City to Surf 12k - Run

Takes a long time for a large wave of runners to get over the start line and thin out, so we waddled for a while. This is a very cool course through downtown, by rivers and through parks. Just gorgeous!



I guess you could say the course was rolling--people were complaining about the hills--but I honestly didn't notice them! (When you run/walk as slowly as I do, it's pretty much the same pace downhill, uphill, or regardless of distance. No, I don't slow down, even in a marathon--I'd be going backwards!)



Stace Face was actually running (as you can see). She left me in the dust around km 8--I was so offended. Why didn't she do that before, so I could waddle in peace and not try to keep up? ;)



Notice awesome cheerleaders on the median. All sorts of characters, groups, super volunteers, music along the course--as I said, a run-course carnival. Stace is so good about thanking the volunteers and spectators and I joined in. It's more of a triathlon rather than running thing, though, I've noticed. Always thank the volunteers!

The run itself was lovely. We ran on a 4:1 at a (VERY! :) ) comfortable pace. My muscles and joints were fine but I could still definitely feel the fatigue from the brutal half-iron last week (and all the travel and crazy lifeness that is me). I'm still also on antibiotics for an infection, working with hypothyroid issues, and unbeknownst to me was also coming down with a nasty cold.




Bring good drugs. See Post Race.

Ran a little ways past the finish line--Stace Face was cheering me in! We then walked to go get water and apples (they were out of bananas). And asked a piglet to take our picture.



Pretty much everyone passed us--old people, stroller people, heavy(er) people--this guy was not merely big but a big inspiration as he kept passing us too! We'd yell encouragement back and forth and they found us after they'd finished for high-fives all around.



Then we waited for Stace Face's friends. I started getting intense pain in the left sinuses--I thought it was just the infection acting up from cold and exertion, but unfortunately it turned into a full-blown migraine. The lovely park that was a finisher's area had doggy poop bags, so I took a couple as we boarded the shuttle bus back to downtown in case I needed to spew. A very nice man gave me his seat on the bus. I was pretty miserable.

Stace Face hustled me around a pharmacy and we got okay drugs, which at least made me consider living as a viable alternative and I was able to sit at breakfast with the group and only go to puke once. :P I was covering my left eye because it was all blurry and that was making me more nauseated. Stace Face insisted she should drive me straight home instead of going to her house to pick up my car.

I think I gave her the doggy-head-turn WHY face because she said firmly, "You can't DRIVE if you can't SEE!" This had not even occurred to me and I thought it was very funny. As it turned out, I slowly got better and by the time we'd gone backwards in the journey (breakfast to train, train to station by friend's house, walked to friend's house, driven to Stace's house where my car was) I felt nominally alive and could see well enough again.







Heh.


This is a really fantastic race and as it's for charity I was really happy to even get a medal--things like Tshirts and post-race buffet aren't important. After driving home, there was a truly glorious sunset.