Happy Days

I am drinking champagne and packing for a weekend away in the Kangaroo Valley and I am so excited I could just have another glass of champagne!!

Ok ok it is not REAL champagne, and here I am on a very cold Thursday night, deep in the middle of winter with a glow in my cheeks and anticipation of a really cool weekend.

AND there is a run thrown in!!  Yay - I have been singing that Midnight Oil song - Call me....King of the Mountain.....to myself, and humming away happily.

Never done this race before, and have no expectations (which is shorthand for "excuse for a really shite time") but looking forward to some GORGEOUS countryside, a hill or two (judging by the name - King of The Mountain - there are bound to be one or two) and just hanging out with friends.

Last week I took it easy - first time since North Face really, my legs were bloody sore after a mixture of Six Foot two weeks earlier, and a half marathon the week after.  So I raced Woodford to Glenbrook as best I knew how.  I am proud of how I raced, except for maybe one hill where I was talking to another runner, and let the pace slip.  Every other single bit I gave my all.  From the 12km mark to the end I FANGED it - for me fanging it was 5.30 min kms or thereabouts until about 21km, by then I really slowed down because the legs were sore and tired, but I kept thinking to myself, "what does *insert name of other really good runner here* do when they are tired and sore?  Do they slow down?  No, they keep up the pace.  You will be glad you did at the end."  Well my Garmin told me I did slow down, but it was definately not intended.  Anyway I bloody loved this race and came away with 2.38 which was a 9 min PB on last year and 22 min PB on the year before.  Next year I am hoping for 2hrs 30.   I got a HUGE high at about 15km (admittedly about the same time that "Proud Mary" came on the iPod) and it lasted until the end really.  What is it about runners highs? I dunno but it was bloody lovely and that bit where you push as hard as you can and you can miraculously still breathe and function is just bloody awesome.

Anyway - enough going on about nonsense - two or three weeks after this race is M7 which I do have a goal time for and know it is going to be super tough for me to get it, so there will definately be that "adrenaline squirting down the back of the legs" feeling at the start.  Then City to Surf and then Willy to Billy and today was asked to do half of 12 foot with someone in the dark and that will be soooooo fucking exciting I can hardly breathe thinking about it.  Woooooooo hoooooooooo.....!!!!!