Running On...

Since moving back to Sydney, I have been trying to get fitter and healthier overall, and one of the things I have been doing to get stronger has been running. I started running whilst I was living in Milan, and prior to that I had always said that I couldn't run. A colleague of mine in Milan is a big running enthusiast including doing marathons and I think that I was spurred on originally by her and so I decided to try. Starting off I did running, walking, running again, and I still remember the day I did a full lap running non-stop of the park I used to jog around and the pride I felt at having accomplished that small feat. So since then I have continued to run and in Milan that generally entailed me starting in spring and by the end of autumn I was slowing down as the thought of getting up when it was cold, dark and at times snowy wasn't super appealing! I'm definitely not going to break any world records, but I have definitely started to enjoy this sport.

I joined a gym here in Sydney for a month, (special deal!), and so re-started my running training. During the first few weeks of being back and living here again my head was a bit all over the place, and I kept telling myself to get out and do something but I think in the end it took me almost a month to get myself motivated and going to the gym plus running again outside. I actually am someone who prefers exercising outside as opposed to gym's (apart from something like yoga), and since my one month gym membership expired I am jogging usually in the mornings for around 30 minutes a few times a week and for the past couple of weeks I have also started doing a personal training session once a week. During my gym membership I heard about the Blackmores Running Festival taking place on Sunday 18th September, and I started thinking about taking part. There was four different runs ranging from a marathon, half marathon, 9km Bridge run and 4km Family fun run. I have never actually known how far I run because I have always just run by time; that is I run 30 minutes and that is my goal as opposed to running 5kms and seeing how long it takes to do it.

In addition to starting to run more lately I have also been motivated by a few specific friends who were doing the race and supporting me to give it a go. So after much deliberation I registered for the 9km run. I wasn't sure how long it would take me but I ran once for 60 minutes and another time for 50 minutes in order to give me some experience at running non-stop for that length of time. From my time at the gym I knew that I had run 6 kms in 42 minutes so I thought that I should target around 60-65 minutes to try to achieve, and also I just wanted to run the race non-stop as well.

The 9 km Bridge Run was the last one to start yesterday morning, at 9am, and it was due to reach about 28 degrees, so at least it wasn't going to rain, but that temperature in September here in Sydney is quite warm and random. One friend was getting going at 6.20am to do the half marathon and another was doing the marathon which started around 7.30am. I caught the bus to where the race started, and there were many people taking part also on the same bus as me. I had lots of butterflies flying around my tummy already and I glanced around at the people on the bus and noticed that their race bib's were all a bit different to mine. My bib had "Family Fun Run" written on it and they all had "Bridge Run". So I started getting a little bit more nervous and stressed as I realised I had registered for the wrong race! I was seemingly registered to run the 4km instead. I got off the bus at North Sydney and walked quickly down to the starting point at Milsons Point, and to find someone to ask about this little problem of mine. I asked a lady at the Information tent and she said to me that the race was full and that I couldn't run, plus that if I did run I could be made to stop by any official who saw me. A multitude of thoughts ran through my head thinking about the past week where I had been thinking of this race non-stop and also the many people who had wished me well. I walked away from the Information tent and thought to myself, no way, I'm going to do it. I was psyched to run this 9km and I wanted to give it a go.

I carefully maneuvered myself within the big group of people at the start, hoping to be as inconspicuous as possible trying to look like I was right where I should be. Then we were off, and I was immediately caught by the race and started running at my speed and not trying to run too fast. After I think only about 500 metres my mouth was dry and I was super thirsty. That feeling continued for the whole race and we had two drink stops where I quickly gulped down a glass of water. The race itself is extremely picturesque as we ran firstly across the Harbour Bridge and then down the Cahill Expressway with a beautiful view towards the Opera House and Sydney harbour before running up Macquarie street in the City, past the NSW Art Gallery to Mrs Macquaries Chair then double-backed and all the way down Macquarie street again finishing at the Opera House. I ran the whole way which I was thrilled about and I think finished with a time between 62-63 minutes. I don't know my actual time because the text message I received with my "official" time was 2 hours 11 minutes...ooops! For four km's!! Funny! I had to laugh. I received my medal for finishing which I later gave to my niece.

After finishing I caught up with my friends, and heard their stories from the half and full marathon. We watched at the finish line as the many marathon runners arrived and I have to say its the most impressive thing to see people who have just run 42kms straight and they can still laugh let alone stand up. The temperature definitely affected most people but I think most of all you could tell everyone was genuinely proud of themselves and the race they had run. I know I was pretty happy with my effort!