Disappointed at missing out, I packed up my pride and joined the running group and the family in Sydney for C2S.
The running group consists of a bunch of mums from the school that the daughter of my friend Fran attends. The group has been going for a while, and mums, staff, and hangers-on are a part of it at various times. I've been running with the girls for over a year now. Fran convinced me to join them after I did my first fun run last year, and we trained solidly for 3-4 months prior to City to Surf last year.
A smaller sub-group of us train together during the week, and others join some of the sessions, the longer runs, or the big events. We suffer together through interval sessions, hill sessions, trail runs, road runs, grass runs, and every combination.
We range in ability/speed, but we feed off one another with the quick chats in between intervals, the breathless word or two of encouragement as we pass each other on the track, the start-of-session whinge, the end-of-session relief/debrief, and of course the coffee/drinkies under the guise of 'planning sessions'. They are a huge part of what makes me get out of bed to run, and they're a great and inspiring bunch of women to boot.
The partner of one of the girls is a talented marathon runner and he wrote us a great program last year (thanks Jase). We followed it religiously. This year we haven't been quite so consistent. Various interstate moves, illnesses, injuries, holidays, and motivation failures have got in the way. But most of the girls have made it to C2S again, about 20 or so.
I shared a hotel apartment with Fran and my sis Jane. Seeing as I wasn't running because of the stupid cellulitis in my leg, I took one for the team and drove my car up with Fran, Jane, my brother Luke and one of the other running gals, Annie. After dropping them off at the hotel, I spent a lovely afternoon catching up with one of my oldest and dearest friends Ange, who lives in Sydney with her gorgeous family.
Jane, Fran, Luke and I had dinner that night at the hotel restaurant, and I was surprised at their bravery, opting for thai. Not what I would have chosen had I been running! We had an early night, and before heading off to bed, Jane, Fran and I decided to watch a few motivational running videos on youtube. Instead, we stumbled across some hilarious clips of people struggling through various races.
This one, whilst horrifying, had us in absolute stitches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1UvxxYIv3U
Call us sadistic, but this one also had us chuckling in horror:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xIzuyjCcZk&feature=fvwrel
We could relate somewhat to this one of Gebreselassie, one of the greatest ever distance runners, getting punched in the back of the head for being too good. How many times have you wanted to do the same thing to the person who sails past you with ease during a fun run, often wearing a gorilla costume, or pushing a pram, or just being twice your age/size?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQsWUb8zpjY
Enough amusement, we decided we needed to watch some inspirational runners. And so the tears started - watching Gebreselassie, Deeks, Monners, and our favourite, the late, great Kerryn McCann in her amazing last minute marathon win at the 2006 Commonwealth Games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTXlnOlKO4g
And of course Cathy Freeman's win in the 400m at the 2000 Olympics. I had the privilege of being there, and it remains one of the best things I've ever seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeXpoRIvDPw&feature=related
Here is a pic of Jane wearing a replica Cathy suit that I made for a dress-up party (Luke's 30th). The resemblence is uncanny, no?
The running group consists of a bunch of mums from the school that the daughter of my friend Fran attends. The group has been going for a while, and mums, staff, and hangers-on are a part of it at various times. I've been running with the girls for over a year now. Fran convinced me to join them after I did my first fun run last year, and we trained solidly for 3-4 months prior to City to Surf last year.
A smaller sub-group of us train together during the week, and others join some of the sessions, the longer runs, or the big events. We suffer together through interval sessions, hill sessions, trail runs, road runs, grass runs, and every combination.
We range in ability/speed, but we feed off one another with the quick chats in between intervals, the breathless word or two of encouragement as we pass each other on the track, the start-of-session whinge, the end-of-session relief/debrief, and of course the coffee/drinkies under the guise of 'planning sessions'. They are a huge part of what makes me get out of bed to run, and they're a great and inspiring bunch of women to boot.
The partner of one of the girls is a talented marathon runner and he wrote us a great program last year (thanks Jase). We followed it religiously. This year we haven't been quite so consistent. Various interstate moves, illnesses, injuries, holidays, and motivation failures have got in the way. But most of the girls have made it to C2S again, about 20 or so.
I shared a hotel apartment with Fran and my sis Jane. Seeing as I wasn't running because of the stupid cellulitis in my leg, I took one for the team and drove my car up with Fran, Jane, my brother Luke and one of the other running gals, Annie. After dropping them off at the hotel, I spent a lovely afternoon catching up with one of my oldest and dearest friends Ange, who lives in Sydney with her gorgeous family.
Jane, Fran, Luke and I had dinner that night at the hotel restaurant, and I was surprised at their bravery, opting for thai. Not what I would have chosen had I been running! We had an early night, and before heading off to bed, Jane, Fran and I decided to watch a few motivational running videos on youtube. Instead, we stumbled across some hilarious clips of people struggling through various races.
This one, whilst horrifying, had us in absolute stitches:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1UvxxYIv3U
Call us sadistic, but this one also had us chuckling in horror:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xIzuyjCcZk&feature=fvwrel
We could relate somewhat to this one of Gebreselassie, one of the greatest ever distance runners, getting punched in the back of the head for being too good. How many times have you wanted to do the same thing to the person who sails past you with ease during a fun run, often wearing a gorilla costume, or pushing a pram, or just being twice your age/size?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQsWUb8zpjY
Enough amusement, we decided we needed to watch some inspirational runners. And so the tears started - watching Gebreselassie, Deeks, Monners, and our favourite, the late, great Kerryn McCann in her amazing last minute marathon win at the 2006 Commonwealth Games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTXlnOlKO4g
And of course Cathy Freeman's win in the 400m at the 2000 Olympics. I had the privilege of being there, and it remains one of the best things I've ever seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeXpoRIvDPw&feature=related
Here is a pic of Jane wearing a replica Cathy suit that I made for a dress-up party (Luke's 30th). The resemblence is uncanny, no?
And finally, after watching this one we decided all the crying was not the best preparation for the Fran and Jane and retired to bed. This is the story of a father who competes in ironman events while pushing/towing his disabled son. Apparently the son (who communicates via computer) told his Dad that the only time he doesn't feel disabled is when his Dad goes for a run and takes him for the ride. So they've gone on to compete in more than 85 running/ironman events. When I'm struggling through a tough session, I can think of this guy and shut the hell up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBjR1-0GVkI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBjR1-0GVkI
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