to do blockies.  I ended up 4.4km in the dark, rain, wind, and freaking freezing conditions.   Done!  And so incredibly happy and proud.

Definitely one of those instances where the pain of not doing it would be worse than the pain of doing it.

And there you have it.  Six days in a row.  Actually seven in a row because I ran the day before the challenge started too!!  Tania may have run 250km and I did ... well ... a lot less!  But I'm really happy that I completed the challenge amongst some quite trying conditions. Go me!

More running for Tania

#runfortania - day 3 (Monday)

Well while Tania is still out in the Simpson Desert running her 250km, I kept slogging away at my miniscule runs!!  What a beautiful evening it was.  Seems like I haven't run in Warrnie after work for ages, mainly because it gets dark too quick, or it's too freaking cold or windy in the winter!  But tonight I had my gear with me so trotted out a weekday 4km.  Yep, told you it was miniscule, ha!   But I'm not as comfortable to run in the dark in Warrnie as I am here at home.

#runfortania - day 4 (Tuesday) - as in tonight!!

It's been one of those days.  Just couldn't get up for a morning run before work and thought yep I'll do it after work when I get home.  Got home and and there was a bit of misty rain, my hips were a bit hurty from the every day running which started before this challenge, I've run every day since last Friday!!  It was cold.  I had dinner to make.  I trudged through the back door and then hubby kicked my sorry arse into gear and told me to lace up and get out there with Lucky at least.  I can't start a flipping challenge and then pike on it while the rest of the group are out there doing it.  So okay it was only 1.5km joffle ... haha I #joffledfortania but it was something.  Even in the dark Lucky still wanted to pee everything he could so there was a lot of start/stopping.

But done.  Yay, I haven't let myself down.

And Cat patience grasshopper, once this #runfortania challenge is over, I'll tell you about my NEXT.BIG.THING!

#runfortania

Sooooo a friend of mine, well an online running buddy from our awesome 12WBT Runners Connect Group, is doing the Big Red Run at the moment.  What's that you might ask?  Well it's a grueling 250km from the Birdsville Pub, across the Simpson Desert in six days.  WHAAAAAT???!!!  Crazy crazy stuff.  You can read more about the Big Red Run HERE

So because our online running group is so awesome and so supportive and well yep, so awesome (tee hee!!) sooooo many of us have pledged to #runfortania over the six days she's running.  My pledge is to run every day, oh Lordy Lord I hope these knees hold up!

#runfortania - day 1 (Saturday)

I took Lucky for a 1.5km walk, pee, scratch, sniff, pee, joffle, pee, did I say pee?  How much pee can a little dog have, honestly!

   

Then followed it up with another 3.5km run myself.  

Where this awesome cow, or maybe it was a bull, posed for me.  How idyllic.

And quite frankly what a different winter's day from yesterday!!

#runfortania - day 2 (Sunday) - as in today!!

We were going to get up early this morning and go for a run and get it out of the way.  But at 7am the weather app on my phone says it was 2 degrees outside, feels like -2.  Errr, the doona went flying back over me.  It was Sunday, there was no hurry.

At 8am the temp had dropped to 1 degree.  This is celsius for my USA friends.  Nope, still not going out, made some porridge for brecky instead!

Mike and I ended up heading out at 11am where it was a more civilised 6 degrees.  Oh my fair weathered running husband, he came to the back door wearing long trackies, a jacket and a beanie.  Like really, it was okay out there, ditch the beanie man!  He conceded and wore his running cap.

Don't ask me what was going on with my hair, it wasn't even windy!  

Good grief!!

Mike is still wringing his hands together, we'd already run a km!

We ran to the footy oval.

Mike did one lap and then headed home.

I did four laps then took the long way home.  Another 6km on the tally.

And I am !

First run back!

Going stir crazy here I did my first run in 11 days on Friday.  Which happened to be one of the coldest, iciest days of winter mind you.  It had showered on and off all day and I decided now was the day, I had long tights, long sleeved shirt, raincoat, I was prepared.  In between showers I slipped out.

I could see the weather coming across with the next showery squall about to hit, surely I could make it.  Hmmm nope.  Half way up the stock route and down it came.  But I was happy as a lark, hat down, I kept on.  Only 3.2km and I know I know, never say only.  But it felt so good to be out.  And my shower proof jacket obviously is just a bit rain proof, because I was nice and dry.  Awesome!

It's so soooooo good to have that first one done.  I have another 12 week plan about to start, more about that later.  Hmmmm wonder what it could be!!??

Running week fail

Sooo finished Run Forrest last weekend and I hate to even say this out loud but that was my last run!!!!!

I started getting a scratchy throat on the Sunday night but not enough to not run.  But I've had a few huge days at the start of the week and so planned to run Wednesday night.  But got home from work exhausted.  Re-planned Thursday early morning but hit snooze and had CWA straight after work.  Re-re-planned Friday  after work but by then the runny nose and sneezing had started.

Why oh why - a firm lesson in don't put off until tomorrow hey? 

Both Mike and I have been down for the count, no running this weekend despite being great running weather.  Waaaaah!   

Cabin fever got too much today and I managed a slow 1.4km big block walk around here with the boy.  Popped the duffle coat on to keep warm.

Now winter cold ... be gone!! I have running to do.

Run Forrest race recap

So a couple of years ago I entered Run Forest - and the car broke down one the way.  Dodgy brakes and the drive down the Otways do not mix!  So we limped the car back home.   So this was my 'unfinished business' event.  No way was I going to get that big fat DNS next to my name again.

Mike was initially going to come but got boxed into doing something else here in town, so I went down solo, knowing I had a number of friends from our 12WBT Runners Connect group going to be there too, as well as some Aths Club members.    Forest is about an hour and a half drive away but in case there was fog I left early and of course no fog and I got down there waaaaay too early but I'd rather be there then than not.  Parking was around the town and being that Forrest so the early bird gets a good park.  I walked down to the race village with another lady and we chatted, her hubby was running the HM.  It was soooo cold.  I had my gloves and woolly beanie and long tights.

Got to the race village and people were milling around.  There was cruisy Jazz coming from loudspeakers in the trees.  A couple of fire pits burning, I got my bib and gravitated back to the fire.   Shorly after I met Annette from the group and embarrassingly I didn't recognize her, I saw this woman honing in on my fire spot and was ready to give her daggers! ha.

Soon enough my buddies Trina, Jane and Jacqui Veal were there, we took pics and started getting excited.  There was quite a buzz.  Mind you we weren't leaving our spot by the fire!!

The 5km kids took off, then 5km adults.  At 10am the 21km started. The race briefing warned us it was slippery and there were spots where there had been work happening on the trail where there was clay and they hinted we should stay high as it was mucky.  One look down at my feet and so glad I had these new trail shoes on.

10.30am approached for the 10km and I braved the cold and off came my jacket and beanie.  I was running in a tshirt, long tights and gloves (the gloves eventually came off and tucked into my belt). Trina, Jane, Jacqui and I milled about with the starting participants and then held hands jumping up and down excitedly.  This was going to be fun.  The air was so clear it was sweet and the scenery was beautiful in this area.

Just a tad excited!

Race started and soon enough there was a dirty big hill to scale.  Ouch.  Then we ran through such amazing bush.  Lots of damp leaves underfoot, undulating up and down, this wasn't too bad.  A lady in front of me took a spill and the runners around her made sure she was ok and we helped her up, she was all good.  So head down continued on.  We ran across a bridge, I guess it was like a damn or weir bridge, the view was amazing.  

Then back into the bush and lots of downhills I felt like I was flying.  It was awesome.  There was lots of strange orange mushrooms around, some as big as plates.  Then it got tricky, we hit the clay and mud and slip sliding, losing grip, but I didn't fall.  Lots of "whoops" and squeals were being called out as people almost came to grief, but the fast HM runners were catching us and they just barrelled through the clay using momentum.  It was hysterical, doing the clay slippy slidey dance, I had half the Otways mud on my runners.

At about 7.5km and you pass back by the race village and then do a big 2.5km loop out around the area and then back to the finishing area, down through the chute and I see Trina and Jax who were super faster than me, along the sides yelling out.  Finished and felt so alive, it was SO.MUCH.FUN!

No bling but we got a sticker!! I guess that was the 'race momento'.   Water, Gatorade, bananas and oranges at the end.  And quickly back went the beanie on the head.  Getting cold after the run and weather was no warmer.

Goodness when I looked at the GPS map afterwards we did do a lot of criss crossing, I had no idea.  

My official time was 1:22:29 

and I'm thrilled with that due to the slow muddy sections.

Quick goodbyes and Jane, Trina and I wandered back into town to the Otway Soup festival and market area.  Bought some goodies at the market, hamburgers for lunch as the soup line was too long and then Trina got to hold a flipping big snake and we heard her reach a top C when she screamed when the snake was getting friendly with her.  A woman of a thousand faces that's for sure!

Would recommend this event in a heartbeat.  Doesn't matter there's no bling, it was fun and there was such a buzz.  Awesome day!