The "long" long run is next Sunday. Today a very slow 22km : cup of coffee & an early (for me!) start at 7:30 a.m. - not nearly early enough considering I was out just short of 3.5 hours! Next Sunday I'll have to try for 5:00 a.m. if this heat keeps up.
First 2km on sealed road; next 6 on dirt road; next 3 on fire trail, which didn't seem as rocky as I remembered it from last week! Took a gel (didn't use it) & 750ml bottle of diluted Poweraid. A few short but compulsory stops along the way : (1) to drink from a tap in the Cemetery! (2) to give a hug to "Turbo" the beautiful X-Kelpie who knows I'm coming - he starts barking & in the silence I can hear him when I'm more than a km away; (3) to climb under a barbed wire fence without getting snagged; (4) at the 11km turn around, to take in the scene...tall gums & ferny undergrowth, the silence & a few birds singing.
On the return 11km it was getting hotter & hotter, though there was shade on the fire trail & some on the dirt road. Another couple of short breaks (1) climbing back through the barbed wire fence; (2) at 'Doug's property (where 'Turbo' lives & there are 2 beautiful palomino horses) & I can refill my bottle with fresh water; (3) at 'Tom's' property for more fresh water (where there are 2 dressage horses & arena & 3 cats!) Tom is the one I mentioned a few weeks back & who is preparing to climb to base camp, Mt. Everest. So all in all, I'm well looked after by the local property owners on this course! Just 2 other breaks! (1) to remove my right shoe when, as on every single run, the toes & ball of that foot burn so painfully that I have to remove the shoe, massage the foot & wriggle the toes till the burning subsides...must have a very peculiar right foot! (2) back on the bitumen road, the heat coming up just about fried my face, so I walked for about 500m - a fried face is not attractive at any stage of life!
Other than that, I finally finished feeling pretty good considering the heat & time on my feet; showered (gave myself the luxury of smothering myself in what's left of my Channel No.5 body lotion, usually kept for 'special' occasions) & then had breakfast while watching tennis!
I'll probably nap while watching the afternoon tennis, Devenport is playing someone!.......but I feel quite good after today's shorter, slow long run.
Gosh LL, that's more like an adventure than a run! I'm a bit worried about the barbed wire though - perhaps you should use a pillow to protect yourself like that recent prison escapee did :-)
ReplyDeleteI reckon every day we can get out of bed and run is a 'special occasion' so you'd better get yourself lots more of that Channel No 5 body lotion!
I wish you had photos of this course to show us LL. It sounds beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't sound like a run at all....more a social visit to all the neighbours. Fancy being priviledged to stop and say hello to all those neighbours/animals along the way. Certainly makes for an interesting day out.
ReplyDeleteOh and definitely go the early morning start. It works wonders and you don't feel guilty having that nap afterwards either :)
I love your descriptions, LL. It's a great summary of why we do what we do.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Ben
Photos LL - please! Have you got a digital camera?
ReplyDeleteYes Wobbly, my mobile has a camera, & I've taken photos but I haven't taken the time to learn how to transfer them to the computer & then into the blog!! I suppose it's the same as transferring the data for the run...or is it? I'd love to show you what this run is like & others in the Southern Highlands....might entice you to come here one day & do a run with me....now there's a challenge for you!
ReplyDeleteI'm a proud survivor of that challenge!
ReplyDelete