The Blackmores Half - A Great Day Out

My recovery from the virus I copped two weeks ago has been painfully slow. In the days before the race I decided there was no way I was going to perform at my peak in this one, so Marlz (whose CR handle is Captain Smeg) and I decided we would go with the 2 hour pacer and see what happened.

We never reached the 2 hour pacer, but before we got to the start line CR Strikalite had introduced herself to us and ran with us. It wasn't long before Marlz & Strikalite had discovered a common interest in physics at which point the conversation went completely over my head.

We ran comfortably for the next 15K, but with 6 to go I knew it wasn't the day for me to be pushing any harder. The virus was making it's presence felt, and I knew it would be unwise to push any harder.

Still, I stayed with Marlz & Strikalite, using Monty Python quotes to rejoin their conversation (a sure fire way to communicate with nerds), and with 3K to go Belinda drew level with us.

This has become a recurring theme. For some reason it seems that we just keep finding each other at the pointy end of races, and this was a fine example. So with 2K to go Marlz and
Strikalite took off in an effort to go under 2 hours Belinda and I ambled in in 2:02:27. That last 2K was awesome. Firstly, the CR cheersquad are always a lift, but the course change, that takes you through Circular Quay in the last 2K is just spectacular. It struck me as a view that is a worthy reward for the pointy end of a 42.2Km race, so I guess the marathon is a distinct possibility next year.

Post race I had a blast. Marlz took off quickly and I hung around with NTR, getting pram running advice from Podrunner, meeting an ecstatic Plodbod, who had taken a whopping 5 minutes off her half PB and then joining the cheer squad gor a short cheering session.

Then the family arrived and we had a lovely post race pancake breakfast followed by some book, CD and DVD shopping. A great day out.

The recovery, unfortunately, has not been great.

On Monday afternoon I started vomiting and feeling very faint. The vomiting went violently for about six hours, but I'm still feeling very crook, and I'm still not up to work. The doctor is advising a slow, sensible return to training, but I'm not in a sensible phase at the moment. The diagnosis is "something viral."

So I'll have to see how I go. I'm hoping to be up for a light jog on Friday, and maybe a long run on Monday.