The Horrie and Belinda Show

22/10/06

After reading that Brindabella had returned to the original course of running from Mt Ginini which is approx 1800m above sea level, I put this run on the must do list. Then with the ITB issues that first announced themselves at Glasshouse, wasn't sure if I was going to get here. I was happy that the ITB had responded to treatment over the last couple of weeks and after getting through Fitzroy Falls Marathon and the SMC Half last weekend followed by a good week of training, I was happy to enter midweek.

Travelled down with Bandanna and Allison and had a great carbo loading dinner with some Cool Runners which was kindly organised by eventual race winner Martin (Phibes) Fryer. It was an early rise to get to Cotter Reserve for the Race Number pickup and then the hour and a half bus trip to take us up to the top of the mountain. I was relieved when we got to the top that it wasn't as cold as expected when Trevor Jacobs told us to strip to our running gear and throw our warm clothes onto the bus.

Then a couple of minutes later, we were on our way to run what is known as Australia's toughest downhill mountain race. I felt great at the start and headed out at a solid pace. Soon after the start I noticed Whippet and Spud just up ahead so I caught up to them and hitched a ride on the Mellum Mothership and reminded them that if all 3 GBH runners finished then it was going to be a rare GBH win as Tim (T-Bone) Turner was a DNS as he had to take his wife to the airport. We got to the first aid station which signalled a 300m run up a trail and back. Most of us couldn't work out why this bit was included but at least it gave us an early indication of where we sat in the field. We were shocked to see Blue Dog flying along in 4th position. This gave the Mellum boys a hurry up and soon after they upped the pace and left me in their dust. They opened up about a 100m lead and I was content to stay relatively in touch with them. As we ran down several switchbacks, I noticed that they were now getting out of sight. Not long after I lost sight of them I felt my first twinge from the ITB. As this was 45 minutes into the run, it didn't fill me with a great deal of confidence as I knew I still had 4 and a half to 5 hours of running still ahead. I decided at this point that I better back off a bit and just hold a steady pace. I was still moving at a decent pace downhill and was happy with how I was running. Then after a while we got our first taste of turning to uphills. This didn't feel too bad at first so I just ran them gently without pushing too hard. But after running uphill for a while, the ITB started to announce its presence again. I wasn't sure what to do as it wasn't too bad but I knew I still had a long way to run. So I started incorporating a few walk breaks just to assess the level of discomfort. It wasn't too bad at this stage so I started running again but got overtaken by a couple of runners in the main race as well as a couple of relay runners. I was still happy with my progress and then the start of the steep climb to Bull's Head started. Loading my knee to run this steeper section was putting more strain on the ITB so I again decided to walk. Then I was overtaken by Virtual and the leading lady runner. As she ran past me she asked me if I was okay. I just told her I was having a bludge and was waiting for Virtual to catch up. I then started running with Virtual and we left her behind. CR Aki who had also just overtaken us in her role of being a relay runner was now about 100m ahead. Virtual announced he was going to catch her before Bull's Head and took off. This had a bad effect on me as now I was running on my own again, I became more conscious of my knee and noticed that the ITB was again being put under tremendous strain. I had another walk break. When I realised I was close to Bull's Head I decided to run to the top of the hill. This wasn't the wisest decision as when I got to Bull's Head and stopped at the aid station, the ITB was really throbbing and making its presence known. Aki tagged her relay partner Strewth in and I was looking for my relay partner to tag in as at this stage I didn't think I would make it to the finish. I then went into survival mode by telling myself I ran 26km with Belinda in 3 hours a couple of weeks ago with a cranky ITB and if I was sensible I could do it again. As I got to Bull's Head in 2 and a half hours I still had 3 hours to finish under my goal of 5 and a half hours. The leading female runner who I found out was named Kathy flew past me on the downhill and as I headed down I saw Robin Cameron a fellow Strider who was 2nd female running strongly up the hill. I knew it was only going to be a matter of time until she also passed me. Whenever another runner would go past me, I found it hard to deal with but I kept telling myself this is what I had to do if I wanted to finish. I was surprised to go past Tom Silk soon after as he was struggling more than I was. I was surprised to hold off Robin for longer than I thought but when she finally caught me, she went past me in a flash. I had now been running for quite a long time on my own and was surprised nobody else had caught me by the time I got to Water Bags' aid station at 39km. Then as the course now wound its way through a section that the bush fires of a couple of years ago decimated, it was now getting quite warm as there was no tree cover to protect you and it was now early afternoon. Then in pretty quick succession I was passed by a guy wearing a 2005 6 Foot cap and a guy wearing a 2005 6 Foot singlet. Soon after I was passed by Rob Boyce who I met at Glasshouse. Just as I was thinking that I was surprised Eagle hadn't caught me yet, he came into view and was soon with me. After a quick check to make sure everything was okay with me, he quietly cruised away from me in his effortless manner. Not long after he went past me, he decided to walk through the creek at Vanity's Crossing and was calmly sitting there drying his feet off. I kept on plugging away knowing he would soon have his shoes back on and be catching me again. As I was walking up the climb from the creek, he told me not to worry that there were only 2 uphills until the finish. What he didn't tell me that the 2 uphills were going to go on forever. Soon he was out of sight again but I could now see a runner not far ahead and I worked out I was actually gaining on him. I couldn't work out in the distance if it was somebody from the full run or the Bull's Head Challenge. Then as I started to take some of the distance off him, there was another runner just in front of him. This gave me some incentive and I now had a spring in the step. Then he looked as though he was climbing over something. As I got closer, I saw it was a locked gate. There was a gap underneath which was big enough for me to go under. Then as I approached it, I thought it was easier to climb over. So after putting one foot halfway up the gate, swinging the other leg over and putting it in a gap halfway down the other side, I was over the gate in a jiffy, which was a huge relief. They were now only about 100m ahead. I identified one of the runners as the guy that passed me a couple of kms before who was wearing the 2005 6 Foot singlet. As he went past an old guy who was running the Bull's Head Challenge, I went past both of them. He then grumbled something about his quads having had enough of the downhills to which I replied that they better get used to it as there is only a little way to go. I don't know if he didn't like what I said or he didn't like getting overtaken by me but his footsteps had told me that he had responded to my challenge and was now chasing me. I was now shuffling as hard as I could and he was shuffling as hard as he could. Soon enough we were at a road crossing where a couple of marshalls told us there was only 300m to go. A quick look at the watch gave me a time of 5:26 so I was happy that I was still going to crack my pre race goal of sub 5:30. Then there was a cheer from a few of the runners who had already finished. I was relieved to get to the finish line as I somehow managed to hold off his challenge. Then very soon after, another guy finished just after him so he must have been chasing both of us. I would love to see the finish on video. I can see it now - THE BATTLE OF THE SHUFFLERS! The results show that I finished in 5:28:55 with the guy behind me only 4 seconds behind and the next guy 11 seconds behind him. I was happy that I still had enough grit to race at the end, even though I felt really lousy and had managed to fight off some very negative thoughts toward the end going through what we all agreed later was what we called 'the desert section'. Finished the day off with a couple of sausage sangers and a few cold beers for a great way to end a great day.

When I got home, I found out that Tim and Belinda had a great day which started with them running the 4km at the Maroubra Fun Run in 40:24, which was 18 seconds quicker than what Tim managed last year. So a course PB for him.

23/10/06

I decided to stretch the legs out today for a 6km recovery run. The pace was slightly quicker than 6:30 per km but I was happy to get the legs moving again. My quads were that tight, I didn't even notice the ITB. ;-)