The Big Forest Run

The Big Forest Run Saturday 19th April 2014

Pre-race - This race was a last minute decision for me, something to make sure I didn't fall in a slump after Canberra marathon. I only looked at the details of the course and mandatory items the night before. Oops! A bit slack on my behalf. So, at 6pm the night before the race, I scrambled together my new Kathmandu pack and bladder, 2 gels and 2 Runners Kitchen amazeballs, some first aid items, thermals, a waterproof jacket, mobile phone and that's about it. I organised with my friend, Ros, to pick her up at 7am for our drive to Warburton. I slept fine because I wasn't nervous about the run. However I was scared of getting lost or eaten by leeches!

Race day - I picked up Ros at 7am as planned and we drove to Warburton. Ros and I have been running together for about a year, (since I moved to the Mornington Peninsula and put a notice out to school mums asking if anyone wanted to run with me).  She's the best running buddy - very positive and chatty - I'm especially grateful for that when we're running up hills. And I'm thankful we've become great friends along the way. Anyway, we arrived at the registration site and our bags were inspected. I'd forgotten to pack a high-visibility vest. My bad! Luckily, I was still allowed to run. We caught the bus to the start line, which took about 20 minutes. The temperature was a bit cold, so I had long compressions (seriously ugly but my legs always feel better for having worn them), thermal top, jacket, beanie and gloves. I know I'm a sooky-la but in my defence I have Raynaud's syndrome, my fingers and toes suffer during winter. And asthma is worse in chilly weather. The only time I can handle cold weather is on the ski slopes... hmmm ski slopes... sorry daydreaming again. We arrived at the start line, there was a little campsite and the scenery was gorgeous; giant old trees with thick trunks and healthy green ferns. There was a slight delay in starting but only a few minutes and then we were off and racing.
Now there were only 60 people in the 18km event and I probably started mid-pack, but in hindsight I should've started closer to the front. It was single track for the first half of the run and difficult to overtake. The first kilometre was 6:30min which is slower than I'd usually run. Eventually I overtook a few people and by the time I made it to the 3rd kilometre I seemed to be running 5min/k pace and that soon went to 4:45min/k pace. A 4:45min/k pace on road is comfortable and controlled, however running down a hill with twists and turns, uneven terrain with loose footing, obstacles like tree trunks to either hurdle or duck under, and ferns slapping you in the face... that's not so comfortable or controlled. I had to concentrate on foot placement, and still try to be aware of posture in order to protect my injured hip. I'd bought a pair of Inov8 Talon and was really happy with how steady I felt. I could see the guy in front of me slipping and rolling but I felt quite secure in my new trail shoes. (BTW I'm a shoe addict!)

I heard Ros directly behind me, and we managed to continue chatting and running at the same time. Until... "Ouch!" Poor Ros rolled her ankle badly and had to stop for a moment to make sure she could continue. We ran about another kilometre before arriving at an aid station. I stopped and put my thermal away and had a drink (to make sure I washed down the gel I had). First aid were assessing Ros's ankle. She encouraged me to continue and said she'd see me at the finish line, so on I went.
The next few kilometres were a little uphill and just as windy however the footing wasn't as dangerous. Then I hit quite a steep downhill until I came to an open road. Running on an open road is probably where I excel, so I managed to overtake quite a few people (and they heard me coming... clomping along in my trail shoes). The next few kilometres averaged around 4:40min/k pace. I felt good and I was ready to pick up the pace for the last couple of kilometres. I looked at my garmin and it said 16km, I could see a girl just in front of me and I was confident I could pass her during the last 2 kilometres. Then all of a sudden I saw and heard the race director with a megaphone, which I thought was a little strange at that point of the race, but I waved and continued on anyway. Then, a bystander said "Where are you going?" I had no idea that I'd just run past the finish line! (Seriously, I can get lost anywhere, anytime.) So I u-turned and ran back to the finish line. Official time: 1:26:21. I came 14th overall, 3rd female and 2nd in my category.
Ros finished bravely with a sprained ankle in 1:35:18 and placed 1st in her age category! Awesome effort considering the size of her ankle by the time she finished.

Post-race - Firstly, the first aid and volunteers were great, they took great care of Ros. The food at the finish line was great, a sausage sizzle, fruit and drink. And Easter eggs :-) The course was interesting. Personally, I have mixed feelings; the first half of the course was the most difficult trail I have run because of footing, however it was downhill so no pressure on heart and lungs. The open downhill sections didn't seem difficult but boy oh boy... DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). I'm writing this 3 days later and my quads are very sore. The day after the race I went for a 15km easy run, therefore I wasn't tired at all. I actually felt like I hadn't worked hard enough. So trails (for me) are new and confusing. I love trying something new and I suspect I'm heading down the ultra road (and most ultras are on trails) but I always feel like my mind or my ankles are working harder than anything else. Yet I pull up sore from trails. I'm yet to decide how I feel about all that.

Lessons -
1. Always take my phone on trails (just in case someone sprains their ankle)
2. Always concentrate on foot placement
3. Don't underestimate my ability to run faster, start towards the front of the pack, especially if the trail is single-track.

Race feedback and will there be a next time -
The trail part of the course was exactly as I expected, however the second half of the course wasn't what I would call trail. So it was kind of a half trail-half road run. The first aid and volunteers were great. The participants were friendly and the group was small, which suits the course. The food at the finish line was more than expected. The race director was super friendly. The only issue I had was the distance; my garmin said 16.5km and so did everyone else I spoke to. My garmin didn't lose signal at all. It might be worth double checking the distance? I'm unsure if I will run it again. I'm new to trails and very inexperienced. I'm not good at concentrating or foot placement, and I get nervous about falling. I'm motivated to improve, and then I will reassess. Overall I rank this run a 8/10.

Canberra Marathon April 2014

The Canberra Times Marathon

Sunday, April 13th 2014 at 6:30am

www.runningfestival.com.au/course-details/marathon/

Pre-race - We arrived on the Saturday and the weather was surprisingly good, a little bit windy but nothing to worry about, and the sun was shining for the first time in a week. We drove part of the course and it was great; beautiful scenery with historical monuments. I was really excited to see a new, beautiful, scenic and interesting route. And it seemed relatively flat. There was a section around 25km that was down and up with some turns etc. and some hills again somewhere between 32-37km. (By the way, if you're looking for an accurate, formal race report... this isn't it. My memory is terrible and my sense of direction is even worse, so I'm simply sharing what I remember and how I felt.) This seemed like the perfect race! I was used to running hills near where I lived so the hills didn't seem too brutal. I'd trained hard through summer and landed a day with ideal conditions. Weather is a big deal to me, I hate being cold and don't like running in heavy rainfall. 

I was so nervous the week leading up to Canberra. This milestone - my first marathon - had been on my bucket list for years and I didn't just want to finish a marathon but I wanted to run a decent time. Perhaps a Boston qualifying time (3:40). And I'd been training my butt off for months leading up to this (with the help of Shaun from Brewsters Running (www.brewstersrunning.com). I'd run over 30km at least 10 times and over 35km about 5 times. I'd also run 40km a month out. Anyway, I was feeling ready but nervous because I knew I had to keep the pace up to get somewhere close to my goal of 3:30-3:45. Plus I was continuing to manage injuries - hip and achilles issues. And I was scared my legs were going to pack in, if I pushed too hard. The night before race day, I slept lightly but woke feeling rested and ready.

Race day - I set my alarm for 5am (not that I needed it) and Brad accompanied me down to the start line by 6am. After a few toilet stops, some warm up stretches, last minute adjustments and some jelly babies (why oh why did I eat those jelly babies), I made my way to the start line with the other 1400 people. As usual my knees and teeth... actually my entire body, was shaking with nerves but luckily I didn't have to stand there long before the gun went, and we were off and running. The first 5km seemed quick but I had a stitch, possibly from nerves so I made myself slow down a little. The next 5km was a bit slower, so overall for the first 10km I averaged 4:45min/k pace (47:40). I felt comfortable heart and lungs, and legs but I'd been feeling a bit sick in the guts and those sugary jelly babies had been repeating on me since the beginning of the race. So stupid of me to eat them when I'd never eaten jelly babies prior to a race before. And then to add to my lack of experience (polite way of saying I had a second moment of stupidity)... I had a gel at about 10km even though I knew the drink station wasn't until 12.8km. I had a drink bottle with electrolytes but I didn't want to stop and get it. I didn't want to lose time, so I decided to wait for water. Gels really need to be taken with water or they repeat, and considering I suffer from reflux, I should've known I'd feel sick. From 10km-20km, I felt sick but ok. I averaged 4:55min/k pace (49:11). At 22km I forced myself to have another gel because I didn't want to hit the wall. I still don't know what I'd do if I found myself in this situation again. Having the second gel made me feel sicker but obviously it's not ideal to run 42km on a single gel. Then I hit some hills and turns, and it took the wind out of my sails a bit. From 20km-30km, I averaged a 5:01min/k pace (50:19). I saw Brad & mum (my lovely support crew) at about 32km and I still felt reasonable. I felt nauseous but not terrible. I couldn't stomach another gel, so I tried an amazeball from Runners Kitchen (www.runnerskitchen.com.au). But I couldn't even handle that. I considered stopping and being sick, and tried to calculate whether it'd take longer to stop and be sick but then be able to push the pace, or just run conservatively. My default is to run conservatively, so that's what I did. From 30km-42.2km, I averaged a 5:12min/k pace (1:03:34). Even though my pace had dropped significantly, I was surprised how many people I passed, especially around the 35km mark. Many first time marathon runners train on the flats only. Obviously the hills hurt them. My heart and lungs, legs and most importantly, my headspace... were great. I felt happy and strong, except for the part about wanting to spew! I'd initially said to myself I'd pick up the pace at 40km but I left my sprint until the very end. I ran fast for the last 400m or so, I was tired but I had a bit left in the tank and I crossed the finish line with an official time of 3:30:47! (I know I know... 47 seconds!) I finished strong and felt amazing (even the spewy feeling disappeared).

Post-race - After the race, I was walking around pretty freely. I had some chaffing in spots but that was my only issue and it was very minor (until I got in the shower! Ouch!) I was surprised and grateful that my legs held up well. And I wasn't too bothered that I'd felt sick during the race. I was so stoked to say that I ran my first marathon in 3:30, and that I finished strong (exactly like I wanted). The next morning, I got up at 6am and went for a 4km recovery run. I didn't plan that, but I was on such a high that all I wanted to do was run forever :-) 

Lessons - 

1. Don't try something new on race day i.e. eat jelly babies

2. Always have water when I have a gel

3. Trust my abilities more, in other words, run faster!

Race feedback and will there be a next time - 

The race was awesome; great course, scenery, undulating, lovely volunteers, plenty of drink stations (although most people have gels every 10km so it would be good to have a drink station every 10km), great atmosphere and plenty of merchandise tents. The atmosphere was much quieter than Melbourne's runs, which suits me perfectly. I like the way they ran the 5km and 10km race on Saturday and staggered the starts for the half marathon and marathon on Sunday. There was no congestion and it wasn't too busy or overwhelming. There wasn't a show bag but I received my Canberra marathon medal and some fruit. Overall I rank this run a 10/10 and I would definitely run it again! I'm incredibly grateful for my wonderful first-marathon experience. 

Course Map

Some pics

Canberra Marathon 2014

3:30:47

1:04City to Sea 2014 (14k)

Running with my fabulous hubby!

Two bays (28k) 2014 2:33

 Portsea Twilight

Sandy Point half marathon 2014 1:43

Quick recap

Hi y'all,

Quick recap of the last 20 years or so... My name's Kate (not Whippet like the blog name suggests), and I grew up with competitive gymnastics. I loved it and when I retired at the mature age of 15, I found myself looking for something else. I'd never been a good distance runner (asthma and all those fast twitch muscle fibres from gym), I'd been ok at 100m and 200m, so the logical next step would have been to get involved in track... But I've never been very good at logic either, so I set myself a goal to run 10km. I achieved that goal and then I didn't do very much at all for the next 8 years or so.

Then when I was about 24, I decided to join the gym (shared house = too much take-away and wine!) and I started running on the treadmill. Again, asthma was an obstacle especially because I'd put on a bit of weight, so when I first ran 10min on the treadmill at 8k/per hour, I felt like I'd run a marathon. I started running (a lot), I lost weight (a lot) and began entering fun runs (a lot). I still refused to run with anyone else though because I felt so incredibly slow. In hindsight I probably wasn't too bad. My first fun run was the Very Special Kids 10km in 2000, which I finished in 52min. Very special Kids meant a great deal to me because I'd previously volunteered for them (www.vsk.org.au)

In 2000 I began working as a Personal Trainer and running quickly became my specialty area. I trained people for 10km runs through to half marathons. I LOVE researching anything and everything to do with running, so I studied technique, programming, nutrition, gear, events and whatever else I could find. I ran my best half marathon time of 1:42:10 in 2002 (I think) and my best 10km was about 47min. I began running with friends (big deal for me), and realised I now had a relationship with running. Sometimes it was a love-hate relationship but nether the less, like all my relationships, I knew I'd be loyal to it and running would always be part of my life!

In 2007, I was blessed with our first child... Now being pregnant, especially when you look like the Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters, can make running difficult. I tried continuing despite the strange looks from people, but at about 6 months I had to admit I was too big to continue running. Therefore I had two significant breaks from running during my two pregnancies, but worked hard each time to get back into it. (Thank God for Phil & Teds running pram!) And thank God for my wonderful hubby who pushed the pram while I gasped behind him :-) Below is a picture of me whilst pregnant with Lucas (my first baby - heavy weight 4.5kg).

In the past 7 years, I have run a little, a lot and everything in between. It's interesting juggling family life, a business, work, school, home duties, sleep and everything else. Then in 2012, I was told I have a FAI and labral tear of my left hip and need surgery. I decided before I went under the knife I'd run a marathon (as I mentioned earlier, I'm not great with logic!) So after a couple of months off to attempt pre-hab/rehab, strength/core training and technique work, I made the decision to run a marathon in 2014. It seemed perfect, the year I turn 40 and both kids are in school.

After months of seriously working my butt off, I can finally say I've completed a marathon. I ran Canberra marathon last Sunday - April 13th 2014 - in a time of 3:30:47. (www.runningfestival.com.au/course-details/marathon/) I'm stoked but... there's always a 'but'... I know I have more to give. I'm so happy to be running right now, I feel like I'm really falling in-love with it and I want to try everything from a fast 10km, to trails, to ultras, to Comrades! I thought keeping a blog might be a nifty way of keeping a record of which runs I've enjoyed the most so I can plan my calendar for 2015. (And yeah it looks like surgery can wait!)

There's my quick recap... hopefully over the next couple of days I'll write a blog about my Canberra marathon experience. Stay tuned and keep running :-)