Training Log Archive: Craig

Amy wanted to have a play at the school playground so I took Liam as well to play a bit of tennis. Had a bit of a hit at the school then wandered over to the tennis club to enquire about joining. Met quite a few friends there and ended up joining in a couple of doubles games while Liam played with some school friends. Kind of forgot that I was crippled for a while.

Event: Oxfam trailwalker Perth
 

Oxfam Trailwalker with Sophie, Ian and Rachel.
This hurt much more than the rogaine I did with Steve.
Will try to write more later when I can find the words to express how great the rest of the team was.

Sophie was the driving force behind the team from the original idea to crossing the finish line. I don't think anyone who knows Sophie would be surprised to hear that she remained positive, smiling and effusive in her praise of others throughout but I was surprised at just how strong, tough and determined she was. The only time she wasn't at the front was when she was looping back to say a cheerful hello to a suffering teammate or jogging to catch up from her umpteenth toilet stop. I would have had no idea how sick she was feelings before one of said toilet stops if she hadn't told me with a cheerful smile. I remember her mentioning blisters as a reason to prefer running to walking pretty early on but I don't think she mentioned them again so it was quite shocking to see the size of her blisters at the end. She is one tough lady. The main thing that sticks with me though is her joy at being out there on the trail running a bit of rocky single track or spotting an orchid that Leida would love.

I think Ian was just as keen as Sophie but obviously more concerned about his ability to keep pace with the rest of the team. On the first stage this was no problem but as the track got rougher on stage 2 Ian's knee started to give him some trouble and he would drop back whenever there were rocks or logs to negotiate. I was pretty worried that he wasn't going to make it leaving the team unable to continue independently unless Rachel's feet were miraculously cured. It was obvious from his movement that he must be suffering but you would never have guessed it from his demeanour and eventually his calm assurance put my mind at ease. I walked behind Ian through the early part of the Eagle view trail and saw how hard he had to work to drag himself through the rocks with a knee that couldn't take any load while flexed. I thought this might break him but he never complained and once out of the rocks it was inspiring to see him go straight back to powering up the hills with just the occasional involuntary flinch from the pain when he bent the knee too much. I know he had doubts internally but externally he never wavered for a second and was strong right to the end. Seeing how swollen his knee was afterwards I don't know how he did it but it was never in doubt.

We would not have made it without Rachel. After failing to find a replacement we needed Rachel to do the first leg or we wouldn't be allowed to start. I really thought she would struggle to get through the first stage and would be unwise to attempt the second but she was more concerned that once she started she would be unable to make herself stop. At the last moment our support person got sick enough to be confined to bed and we faced the prospect of doing it unsupported until Rachel decided that she would definitely pull out at Darlington if not before and switch to a support role for the second half. Rachel breezed through the first stage and danced off ahead with Sophie down the rocky singletrack at the start of stage 2 clearly enjoying the experience. She seemed to handle the first couple of stages so comfortably that I wondered if she should keep going in case Ian's knee got worse. When I asked how her feet were she seemed to downplay it but something about her tone made me take a closer look at her stride and I could see she was already limping but no way was she going to stop before Darlington. I suspect she would have made it all the way if she hadn't prearranged to stop but I think it was best for all of us that she did stop.
The next stage was the shortest and we weren't really expecting Rachel to have time to get organised to meet us there. It was a huge boost to see her there and a real game changer for Ian as it allowed him to change shoes before the long tough eagle view trail stage. He never gave a hint of it at the time but later admitted that he was ready to pull out at that checkpoint if Rachel hadn't been there with a smile on her face and chairs set up next to his bag ready for a quick shoe change. The three of us spent half of the next stage talking about how wonderful it was (I think the word angel was used more than once) and planning her nomination for best support person. The goal of reaching John Forrest before our Little Caesers pizzas got cold was an even bigger motivation than staying ahead of Brian's team that we had passed at the last checkpoint. Coming into the checkpoint to such a great welcome and seeing 4 pizzas laid out on a table for us was almost overwhelming. The pizza was still warm and tasted so good it may have backfired a little as we probably ate a bit too much but it was great for the spirits. Again at the last checkpoint Rachel was there with exactly what we needed, this time a drink of coke that Sophie had been craving since her bad patch along with the smile and encouragement and instructions to help us through the checkpoint efficiently. It very much felt like she was with us as an essential part of the team right to the finish.

Me? I was just tagging along to make up the numbers and hoping I wouldn't be the one to break down. I enjoyed the company and the feeling of achieving a goal with a group of friends but I'm not sure the ultra long stuff is really for me. The first half was pretty comfortable and I would have happily run a lot more of this. In the second half it started to hurt in many places and progressively got worse but without ever feeling as though it was going to stop me from being able to keep up. Outside of left knee (ITB) and right arch/top of foot were the worst. Quads just gradually getting sore all over. On the positive side the left hip and back of the right knee that bothered me after the rogaine didn't give me any trouble at all.

I think Rachel and Sophie should get together for some shorter runs on the bibbulmun track or eagle view trail as they seem to get a similar joy out of running the narrow rocky trails. To me the rest of it just seems to detract from the enjoyment of the fun bits.

C • Sleep well 26