Run 64. Roller Coaster Road. 24/12/2019.
Pre Christmas run. Started out as a simple flat run around outer Torquay and seemed an easy way to build into the Christmas break. About the most interesting aspect of the first 10 km was finding a new rubbish disposal depot and having my hat blow off – riveting stuff. But my decision to turn left onto Duffields Rd brought the run to life. This road was all up, except for the downs, and of the 2km of length, I estimate that only 58cm was actually flat.
My desire to keep my speed at a reasonable level meant my heart rate jumped into the highest band and by the time I got to the top of the last hill I was starting to struggle. Fortunately for me Duffields Rd intersects with the Great Ocean Rd and at that point it heads downhill to the beach. This gave both me and my heart a bit of time to recover before enjoying the leisurely run back along the coast to home.
Then my second heart raising opportunity occurred. I met up with my daughter, Eliza and Gabby who were also out for a run. Having run with them for a few minutes they pointed out that my wife was about 400m in front of us and they set the challenge for me to catch her before we got home. It did not matter to me that my wife was on a recovery run after a long ride the day before – the race was on, only she didn’t know it.
I finally caught her and we ran the last bit together – nice. But I did notice that Kipchoge didn’t run with his wife when he broke the 2 hour mark. Ran a 1:50:20.
My Three Learning.
World records appear to happen more often when not running with your wife.
Up and down is fun on a roller coaster – not on a run.
Dull runs can turn interesting very quickly.