I really haven’t thought too much about how OLD I am.

As I said to one person, at 30 I couldn’t run a marathon.  And more than that, I couldn’t exercise for 7 hours on my feet.

Every year I manage to get fitter.  Right now I’m not bike fit.  And I’d like to get on my bike more.  That seems to be my thing.  After several months of concentrating on one type of sport, I start to pine for the other sport (not Swimming though!).

Don’t get me wrong, my thoughts of cycling don’t lead anywhere except a couple of rides of 1-2 hours – and flat!  And I can do it.  It’s just not been my focus over these past months.

At 30 I joined the gym.  Mark and I had been together for 6 months and I had that very contented look to my body.  I knew I needed to do something.

Joining the gym lead to my first 1/2 marathon (some years later), to Tri events in teams, to cycling events, to bigger cycling events, to small tri distances, to more running, to off-road running and now my sights are set on the Kepler Challenge.

I’ve pushed myself each year, sometimes physically, sometimes mentally.

Being 40 wont stop me from taking on new challenges.

If I’m running marathon distances now, just imagine what I’ll be doing in the next 10 years!

L to R, Karen, Nadia, Jane, Rachel, ME, Nigel.

Remember, it was Rachel and Nigel’s idea.  They HAD to be there

This is a photo of Kylie and I reaching the Bridle Path. Kylie joined in from Leg 4

And then from Evans Pass, Lyndal popped out on her MTB to cheer us on, we left Kylie and picked up Nadine.  It was a rest day for Nadine, shhhh, Richard doesn’t know!  16.4km is a rest – right?

And that dear friends, is Nadine and I running along the beach (me) having completed 42.22 km.

You can see all the photos here.

Well, where to start?

I had a terrible nights sleep.  More of it was spent awake than asleep.  I got up at 3:38am and shuffled around the house feeling very tired, and wondering how that was going to unravel when I’d be on my feet and need my mental alertness ALL DAY!

I packed a Red Bull for me in the chilly bin and one of their little Red Bull shots in my vest.  I’m thankful I needn’t need either.

It was fristy frosty outside.  I had to warm the car up, pack the wagon and move it so I could head out and pick Jane up from Sumner, while Mark finished his breakfast and picked Nigel up from town.

Mark is as big a trooper as I am.  He is not a morning person.  He also did not sleep well (my fault?).  And got up at 4am like a true champion and then proceeded to do pick ups and drop offs and chase us around the Summit Road taking some beautiful photos.  Those photos are here.

Thank you Mark, you’re one in a million and I’m a super lucky wife.

Slowly the rest of the "starting crew" arrived.  Mark got a bit lost and ended up taking Nigel all the way up to the Sign of the Kiwi.  It wasn’t until Nigel commented on the amazing view Mark realised they were in the wrong place.  I’m the navigator in our family, Mark’s the rally driver

We all decided it was time to go.  But wait up!  I had yet to turn my GPS on and get a signal.  After some minutes finally the red blinking light turned green and we thought it was time, but with my mind not quite functioning fully, I had yet to turn my HRM on and get a hear beat.

Finally!

The plan (between Rachel and I) was to walk the first 10 or so minutes.  So what was she doing running away from the Sign of the Takahe?  Possibly trying to position herself to run solo – running with a group was a new experience that hadn’t quite made peace with Rachel.  But she has since admitted to really having a great time out there – with people!

I managed to totter down the bit I’d warned Rachel I’d cry at.  It’s a decent drop off a ledge that narrows significantly with nothing but the bluff to the left.  I didn’t even whimper.

It was about this point (just 5k or so into a 42.2k run!) that I felt that tightness behind/the side my left knee.  I’ve felt it on my longer runs, but only in the last hour of a 4 hour run.

We were chatting away (well those somewhat fitter than me were able to run and talk) and well on our way to the Sign of the Bellbird when the first mishap occurred.  Nigel went over badly on his ankle, said a naughty word (which I didn’t hear, but Jane did) and though he’d have woken the city of Christchurch with it bouncing off the hills.

Nigel hobbled on trying to work out the pain and had to make that awful decision about what was best long-term.  To his credit he was still willing to carry on, but at a significantly reduced pace.  We all agreed (ganged up) that it wasn’t wise to carry on another 6 hours on an already swelling ankle.

Mark and Nigel waited for us to leave and then headed back to the Sign of the Kiwi which is where Kylie was waiting for us.  And where Graeme had left Karen’s MTB so she could (carefully) bike home.

Kylie had given a warning about the grit and icy conditions.

Mark  had text Nadine while we were at the SOK asking if she could bring some chamois cream.  Something Nadia and Nadine has suggested to help my feet not get so banged about and sore.  Yes, it was the SOK and I knew the chamois cream I’d already applied wasn’t quite enough.  It was the sides of my big toes that were still taking a hammering.

Off we went.  Kylie complimenting my running style because I’d walk the hills and then run.  I think it was a relief

Kylie hadn’t run much or any of the trail we were running and has vowed to return.  Though I suggest better footwear in winter.

Graham (and Molly) had met up with us just as we’d left the Bridle Path.  Molly was super excited to see Mum.  Or was it the other new chums she thought she’d be running with.

The worst bit, Mt Cavendish Bluffs wasn’t so awful. I knew what to expect, and I warned Kylie you’d only get going and then have to stop and walk down, up and over rocky sections.

The down hill run from the Gun Emplacements to Evans Pass was difficult with such sore feet.  My other knee had joined the party of pain and my knees were taking a bit of a hammering.

Despite this, I still completed this section of the run a minute or two ahead.

It was time for Kylie to leave us (for Yum Cha).  It was lovely to see Mum waiting for us, and Nadine was there too, ready with a big smile, to run with us to the end.

I really didn’t want to stand around too long. It was at this point I just wanted to keep on trucking along. I didn’t have any doubts about completing the distance, but I wanted to finish it sooner rather than later.  But we’d hung around just long enough for Lyndal to make it up Evans Pass on her bike to offer up some words of wisdom as we took off again.

Kylie drove Nadine’s car back into Sumner, then Mark drove Kylie back to the SOK.  Mum patiently waited for us to return, it was going to be almost 2 hours!

At some point Nigel had arrived, and Lyndal was back waiting for us.

Right, the last bit to go.  A few words shared with Mum and it was time to tackle that last section.

To this point my nutrition was spot on.  I’d not had any moments where I felt I was flagging energy wise.

I preferred to run than to walk, it was more comfortable running.

But I knew now that I was tiring, all rocky sections I walked over. I just didn’t have the confidence to skip and hop over them.  Though I don’t know if I’ll ever look like Rachel and Jane dancing over rocks as if they’re playing hop scotch – and make it look so much fun.

I know I slowed Rachel down.  She’d have been well off in the distance had she not been "running" with me.  Nadine and Rachel were chatting away.  I must ask about the Irish Dancing "look" that Nadine spotted as she followed behind Rachel.  I was so focused on not having a spill that I wasn’t much for conversation at this point.

I still had energy left in my legs, but my mind didn’t quite match.

As we reached the top of the climb, Jane sitting on the bench admiring the view, Rachel and Jane hop, skipped and jumped (Lamb Olympics Jane!) their way ahead of us and glided down into Taylors Mistake Road.

It was slippery along the shaded side.  And Nadine and I were having a few giggles.  My balance was suffering a bit, I could catch myself but then it would take a second or two to right myself.

Ella might be right about the 113 steps down onto the Heritage Trail.  I’d not run this bit and hoped I knew where I was going (since I went the wrong way on my training run).

I looked at my watch and told Nadine we had 13 minutes to get in under my 7hr goal time (not a strict goal, but something I’d thought about).  Nadine suggested I pick up the pace – thanks for that.  But at the top of those very steep stairs, picking up the pace seemed a bit dangerous.  Did I mention how sore my feet were?

I can’t remember now how much further we had to go when we reached the club house.  But I knew we were supposed to head out to the batches.  When we got to the club house again I still had 400m to go.

Damn, that meant running on the beach.  I don’t like running in the sand.  I was determined to see my watch tick over 42.2km and so if it took running along the sand to achieve it, well by crickey it was going to happen.

We turned around, and my watch ticked over 42.22km before we made it back to the club rooms.  But that was all I needed.  I turned off my watch and walked those last few paces.

I felt good really.  I took my shoes and socks off and Mark pointed out my blisters – which I really didn’t expect to see, but on the other hand, not surprised either.

I rolled up my tights and walked down to the beach.  Brrrr, it was really cold.  I stood around as long as I could – left the water more out of boredom than anything.

Time for hugs, bubbles and cake – in that order.

I can’t thank those that have been part of this journey enough.  I am so proud, yes, I think proud is the right word, of running a marathon, enjoying it, and having so many people part of the day – whether it be in spirit or in person.

My run time was 6:59:25.  I finished feeling pretty good, and confident that the training (please Graham) over the coming months will see me survive – and enjoy – The Kepler Challenge.

Last of all.  I raised $735 for the Leukaemia & Blood Foundation.  Thank you to the many people who made a donation, and for the encouraging messages you left.

Rachel’s still training.  Makes me feel like I’m delicate since all I’m doing is rolling around the floor getting in some last minute stretching.  Trying to make up for stretching that didn’t take place but should have many times.

It’s a bit like cramming for an exam. 

I’m starting to get excited.  A good thing that.  I’ve felt a bit like things aren’t quite as I’d planned.  Well that’s true.  But nothing has really prevented me from running even though other parts of my life are not ticking along as I’d expected.

Better make the most of what I can control.  Including what I choose to smile at, and get excited over.

This time tomorrow I’ll have my pack packed, my porridge soaking ready for a 4:15am wake up.  Oooh, I bet you’re so jealous!

My biggest struggle right now is how many pairs of socks to leave with Mark.  My toes suffer with the down hill running and since I’ve got the luxury of having Mark tagging along by car I can leave him will all sorts of "contingency" plans.

The weather looks good.  The sun will be shining – when the sun comes up.

And we’ll be smiling. 

I’ve got it on good authority that Nigel will keep us well entertained with stories.  We just need to make sure he’s well aware of where the holes (in the track) are.  I can do that.

Two sleeps!

Though this week all I had was today’s 30 minute level 5 run on the flat before Friday’s 42.2kms.

It was so nice.  Ok, it was a little hard, it was meant to be, but it was just so nice to RUN.

No slowing down to navigate slushy ground, no slowing down to navigate stepping over rocks, or having to clamber up rocks.

Don’t get me wrong, I really do like off-road running, but it’s so different to feeling as if you’ve run properly.

I guess those with more skills and confidence and strength, can run the whole thing and feel as if they’re on the go the entire duration.  But not me, not yet at least.

So that’s it then.  Nothing more until Friday, and then on Friday it’s THE run.

Though really, last week was probably the slackest week of tapering known to mankind.  It was listed as tapering but I almost did NOTHING!

Anyway, I have no doubts that I’ll be able to run the off-road marathon come Friday.  Just need to keep this pesky little "bug" at bay

After the run there’ll be a post on the day itself.  No doubt I’ll be back to my usual form of giving a blow-by-blow account of the 7 or so hours that it’ll take.  Yawn

And with that said and done, this blog will close the door and fade into the distance.

I set this blog up specifically to record my training for the off-road run, the event I really wanted to do BEFORE I turned 40.  But why not do it on my 40th. 

On Friday, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.

I can’t thank enough Rachel, Graham and Nigel for their part in all this.

I had wanted to do the run,  I had wanted to do something special and Rachel first planted the seed, then Nigel got on the bandwagon and was planning his trip to come join us.  Graham set the course and ran the whole thing to make sure it was true to the distance.

I’m thrilled to have people come and go throughout the duration of the course.

Some of us aren’t quite where we expected to be at this point in time.  I suppose I imagined having run almost the whole time I expected the run to take.  My longest run has been 4hr 10 minutes.  So perhaps a little over 1/2 of the time I expect it to take – as can be seen by my spreadsheet.

And so here we are.  The final days.  Some I imagine aren’t looking forward to the day with as much enthusiasm as they’d like.  Colds, work pressures and injuries have prevented people from having the type of build up they’d anticipated.

Whatever happens on Friday, I’m just so happy to have people along the way do what they can to make this day special for me.  Whatever happens, whoever is there in body or in spirit, I’m truly grateful for your support and encouragement.

Bring it on!

My goal was $500.00.

I didn’t realise how difficult it would be.  Though I never thought it was going to be dead easy.  I was scared about how much to make the goal.  I’d have felt terrible if I’d not been able to reach the goal, but neither did I want to set it too low.

When it comes to donations, there really isn’t any maximum amount.  But a goal gave me something to work towards.

So on the 5th June things were in place and I was proudly letting the whole wide Internet world I was going to run an off-road marathon as my event to make it worthwhile to make a donation.

And the donations got off to a hiss and a roar.  And then there was a lull.  The lull was painful. I didn’t know how to promote without coming across as if I was verging on begging.

I put up a post on our Intranet at work which boosted the donations and kicked things off again.

I watched, I worried, I had moments of excitement, then of doubt.  Then I got a really big donation.  Phew.  It put me over my goal.

There were lots of donations.  And EVERY SINGLE ONE of them made a difference.

The goal has been met.  It just leaves that little "event", the 42.2km off-road run I’m doing – along with some other nutters – on Friday.  Oh, and it happens to be my, ahem, 40th birthday.

Well what else is there to do on your birthday?  Who needs a sleep in, who needs pampering, who needs a fuss made of them?  Nah, that’s so overrated

So thank you to all of you that made a difference.  Thank you for taking the time to make a donation no matter how big or small.

Ok, so I slipped and did hurt myself the other week, but it was my elbow.  My legs were (miraculously) saved.

I’ve managed to avoid Mark’s flu.

Everything was going well.

I’ve heard of others who are under the weather battling bugs and I’ve been thankful that I’ve not had a cold at this late stage.  The cold I had many weeks ago and long forgotten.

This week I’ve been in Auckland training the staff of one of our clients.  And one of them just coughed the entire 3 days.  At first I thought it was the air conditioning – as they all did.

But the next day it was sounding very thick and coming from the chest.

When I arrived home last night Mark said I sounded nasally.  I countered that saying I’d been talking non-stop for three days and my voice was tired.  I felt fine.

This morning I still felt fine.  I asked Mark if my voice still sounded odd.  Yes, he told me.

Drat.

Today I went to do my very short (but hard) hill session and having completed the "bounding" intervals some minutes ago, became acutely aware that my lungs were hurting and my breathing was laboured.  It sounded and felt different to just hard running at intensity.  I think the cold air didn’t help either.

I stopped.  And almost threw up – twice.  So yes I’d been working hard for sure.  I only feel that way when I’ve really reached my limit – but it’s only when I stop, not while I’m running/biking.

While trying to convince myself spewing on the track in front of other cyclists, walkers and runners was not the thing to do, I contemplated whether I should carry on or turn around and call it a day.

What to do, what to do.

At this late stage I’m probably being over cautious.  But is that a bad thing?

I headed back and decided to run down Rogers Track, thinking it would be the longer way back to the car.

Rogers Track should be avoided. There’s a steady steam running down about 1/2 of the track, and the rest is so slippery (and it’s relatively step).  I was slower than walking. I was hanging onto tussock, teetering along ridges, steadily lowering myself down the track where it had been washed out and rocks were protruding.

It felt like such a waste.  I wasn’t running.  I wasn’t walking.  I was farting about trying to make sure I didn’t slip because right now I can’t afford an injury.  Nor can I afford a cold!

So that was today’s "run".

It was my second training session this week.  Pretty pitiful.  Oh, and all up this week I’ve run 1 hour.  Whipty-do-da.

This 4 hour run I decided to take some Perpetuem with me.  Last time I got to just past 3hrs and I really started to fade fast.

I know there’s at least another 4 hours of running/walking after that 3 hour mark and it’s going to make for a very difficult time if I didn’t get my nutrition right.

The Perpetuem helped, but I still felt myself getting tired after the 3 hour mark.

For all that, I’ve cross referenced my lap times and I was faster coming back than I was heading out.  How that happened is a mystery.  I felt a lot slower and I had to work at it to get running again after a climb petered out.

There’s a couple of things different about today.  I started from the bottom of the Bridle Path.  I walked all the way up.  I was expecting 30 minutes, and because I consider myself to be a slow walker, I wouldn’t have been surprised if 30 minutes became 35 minutes.

22 minutes later I’d reached the carpark at the Summit Road.

My plan had been to run out 2hrs 1o minutes.  I was running in the direction of Godley Head.  I didn’t know if I’d make it that far or not.  I hadn’t calculated the distance and figured it out – which is odd for me.

2hrs 8 minutes I arrived.  I was spurred on a bit because I wanted to go to the toilet.  There was a good incentive to reach the Godley Head car park.

It’s probably a good place to show my training graph.

The first thing Mark asked when I looked at it (and he doesn’t really know too much what he’s looking at) is:  Did you have to stop for a pooh – he said pointing to the place my HR had dropped to it’s lowest point.

After having a look I said, well yes, but not a pooh.  I’m sure you’re all going to sleep better tonight with that extra piece of information.

After leaving Godley Head it was time to run along the MTB track.  Just like all the rest of the Crater Rim, the MTB track was slippery slimey, wet and well mushed up.

Really it’s quite difficult to focus on everything when you’re starting to feel somewhat tired. I had to concentrate harder on lifting my feet. There were a couple of times my toe caught a rock, but I never tripped.  I had a harder job running on the narrow MTB track and slipping through the mud.

I was pleased to arrive back at Evans Pass at 3 hours. I knew I’d be walking up the hill to the Gun Emplacements (most of it anyway) and it was a good time to start my 3rd Gu.

It was now that I had to encourage myself to run when the track flattened enough. Not really a good sign.  I felt like I was dragging my feet.

The last section from the Bridle Path at the Summit Road back down to the car was painfully slow.  It was this section where I had to scrunch my foot up to protect it from bashing into the end of my shoe.

It’s pretty steep.  You’d think I’d run fast back to the car but it wasn’t fast at all. I think the gradient makes it hard to run fast.  My average speed for this leg was 8.7km/hr.  That is very slow.  It took almost 10 minutes to run down.  When I run down Rapaki Track my average km/hr is getting close to 5km/hr.

There were two guys RUNNING up the Bridle Path, and on my way up there was a MTBer who arrived at the Summit Road just a minute after me.  I thought no one was able to MTB up or to RUN up.  Amazing.  If you believe, you can do it.

Not for me, I had to save myself for a 4 hour run   At least that’s the excuse I’m going with today.

I’m all done.  Now it’s just some shorter runs over the next week and weekend.  Then it’s taper week.

This coming week I’m in Auckland from Tuesday afternoon, so it’s just as well the run sessions are shorter.  I’ll be heading for One Tree Hill as per usual. 

Finally, I’ve looked at the times I’ve done for the legs of the run.  I haven’t done the very last leg, well not all of it.  I’ve done the section to Taylors Mistake Road, but not the last bit out to the beach.

I think it’ll be 6:50 + that last bit to the beach.  And then add in the fact I’ve not run more than 4 hours, a couple of stops at aid stations, a photo here and there, and I reckon 8 hours is highly likely.

As for my nutrition, it still needs work.  I wished I had a Red Bull.  I really need something more than a Gu at 3 hours, and there’s still more than 1/2 the distance to go at that point.  I guess I’ll just suck it and see on the 30th.  It could get very interesting!

Tomorrow is my last long run.  4 hours.  That’s only going to be just over half way of what I suspect the run will be on that day.

If you’re a God-fearing person.  Pray for fine weather on the day, and put in a good word or two for fine weather over the next 13 days.

Today’s run was a short but hard intensity.  40 minutes was all that was called for.

I love that I get hard runs the day before a long (much slower) run.  It just gives that little edge, pushing me over that is, come 3 hours into the 4 hour run.

I’ve struggled a bit to get the intensity right this week.  With Mark’s virus and the interrupted sleep, it’s affected my already fragile sleep world.

Still, I shouldn’t blame him, and I’m not making excuses, it really doesn’t make things easier when you wake up feeling more tired than you did when you headed to bed.

Anyways, I took off for my short run after returning home from the gym.  I added extra weight to my leg curls and I expected to feel it a little more during the run.

I’m not sure it made much difference, it was a hard run from the word go anyway.

For all that, I was happy that it was hard.  Usually I’m somewhat apprehensive over making the run hard which leads to stuffing it up because I’ve allowed it to do my head in.

So tick, tick, tick today.  Gym, Run, hard intensity.

I’m mindful of what Richard said about stressing the body.

This week has been harder mentally than physically.  I’ve had to push myself just to get out the door, let alone run at the intensity that’s been prescribed.

Today I ran up Rapaki to the Summit Road.  I ended up walking 2, or was it 3 times.

Walking makes me notice how tight my calves are, so it’s not necessarily beneficial.

I was surprised that I was only 2 seconds slower over all to when I ran the same track two weeks ago to the day.

Despite the walk breaks I was still tracking along as I was when I ran the whole way.

Even with the head wind running down hill, my downhill running was marginally faster, I’m talking just seconds, but I’ll take it.

I’ve been a bit lazy looking after my body post exercise too.  Tonight was the first time I stretched this week.  I really must do more, especially as there’ll be no sports massage in my future until I get another job.

Sunday I’ve got a 4 hour run in my programme.  I was contemplating doing it on Saturday, but I think the weather is meant to be better Sunday.

I think I’ll drive out to the bottom of the Bridle Path, walk up to the Summit Road (unless I can run – but I’m sure a good many people have scoffed at the idea of running UP the path) and then head out to Godley Head and see how much time that takes.  I really don’t have any idea.

But if I can get all the way out to Godley Head that’d be good, then I’ll have completely run all the track that I’ll be running on the 30th.

Not far now.  Just two weeks tomorrow until the big birthday marathon run.