Sledge Track

I have been reading so many people talking about the Sledge Track and the great trail running experience through there.  Today I had the opportunity to try it out for myself.  Forgetting that we had had so much rain previously didn't fully prepare me for just how muddy it was going to be.  Believe me, I'm not scared of a little mud, just scared of falling flat on my face or worse still, rolling back down a hill again!  Believe it or not, I stayed on my feet the whole time.  It wasn't easy to but I managed it.  And all the mud, sweat and pounding heart was all made worthwhile with the views I got to see.  So many waterfalls

Little river crossings

And lots and lots of steps and mud!

Almost two hours out on the track.  I knew I had given my legs and body a great work out and I'm sure it worked just as hard if I had run the 15km I had planned for this weekend.  I'm happy to have taken this opportunity and I really want to go back and give it another go!  I will finish off with the stats from today.

The Humdinger!

Well, this event certainly lived up to it's name!  Probably one of the hardest events I have ever taken part in.  But still a very enjoyable experience.  The course started on a uphill and stayed this way for quite some time. Although there was a bit of a down hill just after the 2k mark and it was then up and up until the turn around point at 5.5km.  I managed to run the first 800m and then decided a walk/run would be the way to go.  In the end, I walked most of the uphill as I could walk faster than I could run!  Gosh the lollies and drink at the aid station where so what I needed and they gave me the go to start the run back down.  And the views!  Well these made the run even more enjoyable.  I just loved it.  Will I go back and do it again?  Yes, but next year I want to do the full 25km and run right across the top of the range.  Here are a few photos from the fun yesterday!

The elevation!  Shows just how steep it was.

The view!

Looking down at the Manawatu River

All finished and a new medal

Hitting the trails

So running has been a bit of a struggle lately.  A struggle to find the motivation, a struggle because I can't get my pace back to where it use to be.  A struggle because life is really busy.  BUT today I did something about it all.  I headed back to the Manawatu Gorge and hit the track again!

For me it is not an easy track and I don't think it ever will be but it is so different.  And I only ever run it when I have someone to run it with.  Today I headed out with a friend I have never run with before and we had agreed we would just take it easy.  And we did.  We walked some hills, stopped for a couple of photo opportunities and took in the scenery around us.  We needed to take it easy too as there has been so much rain lately that the track was soggy, muddy and slippery in places.  You can just see the Manawatu River behind me in this picture and just how swollen and brown it is!

We also took a one extra detour and checked out the windmills.  I couldn't believe just how close to them we were!

Today really showed me just how much I love being with nature and enjoying that fresh air.  Yes it was cold but it was also enjoyable.  The streams had a little more water in them than last time I ran the track but they were still so clear (like nature should be).

Just over 1hour 30 minutes after entering the track we came out the other end.  I was proud of what I had achieved.  I knew I had run and my body could feel it but I felt so different within myself to how I had been feeling recently.  It was just the run I needed and this last photo I think says it all.

Spur of the Moment

In a spur of the moment, I made the decision and entered the Hall Block Humdinger!  It's an 11km off road event.  Actually it is the end of the big North Range Traverse that I am planning on running next year (Here is the link to it).  I wasn't going to enter but a friend is walking the distance and I keep on seeing people talking about it so thought I would give it a go too.  I'm really excited!  Now to train for the next 39 days to get strong for it.

Developing my plan

So as I said after the Wellington half marathon - I plan to work on building up my strength.  Why is this so important and what am I going to do to achieve this?

First - I plan on running my first full marathon in 2018.  In May of that year to be exact because I have chosen Rotorua to be the one and only marathon that I will run in my life,  Why Rotorua?  Because I have a friend who has run it every year for the past few years and I always get a sense of jealously when I see her photos from the event and I love reading about the amazing run that it is.  I also have another friend who lives not far from there and who will run with me for the distance of the marathon and help me through those tough times.  Going to Rotorua to run has been on my bucket list for a little while now so why not make it really count!  Plus if I run it in 2018 then I can say I have completed a full marathon before I hit that ripe old age of 40.  Yes, that gives me well over 18 months to work towards this goal but there is a reason for giving myself a long build in.  It doesn't mean I will give up on my goal sometime next year and say it is all too hard.  It means I can put some steps in to make it a more enjoyable experience.

I know that Rotorua has hills in it.  I know that a marathon involves finding that slower pace and just keeping on going.  I know that I really need to build some strength and this is the reasoning behind the two events I have chosen to partake in next year.

My first event will be heading back to Waitarere to complete the Great Forest Run half marathon.  I have really enjoyed this event in the past two years and it does work your body.

My second event will be one I just learnt about this year - a 25km course that starts on the Pahiatua Track and runs through to the Manawatu Gorge.  Looking at it, it does look hard BUT that is what I need.  I need a run where I am not focused on time.  It will be a run that will make me stronger and make my legs work hard.  Yes I will be on them for quite some time but this is what running a full marathon will be like.

I know I have not met my sub 2 hour goal for a half marathon but this is going down on the bucket list.  For now, I want to look at challenging my body a little more in different ways.  I'm going to have to brave running some trails on my own.  But guess what, I am going to have fun while I am doing it all!

Stepping back to look forward

One thing that I didn't look back at and reflect on after the run on Sunday was my positives from the run.  I think I was a little guttered and wound up in the negatives from my run that I did look at the good.  So what are these goods?

*  This was half marathon number 6.  Why is this such a big deal - well I only started 'running' back in 2013!  This was the year I completed my first 10km, my first 15km and then went on to run my first half marathon in the December.  It is also my second half marathon for this year.  The other one was just back in April when I ran an off road half.
*  This year I managed to stay ahead of the pacer for a lot longer - last year I was past with around 9-10km to go.  This year, I stayed ahead of the pacer until around 5km to go!  This shows I did some strong running to begin with.
*  I had a goal of getting a photo of me smiling while running.  Yes, my husband has got photos like this for me before but always earlier in the race.  This year, it got them again BUT the professionals also got a photo of me smiling!  WIN.  As some friends also pointed out to me, there was an air shot of me - yep, I was running that strong at the time that both feet left the ground.
*  Lastly, I have proven to myself that I have it in me to keep on going and complete the 21km race.  The going got tough and I did want to give up a couple of times but I didn't.  I was strong and I did it.

So I am ready to move forward now and will leave you with this quote I love:

Wellington Half Marathon - Take Two

For probably the first time ever I slept the night before this half marathon.  My alarm even managed to wake me up rather than me laying there waiting for it to go off.  4;15 on a Sunday morning is a mighty earlier start but I wanted to go back to Wellington and I really wanted to better that time I had got the previous year.  A quick shower, then a banana and blueberry smoothie and we were ready to hit the road.  By the time we got to Otaki, I was ready for my latte.  6.15 in the morning, coffee in hand and a smile on my face.  I was ready for this day!

And while I am at it - check out those nails!  They were painted to match my running outfit for the day - green, black and silver.  Here's my outfit all laid out and ready the night before:

From Otaki, we continued the drive into Wellington and arrived with plenty of time to spare.  I went and collected my race number, and started to get myself all ready for the race.  While waiting, I received a text wishing me all the best and encouraging me to relax in the last hour leading up to the race.  The time went quite quickly and before I knew it, it was time to line up and head off.  I had thought about heading out with a pace group this time to see if I could meet that 2hr goal but decided I was going to give it one last shot on my own.  I started off with planning on running slower than my last half marathon at the beginning and this was the case.  Looking back at my splits, I kept a fairly consistent pace over those first 9km.  My husband had walked ahead to around the 3.5km mark to try and get some photos for me.  I'm so glad he did as he was unable to get finishing photos of me this year.  Decided I had better give him the thumbs up as I was feeling great at this stage and heading along well.

Even the wind had been fairly nice to me so far along, but coming up to that 10km mark and then the turn around point, the head wind came in, I slowed and it felt tough.  At the turn around point, I was still running strong and still on a good target to be back at the stadium in time to reach my goal.  I headed past the point where I remembered the pace group passing me this year and thinking they must be coming up behind me again soon but they weren't.  Heading back along the bays, I got patches of calm and patches of wind.  I had taken my beanie off long before now due to over heating but my hair was really annoying me.  I need to look into something else to sort my hair out for races like this one.  From the 14km mark I did start to slow.  With 5km to go I was still on target of my goal but then got past by the pace group.  In my head I couldn't get down as I still had a way to go so kept the positive thoughts and I was still running and I could better that time from last year!  I even managed to push through everything and up my pace again for a couple of km but then I feel apart a little.  My legs stopped, I walk, I ran again, I kept positive talking.  Then my goal of beating last year disappeared from in front of me too.  That last km of this race is really hard.  You feel like you should be at the end but you aren't.  And then there is the ramp back into the stadium to contend with.  I had been determined to run up that ramp this year but I had used everything out of me.  I walked it, then ran with everything left in me to that finish line.  I crossed it 2hr, 4min and 27sec after I crossed it the first time.  The race was over.  To say I wasn't guttered would be lying.  I had wanted to run better than I did today but I still needed to be proud of what I had achieved.  And I think the smile does show that pride (along with the pain!).

For the sixth time since December 2013 I had run a half marathon.  I think that as a mother of two that should be something to be proud of.  But I also know that I still have some work to do.  I know that I can make myself a stronger and more confident runner.  And that now, is my goal for the coming while.  No more races for now.  No running for this week.  And then I will look at building myself back up again.