...is a freaking long way.
A week has now passed since I finished my first 100km race; I still can't quite believe it. With the death of my grandmother less than 24 hours after I finished the race, I haven't really had a chance to process it, let alone celebrate it.
I confess I am probably surprised that I did finish it. 2P described my preparation for Six Foot all those years ago as a "dog's breakfast". My preparation for this race was no different. Work pressures, injury + illness all meant that my preparation was less than ideal. And then, 48 hours out from the race, I came down with a bad head cold. The day before the race I was on the couch, dosed up on cold & flu tablets. R asked me the night before if I thought it was a good idea that I start. It wasn't, especially given the bad weather. But as the team needed 4 members to start, I decided to start & see how far I got.
Turns out I got far enough!
With a 6am race start from Palm Beach on Friday 2 March, we stayed at Narrabeen together with my team Lulu, Sammy & Nat (and Mr K!).
Race day came & it was wet and windy. The informal nature of the event meant that I was able to sit in the car & drink my coffee, staying warm & dry until 15 minutes before the start time.
Huddled in the rain & wind with my team mates before the start, I couldn't help but think to myself - whose crazy idea was this! Of course, it was me that planted the seed in Lulu's mind all those years ago...
The first 800m of the event was flat, as we walked first along the sand and then along the road, before starting 20 kms of hard terrain which can simply be described as "
across the soft sand, up a headland, down a headland and repeat". Thankfully the first few climbs didn't hurt nearly as much as they did in training due to the congestion on the track - far too many people on narrow sections - and very sodden & muddy trails meant a lot were going very slowly.
The first 3 hours flew by but conditions were difficult. It rained & a southerly wind meant a headwind for us the whole way down the coast. It was difficult to resist the urge to hunch over as we walked along the soft sand, all 3.5km of it, along Narrabeen beach. Not to mention Mona Vale beach & a few others.
We were greeted at our first checkpoint at Warriewood beach (16km) by our incredible crew which, by now had expanded to include Zoe. A change of wet & sandy shoes (thanks to creek crossings & soft sand), some food & a cuddle from R & we were off on our way again.
"
Up, down, soft sand" pretty much sums up the next 15kms until our second checkpoint at South Curl Curl.
Our crew had found a fabulous spot out of the wind behind the SLSC. And, much to surprise, we had a visitor - thanks to Chris (Hamburglar) who had dropped by with the Junior Burger to say hello. A sock change, some (cold) lunch & we were off on our way again.
From South Curl Curl, the loop around North Head to our next checkpoint at Balgowlah (at 41km) seemed to pass by quickly. Terrible weather - it was still raining with strong winds - meant that the corso at Manly was, for once, free of pedestrians. A coffee at Shelly Beach (courtesy of Mr K) lifted our spirits & warmed our bodies.
From our next checkpoint at Balgowlah to Georges Heights (Mosman) was only 10km but this section, even in training, always felt sooo much longer to me. And race day proved to be no exception. It probably wasn't helped by the fact that my right glute was starting to show signs of having a tantrum (ie, it was tight) and that my feet were starting to hurt; very hard to deal with mentally when you still have 60kms to go!
Crossing the Spit Bridge was cause for a mini-celebration as was passing the half way point at Balmoral. Up the long stairs & we were greeted by our wonderful crew - which had again expanded to include Mike who just so happens to be a physio! 51km done. *Only* 49km to go!
We took a (much needed) half hour break at this point. The weather was getting colder & the rain / wind hadn't really let up much all day. Some food, change of shoes & socks (again), some warm clothes and some treatment from Mike for me (hip) and Sammy (ITBs) and we were on our way again!
I really enjoyed the stretch to our next checkpoint at 61km (Cremorne). It was my old 'stomping ground'. Where I used to run when I lived in Mosman & the place I first tried, and fell in love with, trail running. My feet however weren't really enjoying it; I was getting some pain through the joint on my big toe on my right foot. But thankfully Mike came to my rescue at the next checkpoint & was able to craft a mini-cushion to take some pressure off it.
I surprised that I felt rather emotional when I left that checkpoint. I guess it was tiredness; by now we had done 61km & been going around 14 hours so I suppose it is hardly surprisingly. But getting 'emo' at checkpoints became a familiar sensation; at each of the checkpoints which followed, I often choked back tears when I arrived or left the checkpoints. And giving R a cuddle seemed to make it worse.
Crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge was cause for another mini-celebration. Having never walked across it at night, I was stuck by the beauty of the view. Into Circular Quay, we were met with another wonderful sight - Ellie & Ben had driven ahead &; bought us Hungry Jacks which we devoured as we walked through Circular Quay. What a sight we must have been!
It was at this point I went through a dark patch. My energy levels flagged as I walked from Opera House up Macquarie Street, through the Domain & down to Lady Macquaries Chair. There was a 50km night event (from Balmoral to Coogee) also on &; having the company of those competitors meant that there was always other people around to talk to & distract yourself from the discomfort. I had made a promise to myself not to start on the high sugar products until I truly needed them. But as 11pm rolled around as we arrived at Lady Macquarie's chair & my energy flagged, there was only one thing left to do. Hit the black gold - Coke!
I don't remember a lot of the next section. From Wooloomoooloo to Rose Bay is a part of the city I didn't know very well. But one of my enduring memories from this event in this section will be our amazing crew; as we walked past the Woolooomooo Wharf, I squinted at a shape in the dark & thought to myself "That looks like Ben". It wasn't my eyes playing tricks on us; it really was Ben - and our crew in fact!
Our amazing crew provided much needed support & encouragement for the next few kms as they played leapfrog with us. They would drive up the course, get out of the car, stand on the footpath & wait for us. Cheer us as we walked past. And then drive further up the course &; repeat the process. Their support, and Ellie telling us that there were cute riot police at the Rose Bay checkpoint, helped me get through this section.
Our next crew stop was at the 77km mark so that Lulu & Sammy could change into their hiking boots for a short, and muddy, section of trail. A quick (teary) cuddle from Rommel, then Nat & I headed for the trail while Lulu waited for Sammy (who had been battling ITB problems since early in the day).
Our progress was held up a bit through the short 2km section of trail thanks to some 50km participants who either had not (a) walked on a trail at night (b) walked on a muddy trail before. But with some bush bashing from Nat & I, we made it to the other side without too much trouble (aside from incredibly muddy shoes).
Unfortunately at the other end of the trail (the 79km mark), Sammy made the difficult & heartbreaking decision not to continue. Her ITBs were causing her agony & there was still a lot of up & down to contend with. With tears in our eyes, we said goodbye to Sammy & set off with *only* 21kms to go.
Several cold & flu tablets meant that my cold hadn't really bothered me much at this stage. But with Sammy pulling out meant that I *had* to finish it. To pull out now would have meant that Nat &; Lulu would have had to walk with another team (rules require teams with only 2 remaining participants to walk with another team) which they would have hated. So I took another cold & flu tablet & got on with it.
Around this stage, I started having stomach problems. No nausea as such but I had trouble getting food down. I was sick of eating, had lost the taste for food & didn't want to eat anything I had left. Smiths chips wouldn't go down & even my beloved choc mint GU made me gag. It turns out the only thing I could get down (easily) was chocolate creamed rice!
From the trail, we headed for North Head. A short loop around there & we turned & headed south, towards the finish line.
I cried as we arrived at our last checkpoint at 90km. It seems R has that effect on me! By now it was about 4.30am & the chocolate creamed rice came to the rescue. It probably wasn't the best thing to be eating at such a late stage, given that it is relatively low GI (at least compared to everything I had eaten up to that point), but it was going down easily. So I got R to put some creamed rice into a Tupperware container & left our final checkpoint with a spoon & Tupperware container in my jacket pocket.
The last 10kms were difficult - by now, my feet were killing me, my head cold was starting to move into my chest, and I had no energy on the uphills - but I was still moving relatively well on the flats. It's just a shame that there weren't too many flat sections as the course took us down New South Head Road onto Bondi Beach & then onto the Coastal Walk to Coogee.
Our wonderful crew of Mr K, R &; Sammy were so wonderful in this section; again playing 'leapfrog' with us. Driving ahead, stopping to cheer as we walked past, then driving up ahead again.
Eventually we came down the final hill into Coogee where we were greeted by Mike & Zoe (who, at some stage during the night had gone home for an hour of sleep) who walked the last kilometre with us.
At last we caught sight of the finish line, held hands & crossed the line ~
A long cuddle from R & I realised that he was a bit teary too. Of course, he tells me that it was because of the wind... ;)
Hugs all round, a brief chat with one of the Wild Women coaches & I hobbled to the toilets & then to the car for the short drive to Lulu & Stephen for a much needed shower.
An incredible experience.
Would I do it again? At first, I wasn't sure if I would. My training was less than ideal. Trying to balance 2 businesses (both of which require early mornings & late nights) was (is) very difficult.
But I found myself checking the cut-offs for the North Face 100 so who am I kidding? ;)
