Just under three weeks out from Ultrain’s Scottsdale Rail Trail Run & Ride, where I planned to run the 27k event, I had my last long run—I don’t consider a run that is less than 20k as a long run—and I was pleased with how it went. Okay, it was a tad too fast going out along the cycleway towards Latrobe and then turning at the completed section of the new cycleway being constructed, and I did feel it a bit on the return leg, but it was a satisfactory run of 24k that should ensure I finish Scottsdale—as long as I don’t get carried away and start too fast. My aim is to start at the very back of the pack and take it from there.
But a mere two days later, during our regular Wednesday evening RunClub activity, I tried to terminate my run at Scottsdale by taking a flying leap through the air to land spectacularly on my right shoulder on the bitumen. It happened while running three abreast with two lovely young ladies and talking. I obviously tripped up on something on the side of the track and faceplanted myself—fortunately my brand-new glasses weren’t damaged when they hit the ground. The group were fantastic with their support and care. I was walked back to the car, after a quick check on vision and walking ability; then driven home; and had follow up contact from concerned people. I couldn’t get to the emergency department at the Mersey Hospital because its hours have been shortened and I didn’t want Val to have to drive me to either Burnie or Launceston in the dark. However, she was able to get me into our local GP clinic the following afternoon, though not with our regular doctor, who checked me out; gave me information about signs to look for in regards to concussion; and who organised for both my eye to be fixed and a tetanus shot to be given. Then it was off for a chest and shoulder x-ray, having already said that I would be able to run at Scottsdale. Whew!!! Considering my pain, I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if I have another cracked rib and shoulder damage.
I basically lived on painkillers every night so I could get some sleep for the next two weeks. For the last three nights before Scottsdale I took myself off them and slept as best I could. I haven’t had sufficient sleep since the accident and am always feeling tired.
We arrived at Bridport on the Thursday and immediately set up the caravan for four nights. Following a cuppa, we went to the office and extended our stay by another four nights, because we found it to be a great spot to stay. We had an afternoon walk and then settled down for the night. On Friday we walked to and through the Bridport Wildflower Reserve, where Val found a Tawny Frogmouth, and, after lunch at Bridport Café, we had two walks along different parts of the Rail Trail to find good spots for Val to take photos of the events. All up we walked over 12k today. I found myself wondering whether that was just too much considering tomorrow’s run.
After neither of us had the best of sleeps the alarm aroused us at 6:00 am. I jumped up, made our cuppas, had breakfast and changed so we could be away early. We had wanted to leave Bridport at 7:00 am so Val could be in place and I would have enough time to get to the start of the 54k to take photos there, but we were 15 minutes late in leaving. Even so, we still managed to get to our chosen spots—Val at Carey’s Road and I at the Scottsdale Railway Station. However, it had been raining for hours and the forecast was for 10-20mm during the day. Val had worked out a system whereby she could tie her umbrella to herself to keep her camera dry while having both hands free to take photos. After the 54k runners had all left I drove to Carey’s Road to pick her up and we drove on to Tonganah to take more shots with different backgrounds. When Shane Hanson, the Sweeper, had passed through we drove up to Billycock Hill where my race was to start. I stayed there while Val walked down the track to get the runners making their way up the steady incline. It was amazing to see David Bailey reach the halfway mark in about 1hr 45mins. What an incredible runner. Even though I was rugged up I was starting to feel a bit cold as I waited to line up for my run—the 27k.
When there was 15 minutes left before the start I walked to the car, took two painkillers to get me through the run and put on my running vest. As per my previous decision I started at the very rear of the field alongside Leigh Evans. The statistics show that I was the oldest runner in the field by 8 years! And then we were off! The track, following the old railway line, wound its way downhill through wonderfully lush forests that dripped water from the rain. Manferns clung to the side of cuttings. Rotting logs lay beside the trail. A flock of Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos screeched overhead. Relics from the railway were occasionally seen on or beside the trail. Patches of mist gave the trees an eerie look. We ran on a gravel bed at times, but there were many pools of water. After a while I tended to ignore them and ran straight through them—even through the mud unless it looked too much. As a result, my shoes and socks were quickly saturated, which simply added to the weight I was carrying. By the time I had reached the 2k mark I was beginning to think that yesterday’s 12k of walking wasn’t the best thing to have done as my legs had begun to feel the strain and I wondered for just how long I could continue on as I was. At least I had previously decided that today’s run, because of my fall, would be slower than from two years ago. I didn’t refer to my watch very much as I just wanted to run by feel. However, I did check the 1k split, which was decidedly faster than planned at 6:06. All this time I was passing other runners. At times I would just pass someone, but at other times I would run beside them for a short while and talk. My legs were hurting. My chest, in spite of the painkillers, had a stab of pain with each breath I took.
I stopped at 6k to take my first gel—following my experience with Gone Nuts last year and having fallen there while taking a gel I knew it would be best to walk while having it and the fluid I needed to get it down properly. Yes, it did slow me down but time was not a priority for today’s run. It did enable my friend Greg Munro to catch up with me and from that time on we basically ran together for the next 14k, and Greg's presence both encouraged me and spurred me to continue on. I decided to check my time at the 10k mark and was amazed that I was well over 1 minute ahead of my previous time. No wonder I had been feeling it in the legs and at times struggled to maintain my pace. The track continued to wind its way down the hills though cuttings and along embankments. And all the while the rain continued—sometimes very light but at other times a bit heavier, though not too heavy where I was. Though the track was wet and muddy in places it didn’t prove too hard to run through the puddles and mud patches or around them. I didn’t feel my feet slipping once, meaning my Brooks Cascadia 14 trail shoes were a great fit for the course. A truly great service had been provided for us runners by the crew who had recently been over the course and removed the many trees that had recently come down. If they hadn’t it would have been an obstacle course and there would have been a logjam—more so for the riders tomorrow.
As we drew near to Tonganah, I found that I needed to consciously force myself on. My legs were tiring and I was slowing. However, I tried to hover around a bit over 6:00/k pace and as I later looked back on my splits, I was surprised at the number of splits that were under that. At Tonganah the trail levelled out and so my pace dropped. We now also entered rich farming land and grazing cattle took a break to raise their heads and wonder about these strange creatures in such a hurry to get somewhere else. Crossing over the bridge we soon passed the two-thirds mark—we definitely were on the home stretch, but this home stretch was basically an uphill grind for the next 9k all the way into Scottsdale. The gravel here was much harder to run on once we had crossed the highway, but it was a lot easier than two years ago thanks to the traffic that had compacted it since then. I had another sneak peek at my time at the 20k mark and was surprised that I was still about a minute ahead of my previous time (I had printed out and carried with me my previous splits—though I only referred to them twice). I had decided that this year I would not regard myself as a greyhound chasing down bunnies—that’s how I view any runner in front of me so that this attitude inspires me to try and run them down. But my competitive nature got the better of me as I saw others ahead of me so I tried to up the tempo, though it was hard on the incline, to try and catch them. Every time I felt myself slowing, I pushed on that bit harder also in the hope that I might improve on my previous time. Slowly I was able to reel in a number of other runners, though I regularly paused to run beside and chat with some of them for a distance.
What a sight greeted my eyes as I rounded one bend—there were the houses on the outskirts of Scottsdale so I knew that there wasn’t far to go. I tried to lift my pace, but I just couldn’t reel in the fellow ahead of me! I crossed the line in a time, according to my Garmin, of 2:39:20 compared to my previous time of 2:39:51. I also ran the Strava segment “Scottsdale Rail Trail Run” in 2:38:01, a PR by 25 seconds.
I have received so much help and encouragement from my wonderful wife Val; from Ben Brockman, my exercise physiologist who drew up my training plan, and from Megan Clark, my physio, both from PhysioTas. As well, there are just so many people, too numerous to mention, who have encouraged me all along the way to today’s run. To each of you I say, “Thank you”.
I hope to be back again next year—but to tackle the 54k run. Now that would be both exciting and challenging. Maybe I should take on Shane Hanson's role of Sweeper as I would certainly be at the tail end of the field in that one.
One great thing about this type of event is that it is very individualistic as no one can run your race for you. yet, it is also about people running the event together and encouraging each other along the way. That's why, where possible, we like to stay to the very end until everyone has crossed the line for the person coming "last" has tried just as hard as the first finisher and needs encouragement for what they have achieved. And I just love being able to run people home after I have completed my run for we are all in this together.
