The lead up to this year’s Coastal High was going quite well until I aggravated my knee at the Yarrabilba Trail fest a few weeks before. Since then, I had been mainly in maintenance mode, trying not to upset it further.
The night before my crew and I stayed up in a gorgeous little lodge in Springbrook. We had all been shopping during the week and the house was stocked with enough supplies to last us a week, not just 2 nights! There was a part of me that was more excited for the VIP after party then the actual race lol We all followed our usual pre race routines and decided to try and have an early night to get a few hours of good sleep before waking up at 2am. For two of the girls, this was their first 50km and they were nervous, but I felt strangely calm. I figured that nothing could be as bad as last year’s effort and I am much stronger and fitter than last year too. I had also planned out my race nutrition, using Tailwind throughout the course and alternating on the hour with ½ a honey sandwich and ½ a banana. I slept as well as I could, being in a strange bed next to someone I had never slept next to before! Around 12.30am I woke up to the sounds of a massive wind and rainstorm outside. A quick check of the BOM site showed a huge body of water coming across, and a bit of fear set in as to what the racing conditions would be the next day. My alarm went off at 2am, and we all quickly got up and did our own morning-of rituals and finishing packing our packs before getting to the finish line (where we picked up our bibs and got the bus to the start line) at 3.40am. There was debris all over the road on the drive there and I was more than a bit worried on the bus. We had been getting text messages from the guys staying at the start line saying that it was freezing and blowing a gale! We arrived up at Binna Burra just as it was getting light. We dropped off our finish line drop bags and then stood around trying to keep warm and chatting amongst ourselves. A beautiful didgeridoo performance started off the event and then before we knew it, it was time to start. The weather turned out to be perfect, not a drop of rain and warmed up nicely for the rest of the day. My game plan was to hike any downhill bits and run flats and uphills (where possible). My goals were: A) start uninjured (failed), B) finish, C) beat last year’s time of 10:18 and D) don’t come last. The beginning of the race was a downhill road section and so I started off hiking and was instantly last by a long shot. I just kept reminding myself that this was just a training run for Blackall in 6 weeks and that I had a plan to stick to. We quickly detoured off the road and went down a steep track before turning up a fire trail. My first bit of uphill and I ran it nice and comfortable. I ran a bit of the uphill road section (staying on the grass) back past the starting line and then hiked the rest of it until we got to the top of Binna Burra and the beginning of the Border track trail. Some more gentle uphill and I was running it nicely, not too fast but sticking to my cadence and it felt great. About 5km, I felt the slightest niggle in my knee but thought it was just warming up to the running part (as I hadn’t run much the last few weeks). We quickly got to a long slightly downhill section so I hiked through that part and had my first ½ sandwich. I was running some of the flat sections when I realised the niggle in my knee was more than a niggle and was actual pain when I would try to bend it. This came as a disappointing shock to me only 6km in to a 50km ultra. I decided to just run the uphill sections then and hike the downs and flats. Turns out in the first half of the course, not so many uphills! Around 10km I made the decision to strap my knee to limit how much it was bending and kept going. This was where my training had paid off, as I was strong on the uphills and easily passing people, who then passed me on the downhills. I had a lot of strange looks and questions as to why anyone would actually run the ups??? I explained that these were the only bits I could do without pain so I was making the most of them. My downhill hike was actually a great pace too and I easily kept up with a number of people on sections who were running them. I questioned whether I should pull out at the first checkpoint at 25km but then reminded myself that this was just a training run, so I could just take it nice and easy. I regret this decision. Around 16km or so I came across one of my friends who had twisted her ankle badly and was struggling with pain and emotions. I asked if I could do anything to help and she declined and said she would get to the checkpoint and decide from there. I got to the first checkpoint in just under 4hrs, which was 40 minutes quicker than when I had hiked that section the weekend before, so I was happy with how I was tracking so I re-filled my hydration bladder and away I went. The next part of the track is by far the steepest hill I have ever run and was my undoing last year, and I’m sad to say it contributed to the undoing this year. It was a very slow process trying to get down that section with a straight leg, but at least this year it was strapped tight. By this time I had developed a strange cowboy-esque way of getting down some downhill sections by keeping both legs straight and pushing out my pelvis and kind of wide-leg waddling down. Sounds bizarre and it was, but it worked for a lot of it. I got to 30km in just over 5hrs, which gave me 5hrs to do the last 20km in order to get under 10 hours. Through this section, I got chatting to a lady who we had been passing each other in the first half and found out she had taken someone’s entry at the last minute and hadn’t really trained for it. I told her she was doing great. I explained that last year I was so injured I shouldn’t have started but I somehow managed to keep going and finished, so if I could do it then so could she. She looked at me closely and asked, “Are you part of Running Mums Australia?” I answered that I was and she exclaimed “OMG my daughter showed me your race recap a few days ago and I had tears! You are amazingly determined and look here you are doing it again”. WOW! I was blown away. Thank you sweet lady, I hope you finished strongly xox I came across the first deep creek crossing at the beginning of the road section, and I gracefully fell in up to my waist! Getting out and it felt like my shoes weighted 5kg from all the water in them. But I said a big hi to my friend Susan who was volunteering at that crossing and then kept moving along the road. I saw my gorgeous friend Jo at the next water crossing and her big hug was wonderful. I reached the 2nd checkpoint in Numinbah Valley at 33km in 5:33 so I was still happy with how I was moving in spite of my knee pain. I stopped for the toilet and pulled a stomach muscle trying to go (ouch!) which told me that I was getting dehydrated in combination with the Nurofen I was taking for my knee. I filled up one of my small front bottles with some caffeinated Tailwind, grabbed a handful of plain salted crisps (OMG these were the bomb!!!!!!!) and then away I went. I started running up the next section of Chester’s Rd, a fire trail before the next few nasty hills but by this time it was the middle of the day and getting really hot, so I decided to conserve my energy for smaller uphills. I was still power hiking and managing to pass people on the uphills, before they would pass me on the downs again. I fell into step with a lovely woman who turned out to be the one who handed me my finisher’s shirt and medal last year. She said though I’m sure you don’t remember. Um, nope. Sorry lol But it was lovely to chat with her along the way. She would get some ground on me on the downs and then I would catch back up on the ups as she was getting tired. The second downhill in Numinbah (affectionately known as Zombies) at 39km was my real undoing. I started to experience golf ball cramps in my legs and it was really tough to get down that part. At the top of the fire trail, 2 rangers had opened the gate and I could have kissed them from relief so I didn’t have to climb over it! They asked if I was ok and offered me a ride, and damn I was tempted but I sadly declined and kept going. My friend who twisted her ankle caught up to me at this point and was going so strong. At the first checkpoint one of the volunteers had strapped it so she couldn’t feel anything, and she had been powering on since. I was so happy for her and wished her luck. As we got to the last creek in Numinbah, another lady hiked past me with her knee freshly strapped and we commiserated with each other. By this point, it was just about gritting your teeth and powering on. I reached the infamous Apple Tree Park steps (all 920+ of them!), picked up 2 long sturdy sticks to use as poles and marched up them. About half way up, I came across the lady with the freshly strapped knee and she was crawling up each set of stairs on her hands and knees. I asked if I could do anything to help and she gritted her teeth and said no, she couldn’t stop. I hear ya sister! I got to the top of the stairs and checkpoint 3 at 43km in 7:57, which gave me just over 2hrs to do the last 7km. I had a moment where I considered pulling out but then thought screw that, I haven’t stubbornly put myself through all that pain to now just give up. The chance to pull out was 18km ago; suck it up Rhiannon you’re going to finish! I ran into a guy that I had been tag teaming along the way and he asked me incredibly please don’t tell me you just ran up those stairs like all the other hills we saw you run up?? Ha ha, no way, my knee is done, power hiking only! I asked the volunteer to strap up my knee nice and tight, filled up my bladder with water and added some Tailwind powder and away I went. The next section heading down the lowest valley in Purlingbrook was pretty tough but I just took it easy. Someone gave me some salt tablets as they passed me for the cramps that were threatening to start again, and I started munching those things like tic tacs lol Once I was in the bottom, I only had about 4km to go and it was mainly up. I felt a blister come to the surface on my left heal and a stinging searing pain but I wasn’t stopping now. I don’t get blisters when I run, only when I walk as my stance and foot strike change. I powered on with a fresh determination and a goal to see if I could get in under 9:30. I messaged my husband to see how he went and he smashed his original goal and came in 7:03. I am so proud of his achievement, even if I won’t ever hear the end of it lol I messaged my crew to let them know I was a 1.5km from the finish and to make sure there was at least one drink left for me and kept going. I ended up passing more people in the last few kms and came around the finishing corner and up the chute, finishing at 9:33. I had a fleeting moment where I thought I should run the last bit but quickly pushed that out of my mind and opted for smiley face walking instead lol I am very disappointed that my knee went so early, and I’m still at a bit of a loss as to why. I guess that’s something for Dave and I to work through in our next session. And I have to say; I am disappointed in myself for not making the decision to pull out when I could at the 25km checkpoint. I told myself that I wouldn’t run injured this year and yet the determined and stubborn Rhiannon won over the sensible and reasonable Rhiannon yet again. That is something that I need to work more on evidently. But that aside, given all that happened, I am incredibly happy with how I handled the race itself and the outcome. Overall, it turns out I was only able to run about 6-8km of the whole race, however I smashed last year’s time and beat about 20 people and got a sub 10hr, so I achieved all my goals that I set out to, even though the execution of it didn’t go as planned. To me it was obvious that my personal training with Drew from PT Direct 2U, my weight training in the gym and pilates, as well as my training program from my awesome physio Dave all contributed to giving me the strength I had to get up those hills at such a strong pace. When I check my stats in Strava, I am consistent in my times throughout the whole 50km even when I was resorted to only hiking. I stunned a lot of people out there with hiking pace as well as my speed on the uphills. I can only imagine what the outcome might have been had I not been injured and I’m excited to put that to the test again one day. I felt strong throughout and had the energy to keep going, even if the knee was giving up. Last year, I remember getting to the 2nd checkpoint absolutely devastated that I physically couldn’t run anymore and crying at the volunteers, asking them if it would still count if I walked the rest of the way. Whereas yesterday, I was like “woooo go me, I only ran about 6-8km of my ultra, I’m killing it!” It’s funny how your perception of things changes hey? My beautiful crew all did amazingly well, smashing PB’s and popping their ultra cherries like the badass chicks that they are. Our VIP after party turned out to be a food fest but it was the best way to finish an epic day. So again, it didn’t play out how I had hoped and I still feel like I have some unfinished business with Coastal High 50. What’s that they say, 3rd time is a charm?
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RhiannonMy Race Reports Archives
May 2017
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