Last Sunday I completed my first trail race event...and after celebrating by spending the week on the Great Barrier Reef scuba diving and snorkelling, it feels like a world away! I will relive the race as best I can.Get some popcorn ready...this entry is almost a novel!
It started off Sunday morning 6.30am when my friend and I gathered at the finish line. It is from here we would be hopping on buses to drive us to the start line.
By 7am, it was already hot!
I had everything prepared - all my race gear was set and so was I. But as we gathered onto the buses to drive to the start, I discovered my trusty Garmin watch was broken. Siiiigh! I am such a stats person and it would have been so nice to have a play-by-play of the stats. But now I wouldn't even know what time it was as we were running.
We piled off the buses at Brandy Creek, the start of our trail. At the back of the pack, I didn't hear the race brief at the start line, so I felt a bit like a lost sheep. Fortunately, this little lost sheep could follow the rest of the herd and the trail was obvious. (For a little topographical map & article describing the run click here or click here for the running brief description)
It started off rather pleasantly as the trail was wide and gravelly, and descended gently the first 4k or so.
The creek crossing I was worried about was easy enough - a few short skips across some rocks and my feet stayed nice and dry.
Despite being watchless, the trail had permanent km marking signs, which was a relief as it saved me from nagging poor Barry along the way. So I can say that by 6k the heat had gotten to me. I could feel myself burning up, I was struggling to breathe, and I just wanted to STOP. Sure, I had my customary race stitch from the 2k-6k markers, but it was the heat that was really hurting me. Suddenly, I wished I'd had even one training run in the middle of the day rather than at 6am when it's cool out. I almost burst into tears at the thought of running another +22km.
At 8k I staggered into the first water station where kind SES people were passing out liquid gold. For the first time in my life, I stopped at a water station. I guzzled a few cups of water and replenished my own fuel belt. I gulped in a Gu (so much easier to swallow when it has melted in the heat!) and took a few more breaths before starting back on the trail.
I mentally celebrated when I passed the 11k marker, as I had the strong conviction that I can do this. It also helped that now the water stations were situated every 4-5k along the way. And yes, I stopped at every single one. I had a drink, I chatted with the SES staff, and I took a few pictures to commemorate the occasion. The trail was not particularly steep, but the climb felt endless (~300m climb across 4k). I started to do a walk/run up the hill, as I couldn't manage to run non-stop. Barry with his long legs managed to power walk beside me as I clumsily ran up the hills. I was a little jealous that his walk was as fast as my run!
The climb had started after the first water station (at the 8k mark) and continued steadily. The canopy provided relief from the sun, and there were a few view points along the way - yet another place to stop and take photos! I admit, I was a little miffed when the second scenic look-out was a little ways off trail. As if I weren't running far enough already, now I had to go 100m farther! But the look-outs were worth it, and I wasn't in this to win (obviously) or break any records...I was in it to enjoy the experience.
At 15k I started to truly fatigue. The trail was narrow and large rocks were covered by leaves to form an ankle-turning trap. After 5 stumbles in the course of 20 steps, Barry gently reminded me to keep focussed. I knew he was right. In road running, I often go into automatic pilot and my mind wanders. There is no room for a wandering mind on a trail race, as every step needs to be plotted. So I pulled myself together and tried to keep focussed on controlling my steps. It worked, and I stumbled less.
Throughout the run, I found myself nervous over the so-called "Airlie Hill"... a short, steep climb where you gain 100m elevation in less than 1k of track. And this is at the 25k marker! Oooh, I was nervous about this one. There was an SES water stop at the bottom of this last steep climb and I anxiously grilled the kind SES workers there to find out what I was in for.
The SES water station at the bottom of Airlie Hill. Strangely enough, they never took up my kind offer to have them carry me up the hill as a training exercise.
The one thing I could not bring myself to ask anyone on this run: what time is it? I feared the knowledge of how slowly I was progressing through this race would dishearten me.
We left the friendly SES and hit the hill. It went straight up. So I did what I do when I hit steep hills: I kept my head down, looking only for the next marker to run/walk. And in my mind I had built this hill to be so awful, so insurmountable, that I was rather surprised when I reached the spot with energy to spare. And even more surprised that - for once - I was the pace setter.
THE TOP!!!
Typically, Barry ran in front and set the pace while I struggled to keep up.
It was all downhill from here. A steep, dusty downhill that is, where I did more of a controlled slide (and occasionally an uncontrolled slide) than a run. I may have had a fall back onto my hands, but no damage was done and I easily bounded back to my feet. Cleverly, I predicted this fall and had my camera tucked safely into my pocket. Exuberation drove me on. The end was in sight! We hit the end of the trail to a lookout over-looking Airlie Beach.
We descended the stairs to the last SES stop and grabbed a quick cup of water. The heat radiated off the tarmac and it stank of burning tar. No sense lingering here!
On this last section there were some fantastic volunteers to make sure we turned at the correct intersections. All of them had been out there for hours in this heat by now, and yet they all managed to cheer as if we were coming in first place. It was fantastic!
Even better was the lovely police officers controlling traffic along Airlie's main road. The road was busy enough that a runner could have easily waited 2-3min before finding a clearing to run through. That may not sound bad, but when you are 500m from the finish and have to stop for traffic...not fun!
I always like to finish a race on a sprint, or even a "sprint". In the heat, along the busy pedestrian pathways as we circled the lagoon, with Barry having a stitch and me feeling utterly spent, there was no way I was finishing on a sprint in this race. I was happy just to finish running. Heck, I was just happy to FINISH!!!
Unlike a road race, there is not set marker for a finish line. Rather, there was a "chute" marked by a few flags, a large clock announcing the running time, and an announcers table under a tent. You simply ran along the chute til you felt like stopping and that was that. FINISHED!!!
Total time: 4h 34min (including all the photo stops!)
Total distance: Officially "between 28-29k" (we called it 28.5km)
This meant that we had been running from 8.30am until 1pm. Time to kick off our shoes and stretch in the lagoon! Aaaaah.
Barry and I reckon that without all the stops for photos and to chat with the SES, we could have finished around 4.15. But where would the fun in that be? Instead, I finished with a smile on my face, joy in my heart, triumph in my spirit...and a few photos to take home and show off.
My dirt tan
It was fantastic running with Barry. He was a great encouragement, and we managed to feel exhausted & beaten at different times during the race, so that the other person kept us going when times got tough.
