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Inner Mongolia (AKA 'the money shots')

8/24/2014

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There is one word to sum up my runs through Inner Mongolia (nei menggu): 'nature'. Probably my favourite runs of the whole trip, and an oft used mantra from my 50km trail race in the mountains courtesy of Husband/coach came back to me: 'one with nature'.

I had plenty of company on some of these runs, including cows, sheep, birds, hares, WILD HORSES (yeah, just try getting that song out of your head now. Yep, you're welcome!), and a puppy, to name a few. No human was encountered on any of my runs however (bar a couple of cowboys on motorbikes speeding off to herd his cows in the distance), and I truly felt 'one with nature', as per the mantra.

SO beautiful, and so peaceful.

The first run was during our stay in a farmer's traditional yurt / ger (a monglian tent). I'd asked one of the guys there, where was good to go for a run. To which he spread out his arms, indicating the vast choice of open running routes, i.e. the grasslands, d'oh... So, off I went bright and early the next morning about half 5 (although could have been even earlier - felt like it was light from about 3 in the morning out there!). I couldn't see where I was placing my feet on each step and sort of had to run with high knees, due to all the long grass. There was thousands of rocks and roots too, was actually pretty treacherously going, and I was worried about putting my foot down awkwardly and twisting my ankle. However, all was good, and I made it back to the campsite unscathed. Later that day, another of the guys there showed me some pictures of him holding up a fairly huge snake that is common to the land all around us. I asked was it poisonous/venomous to which he'd said of course. Hmmm, lucky I didn't know about that before my run!

The next three runs also took place in the grasslands of Xilingol, but further along, and from our own campsite (i.e. just the caravan and us) at the edge of a lake. We stayed here for four nights total, and it was the most peaceful tranquil place to camp. The farmers who owned the land would come and say hello on their motorbikes before they set off for some cow herding, but apart from that it was just Husband, puppy, myself, and bliss.

The runs I had from here were far less daunting and I had a sandy motorbike track to follow for most of the way, until the road opened up to a gravelly road, which later joined on to a 'proper' (although still small) road. Yep, we were 'out there' and felt respectably off the beaten track. It was exactly 4kms to reach the road, and once on the side of the road (still the grasslands, which covers a HUGE area) you could run left or right to various yurt campsites and streams. My 'usual' run out here was a gentle 11kms run across grass, sand, gravel, and swampy muddy land. The first one was an early one and I kid you not, I ran up to a group of wild horses (what's the proper name for a group of horses?? Do you know?) who swiftly galloped away upon seeing me. Two days later, I ran up to the same group of horses, who this time, did not move. I slowed to a walk and looked at them, trying to tell them 'hey, hello there, it's ok, I'm a friend!' What looked like the main dude, a fairly large white stallion with a long white main and tail walked directly towards me. Shit! Were horses aggressive? Or did he remember me from the other day and had come to check me out? Or, was he hungry and used to humans feeding them perhaps? He got really close (about a metre or so) and we just looked at each other for a while. I then started to carry on walking, and had to walk through the group (as they were all over the path) who seemed to be curious and calm this time, each one moving slightly and looking at me, but not running off like before. So beautiful and amazing to see up close, and I'm not a particularly 'horsy' girl.

We took so many photos of the grasslands, it was hard to choose which to upload here; have a look at the serenity and beautiful countryside that is 'nei menggu':




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Ok folks, what is the correct name for a group of horses?? (I.e. a gaggle of geese, a flock of birds, etc...) First one to answer correctly wins a virtual prize. :)
12 Comments

Take The Pressure Down...

6/30/2014

10 Comments

 
I went for a ‘test’ run this morning, checking to see if my legs were fixed. Well, yes and no. Yes, I ran with no pain and aches and niggles. Phew. But NO – they felt very very slow, and weak, like I’ve lost any sort of power that I had built up?! I hope this is not the case, and that it was perhaps due to it being my first run back after 3 days sans-running, or maybe the humidity was doing its thang again. Hmm, not sure. It was only meant to be a recovery paced run for me to test the waters, so it was successful in that sense, however my legs do not feel their 100% best. At all. Tomorrow I have my last speedwork session of the training plan: 3.22kms easy, then 4x 1200m at threshold pace with 2 minute rests, and then 1.6kms cool down. So, I will be able to see if my speed is still there. I have an awful feeling that all the speed and strength that I feel I built up earlier in the training period, have been jeopardized by the 50km trail race that I plonked in the middle of my half marathon training program. Oops… (Hmm, and I still wouldn’t change doing that race! I just might plan my races and schedule a bit better next time.)

However, hey - what if I can’t keep to the intended pace during the half marathon? What if I don’t get a new PB and beat my time from the Shanghai half last December? So, what?? The only person who will be disappointed is me. I highly doubt anyone else cares if I manage to complete it in 1:30, or 1:31, or even 2:31 (3:31, people may be concerned about however, namely the race organizers, as there is a 3 hour cut-off time). Sure, friends would be very happy for me if I DO complete the race in the time that I want, but I’m sure they’ll be equally happy for me if I don’t and I run it anyway and am happy with the race. It struck me this morning, as I was lamenting my crappy run, that it is only ourselves who pressure us. We are our own worst enemies sometimes, and if I treated my friends the way I treat myself sometimes (i.e. the pressure I put on myself to meet goals and other things) then I’m sure I wouldn’t be their favourite person to hang out with, if at all. Before I left for this morning’s run, I was deliberating about whether or not to go, and was generally procrastinating drink green tea after green tea (shock! We were all out of coffee, nooooo…..), Husband told me to stop pressuring myself – it didn’t matter whether I went now or later in the day. Hmm, he had a point. However, it already being mid-morning (crazy sleep-in this morning until almost 9am!), and hence a hefty amount of traffic and humidity out there, I knew these two factors would only get worse later on, and that if I didn’t go right then and there, that I wouldn’t go at all and the day would simply get away from me. So, yes, I pressured and forced myself out the door! But then, during the run, his words came back to me, and I thought that yes, as runners, I think we tend to pile on the pressure about certain paces, times or distances we think we ‘have’ to run. I know how awesome it feels to tick off certain goals and to achieve training successes, but when things don’t go according to plan, we really shouldn’t take it so seriously or to heart. I mean, no one else does, right? Your friends and family are just happy if you’re happy, and (should) support you whatever your time or place in a race. At the end of the day, it’s just for fun and it’s a form of playing. Like anything in life, we shouldn’t take it so seriously. I will try and heed my own advice!

And so, for something completely unrelated to running paces, fuel, injuries, or any other running related topic, here are some pictures of a beautiful, playful soul, who definitely doesn’t take life too seriously (although she takes begging for egg yolks or peanuts kind of seriously at times) and would never put pressure on herself for anything, she just goes with the flow. I should follow her example:

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10 Comments

Fankle Pain

6/25/2014

12 Comments

 
The rain has stopped! Hurrah!! However, looks like the humidity is returning in full force, so I’m sure there’s yet more rain in our not-too-distant future.

The morning I went for a slow, recovery paced run, 11km, on a regular route down by the riverside. The niggling calf ache/pain (I guess it's really my upper ankle, or 'fankle' - fat ankle - as its painful and slightly swollen/has a bruised feeling) was still there, and it felt like it got better and then worse, then better, then worse again throughout the very slow run (20 minutes slower than usual). In fact, my legs felt tight and achey all over, and by the end of the run my right hip had started to ache and feel strange too. What’s going on? It feels like I have just run a hard race or a marathon yesterday or something. Perhaps, this is a delayed reaction to my 50km trail race (back on 7th June), and I didn’t get away with such an awesome, quick recovery after all? Hmm… Not good. But, I think I will do the sensible thing, and cancel my runs for the next two to three days, so the rest of this week, and rest my legs (albeit for the usual walking and cycling as transport, and maybe some yoga too) and see how they are feeling on Monday’s planned 9.66km easy paced run. I am still thinking about the 16km run I should be doing over the weekend though, hmmm. If I can, I may also get back to the hotel’s swimming pool for some active recovery pool running/jogging.

I will also be eating lots of healthy, healing foods, and will be aiming to get more sleep than I’ve been getting recently.

I hope my legs are back to normal by next Saturday!! How annoying. It’s got me worried that maybe I have reached my peak during my training and that when I come to run the actual race, I won’t be able to repeat and emulate the successes I have had when training. Hmm, maybe running an ultra 50km trail race just one month before this half marathon wasn’t a great training idea, in hindsight…

 

Have you got any secrets/tips for a speedy recovery?

How many days would you take off from running if you’re feeling sore?




Aaaand, a few shots of the beautiful Gold Coast, in the hope that this mental motivation helps my legs return to 'normal' in time for next week (and ideally in time for Sunday so I can get my final long-ish run in):

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12 Comments

Achey-Breakey Whaaat??

6/23/2014

13 Comments

 
Woke up with weird achey legs today (mainly my inner thighs). WTF?! Oh, and slightly achey arms, chest and back too. What the... Hmm, maybe I had left it too long in between doing sessions of that kickboxing workout. But it's only a short one and it's only (mainly) cardio?? (There are a few push-ups and lunges though). Oh well.. This ache, combined with the constant rain (that, according to the weather reports is set to continue for another 2 weeks straight!) resulted in me forfeiting my run this morning and replaced it with lazing in bed with this little cutie:
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Please excuse the shiny face there. This was us, last year, maybe around September or October, when our student friend who used to look after Puppy when we went away, gave us and "Bear" (her official name - one of about 4 names we currently use) some bling: bracelets for us and a collar for Bear, each with our name on. (She apparently wasn't a fan though, and later managed to get it off and chew it in exactly the right spot so it wouldn't fasten anymore. She has done this with a few leads in the past too. She's one smart puppy.)

I'm hoping the rain lessens a bit later on in the day, and then I can combine the (belated) run with a trip to some shops I've been meaning to get to (the Digital Marketplace, for all your computer/techno needs, we hope), but we'll see.

Oh, and I finally got around to updating this website this morning, so if you've been feeling left out when perusing the Wonderful Websites I Frequent page, then fear not, I have added a few more of my regular looked at sites there. It was well overdue, but for some reason my procrastination habit left me leaving it by the wayside. I have also updated my Race Pictures page, so there are a few more from the 50km trail race if you're interested.

Short and sweet from me in China today. (Internet issues AGAIN, so if I keep it short, there's more chance of it getting out there!).


I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!

13 Comments

Crazy Cravings, and Ne-ne-ne-ne-Nineteen - Nineteen!

6/18/2014

15 Comments

 

No blog post yesterday – I’m sure you’ll understand and forgive me (hope so). Yesterday was the day of the funeral for Husband’s cousin, and although we couldn’t be there in person (he, very sadly, couldn’t get back in time for the funeral, which happened so quickly after her passing away, it seems) we celebrated her/mourned for her ourselves, just the two of us, by having lunch at a local restaurant and talking / thinking about her. As my best friend (and a very wise human being) said: it doesn’t matter where you are when you say goodbye. So true.




No run yesterday either, as after I posted my entry re: the random knee pain, I kept getting niggling/annoying random knee pains when walking up and down our apartment stairs and throughout the school. So, I thought it best to give it a full day’s rest, running wise, and instead I did some very relaxing yoga in the morning instead.

But thank you for all your comments and helpful advice! I have been trying to reply but there is some sort of problem, whereby this website thinks I am a spammer or a robot and every time I try to post a reply tells me it has been sent somewhere to await moderation – but then I never get told where/why and the comment doesn’t appear – WTF?!? Sort it out Weebly!! Why won’t you let me reply to people on my own website?!? Boo…. Hopefully this will be resolved soon – I’m not ignoring you, promise! J




I got an email from the race organisers of the Runner’s World 50km trail race, and attached to it was my official certificate and time, and this just-about-to-cross-the-finish-line photo (I promise I am running at this point, but it looks like I may not be in the photo):










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They also told me in the body of the email that my time was 7 hours 33 (so, I was close enough when I thought 7 and a half) I came 85 overall (out of maybe 500?), and my position was 19th female!! Woohoo! I’ll take that thank you. Not sure if anyone (other than Rach, if you’re reading this?) will get the reference to the song (way back in the day) that I think had the same eponymous title ‘19’, but if you do know it, you will be able to sing along with me ‘ne ne ne ne nineteen – nineteen!’

 

Now, I don’t mean to alienate the guys here at all, but do you ladies ever get the most intense, crazy cravings for things that you don't usually crave like cake/ice-cream/pastries?? Then have a really weird/psychotic moment where the things coming out of your mouth are insane but you can’t stop them?? Then, some awful womanly pains and all those prior nut-job symptoms suddenly become startlingly and patently clear?? And then it’s like, ‘d’oh!!! So that’s why!’ And hey guys, maybe you’ll know what I mean anyway or recognize these symptoms in your partners. Hmm, very annoying but anyway, there you go. Rant over now, promise. Maybe TMI there, so, sorry about that…

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On today’s schedule is a 12km easy paced run, and supposedly a second run (6.4km) later in the day. I’m not whether to do both runs at the moment. Will probably see how Run 1 goes first and assess it from there. As the training schedule has decreed that I should cease all weight/strength training until after the race now, I’m not sure what that leaves me as an alternative? More yoga perhaps?? Or maybe a cardio/kick-boxing workout? Would that be acceptable? I suppose if it’s more cardio than strength as the replacement session for the second run then it would be a-ok? Then again, I may get the second run in after all, we’ll see.







Do you try and leave out strength training when you’re getting close to race day?

Do you know what I mean by intense food cravings?? Do you go with them, or have you got any excellent tactics for ignoring them?




ps - I am back from the first scheduled run of the day now, and NO knee pain! Hurrah! I am so happy about this. However, I think I will substitute some pool running or using the gym at that local hotel again instead of the second run, as per the excellent advice in THIS article re: how to PR/get a PB: http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/10-ridiculously-easy-ways-to-beat-your-pb/

I felt pretty happy reading through this and realising that I can tick 8 out of 10 of them off a to-do list, however I will now be adding in some planking each day (I always neglect any core or abs work, oops...) plus some pool running when possible.







15 Comments

Runner's World 50km Video

6/15/2014

8 Comments

 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/55962d5ghf6nojn/RW50%202014%20review.mp4

Thank you for your kind words for yesterday's post. This one will be a super short one, but I wanted to share this excellent video made by Hendrick who I met over the race weekend. Hendrink is an amazing runner and will soon be taking part in the Grasslands Marathon in Inner Mongolia next month! So excited for him and for others who are doing this race, and yes, a little jealous. Haha, maybe next year, seeing as we'll up in the same (huge) province anyway.

I hope you can view the video ok via the link above (I am clearly not the most technical blogger around). It goes for just over 7 minutes and gives a great look at this beautiful course where we ran (and hiked and stumbled and sweated copiously) the 50km trail race Runner's World Grand Prix the Saturday before last.

Enjoy!


ps - Ever hear about the Grasslands Marathon before?

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Runner's World 50km Trail Race Recap

6/9/2014

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I am back from my trip to the Wuyuezhai National Park, Hebei Province, via Beijing, and I have  lots to tell. So, grab a coffee, a tea, a wine, whatever’s your figurative ‘cup of tea’, and get comfy: this is going to be quite a long one.

Firstly: hell yeah! I DID it!! I completed this extremely beautiful, extremely hard (at certain times) 50km ultra running trail race and completed it in a faster time than I ever would have expected (7 and a half hours). I also came in the top twenty females (either 18th or 19th, according to different people) so got a prize and had to go up on stage during the big prize giving ceremony – more on that later. Not bad for a previously virginal ultra runner, and for a first attempt at a trail race?! Here’s a sneak preview of many many more photos to come of where this race took place: so beautiful don’t you think?

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First things first, let’s start with the lead up to the event: the travelling, the race gear pick-up, the pre-race meeting and greeting etc. I flew up to Bejing from our little city of Yiwu, which took just over 2 hours by plane. The plane was delayed and there was shitloads of turbulence, but other than these two minor issues, I was reminded of how much I really LOVE to fly and travel. I love it. All of it. The getting to the airport way too early. The mooching about while it’s too early to board. The pre-flight beer and snacks (carb –loading hey). The miniature meal on board. It’s all good.

After having arrived at Beijing’s airport, some way out of town, I then spent the next two hours ish getting across town to my hotel next to Bejing West railway station. This was a bit of mission, and the day was so very hot. Initially I got the airport ‘express’ which is a dubiously named train, and by no means express (not after Shanghai’s airport express Maglev train which reaches speeds of 430kmph!) and maybe should be called the airport plodder or airport normal speed train or something. I took this photo of the ticket as it amused me. Hmm, Beijing is not really famous for its blue sky, and even the picture next to this little fibbing phrase showed no blue sky nor any green land. It’s got a nice ring to it though, sounding more like some kind of vertical, space-train perhaps?

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After settling in and going in search of some tasty pre-penultimate race day treats, I predictably ordered too many dishes (being used to there being two of us sharing many plates of food), and continued to carb load by the means of another cold beverage.

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I chose the ‘Standard Bear’, and was relieved when it came out as a cold beer and not at all bear-like, haha...
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I had a very quiet night and then left bright and early to meet the coaches and other runners the next morning. I was directed to coach number 7 and the real trip took off from there.

I slept a bit and chatted a bit to the other runners (lovely people) on board for the 6 hour ish it took to get to Wuyuezhai.
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I have to say that this was the BEST and most well run and organised event I’ve ever taken part in. Names were ticked off upon boarding the coach, the race gear pick-up was smooth and hassle free as was the hand out of room key cards for the hotel (all went by coach number initially), with no queuing and no confusion.

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Even during the race, this high level or care and organization was held up – markers clearly marking the course (so, no getting lost in the mountains as I was worried about), and the check points (where your bib number would be written down, to check you were there within the cut-off time) were laden with every different kind of refreshment you could want: water, sports drinks, bananas, cherry tomatoes, cakes, watermelon, noodles – it was great! (I ate a LOT during the race hey – had everything they were offering.)

 

So, back to the penultimate race day settling in. Once we’d found our rooms (I got lucky hey – for some reason I got a room all to myself! So, my fears re: sharing a room/glass bathroom walls etc, never eventuated) the other ‘laowei’ (foreigner) runners and I met up for some eats and carb-loading beers, in one of the restaurants in this picturesque little town, set into the mountain side, up a long, winding, fairly steep road (one that goes for about 4 kilometres that formed both the start and finish of the race – yes, that’s right: the last 4 kms were spent trudging up a seemingly endless tarmac hill, in the direct burning sun – brutal).

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Then, later that day, there was a delicious (carb-loading?) dinner:

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Followed by beers in a hill-side gazebo:

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Followed by a pre-race safety briefing where I learnt that runners would be disqualified if they didn’t carry either a camelback or the designated drinks bottle we’d received in our race pack. So glad I invested in the camelback option! Even though I ran with the heaviest backpack I’ve ever ran with, it was worth it to have my hands free to steady myself at times.

 

The race pack was a GREAT one! Lots of goodies, check it out:

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Ok, onto the part you’ve possibly come here for! The race day recap!!

So, the day started off with a twenty minute aerobic session courtesy of the head coach (I think) of the running group Hey Runners from Beijing who I booked through and who most of the other laoweis (all 8 of us I think?) belong to.
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This was a lot of fun!

And, nicely warmed up, we then headed to the starting line, excitement and adrenalin kicking in now.
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The race started on time, and we began our descent, down the steepish, tarmac, winding mountain road.

For the first 11kms or so, I was badly needing to go to the loo, but could see no appropriately private tree or bushy area in which to do so. It was getting pretty dire, and was actually causing me to run too fast I think, as I sped up searching for a place to stop and pee. Not good when all the advice you’ve been given is to watch your pace at the beginning and especially going downhill straight off. Eventually it got too much and I found a handy wall/billboard to hide behind. Ahhh. All being much better, I continued with the race.

After about 19kms, just before checkpoint two, I realised something about this race: I would not be able to run the whole thing, as previously imagined and how I thought I would be able to. I eventually succumbed to stopping running up the hills, and began to hike the hard uphill sections, along with everyone else around me. Before then, I had been powering up past others, but perhaps using too much energy too soon by doing so? I had it in my head that I would be able to keep running, no matter what, and come on, even the first hotel was rooting for me:

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So, a new plan evolved and was established: hike up the steep/uphill sections, run the flat, downhill, and gently uphill parts. Seemed to be the go for everyone else that I could see too.

From 20 to 30kms or so, it was a very steep ascent, and reminded me of a hard day’s hiking, let alone a running race. This is where people’s poles came into play. Initially I was a bit confused as to all the gear people were carrying. I mean, how do you run with poles? And why?? Well, all was revealed when we were hiking up (in single file at some points), and later, scrambling down, this mountain.

 

Reaching the ‘top’, or so I thought, at the 30kms mark, I was then told we had to ‘just run over there’ to collect a rubber bangle and have photos taken beside the elevation marker. Hmm, maybe ‘over there’ in an ultra event is not the usual ‘just over there’! This bit was tough. But here I am, feeling on top of the world, quite literally:

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It was after this that a noodle break occurred, due to a fellow runner offering me half of his and thus beating the queue (thanks Cedric!).
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I have never eaten noodles and then continued to run before, but all was fine. No nausea or spewing as feared. And on with the race:

 

I can see why people love trail running so much. There were a good many points during the race that I could feel myself grinning inanely and thinking to myself ‘I LOVE THIS!’, especially as I was running through some shady forest sections, with gentle up and downs. It was just such a beautiful course:

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That’s not to say it wasn’t hard though. There were certainly some tough sections. Another out and back section took place at the 37kms mark. This again came as a surprise to me. Again, we had to collect an arm band and have our photos taken and again, this was an extremely tough section. The reason being? A very steep ascent AND hundreds of stairs, akin to the Great Wall race. I was actually really happy to see these stairs (I know, I’m a sicko right?) due to all the stair training I’ve done for this race, and I didn’t think there would be stairs on the course. Stair running after 38kms of mountain running/hiking is a bit different and a bit of a challenge hey! But amazing views from the top. And I soon found out that THIS was the highest point of the mountain, and not the previously though 32kms mark.
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Coming back down the mountain there were some VERY steep, rocky sections, where I had a few near misses with twisting my ankle. Had to keep reminding myself to take these bits slower than I was trying to, as it just wouldn’t be worth it to have an injury out there hey. There were quite a few dangerous sections. I didn’t take a photo of the terrain here as I was concentrating on just getting down, but again, it was like a hard hike or climb down a mountain side, I though.

 

The route spread out again between 42kms to 45kms, and I still felt pretty good running. Actually, I felt kind of euphoric – this was the furthest I had EVER run before, and maybe the hardest too (although, I’m not sure –I think the Great Wall event may have been more challenging still, although was half the distance of this one – so, short and sweet/painful?).
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The sun was quite intense though – it got hot quite early on in the day, so for the whole race we were running mainly in the hot sun. (Note to self: take sun cream to an event in the mountains where there is little to no shade! Rookie mistake.) The last 4 ish kilometres were tough. And not just because they were the last 4kms of a 50kms race – it was purely that they back up that hill. Nooooooo! Everyone struggled with this apparently. Most walked for most of it, it was practically impossible not to (not sure about the elite guys/winners though), and I did a mixture of hobbling/jogging/attempting to run before walking/hiking up most of it (I think it may have been quicker to walk?). It was the hill that kept on giving. Every twist and turn I’d think, ‘surely this is the last turn and I will see the finish line looming ahead soon?!’ Eventually, when I finally did see the finish line, and the markers marking every 100kms away from 500kms down, a fresh surge of energy came back to me and I managed to run the last 100kms feeling pretty strong and awesome. I had done it! Finished! And well under the 12 hour cut-off time too! (My time was 7 and half hours.) I was ecstatic!!!

Then they told me I was in the top 20 (and someone later told me I was either 18th or 19th place)! Wow. I was amazed. And thrilled. Here’s me with my medal, woohoo:
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Later, there was yet more shared, delicious meals:

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Followed by the awards ceremony. There I was casually sipping a beer and chatting to another runner, Hendrick, when I heard my name being called. What the?! Why was I being called up?? Getting up there, they gave each of us a extra prize for being in the top twenty! We worked out they were doing the prize giving in groups of 5 at a time, so here is me in the 16-20th place group:
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My prize was a giant tub of protein and oats powder plus some joint capsules:
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To put it in perspective just how large the protein powder is, here’s another photo – it is half the size of my whole torso! Or maybe bigger:
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So, all in all, the race went great: I had a blast, I loved the course, the guys I met are lovely and everyone was very friendly/I made new friends etc, AND my legs seem to be recovering pretty well now, as this is the start of day 3 post-race and they’re feeling pretty good. The day after the race was a different story however: even standing up and making my way off the coach to use the toilets when we stopped at service areas was a huge, painful struggle, let alone having to attempt a full squat, courtesy of all the toilets being squatters hey (can you imagine the pain of this?!). However, when I got to my third and final hotel back in Beijing (after a mammoth 8 hour coach journey ,then 2-3 hour trek across town via car/subway/taxi) I dived into their (actually open, operational!) swimming pool and did a form of pool running (not sure if I was doing it right – had no floatation belt or anything, but just tried to jog up and down doing gentle laps) for about 30 minutes, and perhaps this has helped with active recovery? A little bit of walking (mainly through the huge terminal 3 of Beijing) and cycling yesterday too, and this morning: legs are feeling ok.

 

Ok, that’s enough from me. If you’ve stuck with the race recap thus far, thanks for reading! I now need to catch up on all the things I’ve missed on other running blogs since being away. I did think of all your amazing comments while I was running the race, and I was sending positive thoughts out to Amy over at Run Write Hike who was running a trail race relay over this same weekend! Looking forward to reading all about her event too.

 

So tell me, what have you been up to over this weekend? What was your high point? What was your favourite part of your weekend?

12 Comments

Beijing Bound!!

6/4/2014

4 Comments

 
All that talk of keeping things short and sweet in yesterday's post will now come to fruition haha - off to catch my plane to Beijing soon! Woohoo! Excited, but nervous. I don't think I'll have internet access in the National park (deep in the forest/mountains I think), so stay tuned until Monday or Tuesday for an update. Hopefully, I'll have LOTS to tell you all about this 50km trail race adventure weekend. Thank you for all your awesome, encouraging words on here, and thanks to Husband/Coach too! (best coach ever, and I will really miss him this weekend, another reason for the nerves, going there solo, oh well)...

Have a great rest of the week and awesome weekend everyone!



ps - If I had internet or my computer with me, you'd probably here this from me in the next post, so here you are, pre-emptively:





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That Awesome Moment When...

5/31/2014

12 Comments

 
...you realise what was once your long run, is now your shortish/medium run. I tell ya: running a couple of 30kms+ runs recently makes a Sunday 17km run seem like a breeze.

I hope this is a good omen for Saturday's trail race! I feel like I have put in enough training (hopefully), so that's all I can do. I read somewhere the other day re: the importance of being mentally ready as well as physically. So, if you have trained as much as you wanted to and feel physically ready, the only thing that may let you down come race day may be your mental readiness. Apparently, it's a case of mind over matter. If you've trained your body enough, all you have to be is 100% mentally ready and you know you will succeed. So, hmm, the big question is do I feel ready for it? Are we ever really 100% ready? I think we're all as ready as we'll ever be and in every race: the time is NOW.

Come at me 50km trail race! I am ready.

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Unbelievably it's somehow gotten to JUNE already. Have a Super Sunday and 1st of June everyone!

Doing any special/fun today? (Think we're off to go to a long lazy lunch now.)

12 Comments

Nervous

5/27/2014

10 Comments

 
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As promised, here is Husband and I hard at ‘work’ being the voices of the English oral exams yesterday. Loads of fun. Hmm, I wonder if we could do this professionally and get paid for it? Oh yes, that’s right, we kind of do at the moment. But I would love to do this on a more regular basis, not just every couple of months. Anyone out there looking for a voice-actor? Who specializes in having a half English/half Aussie accent?? I am available.

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Today I’ve got some yoga and a stair session on my schedule, as it’s really NOT. LONG. NOW. Eek… Got another slightly confusing email from the race organizers again, complete with directional signs, course map, and an elevation chart. Shit’s about to get real hey.

Here’s a snippet of the detailed email (translated using Google translate again, so maybe not the best):

“Prior to the beginning and end of the game are located in the Five Sacred Mountains Scenic Village Hotel in clear water, the track length of 50 km, the track surface types include: cement roads, dirt roads, gravel, board the oil, gravel, grass mountain Austin, deciduous jungle road, boardwalk, stone staircase, wild dirt roads and so on. The race track located mainly between the mountains, the highest elevation of 2281 m, the lowest elevation of 553 meters, with an average altitude of 1233 meters, the cumulative climb 2605 m."

 
The ‘grass mountain Austin’ and ‘deciduous jungle road’ sections sound fun, don’t they? Hmm, there is a fair bit of elevation too.

Nerves are setting in now. For two main reasons: nerves about the course (I am aiming just to finish and not get lost); but also, nerves about going and meeting other seasoned trail runners and ultra running superstars. I will be going sans-Husband (my usually excellent companion/coach/support team/photographer), so will be sharing a room at the hotel there with another runner. Let’s hope there’s no see-through glass bathroom wall that many of the Chinese hotels favour over here. Nothing says ‘hi, nice to meet you!’ like waving at your new room-mate from the toilet.

 

Do you get nervous before an event? What do you do to calm or get rid of your nerves?
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