There could only be one topic up for discussion in this week’s post…
the 2019 Sydney City2Surf. Despite the horrible weather this weekend (I was afraid Saturday’s fierce winds would be making a repeat appearance for race day), the sun (eventually) found its rightful place high in the sky and promptly got that sky to get with the programme and show us some clear blue.
I ended up running a good minute over last year’s time and while I’m disappointed, I had a good race.
- I felt comfortable all the way through.
- Heartbreak Hill wasn’t as painful as last year.
- I even had enough left in the tank to get some negative splits happening for those final four kilometres.
- I ranked pretty well for my age group.
I’m also happy with the fact that my preparation was more balanced than last year. I’ve paid close attention to stretching and included lots of yoga, foam roller exercises and other forms of stretching into my program each week. So yes, would have liked a faster race time but I’ve set myself up for a more sustainable life as a weekend warrior runner with the other forms of training I now do regularly
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| Not a bad spot for a bit of post-run stretching, yoga and a bit of a lie down. |
It will be the 50th anniversary of the race next year. Of course I’ll be in and I’m aiming to shave a couple of minutes off this year’s time.
Like everyone else who ran the race in Sydney this weekend, I’ve been busy obtaining full mileage from being part of the world’s biggest fun run. I ceremoniously packed my green plastic bag with finish line essentials and dropped it off at the designated stall at the pre-race exhibition. There’s a sense of this event bringing people together for the common purpose of spending a fun morning running together. Say what you like about the havoc it reaks on traffic and public transport, but City2Surf is one of those annual events here that makes practically everyone smile. That can only be a good thing in a city as big as Sydney.
And then the obligatory stop at Maccas afterwards to begin carb-loading for the big day.
Are you really carb-loading unless your dinner the night before the race involves pasta?
I had mine with homemade meatballs using this amazing recipe.
Race day wouldn’t be race day without the sight of hundreds of runners rugged up in a mish mash of old jumpers, scarves and bathrobes to insulate themselves from the starting line cold. I even saw a man with his legs wrapped in Glad Wrap on the train.
There’s such a lovely sense of community and kindheartedness about this run. Everyone’s so friendly and up for a chat. From the volunteers, to the public transport staff who cheerfully wave you through the free ride gate, to the other runners and random strangers you strike a conversation up with by virtue of your wearing a race bib and medal.
There’s a tradition that all the jumpers and other layers that get flung off at the start get collected up for donation to charity. This year, many runners placed their unwanted clothes neatly on top of the safety fences instead of just tossing it to the ground.
After the run, it was time to make my way home in a roundabout way due to road closures and changes to bus routes in place because of the race.
That first cup of coffee post-race tasted especially good.
Found myself a new Vinyasa wrap at Lululemon on my travels too.
As well as various food samples.
I didn’t quite make it to any of the race recovery parties that were happening at Bondi Beach but I did have the next best thing for lunch.
As you know, I have this thing for Dr Oetker frozen pizza. Especially when they’re topped with extra stuff.
Pizza and salad plated up, chopped strawberries added to that single serve of prosecco – this old duck then settled down for an afternoon having a chuckle over the satirical news sites’ coverage of the day.
It was a little too close to the bone….
