Weather forecast for today was cold and windy, with maybe some rain. I awoke to clear blue skies and although the wind had swung to a colder southerly it was relatively light. So the temperatures were down a bit but as I was out of bed at 05:30 to get ready to run the Sydney Half I was quite pleased with what I awoke to. My support team had already told me I was on my own so I switched my alarm off before it went off, left her to sleep on, ignored the dogs, got in the car and drove over to find some parking in the City. With around seven thousand runners in the filed I was expecting parking restrictions but found none and therefore found a parking spot easily. And early, about an hour before the 07:30 start.
Before I forget...had The Foo Fighters on the car stereo as I drove across and My Hero came on. That is my choke-up-thinking about-dad song, so I came close to shedding a tear. But didn't. For the record, REM Everybody Hurts is mum's song. I saw the video soon after mum died and there is a part in it with a shot of a person sitting in a car and the words, presumably their thoughts, written at the foor of the screen. Th thoughts of this person were the two words "she's gone." Sooooo anywaaaaaay...I decided to dedicate this years work to the old man in a moment of melodramatic nonsense that passed as track eight started. I digress...
I passed a couple of closed cafes as I walked to the race start and idly wondered if they would be open as I walked back. Yes, is the answer on one count, though the cafe was heaving when I returned later with Sal and we did not stop. We'll be back. Another digression...I meandered around the start for a while, deposited my clothes at the bag drop and caught up with the other runners from my work very briefly before heading for a slash and then the start.
I get a little paranoid about needing a slash on the run and more so about needing to take a dump, so I try to ensure I eat and drink in a pattern that means I can have a hefty shit before I leave home and a final slash about fifteen minutes before the gun. Today I found myself in the bog-queue with five minutes to the start, figured it was a precautionary pee I was there for and decided an on-time start was far more important. As it happens I completed the race without needing a slash - nerves, eh?
As I walked back through the crowd and weaved myself as far forward as my terribly-British-Bitishness would allow (no rude pushing-in), finding myself a litle way in front of Steve (member of my team at work) and another couple of our people. That was the last I saw of them.
It was a fast start. maybe the people around me had the same thought process as me; get to Hunter Street quickly because you don't want to be caught in traffic if people will be putting the brakes on while running downhill (I belt downhill, taking anything gravity help with.) I also wanted to push on to Argyle Street as here are roadworks there and a potential bottleneck. I got to and through both of them fairly quickly and was feeling good. A dodgy knee and ankle I thought may haunt me did not. I felt slightly shin-splinty but figured that was a muscle warming and it did go away. By the time I'd gone along Kent and looped back onto Hickson I was running in plenty of space and at my own pace. Hickson passes under the Bridge and in the super-clear skies it looked fabulous. At times I love this city...
Right, I'm tired and there is some good shit on tele, so I'm leaving it here...more to follow...
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