Whew .. those two weeks flew by! With less than 7 weeks to go until the big day I'm torn between sheer panic, learned helplessness (knowing there's nothing I can do to change things now!), and of course .. optimism :)
It has been an interesting time between blogs. We had a four-day break in the beautiful Cradle Mtn National Park. Actually 'break' is not the word that most people would use to describe that time away. Saturday was spent making our way around Dove Lake before climbing up to the 'Face Trail' and on to tackle Cradle Mtn. We hadn't of course counted on snow falling for the few days prior to our visit, and sleet still raining down on the area on the Friday we arrived. Despite this, we were blessed with bright sunny skies for the two days at Cradle Mtn, but the trails were icy and very slippery. Getting to the summit of Cradle was more of a challenge (risk-wise) than we were willing to take, funny how 'precious' and self-preserving we have become now that we have put in so much time in training .. and don't want to blow it all with a bit too much ego!
So, we spent 6.5 hours of Saturday on those trails, and then a similar amount of time trekking around the back of Cradle Mtn and part of the Overland Track on Sunday. On Monday we headed over to Launceston and discovered the amazing Cataract Gorge .. hidden just over the hill from the city, it was quite incredible to find such a beautiful recreation area literally 5 minutes from the centre of town! We made the most of the hiking trails ... yes, with stiff legs from the mountain hikes, and were able to see some lovely countryside, the river, and the historical remains of an old power station.
Ok .. so all this is starting to sound like a travel diary, but I guess the point I'm making is the wonderful world that can open up when you get out and about. It has become as much about enjoying the 'journey' and being mindful of what's around you, as it is about getting the km's under your feet. While in Cradle we saw a wombat (my first wild wombat!), echidna, snow (that's a buzz for me) and the most amazing formations of ice. The views were just too stunning to describe and everytime we went another 100 metres, it was different again! On our local trails we have seen echidnas on a fairly regular basis, koalas, snakes, kangaroos, sea eagles, fairy penguins .. and a multitude of spiders of course!! I can assure you .. a Golden Orb spider (the big good looking one) is more terrified of you than you are of it .. they leap like a frog off you ... you get used to it :P
Ok .. so it's not everyone's thing to get down and dirty on the trails, but the same principal applies no matter where you exercise or participate in an event. I did my first City to Surf in Sydney a couple of years ago and in the build-up to the event I was very caught up with calculating my goal finish time, pace on the flats, pace on 'heartbreak hill' and pace downhill. A big part of my expectations were built around not only what I knew I could achieve, but also on competing (secretly of course!!) with the times that I knew my peers could do. Not long before the 'race' I was talking to a friend who described their C2S experience as an exciting journey from start to finish. They told me about all of the points of the route that had amazing views of different parts of Sydney and the Harbour ... how the buzz of running down William St at the beginning felt, and how they 'took in' that final sprint to the finish line.
There and then I decided to do something completely radical ... to try and enjoy this event ... to 'suck it all up' as they say!! Weird I know, but what the hell ... I like to do different things! I cannot think of a 'fun run' or any other event for that matter that I had completed prior to the C2S that I had not at some stage thought to myself ... "what on earth am I doing this for ... this is definitely NOT fun .. I'm hurting, hot, dizzy at times, nauseated and certainly would not classify this as fun!!". So, come the day of C2S ... I lined up with the throng .. first to get a coffee, then to get to a portaloo, then to get to the bag drop, then to get to the footpath that led to our starting area .. and finally shuffled like a 'penguin in sub-zero Arctic blizzards', to get my bit of ground among the 25,000 at the start line. Never .. have I enjoyed 13.5km as much as I enjoyed that day. I jogged comfortably, took in the atmosphere, the crowds cheering, the people in costume .. bands on front lawns, fantastic views of Sydney Harbour, the glimpses of Bondi Beach as I began my decent, and finally the home stretch to the finish line. The best part ... I completed the run in a time I would have been happy with had I gone all out to run as hard as I could, what a great bonus!!
I digress from TNF, but again my aim is to NOT miss the beautiful surroundings of the event. Distraction is a wonderful thing and can take you miles without you even realising it. Last weekend we spent 2 days in Katoomba (Blue Mtns) running some of the trails of TNF. Again, we were struck by the beauty of the area and how awesome it is going to be to participate in such an event in that area. ... and we saw a Lyre bird :)
I guess the take-home message from this blog is simply to learn to 'smell the roses'. Exercise is the perfect medium to get you out and exposed to some amazing things that you don't usually see .. but the other side of the coin is that you will be so busy ENJOYING the roses, that your exercise will no longer be a chore .. it will be fun, and if you're really lucky .. it will become an addictive lifestyle :)
Jac
You've done it again, PJB!! You've described perfectly, not only the benefits of exercise; any exercise, but also the benefits of being mindful of what's going on around you. Once you get over the stage of feeling as if you are going to die, you'll reach the stage where you're glad you didn't. You've hit the trail right on the tread!! TNF - Bring it on!!!!
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