Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty was a film about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden which is nothing whatsoever to do with this post. It was nearer Four Dark Thirty this morning - sorry, last night - when I left the house and headed for the start line of this years Pub2Pub.

To save you clicking and reading, the Pub 2 Pub is an annual 13km footrace from the beach in front of Dee Why Surf Life Saving Club to the Newport Arms Hotel. This year was its 21st running and my first entry. It's a race I miss most years, usually finding out about it once it has been run. It was more by luck than judgement that I entered this year. Anne (Ann? An?), who I pass most weekday mornings as she heads to work and I head back home with Rowlf, mentioned it one morning as we had our 30second chat. So whatever day that was was the day I put in my entry.


I had not real plan of attack to begin with. Run a fortnight after the City 2 Surf I could have belted it, but didn't see much point. It is a relatively small, local run (although it attracts 5000 runners and walkers) and as it was my first time I was on for a PB even if it took me a week. But a plan did hatch, courtesy of Mountain Sports and an email they sent me about the Kanangara Ultra. Now I know I said I'd never run further than the 45km Six Foot Track, but seriously, unless I'd died in the arse on this years Six Foot that was never going to remain the case. And as I did a PB on Six Foot, and as I'd been toying with the idea of running a 50k along the Northern Beaches (home to Palm Beach, hugging the coast) a plan started to form.

Which is why I was up at just after 4am this morning - done it again, last night - and started running at 04:30am to get to the startline of a race which started at 8am. I had toyed with the idea of running straight to the start and then keeping going afterwards but with 2 sick kids I figured a better plan was to run as near to 37km to get to the start. I thought about running to and from the City (then to the start) or running to the Arms from home then back to Dee Why but eventually settled on running "over the top" to Mona Vale and then to Dee Why, which would give me about 34km. I could add a bit more in Dee Why or tack a little bit on to the end.

The to-the-start section will not make for great reading as it was along main(ish) roads in the dark. Given the hour of the night there were not many cars about. With a waning moon I could see OK until a car approached, lights on, destroying my night-vision. With no pavements along most of the Wakehurst Parkway, the end section of Forest Way and most of Mona Vale Road I was occasionally hopping off of the road onto the verge. It wasn't a lot of fun, but I suppose that wasn't the point; I was chasing a number.

It was pretty cold by local standards. I had a disposable singlet on over my running shirt and a pair of old socks on my hands but was still quite chilled. At least I wasn't sweating too much. I saw a swamp wallaby and heard more roosters than I'd expected. As the sky started to brighten I got some quite nice views. Misty over hills-of-various-grey, orange glow to the east, The Bahai Temple looked especailly impressive, standing in stark white against a grey-blue sky with the moon behind it. Very nice.

By the time I got to Pittwater Road it was light and I could see, on the other side of the road, the Pub2Pub course being setout. I was feeling OK; my feet hadn't exploded and I was doing an OK, if far from blistering, pace. I ground out the kms to Dee Why and arrived on the expected 34km. I was already entertaining doubts about my (mental) ability to keep running at the end of the race, so I ran along a few of Dee Why's backstreets and got to the start line at about 35.5km.

I called Sal and arranged for her to meet me in Newport at around 09:30, figuring I should be able to do the run and then get over to Newport Beach, our rendezvous spot, in 90mins. I looked for Niall, an ex-colleague, who I had hoped to run with but had failed to mention it to him.  I failed to find him so I'd be running alone.

The first 800m is on the sand along Dee Why beach, which kinda sucks after 35km. But the red mist came down and I started at a reasonable pace that didn't last for too long. At the back of Long Reef I realised I was thinking as if I was racing, albeit racing slowly. I don't recall exactly how long it took to go from race mindset to survival. by the "10km to finish" sign I was plodding. I took water at each station. I went through the marathon distance in about 3:47 (net of poo stop on the run to the start and the 10mins or so waiting for the gun.) I was happy with that.

From then on it was a struggle. I was looking at my watch far too often, a sure sign I'm on my last legs. I went through 45km, happy to have run further than I've ever run before. I allowed myself a 500m walk from 46.5km and then waddled to the Newport Arms. I went over the line, aching and dizzy, at 48.7km with an overwhelming sense of fuck-this-running-shit-I've-done-enough.



I headed to the post office to grab a load of cheap and nasty calories (a can of big red, big bag of crisps, monster size snickers and some fudge) and then called Sal, who had just arrived at the carpark at Newport Beach (probabaly about 1.3km away - haha.) I raised the white flag and Sal and the girls came to collect me and take me to Armchair Collective for some bacon-eggy-caffieny calories. H had fallen asleep in the car by the time we got there, Sal and AJ headed to the cafe and I promptly fell asleep. I'm a bit tired.

So I still have 50km as a goal. And Kanangara looks no less attractive for that.

(for the record: my legs really fucking ache, but I finished with a single blister - it's a good one though, my old friend the left little toe.)