STaR Struggles

Today saw my long run with the Strider STaR North Head run, starting in Clontarf, working it's way along the Balgowlah Heights shoreline to Manly, around North Head and up past the beach to Queenscliffe, through Fairlight and up into Manly Vale and North Balgowlah past Manly Reservoir, into Seaforth and back to Clontarf.

I had the pleasure of picking up Mister G and Johnny Dark, who was making his STaR debut today - it seemed at once odd and familiar to see him in the white and emerald singlet.

We had had my partner's brother and his partner over for dinner the previous night. I'd had too much white wine, four cheeses pasta and my partner's trifle, so I hadn't bothered getting up at 3am to get something to eat, and when the alarm went at 5 I wasn't feeling fantastic.

This stayed with the me through the run. I had to make a quick visit to the toilet on arrival at Clontarf, and again at Manly Hospital. I'd set out with my usual 6:10am group (with the usual suspects), and fell quite a way behind with my unscheduled stop there. I ran 4km in 16 minutes over one loop of the Striders' North Head 10km course, and on a humid morning it stung, and I continued to feel it all the way through the run.

I still felt fairly ordinary at the finish and had to go to the toilet on arrival at Clontarf, plus make a quick stop on the drive home. I was able to eat some fruit and drink a tin of Coke, which helped a little - I didn't touch my gel through the morning. I've had a nap this afternoon plus eaten some protein and fat, and am feeling better now.

Still, I managed to run out the full distance. I have to go by the distance of 29.2km as per the map, as the Garmin added in two bonus kilometres at about the 6km point for some reason. This gives me my first 100km week (100.4km to be precise), and well into my first 300km+ month (323km to date, and on track for 400+km by month's end). I've held up okay - don't seem to have any significant issues, and my feet are gradually coming good.

This week will be an interesting one, with my second venture to Six Foot Track coming on Sunday. We're doing the full length, so that'll be a tough 45km to finish the month with.

I've got a little 10km recovery jog planned tomorrow, and, to echo a theme, it is of course raining....