What a fun Easter!  And it had nothing to do with chocolate, easter bunnies, vodka or swinging from a hammock at 2am sipping a Cosmopolitan.

 

Week prior to Easter was run run run....trying to get those legs used to running when they were tired and sore and heavy.  My approach to this is, do it every day and pretty soon it stops hurting.  Pretty soon came and stopped hurting it did!  Sort of!!


I knew I had a big weekend of running over Easter planned, so on Friday I took myself off on the trusty bike for a couple of laps around river- unkind on the quads, kind on the ankles.  

 

Saturday morning was Woodford to Glenbrook with my mate Martin.  We ran it half an hour slower than last June!!  How could that be?  Maybe because we stopped to take photos?  

 

Here is one that Martin took that I really like.  I love this view in the background and no matter how many times I run this trail, I always stop and enjoy the view at this particular spot.

 

 The thing I noticed about Saturdays run was how quickly the kilometers seemed to tick by - good company you see - last time I did this run, admittedly I did it the hard way - Glenbrook to Woodford, but I did it on my own and it felt like I was never going to get there!!  On Saturday, before I knew it, we were at the Rangers Station.  Once there, we were supposed to be calling John for a lift, but I suggested to Martin that we run to Glenbrook (only another 2km up the road) but I thought the transition from power walking up that bloody horrible hill to running again would be a good bit of training.  We both looked very dismayed to see Nice Husband pull up beside us!  


Sunday we had some out of town visitors too, with a bushwalk planned.  We decided to do Wentworth Falls as none of us had seen the Falls before.  Amazing views and scenery, and lots of laughs, as well as plenty of steps and stairs, and lots of walking.  A most enjoyable day.  We sort of all looked like we had been let out for the day, see below.....

Sunday was a great day out, we had lots of laughs, but by about 3pm I was having a bit of a stress attack.  

I had planned to go running on the North Face course with Kevin the next day, who is a very accomplished runner, but at the moment is facing some injury issues with his feet.  I had to get focused and I had to get myself well rested and ready for the day ahead.  I knew Kevin was injured, but was planning on doing North Face and asked him if he would be interested in a slow jog on the course.  I was very very lucky that he wanted to test out how his injury would hold up, so he said yes.  I was going to see some of the actual course I would be running on!!  Yahooo!  Yahoo for about thirty seconds mind you, after he said yes, I was terrified right up until, well, until that ladder.

 

Anyway I am getting ahead of myself.  


I can honestly say that the run with Kevin put me well outside my comfort zone, but was brilliant in terms of training, seeing the course, and advice from an experienced trail runner who has done masses of these sorts of events.

 

When we set off, I thought to myself, this is a fair clip.  No-one uses the term "clip" but it kept popping into my mind.  I don't know where it came from.  I kept thinking I would not be able to keep up but I kept thinking, you have got to, and I was very nervous for the first five kms or so that the day was going to be a disaster.


When we got to the Golden Staircase I told him to go on ahead and I would meet him at the top.  I arrived at the top totally dripping with sweat and gasping for breath!!  I think if I could have read his mind there and then, it would have been "oh shit this is going to be a long day!".  I remember getting to the top of those stairs only once before and my legs having gone to jelly, so I was pretty happy to have all my blood sugar evenly distributed by the time I got to the top!  The very hardest bit was starting to run again and getting back into that rhythm.  But we did, and before I knew it we were passing the most amazing countryside, on a thin peninsula known as Narrowneck, with views below of valleys and sky as far as the eye could see.  We ran on for a couple of hours, well, we ran, we power walked, we ran some more, and suddenly we appeared to be on the edge of the cliff and Kevin mentioned Taros Ladder, a bit I had been interested to see.  I had been quite blase about it, thinking it was just a small rock with spikes in it to help you down.  WRONG!!  We went down one old rusty looking ladder and I asked if that was it.

 

No, said Kevin, this is it, and gestured at a hole between two rocks, about the height of three houses with only metal spikes in the rocks....  My heart started to pound and I thought of this poor man who had agreed to take me on this run, and how pissed off he would be if I said I couldn't go down there.


So I shut up and did what he told me, despite being the most scared I think I have ever been in my life, and that includes the first time I drove over the harbour bridge and had to have the air conditioning on cold to dry the sweat from my palms.

 

In fact, that had nothing on this experience.


On the early part of the run, Kevin had been telling me how he used to teach Mountaineering, and abseiling and I was never so glad to have such information tucked away in my brain as I had at the moment I looked over the edge of that big rock.

 

Anyway, he said he would go down first and show me where to put my hands and feet.  I had to put my trust in him totally and turned around, grabbed the spikes and down I went.  First couple were fine, no bother.  Then he said, right, put your left foot on this ledge.  Now I am five foot nothing, and I said, I dont think it will reach.  He said stretch right out, of course it will.   It wouldnt.  Try as I might, stuck halfway down a rock face, and my leg was not long enough to fit onto this ledge.  At that point, I thought, I have two choices, jump down and break a few legs or climb back up.  I didn't fancy either much.  Luckily we found another bit of ledge that my stumpy leg could reach and averted that disaster.  Wish I had worn my heart rate monitor, as I don't think I will ever see such a high reading.  


Next, he pointed at a very thin worn looking piece of rusted metal and said put both feet on that.  I gulped.  I thought if I put both feet on that my porky weight will break it and that is me, gone.  At this stage, I was about 17 or 18km into a fairly hard run, I was sweaty, tired, scared and I had a mans head up my skirt on a cliff face.  I suddenly had a terrible urge to laugh.  I think it was nerves.

 

Anyway I can't actually remember getting off that particular piece of rock, but I tell you, when I was back on solid ground I told Kevin I would never ever forget that few minutes of my life.  And I won't.  All talk of wanting to do abseiling, mountain climbing or canyoning left me abruptly at that point.


However, I do remember having a feeling of pure euphoria afterwards, (glad I was alive maybe?) and thinking ha!!  I can do ANYTHING!!

 

It wasn't long before a very big long unrelenting hill took that feeling from me and flung it back into the recesses of my mind.  At this stage, Kevin was well in front and I could tell I was slowing up,  but as soon as I was able to catch up to him, he would start running again!  It was like he was dragging me up those hills, but we got there.  Finally he shouted "Sonia!  This is Dunphys!" and there was a gravelly downhill leading to a grassy field.  We made it!  And I had got to see most of the part of the race I would be doing!!  


The run took 5 hours and two minutes.  We covered almost 29kms.  At some points we were running six and a half minute kms, so I don't know what happened in between, but it has given me a better appreciation for the time it will take getting up Golden Staircase, and down Taro's in the race, as well as feeling stuffed going up those big unrelenting hills.

 

The thing I loved most about this experience is that it took most of the FEAR away from the race.  Yes it will be the damn toughest thing I have ever done.  Yes it will take me at least 11 hours.  Yes I will be challenged more than I ever have.  But I don't think it is impossible any more.


One last thing.  John picked us up from Dunphys camp site and of course, by this stage I was in the car, riding up the hill, happy with the run, basking in the effort expended in the day, and I suppose the accomplishment, when suddenly, I asked, "do we run up this hill in the race?".  "Yes", said Kevin.  I honestly thought he was joking.  The four wheel drive had problems getting up it.  Fark!   I tried to imagine how I might feel having done the 29km we had already done, the 8km that we didn't do that is in the race, THEN this big hill, shook my head and thought, I'll worry about that another day.......

So this weekend I have got a gang of willing friends to come on a 40km run with me.  Not all are doing the full 40km, but the end bit (ie the last 20km) are uphill steadily.  It will be another test, it will be tough, but it will be good training and closer to that elusive 54km I have to do on race day.

Then I think I might take up knitting.