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It’s been a month since my last blog and boy, has my life been different!!
I got the results of my MRI scan through. I didn’t thoroughly understand what the outcome was but I did understand what I was told to do. NO RUNNING!! (and giving up on this years goal) You can imagine how my heart sank when I heard this. I was then presented with a bundle of paperwork describing in detail what I COULD do. It went like this: For the next month focus on aqua-jogging! No running or walking for exercise. Let pain be your guide. If you do anything that hurts, don't do it!
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Driving the last few kilometres before arriving at the race start, the nausea began. The last race I went to, my boyfriend drove and I was passenger. I get travel sick, and blamed the winding, country roads for my nausea. On Saturday April 1st, I was designated driver on the way to Mavora Lakes for 'Lap the Lake'. Clearly this is not related to driving! As with all the races I've recently taken part in, which is not many, the setting was spectacular . The first half of each lap followed a gravel road meandering down the centre of a wide, sweeping valley between lush, green mountains. After about 5km it turned right onto a foot path, passed a 'halfway' checkpoint and crossed the first swing bridge to the other side of the lake. From there, the trail became thin, undulating and pretty technical. The majority of the second half is inside the forest and pops out a couple of times into fields of waist-high grass. At the very end of the lap you cross another swing bridge before entering the main check point/start/finish area ready to go again! One of many to come fundraising events in a school dress!!!
Big Easy????? What the #@%&!!!!!!!!!
Big, yes. Easy, no!! If you are looking for a real adventure marathon in New Zealand, then this is the race for you to enter. It has everything... punishing uphills, even more punishing downhills (20kms!), beautiful views as far as the eye can see, fantastic marshals, a gorgeous river run to finish, tonnes of brilliant spot prizes, and best of all, free beer as soon as you finish! I really enjoyed this marathon. There was about a 13km section where there was no enjoyment, but for the rest of it, and definitely after, it was nothing less than amazing. Sometimes I find it hard to describe in words how incredible something is. There are only so many words to describe something beautiful, and I'm not good with words at the best of times. So, I have put together this small video which I think sums up the whole event pretty well. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask any questions or write any comments below. BIG EASY from Emma Timmis on Vimeo.
For more information about the marathon, check out their website.
And if 42.2km is not enough for you, well, they do a 100km race too!!!  After not running in any races for many years due to my nerves, I decided recently that I needed to overcome my fear so I could compete again. Taking on a mental challenge can often be harder than a physical one but sometimes with more rewards afterwards. I did some research and picked out a few key points to help me. Below are three short videos to show the main tips that I used to overcome my nerves before the Queenstown marathon. When race day came round I felt confident and calm. Take a look... Tip one - Familiarise yourself with the route and area.
Advertised as 'Flat out beautiful' they aren't lying! Well, about the beauty anyway! The multiple times when I was struggling throughout the marathon, I would look around and be in awe of the beautiful environment. Those magnificent mountains, winding rivers and shimmering lakes can distract from the most exhausted legs.
Before the day of the marathon came round I already felt very confident that this was going to be a great event. Each participant has access to a personalised copy of the route map with target times at various locations during the marathon (above pic). You can also get a wrist band with your expected times at certain distances which you collect from the very well constructed athlete 'check in' the day before. All of the organisation seemed really smooth so at least all my worries and anxiety were only based on my own actions.
 I don't know about you but the thought of running more than 6km is pretty painful to me!
So, increasing the distance of my weekly runs, to train for a long event, is pretty daunting until I apply this process that has worked for me a number of times. |
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