14km | trail race | 85:37 I approached today's race with a fair bit of caution. Firstly that I've not run anything much over 10kms since the 1/2M in December, secondly that I have only done one trail race before, the 11.3km Nail Can Hill in Albury and lastly that this race came with a reputation as being tough. My objective was to run this race carefully and not to walk any part. I am very happy to report that whilst many walked the steep hills - I ran every one. My pre-race routine was unchanged. I dropped my Thursday run for a spin session and this morning had a shot of Red Bull (yes it gives me wings). I ran with new Strider Ken (Lastish on CR) for most of the way. Ken is a 6/12 Foot & Trailwalker survivor and it was great to chat about his experiences over the years. The trail was rather uneven and I was very conservative on the steep downhills compared to many. I am definitely more comfortable going up rather than going down these trails. Still, I managed to keep a good steady pace for the entire race and for that I was satisfied. The race (as I blogged 2 posts ago) goes up a hill, down into a gorge, up the other side. A bit of road, then into another gorge (maybe the same one ?), up the other side and finishes back at the start. Unfortunately my GPS dropped out at 4kms so I was pretty much in the dark as to where we were at. Lucky I had the experienced Ken with me as his guestimates were pretty spot on. Happy to report that the shins are OK apart from a little niggle on the right. So just a 1/5 on the Wobbly Man Shin Pain Scale™™ today. Mood: --->

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