Karen writes: Sunday run inventory
I have been fighting a nasty cough, and yesterday I made the decision that I would run with the Te Puru Sunday runners and promised myself that if I didnt feel ok I would stop. Yeah right, the run was along the main road and into the Whitford forest, down gulleys, up hills, along ridges, then across into the Maraetai forest. Hmmm, not exactly the sort of territory you can stop and call for someone to pick you up, unless they have access to a helicopter with a winch. But apart from the occasional need to pause and have a good cough and catch my breath, I felt pretty good. Even my legs felt fine considering the big cycle ride in the wind on Friday, just got a bit heavy towards the end.
It turned out to be a total of more than 3 hours by the time we had finished running. I had to walk up the tougher hills, I felt like I didnt have as much lung space as I usually do, truth be known though, I probably would have walked plenty anyway, some of that stuff was STEEP, the cough was just a good excuse. Thanks to Mark who was loping along at an obviously slow pace (for him) so he didnt leave the rest of us behind to get lost in the myriad of similar looking tracks branching out in different directions miles from anywhere.
We ran through yellow flowered gorse, native bush, ti tree, stands of pine, said hello to Kauri, past ponds in different colours, through small mud-baths, on gravel, pine needles and clay, and up onto high ridges surrounded by low cloud making you feel like you were in a different world. Then finally down, down, down that steep gravel track back into Maraetai, a tiny feeling of regret that it is all finished fights its way through the relief that you are nearly home. I'd earned a rest afterwards.
Today I do an inventory of how I feel. Cough, still there but no worse. Miscellaneous leg aches, nothing worrying. Toenails...they hurt from banging into the end of the shoes on the downhills...does anyone else find that they grow more the more exercise you do? Sore muscles around the waist, probably due to the unaccustomed cycling posture. Took in 3 energy gels and drank most of the 1.5 litres of water on the run, which was a good effort for me on the nutrition/hydration front. The trail shoes worked well as they had a good grip, they are now caked with mud and I might look at replacing the super thin laces with something else as it was hard to get rid of pressure points over the top of my feet, and new wicking socks kept my saturated feet free from blisters so I can put them on the good gear list for wet running now.
Gym tonight at home with the spin bike, the big blue ball, and the elastic band thingys. Oh Joy.
It turned out to be a total of more than 3 hours by the time we had finished running. I had to walk up the tougher hills, I felt like I didnt have as much lung space as I usually do, truth be known though, I probably would have walked plenty anyway, some of that stuff was STEEP, the cough was just a good excuse. Thanks to Mark who was loping along at an obviously slow pace (for him) so he didnt leave the rest of us behind to get lost in the myriad of similar looking tracks branching out in different directions miles from anywhere.
We ran through yellow flowered gorse, native bush, ti tree, stands of pine, said hello to Kauri, past ponds in different colours, through small mud-baths, on gravel, pine needles and clay, and up onto high ridges surrounded by low cloud making you feel like you were in a different world. Then finally down, down, down that steep gravel track back into Maraetai, a tiny feeling of regret that it is all finished fights its way through the relief that you are nearly home. I'd earned a rest afterwards.
Today I do an inventory of how I feel. Cough, still there but no worse. Miscellaneous leg aches, nothing worrying. Toenails...they hurt from banging into the end of the shoes on the downhills...does anyone else find that they grow more the more exercise you do? Sore muscles around the waist, probably due to the unaccustomed cycling posture. Took in 3 energy gels and drank most of the 1.5 litres of water on the run, which was a good effort for me on the nutrition/hydration front. The trail shoes worked well as they had a good grip, they are now caked with mud and I might look at replacing the super thin laces with something else as it was hard to get rid of pressure points over the top of my feet, and new wicking socks kept my saturated feet free from blisters so I can put them on the good gear list for wet running now.
Gym tonight at home with the spin bike, the big blue ball, and the elastic band thingys. Oh Joy.
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