Trail Running, Hill Walking And Hitting The Wall
Posted by: Audrey Post date: January 26th, 2008We dropped the kidlets off at Auntie Bernie’s this morning, they didn’t know it but there were a couple of surprises in store for them. One was that their big cousin Phillip was up from Canberra, and the other was that they were off to the movies! So, they were quite happy to see us go.
We went up to Mt Nebo with the plan to run for a while and have a nice brunch at a local restaurant with some great views from the balcony. Hubby thought an 18k loop would be manageable and off we went. Must admit, it was a great place to run, and I think I managed remarkably well, considering I’d never run that far in my life before. Walking the uphills gave my legs a bit of a break and I found it comfortable to keep running even after around 20km (we took a wrong turn and ended up doing a bit more than we planned!)  We’d brought a hand held water bottle each and refilled it at a water tank at a storm shelter along the trail, and had a few sour worms to nibble on. By 22km or so, I was finding it hurt less to run than to walk, but by 24km I decided walking was the only way I’d get forward. I’d run out of water and every part of my lower body was excruciating; I remember thinking it was bizarre that I could actually feel between my toes, and it hurt big time! It was a funny pain, it wasn’t muscular or crampy, but it stopped me in my tracks. I’m thinking something to do with blood circulation. Then I had trouble deciding whether or not to pass out or throw up first. I wonder if that’s what happens to people who don’t prepare properly for a marathon. Fortunately, I made it slowly over that last km back to the car and had another drink, then I felt absolutely fine. It was interesting how suddenly it hit me, and how quickly I recovered. Unfortunately by the time we’d got back on track and made it back to the car, it was time to pick up the children, so no nice brunch with a view. Next time.
The take home lessons from today’s events are – have more for breakfast than a couple of slices of toast and a cup of tea; don’t run for 4 hours on that breakfast alone, having eaten it 2 hours before the run starts; take more water, perhaps in a back pack; and take some more to eat on the trail than sour worms. Looking back, it really was a recipe for disaster, eh? Still, it hasn’t put me off and I’m looking forward to the next one. The only discomfort I feel now is a tightening of the muscles around the top of my knee, otherwise my legs feel really good.
One Response to “Trail Running, Hill Walking And Hitting The Wall”
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January 30th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Wow – that is some run, especially considering the terrain – well done – you’ll be ready for your first marathon soon!