As most Brisbanites would now, yesterday was the annual ‘Bridge to Brisbane’ fun run. This was my first year participating. I finished 10km in just under 68 minutes, which is better than what I expected to manage. Prior to B2B I did a few 9km runs, and they took a bit over an hour (it was an approximate 9km based on Google Maps; plus I also walked a fair bit).
Despite the early start (got up at 4:30am, race started at 6am), which I’ve always considered to be the main “con” against taking part in B2B, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and can’t wait until next year. Going to aim to get closer to the one hour mark.
I was kind of surprised at how fast I was running at some parts of the course, dodging past people and over-taking the slower joggers. It’s an incredible feeling, though. Totally worth the soreness and stiffness (yeah, I probably didn’t stretch as much as I should have pre- or post-run).
The home stretch was definitely the best. Even though my feet were burning (in hindsight I’m surprised my legs hadn’t cramped up at all during the run (totally did not even think about it during the run) and I never even got a stitch), and even though it felt like my lungs were going to implode, I fully ran the last 200m or so. I don’t personally know what it’s like to have an asthma attack but, based on knowledge from others, I imagine it would be similar to how I felt running that last 200m.
Before I wrap up this post, just want to give props to all the volunteers and water people at B2B. Truly appreciate it. I reckon if, for some reason, I cannot take part in B2B, I’d definitely like to volunteer.
One of the promotional concept things they used for B2B this year was encouraging people to share their “reason for running” – whether it be as simple as burning extra calories or more deep and personal. I reckon I run for a number of reasons: for the health/fitness benefits, because I can be quite competitive, and for that incredible feeling of awesomeness that comes with intense physical activity.
pistachio conspiracy #63 