The City 2 Surf has been on my bucket list and one of my Lululemon BHAGs (big hairy audacious goal) for a few years now. The 14km run from Sydney CBD to the iconic Bondi Beach is one of the most popular running events in Sydney, attracting thousands of people from elite runners to walkers with prams. For me, I wanted to run the whole distance including the infamous heartbreak hill, midway through the race.
2014 was my year to tick this off my bucket list. I'd stated seriously running since about September last year and coaxed the hubby into running alongside me, even though he's a faster/more experienced runner than me. (He's running the marathon in September).
Before September last year I didn't run at all. I refused to run, hated running and couldn't run more than 500m without getting out of breath. But everyone starts somewhere. So I started 3km laps: running as far as I could, then walking until I got my breath back, then continued running then walking. After a couple of weeks of this it got easier and the walking reduced until I was running 3km without stopping. After this, I started to increase my running pace and also slowly increased my distance gradually.
My view of running has done a complete 180. I enjoy it now, feel refreshed and get a good buzz from running. I was quite nervous last night about today's race, as the longest distance I'd ever ran was only 8km and I didn't do a lot of training in the weeks prior due to honeymoon and all other excuses I can pull out of the bag. Running 14km was going to be hard, and especially with all the hills, I was a bit unsure if I'd make it to the end or not. Plus I had 2 days off work sick due to a throat infection. But in true Bateman style, I didn't give up, kept my word about running all the way and made it past the finish line in under the time I had hoped for!
Garry was great company and also a great motivation, even if I did get annoyed at him during the race a couple of times. Only because I was jealous of how easy he found it and how comfortable he looked, while I was breathing heavily, couldn't talk and had a major stitch... Blah blah blah (insert poor excuse here) hahaha. It was great fun running with him, having him there to keep me company and keep my pace up. We started together and finished together :) can't wait to see the finish photos :)
My brother Rave was also a good sport and encouragement - finishing the race just shy of 60 minutes, he then stood road side to cheer us on as we entered the downhill stretch into Bondi Beach.
So I finally did it! I made it, 14km later, with a time of 1:25:25 according to Gaffa's Garmin watch. We were both busting for a toilet while we were waiting to start, but since we were right up the front in the Blue pack, we couldn't get to the porta-loos. So once we set off past the starting line, we stopped at the first available toilets just past the tunnel. Gaffa stopped his watch while we went to the toilet and restarted it afterwards. Our City2Surf recorded time was 1:27:31. Either way, it was under 90 minutes which is what I had hoped for, and will secure us a place in the green pack for next year's race if we decide to run.
My feet and legs are a bit sore but that was expected. It was well worth it, mission accomplished. Thrn we finished off with a yummy brunch at Henleys Wholefoods in Bondi Junction.
Now time to plan the next 6 weeks training for the Blackmore's 9km run across the Habour Bridge on 21 September which my awesome SIL has decided to run with me :) yay. And then training hopefully for Huski Sprint Triathlon in Feb 2015.... :) bring it on!!!
