Time on the Trails with SHJ and the Little Red Man

Last weekend I was meant to pace Tam at Great North Walk. I had been waiting for the weekend to arrive with a mix of apprehension and eager anticipation. I desperately wanted to run and help Tam out, but I was also worried I might hold her back if I wasn't fast enough.

As I waited at yarramalong (Checkpoint 4) with Matt, I wasn't so sure I would be running. Poor Tamyka had tummy problems from about 50km. Susannah had been trough the checkpoint and back out, but came bake a little later with Tamyka who informed me I had a new runner because she was pulling out (with a 100km finish). I wanted to help Tam and her her a hug, but I needed to get going for Susannah's sake too, so we headed straight out, keen to make up some time.

I am not going to give a race report because I didn't race, I paced. It was Susannah's race so I will just give a short summary of the experience. It was about 2:30 in the morning when I started pacing and SHJ was keen to make up some time and seemed a bit worried about making the cut-offs. I just tried to chat to keep the sleep monsters away and her mind off her aching legs. I kept track of when she took pain killers and kept a look out for the little red man that marks the GNW trail. It was always a relief to see the little red man and know that we were on course. I hope I did ok with the chatting. I am pretty quiet when I don't know people really well and I find myself searching for topics. SHJ made up heaps of time from CP4 to 5 and Matt and Tam actually missed us at CP5 as we were so quick. I had enough food to get me through though, so no big deal. My hat was in my gear bag with Matt, so I had nothing to cover my bad beanie hair but that was the worst of it.

SHJ continued to do well over the next two sections and I really enjoyed pacing her. We did meet Tam and Matt at the next CP so I was able to get more food, coke and my hat. Finally we reached a sign that said 10.5km to Patonga and it felt like we were on the home stretch. We went through some technical stuff near the tip (an obvious highlight) and then it was nice road and fire trail. Susannah has very long legs and was taking great striding steps along there. I am such a short ass I had to jog to keep up. The race finished on the beach with a really nice atmosphere. They rang a bell for SHJ as we entered the beach and Tam was screaming "go Susannah" very loudly. I was so amazed by SHJ to run so well over such tough trails, and proud to have run with her for part of it. What a champion! Yet another 100miles under her belt. The girl is amazing.

I was very sore after the run - chafing and sore feet. On the way back i made Matt pull over so I could puke. Unfortunately I had to make use of a plastic bag before we stopped. Ew. I had a welcome shower when we got back (I believe everyone appreciated this) and settled my tummy with some green tea. Then it was off to bed. Wonderfully I woke without much pain in the morning.

I am very grateful to Matt for his wonderful crewing. Lots of driving and not much sleep! It was lovely of him to keep going after Tam finished. I am also very thankful to the ever generous Tamyka who flew me down, gave me a room and an opportunity to run on beautiful trails. Congratulations on another 100km! Susannah is just incredible. I loved tagging along for 70km. Also, a massive congrats to Libby and Malani for their 100ks. Very inspiring stuff all round ladies.

Paint it all pink

I have signed up for the pinkie triathlon on Nov 27. It is a short distance and I am told it is not very competitive, so a good event for a first attempt I figure. Mostly, I liked the comment from Tamyka that "not many people will wear race suits". Although the idea of turning up in a superhero suit does mildly amuse me, I don't want to go out and spend money on something I may never wear again (if the whole triathlon thing turns out to be another one of my silly ideas).

The first leg is a 300m swim. To most people this probably sounds very easy, but this is the part that fills me with dread. I know I won't drown, but it is highly questionable if I will be able to accomplish much more than that. It may be that the rest of the field is finishing the bike leg before I even get out of the water. I have been training a fair bit for this part of the race. Basically, I go to the pool a couple of times a week and try to swim 300m freestyle without hanging out at the end of the pool to gulp down some air between laps. Once the 300m is complete I grab the pull-buoy and take it easy for the next 700m. I have been mildly successful and am fairly confident now that I should be able to get through the swim leg without having to stop and catch my breath, or switch to breaststroke midway.

Next is a 9km bike ride. I am ok with this. The issue that I have with cycling is that I get scared of the traffic, but I assume there will only be other bikes on the road during the race, so this shouldn't be an issue. On the weekend I rode from Kenmore to the city and back and found this to be quite enjoyable, other than when some idiot tried to run me off the road despite the fact that I was in the bike lane.

Then finally, a 3km run. This should be easy for me, but the truth is I am a slow runner, and I may still be catching my breath from the swim.

So... Pinkie Tri. Or is it Pinky Tri.

Oh yeah, I am pacing Tam at Great North Walk! I am hoping that with 100km in her legs when she gets to me, I will be able to keep up with her.