Wilson's Adventure Racing, Multisport & Triathlon Sanctuary

This just in! I got a time of 1:31:37 and 28th out of 1063 finishers for the 23km distance! =) Gotta be happy with that (legs still sore though!).


Finish line @ Apollo Bay.

I headed out on Saturday afternoon for the Great Ocean Road half-marathon. Doing the trip solo allowed me to live very cheaply for the weekend, and i could pack all manner of junk into the (beat-up) Charade without much worry. Check surfboard! Check pillow and sleeping bag! Check books! Check running kit! Check 1x grubby uni' student!

The Great Ocean Road Running Festival would incorporate four running events (five if you count the wheelchair race) over 6.5km, 14km, 23km, and 45km. I was up for the 23km 'half-marathon' which obviously was longer by two kms. But the organization kindly measures out the 21km mark near the finish, places a timing mat there, and provide runners with a finishing time for both an official half-marathon as well as the full 23km.

Drove in quite late and reached Apollo Bay around seven pm. Wandered around thinking of food but after seeing the cut-throat prices of the local eateries, decided to do some camp cooking. So, i assembled the ultralight methylated spirit stove set and proceeded to boil some water for my dehydrated pasta (a leftover packet from a trip i did last year). The water was boiled in a titanium cooking billy and i ate with a titanium spork - which is a combination fork and spoon -like utensil - yes, i am in love with titanium!


The chef is in the house - kitchen in background.

I ate my meal straight out of the packet. All i spent on for food that night was a 50-cent box of matches (i'd forgotten to bring my lighter!). Then i proceeded to hunt for a space to pitch my hammock, but to no avail.

So... i slept in the car... aaaaah! The wind and rain picked up sometime around 4 am, and all i can remember thinking at that time was "Boy, i hope it clears tomorrow in time for the start!"

Not a chance.

Sunday morning dawned grey and chilly as i boarded the shuttle bus to the half-marathon start line at Kennett River. I was pleasantly surprised to meet Julie Lau on the bus, and we chatted during the shuttle and while waiting for the start. In the light drizzle and gusting morning breeze, I prompted her to go on a warm-up run with me to wake up the muscles: that certainly felt much better than standing around getting cold. Just before the start the MC was calling for some guy called Luke Bell - ok not some guy... he's a pro triathlete living in Melbourne and i reckon he was doing this 23km as part of his build-up to the Hawaii Ironman (as I was).

Some guy called Steve stood on a platform at the race start and was dishing out some advice to runners and wishing them well. He then jumped right into the crowd, just as the starting gun went off.

The first climb in the opening 3km went by surprisingly easily. I knew this would be a matter of getting caught up in the 'start high', and had to keep control of things for when it would really count later. Then this Steve fella cruises up, striding very easily and overhauling a small group of us ever so slightly. I thought to myself:" Wow, this guy looks relaxed. I could go with him, but... nah, stick to my own game". I watched the long-sleeved-, beanie- and glove-clad Steve trot off into the fine drizzle with a couple of other guys latching on to him and trying to match his pace. Of course, i only found out later that Steve was none other than Steve Moneghetti, a brilliant Aussie runner and patron for the whole GOR Running Festival!

The run was bloody cold, to say the least. Lucky i had a long-sleeve wool thermal on. Rain was intermittent, but the headwind was another trouble maker. Lucky some tall dudes were trying to push the pace in the flatter, exposed sections, and so i took advantage of their efforts and drafted them for a fair while... haha! The advantages of being a shorty!

So far so good and i was keeping on a schedule of roughly 4 minute-kms. The lack of km markers did not help in the middle section of the run, but i felt strong and just used intuition more than anything else to dictate the run pace. From the energy management standpoint, i was on the money, even without a heart rate monitor or a pace counter thingy (such as the Garmin Forerunner 305 watch that Julie had). I was so glad to see the half-marathon timing tent, because that meant i had two options: either pull back and cruise the remainder of the run, or go all out for just a few more minutes! Chose the latter option and felt really strong coming into town. It was a great vibe and quite a number of spectators were out cheering runners to the finish.

After crossing the line, i warmed down and wait for Julie to finish her run. Feeling peckish (as i usually do), i bought a bag of crisps and a Nestle Club dark chocolate bar as a pick-me-up.


Julie and me with our finisher medals.

Later, i met Janet Miller and her friend Sharon (whom Janet ran the haf-marathon with) at the finish. Janet ran kinda easy accompanying Sharon for the 23kms, so she turned around to do another 10km to Skeene's Creek and back! Of course, she was training... daggy compression socks and all (according to her!). She definitely loves her triathlon more than i do!

Janet, before heading out for another 10 kms!

Janet and I later met around noon and as we waited for a couple of her friends to finish, she sat down with me and we talked about her experiences in Hawaii last year as an Ironman World Champs qualifier. As an Ironman Hawaii finisher in 2007, her words were like gold to me, and i could not thank her enough for helping a hack like me out! She uploaded a folder onto my computer full of photos and talked through each one, guiding me and advising me on course notes, places to go, and what to expect for October 11.


Ironman finisher Janet and Ironman noob me.

We also met her friends Mark and Karen (GOR full marathoners). Had a nice chat with them at the Apollo Bay 153 Cafe sipping on hot drinks and putting away hot food (i had a pasta bolognese).


A not-so-good shot of Janet and me chilling at the cafe.

Later on, as part of my recovery regimen, i tried surfing at two spots (one past Airey's Inlet, and at Bells Beach). both were getting too messy this late in the day unfortunately, and my meagre surf experience did not help. Breaks were too boily and i was also rather tired from the run. Could stand for only two waves before splashing down... ugh! I guess the only benefits i got were a foot reflexology session (Bells Beach has some pretty bruisy rocks under the coastline cliffs) and the cold water treatment for my achy legs. Guess it's time to head up earlier and fresher next time (I'm banking or the Torquay surf beach) to a more beginner-friendly spot to work on my skills. =)

La-di-dah... long solo drive back to Melbourne, singing to myself and nibbling on munchies. It was one more memorable weekend in the bank of memorable weekends in Australia!