Friday morning I went over and picked up the car. When I got home, Lee wanted to take it out to go to the place where we got our larger fridge from to give them heck because it has stopped working. I checked with them and she was allowed to drive so that was fine. She noticed a screw in the tire so stopped by the rental place and let the guy know. Apparently he already knew about it said it would be fine and not to worry. We left Wollongong around 2PM to head to Sydney to pick up Michelle. After getting a little lost in downtown Sydney we finally got to Michelle’s and then were on the road again, this time to Katoomba! Katoomba was the town where the race started and it was where I had to go to pick up my race kit (race number and chip). It was in this really nice big hotel. I got that take care of and then it was the final stretch to Jenolan Caves, about another 75km. On Jenolan Caves road I spotted some kangaroos so we pulled over and took a quick peak, but they were pretty far away. I continued driving and the girls were hoping to see some closer. ALL OF A SUDDEN THREE JUMP ACCROSS THE ROAD RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CAR, I DAMN NEAR HIT ONE! I’ve never even come close to hitting a deer in Canada yet my first day driving here I almost take out a Kangaroo. So we started getting closer and closer to Jenolan Caves and we were descending into the caves are where our hotel was. This was a really cool drive. Then we go the caves are and you have to drive through a cave to get to the hotel! You’ll see pictures, but this blew our mind. It was dark when we arrived here and my headlights lit up the cave as we drove through, that was pretty amazing. We got to our room, got settled and organized and then went back to the main building to play the piano and some pool. We went to bed pretty early as we had to be up early (me 4, the rest 4:30AM)
Race Morning.
I got up and did my usual race morning routine. I had my coffee and oatmeal and protein shake, went to the washroom and got dressed. We were out right at 5:30 to head to Katoomba. Lee drove this stretch as I just wanted to chill in the back seat. We got to the park and ride place pretty early and I had another chance to go to the washroom, then we all boarded the shuttle bus to the race start. At the race start I finished up a few last minute
details and we all had some bread with butter and maple syrup on it, delicious.Race:
Wow. This race was absolutely amazing. It was honestly so incredible that I could not possibly describe it in a way that would truly do it justice. But I’ll certainly try. J So the race start is by “Explorer’s Tree” in Katoomba, I’m not sure what the significance of the tree is at all, but in any event, that’s where it was. The race starts and we all run ahead about 200m and then start descending. This part is SUPER slow, like walking in Disneyland super slow. This is because it’s steep downhill and it’s a combo of big rocks and stairs from dirt and a single 2x4. This was a good 15 – 20 minutes of just walking downhill, pretty treacherous terrain and I almost slipped twice. Then we go to a dirt/gravel path and it started to pick up. I was running behind these 3 folks, two who had done the race, one who hadn’t and the two were explaining to the one about different things so I was listening attentively. Oh ya, and no music for this race. We were allowed, but I figured I’d be going slow at various points and it would give me a chance to experience the nature and chat with some folks. So the first 15.5k is mainly downhill to Cox’s river crossing. After the initial slow part it picked up and it was somewhat rolling terrain, down paths in lush forest and then through big fields. There were some fences along the way and they set up these mini ladders, three steps up, three steps down, to get over them, always single file. There were probably 8 or so of these. After a run through some fields we were back in the forest, still descending, but this time it was fun. I rolled my ankles a few times each, which stung for a bit. The downhill grade was perfect, not so much that you were really trying to slow, but just a little down, then flat and then a little more down. I was running behind this guy who was a BRAT (Bondi Running And Triathlon member) and he was behind this other girl and we had a really good thing going for a while. That was so much fun because it was really technical running but the legs still felt ok and it was terribly strenuous up or downhill. So we arrive at Cox’s river! We’re approaching the river and there’s a volunteer there saying “wet” and pointing at the river, and saying “dry” and pointing somewhere up the riverbank. Everyone was opting for the wet, this is the thing to do at this race, thus I was no different. Waist deep folks. It was nice on the legs to feel the cold water. It’s about 15m across and when I got out my shoes felt like they had cement in them. I just started running again, hoping that the water and gravel I just picked up would kill my feet over the next 30k. I ran for a while and my shoes eventually dried out and I could dump out the gravel. Immediately after the river we start climbing. I don’t mean we started up a little hill, I mean we started climbing, like hiking up the steep inclines in Gatineau type thing, these hills were HUGE. So it was mostly a walk but I threw in some light running here and there. The hills were steep and the hills were long. We’re talking 400m over 4k, picture 10% incline on the treadmill for 4k. It was alright, gave me a chance to chat with a couple people, experience the scenery, which gave me goosebumps. We’re walking up this mountain and getting pretty high now and the side of the road is basically a drop down to the river. It was beautiful to look down into the river and see the rushing water way down below. It looked like a jungle. You do a lot of staring at the ground in this race (from fear of stepping on something and going down, which more than a few people did based on the amount of blood I saw) so it was nice to get a chance to look around and experience where we were. Some people bring their cameras to get some photos. I got up to the top of the first major climb, through an aid station and then STEEP downhill again. You’ve got to understand the logistics of pain in this race, you walk down a few hundred steps, run flat, run technical downhill, through a river then up a major climb, so the legs at this point are getting sore and are just PUMPED with blood. This downhill was a dirt path with big rocks (like the size of my fist) everywhere that you’ve got to look out for. You’ve got make a decision to either go fast and just get down there or go slow, and be careful, regardless though the hurt is just the same. I went fast/cautious, as my ankles were already thrashed from earlier. That was really painful and it really set in the start of the pain. At the bottom of that big hill and then we start right into another LOOOOONG climb up to Pluviometer. This is all between the 16 – about 30k markers. It’s just another chance for some more walking and light jogging, if that’s what you wanna call it. I wish I could somehow describe it to put it’s steepness in perspective. It’s like you know when you’re really tired and going up a really steep hill and push down on your knees to help power yourself up? Ya sorta like that. People hike this thing, in three days, not less than 7 hours. We passed a ton of people hiking, they had poles and were moving super slow. So anyways, I got to the top of this hill and then started into another rhythm, if that’s what you want to call it. I’m in major pain (just muscle soreness) at this point so it’s one of those runs. I got to talking to this man Steven from Melbourne. A really nice man and we were going at a good clip so it was one of those things where we kinda egged each other on to keep going. Eventually I bailed on him and had to walk for a bit again. From about 34k to the 42k is rolling, with a few REALLY REALLY REALLY steep, but thankfully short inclines. After the last incline it was relatively flat for a while and gave me a chance to get running again. It was single file through the forest and was like that earlier part that I enjoyed, except now my legs were screaming out in agony. So we got through that and then we’re getting real close and we hit the last aid station at around 41k I think and they tell us to be careful on the descent. OK? What am I in for now. It was the most EXCRUCIATING pain on my legs. After running a standard marathon in terms of distance they put this in front of you. Very narrow path with cracks and crevices in it and big rocks and EXTREME downhill. This was SO painful! SO SO SO SO SO PAINFUL! I was super careful here and got passed by a few people, but that was ok. It felt like forever but eventually the path got better and the road was less steep. I went through a little more bush and path and then you can start to see the hotel (the finish line is where we stayed in Jenolan) and the finish and you can hear the people and you suddenly feel fantastic, like “holy shit I’m gonna finish this thing!”. The last 800 or so meters is actually quite enjoyable, first time on concrete or pavement of any sort. It’s along a path with a hand rail that descends to the hotel and you’re running along the side of the mountain and people can see you coming. That was cool, apparently they announced my name but I didn’t hear it. I rounded the corner and finished in 5:05! Not bad considering my goal was 5 hours, thinking the terrain was a LOT easier than it was. That race was amazing. Painful as hell but amazing.
Wow. This race was absolutely amazing. It was honestly so incredible that I could not possibly describe it in a way that would truly do it justice. But I’ll certainly try. J So the race start is by “Explorer’s Tree” in Katoomba, I’m not sure what the significance of the tree is at all, but in any event, that’s where it was. The race starts and we all run ahead about 200m and then start descending. This part is SUPER slow, like walking in Disneyland super slow. This is because it’s steep downhill and it’s a combo of big rocks and stairs from dirt and a single 2x4. This was a good 15 – 20 minutes of just walking downhill, pretty treacherous terrain and I almost slipped twice. Then we go to a dirt/gravel path and it started to pick up. I was running behind these 3 folks, two who had done the race, one who hadn’t and the two were explaining to the one about different things so I was listening attentively. Oh ya, and no music for this race. We were allowed, but I figured I’d be going slow at various points and it would give me a chance to experience the nature and chat with some folks. So the first 15.5k is mainly downhill to Cox’s river crossing. After the initial slow part it picked up and it was somewhat rolling terrain, down paths in lush forest and then through big fields. There were some fences along the way and they set up these mini ladders, three steps up, three steps down, to get over them, always single file. There were probably 8 or so of these. After a run through some fields we were back in the forest, still descending, but this time it was fun. I rolled my ankles a few times each, which stung for a bit. The downhill grade was perfect, not so much that you were really trying to slow, but just a little down, then flat and then a little more down. I was running behind this guy who was a BRAT (Bondi Running And Triathlon member) and he was behind this other girl and we had a really good thing going for a while. That was so much fun because it was really technical running but the legs still felt ok and it was terribly strenuous up or downhill. So we arrive at Cox’s river! We’re approaching the river and there’s a volunteer there saying “wet” and pointing at the river, and saying “dry” and pointing somewhere up the riverbank. Everyone was opting for the wet, this is the thing to do at this race, thus I was no different. Waist deep folks. It was nice on the legs to feel the cold water. It’s about 15m across and when I got out my shoes felt like they had cement in them. I just started running again, hoping that the water and gravel I just picked up would kill my feet over the next 30k. I ran for a while and my shoes eventually dried out and I could dump out the gravel. Immediately after the river we start climbing. I don’t mean we started up a little hill, I mean we started climbing, like hiking up the steep inclines in Gatineau type thing, these hills were HUGE. So it was mostly a walk but I threw in some light running here and there. The hills were steep and the hills were long. We’re talking 400m over 4k, picture 10% incline on the treadmill for 4k. It was alright, gave me a chance to chat with a couple people, experience the scenery, which gave me goosebumps. We’re walking up this mountain and getting pretty high now and the side of the road is basically a drop down to the river. It was beautiful to look down into the river and see the rushing water way down below. It looked like a jungle. You do a lot of staring at the ground in this race (from fear of stepping on something and going down, which more than a few people did based on the amount of blood I saw) so it was nice to get a chance to look around and experience where we were. Some people bring their cameras to get some photos. I got up to the top of the first major climb, through an aid station and then STEEP downhill again. You’ve got to understand the logistics of pain in this race, you walk down a few hundred steps, run flat, run technical downhill, through a river then up a major climb, so the legs at this point are getting sore and are just PUMPED with blood. This downhill was a dirt path with big rocks (like the size of my fist) everywhere that you’ve got to look out for. You’ve got make a decision to either go fast and just get down there or go slow, and be careful, regardless though the hurt is just the same. I went fast/cautious, as my ankles were already thrashed from earlier. That was really painful and it really set in the start of the pain. At the bottom of that big hill and then we start right into another LOOOOONG climb up to Pluviometer. This is all between the 16 – about 30k markers. It’s just another chance for some more walking and light jogging, if that’s what you wanna call it. I wish I could somehow describe it to put it’s steepness in perspective. It’s like you know when you’re really tired and going up a really steep hill and push down on your knees to help power yourself up? Ya sorta like that. People hike this thing, in three days, not less than 7 hours. We passed a ton of people hiking, they had poles and were moving super slow. So anyways, I got to the top of this hill and then started into another rhythm, if that’s what you want to call it. I’m in major pain (just muscle soreness) at this point so it’s one of those runs. I got to talking to this man Steven from Melbourne. A really nice man and we were going at a good clip so it was one of those things where we kinda egged each other on to keep going. Eventually I bailed on him and had to walk for a bit again. From about 34k to the 42k is rolling, with a few REALLY REALLY REALLY steep, but thankfully short inclines. After the last incline it was relatively flat for a while and gave me a chance to get running again. It was single file through the forest and was like that earlier part that I enjoyed, except now my legs were screaming out in agony. So we got through that and then we’re getting real close and we hit the last aid station at around 41k I think and they tell us to be careful on the descent. OK? What am I in for now. It was the most EXCRUCIATING pain on my legs. After running a standard marathon in terms of distance they put this in front of you. Very narrow path with cracks and crevices in it and big rocks and EXTREME downhill. This was SO painful! SO SO SO SO SO PAINFUL! I was super careful here and got passed by a few people, but that was ok. It felt like forever but eventually the path got better and the road was less steep. I went through a little more bush and path and then you can start to see the hotel (the finish line is where we stayed in Jenolan) and the finish and you can hear the people and you suddenly feel fantastic, like “holy shit I’m gonna finish this thing!”. The last 800 or so meters is actually quite enjoyable, first time on concrete or pavement of any sort. It’s along a path with a hand rail that descends to the hotel and you’re running along the side of the mountain and people can see you coming. That was cool, apparently they announced my name but I didn’t hear it. I rounded the corner and finished in 5:05! Not bad considering my goal was 5 hours, thinking the terrain was a LOT easier than it was. That race was amazing. Painful as hell but amazing.
The girls went to the car to get something and Jared and I went back to the room. They come back in giggling and want to show us some pictures. Apparently we A) had a flat tire and B) had no hub cap, on the other side. GREAT. And they were leaving for a cave tour so I was left to deal with it. I called the roadside assistance place and they sent a CAA type vehicle out to fix it. It took them about an hour and a half to get there so I was sitting around a lot in the parking lot, alone, missing all the action at the finish. It was ok though, I saw some people finishing and then the truck came and did the job and I got back down to the finish to see the award presentations. After that I went looking for the 4 of them over by the caves and waited for their tour to end. We then came back to our room and ate dinner and chilled out a bit in our room then went back down to play some more pool. Then to bed and here I am now. Damn this hurts, and I start my in-class professional experience tomorrow. Eek, hopefully lots of stretching and hot showers today will help. I’m just praying to god that we get home ok today, after this hellish adventure.
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