I was asked to share my race experience, with a 50 word minimum limit, no maximum, so grab a coffee or a cider..... :) Congratulations to all Two Bays runners! Many of you may be feeling the effects of the challenging 28km or 56km race in your tired bodies today. I certainly am, but Im pretty sure youll all agree its worth every inch of pain! Aching legs aside, this race is my favourite way to start a new year. My fourth time running this race and I knew I was up against some fierce competition, especially with the late cancellation of Bogong to Hotham. However, I didnt let this change my race tactics. I believe you can only ever run as hard as u are trained for; both physically and mentally, and ultimately I am always racing against myself, trying to beat the clock. After the longest week of taper, due to holidays from work, race morning finally arrived. Pristine conditions, excitement at the start line, lots of friendly hellos and soon enough we were off and running along the trails. By the time Id reached the 8km mark I was lucky enough to be surrounded by four of my close running friends. An unplanned occurrence, yet we joked that it was just like a Sunday long run, and not a race at all. However, Arthurs Seat soon split us up and the real hard work began. I have a love/hate relationship with Arthurs Seat and love nothing more than running down into Dromana to ring the bell (that seems to get higher every year!), hearing the cheers of encouragement from the crowd, and knowing that theres ONLY 28km to go. The second steep decent down Arthurs seat heading back to Cape Schanck is my second favourite part of the race. Its so steep that you just have to fall with the gradient and hope you end up still upright at the bottom and not in the dam. This year I was lucky enough to stay upright and run with a good Crosbie Crew friend of mine, Clem for the whole second half of the race. There were minimal words between us, just hard team work to keep each other running as fast as our legs would allow. By the 35km marker my glutes were screaming at me to stop. Negativity arrived in my mind and I literally had a pain in the butt! So I started counting. You may laugh, but I managed to count to 2900. Why count you may ask? Well its a distraction technique I find myself using to stop that negative voice that is all so familiar....slow down stop why am I doing this?. Counting works for me and before too long I found myself crossing Boneo rd and closing in on the finish. I was completely exhausted, yet elated to have made it to the coast line with time to quickly admire the amazing scenery. I crossed the finish line excited to see my family, friends and my running family, the Crosbie Crew and coach Tim Crosbie all waiting for me and cheering on the rest of the 56km runners. Many of them had completed their own fantastic 28km runs and their team spirit is one Im proud to be a part of. My final words are to say a big thanks to Rohan, Michael, Katrina and all the amazing volunteers on race day. Your race is one that has grown over the years and this is because of the extremely friendly, welcoming atmosphere you have created. The volunteers on course and all the competitors share the same passion for our sport and to run such a well organised event is a credit to you all. Ive never been lowered down from the podium before, not once, but three times, thanks Katrina ! Im sure youll all agree the sweaty hugs, first class food and drink service at the finish line are welcomed! Rest up, recover well and see you all next year!
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 07:44:00 +0000
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