Yesterday I ran a 10k here in Sydney. Actually it was in Putney, about 20 minutes away from my hotel right on the Parramatta River. Very beautiful spot.
As Jen and I arrived I was all pumped to run the 10k instead of the 5k; thinking that it wouldn't be a problem I signed up and waited around for the start of the race. Line up began and I walked all the way to the back of the pack hoping not to get in any ones way. The runners for the 10 and 5 were starting at the same point and splitting somewhere along the way. As I looked around at every ones "tag" I noticed that all the slow folks in the back with me were only doing the 10k walk or 5k run/walk. I guess that should have been a good indication that I was out of my league but as the gun went off and I began running my confidence took over. I was very excited that the beginning of the race was down hill. A bitty two year old boy was running next to me with his dad. It was very cute. As I rounded the corner I almost ran smack into a wall... no, it wasn't a wall it was a HILL. A huge incline, almost vertical.
The original confidence was lost at that point. The little boy stopped and ran back the other way. I should have done the same but instead I kept trucking... up the long, vertical hill.
After the hill I was huffing and puffing so much that I thought I would stop but I kept going with the idea that there could never be another hill that big. Well.. as you can imagine I was wrong. 13 hills, 6 flights of stairs, 1 bush walk and 20 people directing me where to go later, I finished the race in 1:08:33. I was very proud of my self even though I had to stop and walk up a few of the ridiculous hills. During the race I made a few friends with the folks that were attempting to run as well. We had a good time making fun of ourselves and talking to the people directing the race.
As Jen and I arrived I was all pumped to run the 10k instead of the 5k; thinking that it wouldn't be a problem I signed up and waited around for the start of the race. Line up began and I walked all the way to the back of the pack hoping not to get in any ones way. The runners for the 10 and 5 were starting at the same point and splitting somewhere along the way. As I looked around at every ones "tag" I noticed that all the slow folks in the back with me were only doing the 10k walk or 5k run/walk. I guess that should have been a good indication that I was out of my league but as the gun went off and I began running my confidence took over. I was very excited that the beginning of the race was down hill. A bitty two year old boy was running next to me with his dad. It was very cute. As I rounded the corner I almost ran smack into a wall... no, it wasn't a wall it was a HILL. A huge incline, almost vertical.
The original confidence was lost at that point. The little boy stopped and ran back the other way. I should have done the same but instead I kept trucking... up the long, vertical hill.
After the hill I was huffing and puffing so much that I thought I would stop but I kept going with the idea that there could never be another hill that big. Well.. as you can imagine I was wrong. 13 hills, 6 flights of stairs, 1 bush walk and 20 people directing me where to go later, I finished the race in 1:08:33. I was very proud of my self even though I had to stop and walk up a few of the ridiculous hills. During the race I made a few friends with the folks that were attempting to run as well. We had a good time making fun of ourselves and talking to the people directing the race.
After finishing the race I felt rejuvenated, ready to take on the world again. Jen and I decided to make our way to the beach and have a day in the sun. After I showered we got on the train with all intentions of going to the beach but ended up stopping to eat in the Rocks section of Sydney. We had a Kangaroo pizza and it was very good! Not gamey at all. As we walked around the historic section of Sydney, we stumbled upon a fair. Lots of shopping and walking later we decided the beach wasn't in the cards for the day. Instead, we walked a few miles to the botanical gardens to take a picture of the weirdest thing in Sydney. Yes, they support their local drug addicts in the park with sharps bins.
Then Jen tempted me to walk some more as my feet felt like they were going to fall off by telling me that we should go get ice cream. Even though I felt like i was going to walk on stumps soon we kept going. An hour of walking later we finally found real ice cream. Not gelato or shakes or stupid cup cakes. People in Australia really don't know that gelato and ice cream are different! They're crazy. I practically run to the ice cream counter to order.
When ordering, the guy asked me if I wanted low fat, low sugar or regular. I answered that I wanted full fat and full sugar please. We ate the ice cream that supposedly was organic and came from New Zealand and then bought the best juice drinks that we've ever had. Leaving the place my feet felt like they were alive again but I was still thinking to hail a cab. We get a cab, he decides he doesn't want to take credit card (even though he has the swipe machine for credit cards). So, like a clown car, the two of us get in and then right out again on the street. We're about a mile from the train station so what do we do? Yes, we walk again.
When we finally get back to the hotel I get to my room, put up my feet on 3 pillows and vow never to walk/run on stumps again.
A fun day but exhausting.
-s
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