I procrastinated a bit, but finally decided on taking an Ultimate Designs hip pack with a pair of shoes; dry top, shorts and socks; a wallet, mobile and a couple of gels; and a Fortijuice just removed from the freezer. I left wearing a light long sleeved Ground Effect fleece.
Unsure about how long it would take to get to Stage 88, I decided to head down the boring way, via the bike path along Bindubi St to the lake, and then following the bike path to Regatta Point. I would prefer to be on the undulating bush trails of Black Mountain, however this was safer. I was able to soon remove my cuddly soft top, it has a very long zip and is easy to get off 'on the fly' and tie around my waist.
This route is downhill, so it was quite easy. I changed into a dry top, socks and lighter shoes in preparation for the race. I felt good, although faded, and dropped back dramatically in the last kilometres. My splits were:
- 4:24
- 4:24
- 4:39
- 4:46
- 5:18!
Despite finishing in a slow time of 24:05, I didn't really mind, and felt rather virtuous!
After genial chat, I had a cup of coffee at 'The Deck' at Regatta Point, filled up on iced water and had my FortiJuice, now defrosted, but adequately chilled. Changing shoes again, I jogged off. For the first kilometre or so, I developed chills with goosebumps on steroids and teeth chattering. I knew that this must be primarily due to blood glucose levels rather than the temperature, so zipped up my top and waited for the FortiJuice to kick in.
It did, and I continued on to ANU, and rambled my way through the campus, the Botanic Gardens and the trails of Black Mountain. So lucky to be living in Canberra! Although I stopped to walk when Bob rang from Nowra which slowed my overall time, I managed to complete the 10+ km in about 65 minutes, at better than 6:00 minute pace (just) when I wasn't walking.
Bob is going well, although yesterdays cycle down the deep sand and corrugated Nerriga Road for around 130 kms took it's toll. With rain in Nowra today and the forecast not being too auspicious, he is likely to return by the sealed road through Kangaroo Valley.
On returning home I cracked when I got the chills again and didn't have an appetite: I indulged in a tin of creamed rice, and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of food with texture! With 0.5 g of fibre and 1.0 g of fat it seems fairly safe. As a change, it was bliss!
Good to see you can get some variety of food in! 24:05 is still better than I have ever done, and with the run beofre and after it's nothing short of brilliant!
I miss those runs so much! *cries*
I'm glad I've inspired you to stretch. I still can't keep up with that yoga lady on telly though, and need to do the video again one day, lol.