Last night I headed up to the Glasshouse for a night run. I was interested to do it because the only time I've run in the dark was when Suzannah and I did the 50km last september.
Drove up to the start and met running buddies Vegie, Di and Schultzy. There were about 27 starters, with around seven of those doing the 20km. Tanky was doing the 10km. I felt quite good after the 5km that morning and was glad I hadn't pushed myself too hard - particularly when running up the path to the top of Wildhorse.
It was a really interesting experience for me - I learnt heaps in preparation for the big one: I learnt that I am going to have to carry insect repellent with me during the night (or I may be anaemic by the end of the run!) that I desparately need some trail shoes (nothing like kicking rocks to wake sore toes up!) and ditto with a nuclear-bright headtorch. Schultzy did a most impressive commando roll over a tree branch so I think the more light the better in my case!
The run also showed me just how work I'm going to have to do to get my fitness back to where it was (and beyond!) which was a bit depressing, but can't be helped! I had a few walk breaks and I noticed my comfortable pace was much slower than the others. It wasn't hard to keep my legs going exactly (I guess I can thank all the walking up hills and weights sessions for that) but moreso my breathing - after a time I had to shut up and just listen to the others chatting rather than joining in.
After the run we all headed back to the servo for a drink and some of Kelvin's yummy chocolate things. I gained another two volunteer pacers for the 100 miles. I had been feeling a bit like perhaps the 100k was a more realistic option, but now I feel fired up to just shoot straight for the big one.
My foot held up reasonably well. It is slightly sore this morning, but a couple of days rest should sort that out. Robert Song asked if I know what caused the stressie in the first place: to be honest, I'm not sure - when I look at the different factors involved I think it was probably a combination - I was wearing old (dry!) shoes for part of the race which had no bounce left in them at all. I was only walking in them, but my instinct is that they would have had an effect. I was also trying to speed walk off the balls of my feet and I've never done that before really. I'd also been very slack with my training prior to the event, not running more than 2 hours or so and none of that on the flat. The fact I'd been running hills so much might have contributed.
I'm going to get Uncle Phil to check my current shoes on wednesday. They're pretty new so I feel confident they're okay, but it'd be nice to rule them out. I'd really, really, really like to buy some trail shoes, but short of a financial miracle, it's not going to happen for a month or two. I have a plan or two in place though - may do a bit of graphic design work on the side to generate the money.
Today is a rest day... tomorrow looks like it will be circuits and a run, or a run at the very least.
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3 comments:
Well done on the Glasshouse run Hannah! You girls must've worn poor Schultzy out, he walked at BRRC this morning :-)
That sounds like an exciting run Hannah. I'd agree, that good lighting is important. Steve who does Glasshouse runs with a small hand-held led bike light.
Hi Hannah,
You were awesome at Wild Horse!
Just a tip-off on those trail shoes - the other weekend I was out at DFO in the Brooks shop and they had women's Cascadias in sizes larger and smaller than mine. (I tried to squish my feet in and I tried to puff them up but nothing worked.) I'm a W8.5 or size 39 - they had size 37 and 41 from memory. They were clearing out for around $100. Hope they have something in your size :D
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