Saturday 14 April 2012

Day 21.............Easy Land, But Hard Work!

A 50km run from just on the outskirts of Khancoban up and over Mount Black Jack. Now 50km is a fair run at the best of times, and I wasn’t really looking forward to it this morning, even though the land was easy going. I was tired, sore, and for some reason I had a little fear of the day ahead. Why? I don’t really know, but suspect that it was a combination of the above, and the conversation that I had with Charlie last night about packs of wild dogs and charging Brumby stallions in the area.

This can be a little scary at the best of times, but when you’re feeling like being snuggled up on the sofa with a cuppa tea and a packet of biscuits then the thought of encountering one of both of those things, make you whimper like a school girl. Plus it was a 50km out in the wilderness away from any form of road or house, and those days always make me a little nervous.

The day had little action it fact. The weather was grey and a little cold all day. The first 25km was mostly downhill with some undulation, and the second half mostly uphill with some undulation also.
I ran through Jagumba Station, and like most, the sign was Keep Out! I came across a four wheel drive with two guys dressed like soldiers, and they pull up alongside me, asked if I had permission to be on the land or had cleared it with Barry. No, but this is the national trail! They were actually nices guys just making sure that everybody on the property knew what was going on because they were dear shooting and didn’t want me becoming hunted.

The last 10km seemed to take forever. It’s really frustrating that the land was in a sense quit flat, comparable with what I had been dealing with, so why were my legs not coming to the party? I could have run that section on any weekend in just a few hours, and enjoyed every bit of it, but today things weren’t happening for me, the whole thing was a struggle.

The last 3km were the hardest. Every foot strike was a huge effort. 3km at worst would take me 15 minutes normal on this kind of undulation and terrain. I found myself cursing the land, cursing my Garman for displaying the right distance, and getting frustrated with myself for tripping over the tiniest of rocks. My language was brighter than the day had been!

I was so glad to finish, I just had one of those days were everything was a struggle, but based on the mileage I have behind  me and the rest I have in front. I guess not every run can be an easy one, even when the trails are easy!

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