event day

We (husband and I and 350 other people) have now accomplished the run we have been training for (well I have been training, he has been too busy, but done a little bit).  Loop the Lake.  Beautiful sunny day, lots of tree roots, lots of rocky river beds dry and wet, many undulations, mountains, a big lake and some beautiful native plants.  I ran it in 2hrs 38minutes and 20 seconds and came 126th.  I ran quicker than last year and me and husband got our second night away from the kids in 12 years(my mum looked after them for the night).  So It was all very nice.  Funny photo of me running through a river here, ha ha.

 This is probably the only flat section of the whole run, but it is the only bit I have a photo of.

more running

It may seem that I have done nothing but run recently and it is beginning to feel like that a bit.  Every morning I get up and put on my running gear, instead of my usual glamourous attire (ho ho).  But have a race to train for in a few weeks and this is the last chance saloon to get in shape for it.  (Race makes it sound like I will be hoping to win, which is not the case.  I am hoping to complete the course , not coming last, not injuring myself and being able to run the whole way. This morning was no different, I went to bed last night looking forward to getting up and running for >2hrs, I didn't feel quite the same enthusiasm in the cold light of early morning, but I dutifully got up, got into smelly running gear, put on my little bag with water bladder and a high energy snack and off I went, without dog or friend.   

 I did ponder, after an hour of uphill running, shuffling and some walking, that maybe all this uphill stuff was a bit over the top, the training plan said "2hrs 15mins undulating", it depends on your ideas about undulating, but there seemed to be a lot of up and no down.

 nice views though

All photos taken on my, previously mentioned, cell-phone which is really bad quality.  

Running down however was a piece of cake and I felt like one of the vampires in "Twilight" sprinting through the forest.  What I looked like is another matter.  It was much prettier on the way down too, lots of native bush, pretty trees, rocky uneven terrain, and some flat bits. 

I am now a bit tired.  

running

This morning was more running at 6.15am in the dark.  We ran on the roads waiting for the sun to rise, but 40 minutes later it was still dark.  In the end we went off road in the dark and eventually the day broke, hoorah.  The dogs had fun. We are training for this race.  I ran it with a friend last year and it was such fun.  Despite the cold and the pouring rain, it is in such a beautiful area that it was easy to be distracted by all the beautiful trees and moss and mountains, until my Hamstrings seized up. 

Some photos of the area we will run, the family went for a holiday up there a while back which was really nice.

Beautiful and a quite uneven and undulating track.  

today

Today I went for a 2hr 15 min run, up a steep hill and down the other side.  Me, the dog, a friend and her dog.  It wasn't meant to be so long but we got a bit carried away with a new track and got a bit lost, and had to ask some council men in a truck which way to go.  They thought we were quite amusing, two daft women running around in the middle of no-where.
I'm not sure what Mollie (dog) thought of it, she has been doing a bit of running now but not so far, and up such a big hill.  She has had fidgety knickers all evening, so I hope her little skinny doggy legs are not aching.

I must admit that these photos were not taken today, but I am un-willing to carry a camera and while running a big run (for me, I am sure most of the runners where I live would snoof at me calling this a big run).  A camera is too bulky.  Which is rather a shame, as we run in the most beautiful places, and today the sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky.  And we were in the middle of nowhere, but so  high we could see the sea over the other hills.