Wenx’ World: On the Bridge to Brisbane
Okay, this race report is late, but – excuse me – I have been busy. Busy with eating to be precise. Let me start this story at the week before the race. I ran that week.
In fact, I had run a lot. That week had started with the GUPSA 10km prep in Gold Coast. Followed by 2 trail runs,a road run and a half marathon on my own just for fun. The day before race day, I ran a 5km race just to be social.
On race day, I was late. My legs had 60km and no rest day in them. My head was tired. Let’s say the night before included wine. 6 minutes to the start, I couldn’t find the GUPSA geeks, I pushed through through the crowd until I was nearly at the start line, noone found- and the start gun fired. So I ran. My mind imagined up-the-bridge as warm up and down-the-bridge as accelerator. By the time I left the bridge behind, I had left the pack behind me, too. It was just me and the road. And in my mind, that’s when the race started.
Running alone on empty streets feels like pure freedom. I put the middle line between my feet and felt like I was flying. I high-fived spectators and, running past, yelled ‘Coffee?’ to the aid stations. They laughed, I laughed, I kept running. My legs couldn’t stop, my pace was constant, I was super relaxed, my mind went into meditation, everything seemed a blur. Runners slowed down at the underpass and second bridge. My legs didn’t. Gravity pushed on the decline, dreaming of trails on the incline.
And then, suddenly, when the endorphines kicked in, I entered the finish area. It was over. Nowhere to run. Why was this already over? I felt like someone had just bought me ice-cream and dropped it. Emotional confusion.
One by one, the GUPSA geeks dropped into the finish area. Pictures, stories, high-fives, kudos. We headed into town together to have breakfast. And I swear, ever since then, I have just been eating! So this is what endurance sports do to you? 70 km in 8 days, and not that my body wanted to stop running, but it suddenly wanted steaks, muffins, coke, bananas and snickers – and I suddenly realised how running can be an expensive sport…
See you out there – Wenx
