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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Knapsack three-hour race - First place

Race briefing.
Every year I use Australia Day to mark the start of my preparations for the Canberra Marathon.

Now in its second year, the Australia Day Knapsack three/six-hour race is perfect for this. It's hosted by Running Wild, a new trail running association that's doing a great job of staging off-road races in the Blue Mountains.

This particular race is based on a popular style of mountain bike race. Basically, we run around and around a five kilometre course for three (or six) hours, completing as many laps as we can in the given time. You could choose to enter solo or as a team (where you complete the race in a relay).

Poor old shoes!
The course was challenging, with one particular climbing bit that I dreaded every single lap and some downhills that I had to take with a bit of caution so I didn't fall on my face (I am un-co). Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong, with two toilet stops, one vomit, one fall and a wrong turn (or, to be exact, I missed a turn because I wasn't concentrating and began following some random runner that wasn't actually in the race!). It was also REALLY muddy thanks to the non-stop rain we've had recently. Loads of deep puddles and bogs that got worse as the morning wore on. My poor shoes are trashed.

The climbing section I dreaded.
For me, the day was less about running fast and more about getting some kilometres back in the legs. I ended up completing seven laps which put me in first place (out of both guys and girls) in the three hour race.  I was really lucky to finish before the rain started. It pelted down.

So very different from last year, when temperature hit 42 degrees C and everybody melted!

I was filthy afterwards, and no matter how hard I scrubbed my feet I couldn't get all the mud out from around my toenails. It's like it's engrained itself in there.

Thanks to Ben Berriman, the Race Director, and the Running Wild crew for a great morning (and for the Zooper Doopers and Coke!). It actually didn't feel like I was running for three hours, so I must have been enjoying it. My prizes included a great embroidered RW bag and towel, socks, a drink bottle, a buff and a few other bits and pieces.










Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Beautiful Byron Bay

We've just returned from a near perfect break at Byron Bay - it was exactly what we needed to wind down and relax before the working year (and all its pressures) kicks off.

We stayed at The Byron at Byron and we had high hopes, which can always be a bit dangerous. However, from the moment we arrived at the indoor/outdoor reception area and were greeted by staff that somehow managed to combine being laid back and friendly with being highly attentive and professional, we knew we were on to a good thing. 

The place was gorgeous. Set amidst a rainforest with boardwalks linking the different areas of the resort, it was so beautiful and relaxing.  It reminded me a lot of some of the resorts in Bali, except for the very authentic (and lovely) 'Aussie' vibe from the staff.  It was such a good place to chill out, and to be honest, we would have been happy if we'd not ventured beyond the resort for the entire time we were there. 

But venture we did and, despite lots of rain, we had a great time. Sea kayaking was a new experience, and one that my poor prone-to-motion-sickness husband wasn't too keen on! The swell was huge and he ended up throwing up a few times. 

Sea Kayaking.



We hit a lot of different beaches and spent a great (and sunny!) afternoon swimming at Wategos. If anyone living in that area needs a house sitter (or a housekeeper or a gardener or a pool cleaner...) I'd be happy to oblige! 


Had some beautiful runs - up to the lighthouse a few times, along beaches and just exploring Byron. The resort had a 25m pool, so one afternoon I was able to clock up a few laps while my husband took advantage of happy hour on the poolside deck. A free yoga class was held each morning overlooking the rainforest, so I went along to that one morning and, much to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. I tried yoga many years ago and I hated it - I couldn't concentrate, I didn't like the woman talking about "this massages this internal organ", and I couldn't relax. However after the experience at Byron,  I'd really like to learn more about it. I'm sure there are places I can practice locally and I'm going to have a look around and ask a few friends if they know somewhere good. 


In all, it was a brilliant week away. Loved it.