2023 - Noosa Ultra Trail 100km
If I had to plan my ideal 100km run, I would create a loop from my house, through Noosa Trail network. The route would consist of sections of easy road running, undulating fire trails, technical single trails and a few challenging climbs just for the fun of it. This is the Noosa Ultra Trail race in a nutshell.
Ready to roll! With Gary and Brad
Let's get the oven hot! I'm ready!
The past few weeks in Noosa have been hot and humid, so I was prepared for the same on race day. I wanted to see if I had acclimatised to the weather and had developed any new coping skills. My goal for the day was to stay "in the moment" or "in the flow," ignoring any negative self-talk about the heat or fatigue.
On the morning of the race, my friend Brad, who had flown in from Sydney to run the 50km, and I jogged the 2.5km from home to the start line. I was thrilled not to have to take a car or wake up any earlier than usual, just lace up the running shoes as any other day and let's go!
At the start line, I caught up with old and new friends. I was particularly proud of my training buddy, Gary, who was taking on his first 100km with contagious excitement.
The first couple hours of running went smoothly. Except for an early short climb, the rest of the route was a gentle rise on a smooth terrain. The heat started building up, and at every checkpoint from checkpoint 2, I ended up filling up my backpack bladder with water and drank copious amounts of coke and poured cold water on my head, face, and hands to cool my core temperature.
The next 20km out-and-back section to Kin Kin was my least favourite part of the course. It proved to be as challenging as I had remembered from the previous year. It was fully exposed to the sun, and my heart rate quickly climbed to high 160 bpm even when I was walking up the hills. Nevertheless, I stuck to my goal of staying in the moment and processed the increasing tightness of my abductor muscles, compensating for weak glutes, as a positive learning experience rather than a debilitating obstacle for the race.
Back at checkpoint 2 at 43km, I was welcomed by fantastic volunteers full of smiles and encouraging words, we exchanged a few jokes and I reloaded my backpack with all I needed to tackle the next 20km to checkpoint 3. In my opinion, that's the hardest section of the race, offering the biggest climb with a 3km section of relentless march up the rugged trail which takes the spring out of the legs for the downhill section which follows. This year I knew this section was coming up, so I mentally prepared myself not to resist it or complain about it, even though my abductors tendons were screaming at every step of the climb, and my heart was jumping off my chest. Thankfully the team added an extra water stop just before the climb, or I would have run dry before making the top. It was so hot that running that section at midday felt like 35-38 degrees.
I reached Checkpoint 3 at 64km and took a moment to cool down and freshen up with ice. It's funny how 36km left to run in a 100km race can suddenly seem like "just" 36km. I left with a big smile on my face and even made a "heel click" jump on my way out as a thank you to all the supporters cheering me on.
Over the next 23km to Checkpoint 5 at 87km, I managed to pace myself through the last few hills, walking and jogging as needed to maintain my focus. With the temperature dropping a little at Checkpoint 5, I let myself visualise the finish line and consciously extended my stride, picking up my pace to prepare for a strong finish.
Finally realising an 8.5-year dream, I was excited to run the last 2.5km to the finish line with my kids. As I crested the last incline before my street, all the neighbours were out cheering and the kids were jumping with joy and excitement. I have no words to express the amount of gratitude for them being there, they are indeed my second family and I am so touched by their friendship.
I ran the last two km with Lorenzo and Allegra in their Outruncancer green singlets, escorted by my best mate Steve and his 3 daughter on their bike. I was pumped and so were Lorenzo (8) and Allegra (6), as we ran at 5:10 pace! I know they are good runners, they proved themselves over and over again at Park Run and School Cross Country, but this was next level, truly, particularly for my 6 years old! I had to continuously pull her back on the effort, her eyes wide and smile of pure happiness.
As we entered the finish precinct, I could not contain my joy, and started to cheer from way out and to get everyone's attention at the finish line to raise up and cheer for my little champions as we sprinted together.
And my smile says it all.
While I was 25 minutes slower than last year, I felt I ran much stronger this year and paced myself well for the conditions, which reflected in my overall results, missing the podium by just 10 minutes. Next year, I'll ask the kids to run the last 5km with me at a bit slower pace, hopefully! :D
The past few weeks in Noosa have been hot and humid, so I was prepared for the same on race day. I wanted to see if I had acclimatised to the weather and had developed any new coping skills. My goal for the day was to stay "in the moment" or "in the flow," ignoring any negative self-talk about the heat or fatigue.
On the morning of the race, my friend Brad, who had flown in from Sydney to run the 50km, and I jogged the 2.5km from home to the start line. I was thrilled not to have to take a car or wake up any earlier than usual, just lace up the running shoes as any other day and let's go!
At the start line, I caught up with old and new friends. I was particularly proud of my training buddy, Gary, who was taking on his first 100km with contagious excitement.
The first couple hours of running went smoothly. Except for an early short climb, the rest of the route was a gentle rise on a smooth terrain. The heat started building up, and at every checkpoint from checkpoint 2, I ended up filling up my backpack bladder with water and drank copious amounts of coke and poured cold water on my head, face, and hands to cool my core temperature.
The next 20km out-and-back section to Kin Kin was my least favourite part of the course. It proved to be as challenging as I had remembered from the previous year. It was fully exposed to the sun, and my heart rate quickly climbed to high 160 bpm even when I was walking up the hills. Nevertheless, I stuck to my goal of staying in the moment and processed the increasing tightness of my abductor muscles, compensating for weak glutes, as a positive learning experience rather than a debilitating obstacle for the race.
Back at checkpoint 2 at 43km, I was welcomed by fantastic volunteers full of smiles and encouraging words, we exchanged a few jokes and I reloaded my backpack with all I needed to tackle the next 20km to checkpoint 3. In my opinion, that's the hardest section of the race, offering the biggest climb with a 3km section of relentless march up the rugged trail which takes the spring out of the legs for the downhill section which follows. This year I knew this section was coming up, so I mentally prepared myself not to resist it or complain about it, even though my abductors tendons were screaming at every step of the climb, and my heart was jumping off my chest. Thankfully the team added an extra water stop just before the climb, or I would have run dry before making the top. It was so hot that running that section at midday felt like 35-38 degrees.
I reached Checkpoint 3 at 64km and took a moment to cool down and freshen up with ice. It's funny how 36km left to run in a 100km race can suddenly seem like "just" 36km. I left with a big smile on my face and even made a "heel click" jump on my way out as a thank you to all the supporters cheering me on.
Over the next 23km to Checkpoint 5 at 87km, I managed to pace myself through the last few hills, walking and jogging as needed to maintain my focus. With the temperature dropping a little at Checkpoint 5, I let myself visualise the finish line and consciously extended my stride, picking up my pace to prepare for a strong finish.
Finally realising an 8.5-year dream, I was excited to run the last 2.5km to the finish line with my kids. As I crested the last incline before my street, all the neighbours were out cheering and the kids were jumping with joy and excitement. I have no words to express the amount of gratitude for them being there, they are indeed my second family and I am so touched by their friendship.
I ran the last two km with Lorenzo and Allegra in their Outruncancer green singlets, escorted by my best mate Steve and his 3 daughter on their bike. I was pumped and so were Lorenzo (8) and Allegra (6), as we ran at 5:10 pace! I know they are good runners, they proved themselves over and over again at Park Run and School Cross Country, but this was next level, truly, particularly for my 6 years old! I had to continuously pull her back on the effort, her eyes wide and smile of pure happiness.
As we entered the finish precinct, I could not contain my joy, and started to cheer from way out and to get everyone's attention at the finish line to raise up and cheer for my little champions as we sprinted together.
And my smile says it all.
While I was 25 minutes slower than last year, I felt I ran much stronger this year and paced myself well for the conditions, which reflected in my overall results, missing the podium by just 10 minutes. Next year, I'll ask the kids to run the last 5km with me at a bit slower pace, hopefully! :D
KEEN FOR A RUN AND A CHAT? |
|
PO BOX 110 Tewantin QLD 4565 AUSTRALIA - [email protected]