Thursday, June 19, 2008

Bay to Bay Fun Run


Driving into Woy Woy, I always have a little smile in remembrance of one of my favourite comedians, Spike Milligan. I even calmly asked my passengers "Why do they call Wagga Wagga 'Wagga' but they don't call Woy Woy 'Woy"? To then get a response in song was unusual and very unexpected to say the least!

There was quite a large Woodstock contingent which was pleasing to see. At 8 the race started and off we went, over, you guessed it, the Spike Milligan Bridge! It was quite a frantic pace from the get go and I had to hold myself back a bit and play it sensible. All the kids who had taken off like whippets were all struggling after 1km so there was quite a bit of dodging going on!

Finally settled into a very good rhythm. It was my intention to go hard on this run and keep the pace around 3:40 or lower. I was on target after 5km, but slipped back a bit by 10km (36:40) but my position in the race never changed. Young Charlie Brookes (a star in the making, he is only 15!) was ahead and I just could not bridge the gap at all. The last 2kms were very tough, battling into a fierce headwind (which meant I had a tailwind for a large part of the race?) but finally got there in just just under 45 minutes. Was happy with that.

Bonus was I finished 3rd in my age group and should receive a nice package in the mail shortly. I just couldn't bring myself to hang around in the wind and cold for the presentations! I got to say I think I jagged this really as 14th overall is no great thing and normally out of category placings. Got to thank all those speedy Central Coast juniors for filling a lot of the top 10. Managed to get third in my Age Category and pick up a pretty neat towel!

On the weekend I am going to do the Kathmandu Adventure Race. Should be fun, did the same race last year with Teeds and we had a great time. This year I am doing it with my mate Locky. Unfortunately received an email today from race organisers saying the course would be shortened due to the tracks and the rain. This is a little disappointing as it turns the race into more a sprint than a test of endurance. We would fair better in the original format.

Have also changed my Woodford to Glenbrook from mountain biking to the run. Did this for three reasons. Firstly, Woodstock has organised a running team, Secondly, need the long run training run, and Thirdly, Ferran, my Spanish mate wants to borrow my bike to do the race as well. Should be fun!