Brimbank Running Festival

We leave home just after 7am. It is 6 degrees! Luckily we have heated seats and the temperature in the car is 22! We have both used the DoTerra Blue Rub on our legs, it's smell reminds us of deep heat, without the burning and stickiness. Car smells awesome! We drink our TORQ energy drink on the way, not the carbonated drink type. It is a milky type consistency and tastes yum.

Just over an hour later we are driving into Brimbank park, the temperature is 12 degrees and feels like 6 degrees still. We head down to the registration desk, and pick up our bibs. 

We head back to the car, and wait half an hour before start. It's still cold; freezing!!

Just before 9am we head to the start line, and listen to the instructions. We catch up with Paula, one of our running buddies. Before we know it, we are told to start, and we head off. We are not allowed to run with headphones, and I am missing my music already! 

Darren felt the scenery was very picturesque. It was a great scenery run, and was very cautious with his left quad. The DoTerra blue rub worked a treat! No pain at all! He ran wit me most of the run, only up the huge incline did he get so far ahead of me that I couldn't see him.

The scenery was pretty. I stopped a few times and took some photos. There is no point running so fast that you don't enjoy what's around you, that's my take anyway.

The skies had cleared, and weather was amazing!

We were overwhelmed by the size of the Buddha!

The one difference with this run to any others we have done so far was the other runners. Sure, usually a few will say hi or keep going, or well done. But I think most runners that we went past offered encouragement. It was really good comradere. We were also appreciative of the drink stations, tables with lollies, watermelon, chocolate and bananas!  Very well organised run!

As we approach the 16 kilometre mark, that HILL awaited! The incline was tough! It was 313M after all!!! I ran for the most part of it, but by two thirds of the way, I had to walk. The sun was shining down on us, and once I reached the top, I knew there was only a couple of Km's between me and the finish. It's a mind game. Without my music, I had to listen to naure. I did also do a lot of counting.....

1, 2, 1, 2, 1234, etc...

It was great to run through the finish line together!

Our awesome medals to add to our already full medal holders!

No spare space for medals, oh, and my new bike 😃

We didn't break any records today, well maybe elevation. Our goal of finishing without injury reached again. Our next run is next weekend's Puffing Billy run, and on Saturday I'm doing the 19km Hanging Rock run. Stay tuned for more of us, running away xxx

ANZAC Run April 2014

It may be a long weekend, an extra long weekend, but that doesn't stop us setting a 6am alarm for today's run.

Darren's hip has given him a bit of grief since last weeks run in Canberra and as we drive up to the city he says he hopes it holds up.

This reminds me how important it is for us to complete our events without injury. I'm not sure I would want to run an event interstate knowing Darren was on the side line; he says he would try twice as hard and run for both of us. Let's hope we don't have to visit that this year!

It's an amazing sunrise this morning and we marvel at it as we drive out of our home town. We have Billy with us this morning; he is running in his aunty's place, my little sister who is nursing an injured foot. Billy is fairly quiet all the way to the city; it's his first event with Darren and I. He is studying year 12, and aspires to study medicine; I figure a run will be as good for his health as anything.

We park the car and walk the couple of km's to the start line. We drop our bag at the bag drop area and meet up with a friend we haven't seen for a while. It's his first fun run and he is caught up in the atmosphere.

Pre run

We head to the start line and there is a small service before we head off. The last post echoes through the morning and gives me goose bumps; it always has. We head off, I don't see Billy till the end of the run, nor Darren. The Tan is not an easy run; it never has been for me. Anderson st is my nemesis and I run most of the way up, but end up giving in and have to walk on both laps. I run past a guy who has a t-shirt on that's says he is an ANZAC's grandson and a Vietnam vet's son; he is running proud. This hits home as to why we acknowledge ANZAC day.

Darren ran at one speed, not wanting to hurt himself. About halfway through he was a bit sore, but finished with no injury=mission accomplished!

I run through the finish line, collect my medal and there are some servicemen not too far away. I have my photo with them; and our friend Craig, then go find Darren and Billy.

We are hungry and head down to Richmond to refuel. Soon we are on our way home, another run complete.

Time for a stretch and rest! Next run: Brimbank Trail series half marathon, Sunday 27 April.

Australian Running Festival April 2014

Our 4th half marathon is upon us. Canberra bound we are. Darren picks me up from work on Friday afternoon, and once again, we head out to the airport. Runway view room again, only we are not as excited as last time. The night is dark, cloudy and drizzling, not great conditions to watch the planes take off and land. Oh well, dinner in our room it is.

We head to the terminal in the morning, stopping at Gloria Jeans for a Creme brûlée latte. We head to the gate, and soon after, board our plane. It is a short 55 minute flight to Canberra airport, neither of us have flown into Canberra before. It is a great airport, very clean and modern. We walk to the taxi rank and before we know it have arrived at our hotel. 

We check in, even though it's only 10.30 in the morning, take our bags to our room, and head outside. it is glorious outside; it's been cold and wet at home. We walk down to the museum and spend some time marvelling at the displays. We walk back to the other side of Canberra towards the gallery, where we have purchased tickets to see the Gold and the Inca exhibition. We marvel at the gold, the handcrafted drinking vessels, and the gold, then have a quick look at the Sidney Nolan display; he is one of my favourite artists.

The afternoon is passing all too quickly, and we make our way to the Australian War memorial. It is quite a walk up Anzac parade, and we stop and look at the memorials along the way. Inside the Australian War memorial we take a wander through the displays and then position ourselves for the last post. We are privileged to witness a memorial service for one of the WWII diggers. The last posts echoes through the late afternoon, and we leave to make tracks back to the hotel. We think we must have walked a half marathon already!

We decide on pasta for dinner, and find a place that delivers; no more walking for today. Our delivery arrives, we eat, watch footy, then prepare for our early morning departure. We must walk 3.7km to the start line.

I try to take it easy walking to the start, but Darren is a stride or 3 ahead of me. Soon we catch up to other runners, and I am still quite happy to take it slow; I didn't want to use all my energy getting to the start line.

At the start line area, we ask a lady to take our photo and she explains that this is her first half marathon. I tell her it's our 4th for the year, and that we are running in every state and territory in Australia this year. She gets excited and asks me if I'm 'Sharon', when I answer yes, she says "you must be Darren" and explains she had been reading our blog. Life became too busy to keep up with posts, and I hadn't posted for almost 2 months, but I am inspired knowing that it really is read by people and inspires others. Even though I didn't catch her name! this post is for you!

We head to the start line, and Darren gives me his customery kiss on the cheek? I tell him I'll see him at the finish line as always. It's a single lap course so I'm not sure that I will see him out there. It's a well organised run, lots of drink stations, wide paths, and amazing scenery. I must admit, it was exciting running around Parliament House with the Australian Federal Police on the side of the road. 

It is quite warm in the sun, and at the 16km mark I see a man on the ground I a red singlet and black shorts, and I panic...I hope it's not Darren. As I get closer the paramedics are looking after him, and I am relieved; firstly that he is ok, secondly that it's not Darren. I push on, a few hills, and soon I hear my Runkeeper announce it's 20km, yet the sign post says 19km. Oh dear! I think I am going to have to run an extra kilometre. Sure enough, I run through the finish line and it is 22km in total. I'm spent, Darren is spent. We eat, drink and then slowly walk back to our room. We shower, them jump in the pool for a while. The water is cool, not the 27 degrees we thought it was, but the water is good for us, so we stay.

We spend the afternoon eating and relaxing before our flight home. I'm exhausted, I just want to sleep. Soon we land, and drive home. I unpack the bare essentials, hug and kiss the boys, then head to bed. Sleep comes so easy on the night after a half marathon, and come to think of it, the following night too. We are sore for the usual 2 days, by Wednesday we are feeling pretty normal again, and talking about the 'next' one.

Our next run however, isn't a half marathon, it's the ANZAC run on Easter Monday, a 10km run. It's going to be pretty special as an inaugural run, but special as ny middle son, Billy, is doing the run, in place of my little sis who is nursing an injured foot at the moment.

I'll keep you posted in a couple of days about that run.

Happy Easter

Xx

Melanoma March 2014

This is post is not half marathon related, but a cause dear to my heart, as this is the area where my nursing career has lead me to. With no cure for late stage melanoma, I believe we need to be vigilant in the UV rays of the sun, all of us. You can download an app for free, Sunsmart, and it tells you the hours the UV is highest during the day.

Anyway, getting back to the walk itself! we arrive nice and early as I had arranged free sunscreen samples and we help out by putting them into the bags the participants will get at the finish lines there is light drizzle and it matches the mood. I see one of our current patients, and it really hits home, it is an awful diagnosis. After our walk around the Tan track we head home; it's my little piece of paradise, my safe haven.

You can help fight melanoma; Darren and I are riding 200km in October in the Ride to Conquer cancer. We need to raise $5000, $2500 each! I have already achieved my target, but Darren is yet to. If you click on the fundraising post the links are there.

Thanks in advance xx

Port Macquarie Running festival March 9 2014

The long weekend arrives, and we stay out at the airport for a quicker departure in the morning. We have a runway view room, and are like little kids as we watch the planes take off and land. This trip is especially special to us, as we are catching up with friends that we haven't seen since 2008. 

We are in awe at the amount of people that are constantly in and out at Melbourne

We board our QANTAS flight and head to Sydney. It's my birthday on Sunday, and it may be 6.30 in the morning, but the air steward wishes me happy birthday and offers me some bubbles! Wow! I decline of course, it's a bit early for champagne and I don't drink 'bubbles'. The gesture is not wasted though, I am feeling pretty special.

We disembark at Sydney and head to the next gate to catch our connecting flight to Port Macquarie. Our friends are waiting for us at the arrival area, and our amazing weekend continues.

We head to collect our luggage, only to find that it has not arrived. OH NO!!! Our running gear is somewhere between Melbourne and Port Macquarie. The Qantas customer service men reassure us that they will arrive that day, and we head off to see the sights.

It's a beautiful sunny day in Port Macquarie and we are wowed by the beautiful coastline. We really do live in a beautiful country.

We spend the day checking the sights, have a leisurely lunch, and then enjoy a beautiful home cooked meal by Janine; pasta of course! It's delicious, and we spend the rest of the night catching up and sharing photos of years gone by. We rest easy, our suitcases arrived, race gear is out ready, it's been a wonderful start to our long weekend.

The alarm goes off a wee bit too early for a long weekend holiday, but we get up and get ready. 21.1km to run before we can enjoy the afternoon seeing more of Port Macquarie. It's a beautiful sunny morning, and Janine has woken early to drive us to the start line. 

The course is 7km long which means 3 laps. We find this type of course tougher than 1 lap courses. At the start line we say good bye to each other, and I know the next time I see Darren he will be on the opposite side of the course. 

After the run, we swap stories and feel the same about this course; very tough. The headwind, the sun beating down on us and 3 laps, I burst into tears at the finish line. Still can't decide on any one reason why this happens, maybe by the end of the year I will.

Janine and Michael pick us up with Letisha, their youngest daughter, and we head home for a shower, and food. We spend the afternoon exploring Laurieton Lookout near North brother Mountain, and then the boys have a fish (Darren has never caught a fish), and Darren catches a fish THIS big!!!

Darren's BIG catch 😊

We head out for a birthday dinner and soon it's time to pack our suitcases ready for the morning departure. We had a fabulous weekend and ticked NSW off our half marathon calendar. The following morning we wake a little sore, and enjoy the beautiful morning weather. We don't want to leave, but in reality we have no choice. We hug our friends tightly and say goodbye for now. The flight home is uneventful and soon we land in Melbourne and drive the hour home. So good to arrive home with more special memories created.

Two more PB's and I am now married to a Sub 2:00 half marathon runner!

Alarm goes off at 6am. Showers, tea for Darren  coffee for me, into our running gear and off we go. We feel good. We slept well, having been tucked up in bed by 9pm! We drive to the show grounds, and head for the bag drop, leaving our jackets and valuables with the volunteers. The volunteers are amazing, they are up at the crack of dawn so we can have a run. So very thankful to them.

On our way to the start line

We head to the start line, and shortly after, we are on our way. Darren makes sure he kisses me before he heads off to run his own run, I am ok with this. Darren was trying to find his rhythm, and for the first 3-4km was just behind Carly, our adopted daughter, although not legally. He gradually passed her, and by the time he got to the 11km mark, he knew he was on track to get a sub 2:00 time, and tried to maintain his pace until the 18km mark. At this point he was still on track, but the 5km walkers and runners had started, and were blocking the path, walking 3-4 abreast. Darren yelled out to move to the left, but thought he was not going to do his 2:00 hour time. He got going again, after waiting for about 20 seconds, and realised he was still on track. He gave the final couple of kilometres everything he had, and finished with a 1:58 time! The official results are not in yet, but he is very very happy with his time! Minus a numb big toe, he finished with no injury! 

After Darren ran off I listen to my music. You see, if I don't listen to my music, I think, and when I think too much, I slow down. The first few Km's pass easy and I am feeling pretty good. It is a scenic path, taking us along the river, which was pretty still for the run. The track keeps the sun off us, as there is plenty of greenery to block the sun. The next few Km's are done, and I'm feeling good still. My music is great company, but also thank the volunteers as I take drinks and pass them at various points along the track. Other runners are very friendly too, smiling and encouraging as our paths cross. 

Approaching the 7km mark, Darren runs past me the opposite way, and I am impressed. He looks great, and is sure doing a good pace. It spurs me on, and before I know it, I'm at the turnaround point, having waved to Carly and seeing a friend, Paula. There is something about knowing that you are running the same path that others you know have run, it's totally inspiring! 

Drink stations pass, and soon I see the showgrounds, YAY!!! Little did I know the most unenjoyable part of my run was about to begin. The people that were already on the track just would not move out of the way. Same as Darren, I yelled to keep to the left, but people were still in my way. At one point, I almost got pushed over by a girl coming the other way, it was awful. I fought back tears, determined that I would finish the best way I could. I dodged around many walkers and prams, just wanting to get to the finish line. It was all I had left in tank for the final km but I gave it my all. As I ran through the finish line, I was surprised to see I had finished in 2:18; smashing 7 minutes of my Hobart time!

Today's injuries for me are just blisters on my second toe on both feet. I can deal with that.

We had finished and were rehydrating

The medals are fabulous! So fitting for a runner to get a medal shaped like a runner. We catch up with Paula and her hubby and 2 girls, and exchange stories. We say our goodbyes and head for the TORQ tent, where we stock up on gels, recovery powder and fuel powder.

We head back to the caravan park, and soak our legs in the pool for a good half hour. As hungry as I am I know we need to recover really well this coming week as our next run is in 2 weeks in Port Macquarie. We drink our BCAA drink and relax. 

This coming week, we plan to head back to the beach for a couple of recovery sessions and do some serious stretching sessions. Right now, we are happy. Finishing with 2 PB's and no injuries, we are well on our way to completing a half marathon in every state and territory!

Wangaratta here we come

Well, this is where the last months training comes to fruition. We have ran, and we have also clocked up some serious kilometres on our bikes. Today we head off on our first road trip for the year; to a country town in Victoria named Wangaratta. 

Over the last month, we have completed a 10-15 km run most weekends, and last Saturday we completed a 10km run, then did 20km on our bikes! On Australia Day we participated in a 10km fun run down the Mornington Peninsula which was beautiful.

Here we are on the bus to the start line

It was a beautiful morning for a run

Here we are at the start line

And here we are with our amazing medals.

Recovery walk along the beach at Portsea

London Bridge, Portsea, Australia Day

We will hit the road this afternoon with training and recovery sufficiently completed. My soft tissue therapist works at Collingwood Football Club, and there is a practice match up on Wangaratta this afternoon? Larissa has offered to work on my legs tonight after the match finishes. She sure is something! Said she would tell the footy boys to step aside, I'm a VIP. Very funny!! Might just take her up on it, will keep you posted on that one!

The Sunset series Melbourne Zoo run

Here I am pictured (from left to right) with my little sister, Raelene, Belinda and Sara. It was a warm night, but amazing to run through the zoo again. It was great to get together after work and have a run. The next run of the series was at The Tan in Melbourne this past Wednesday, but with storms and showers forecast, and activities 4 out of 5 nights, I did the sensible thing and came home. The week leading up to a half marathon is important to do what your body tells you to. And my body LOVES rest and sleep!! We've had early nights, and by early I mean 8.30-9.00pm each night, lots of water, veggies, nuts and chicken. The mornings start at 5am for us, and we have downloaded an app that gives you a 7 minute workout. I must admit, I was skeptical to begin with, but you sure work up a sweat, and get the heart pounding. It's also great to start the day with a work out, even if it's only 7 or 14 minutes. This means we can dedicate our evenings to running and riding.

Well I guess it's time to go pack a bag, and do those last minute things, like washing clothes, and answer some emails. Will post our rundown on our 2nd half marathon for the year in Wangaratta tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing our story!