NOSHing it

First I must thank Hannah for help with my new blog header. I took that photo through the windscreen of our bus during a 6 hour trip from Arica in northern Chile to La Paz in Bolivia during our Sth American adventure last year.

Now, to the NOSH. What a day - what a course!

My day didn't start particularly well. I woke at 5am with a terrible headache. Partly due (I think) to my neck being out of alignment (where is Saint Andrew when I need him?) & dehydration (& no, it wasn't alcohol-related). I was so cold last night that I wrapped myself up like a mummy in bed & turned the heater on. Anyway I woke again at 7am and after breakfast, a shower & some drugs I was feeling just about sub-human by the time I arrived at the finish at Seaforth at 8.30am. It's nice being at a race northside for once - only took me 5mins to get there!

After picking up MPH, Bristol FC & Ellie, we headed to the finish at Lindfield to meet up with the rest of the crowd. I wasn't feeling my usual chatty self thanks to the headache so my apologies.

My plan today was simple: run conversatively & don't break anything!

I started with Ellie and The Owl and lost them about 50m after the start as I took off with gusto. Fortunately 2P quite unexpectedly appeared on my shoulder at about the 2km mark. We ran along chatting & taking in the lovely scenery until about the 4km mark when 2P dropped back to check on Ellie & The Owl. At about this time, my left achillies started to complain (loudly) so just before the Roseville Bridge I stopped for a few minutes to give both a good stretch which worked.

At the 6km drinks station, I managed to pour most of the water into my lungs so the next km was a bit slow. Just before 2p caught up to me again at about the 7km mark, I found myself thinking of the dark days of late last year when my ITB was at its worst. I can't begin to describe how I feel about being back running on trails again! Funny, I still can't quite believe that "I'm back" - and now I clearly am as this race was my longest ever , my longest ever run (based on time) & my first trail run.

From about the 7km mark, 2p & I ran most of the way to the finish together. A really challenging but fun run - having to use your hands to scramble up one huge rock face made for change of scenery from my usual long runs!. I must thank Satan when I next see her - my lack of cardio-fitness was starting to catch up on me towards the finish but my legs (and quads in particular) felt fine. All those hundreds of lunges I've done over the last 3 years certainly paid off today!

I was having a few negative thoughts mid-race about my next adventure: Woodford to Glenbrook. Doubting that I am fit enough for it etc - but I managed to block out those thoughts & concentrated on the job at hand. A good thing too - it's not a course to lose your concentration on.

The kms marks slowly ticked away & all of a sudden we popped out of the bush & onto the Seaforth oval for a short run to the finish. Mr Jen was there - sitting on the hill to cheer me on which meant a lot to me.

After a long chat and (of course) some food, we were about to leave when the announcer said that there were a few mugs left for anyone who hadn't won one - so with a sprint that Asafa Powell would have been proud of, I bolted to the table to grab one of the last mugs :-) Though someone please remind me in future to always order race t-shirts in size XS. Even the small is waaaaay to big for me!

A few lessons learned:

(1). I lurve trail running. It's where I'm meant to be. Well, I knew this already - today's race (despite its difficulty) simply reminded me of this.

(2). Trust my judgement. I didn't use my fuel belt. I brought it with me but after speaking with a few people who suggested I wouldn't need it, I left it behind. That was a mistake. Thanks 2P for the water.

Edit:
(3) Trail running is 95% mental. If I let negative thoughts sneak in or started thinking about something else, my landing became less secure & I started to stumble and trip a bit. Focus/control your thoughts on the task at hand & the body will follow.

(4) Porridge & white toast with honey is a good pre-race meal for me. Though I might add a coffee next time ;-)

(5) I am fitter & stronger (both mentally & physically) than I imagined.

A great day - but gee, I'm going to sleep well tonight!

Distance: 14.91kms (according to Garmin Elektra)
Duration: :1.53.30
Aver pace: 7:36min/km
MTD: 20.01kms