Out with the old, in with the new

...but first, a little of the "old" (so 2006) stuff to tidy up. TA and I fronted up for the CR5k on Saturday morning - the first time that she's been back there as a runner for a year or so. She ran with Ellie, and by all accounts they happily chatted triathlon stuff the whole way. In spite of aforementioned chatting, they still ran 28:55 (splits 6:19, 5:48, 5:29, 5:37, 5:38, 0:04 (17m)). I like the tale that those numbers tell. With the run home as well, that was both the fastest and the furthest that TA has run since the CC Half in Dec 05. She's feeling a bit stiff now, but that's far from unexpected.

I ran with Wayne & Ray (CRs Johnny Dark & Eagle) in JD's sucessful tilt at sub 21. We got to the 4k mark at about 16:30, and so when Ray suggested that I run on ahead, I decided to see if I could pull out a sub 4 minute k and get down towards the pb zone. I surprised myself again by only missing the pb by 3 seconds (splits - 3:56, 4:13, 4:07, 4:16, 3:50). Next month's run might be interesting :-).

And so to the new year. As part of my 6ft training, I ran the Black Stump Fat Ass run this morning. Having never seen it before, I had no real idea of how long I'd take, but judging by last year's results for people I know, I figured that 4:15 might be possible, 4:30 was probable. I didn't feel overly fast or powerful at the start, and after running the first couple of k with Rob (Mr WT), I suggested that he not hang back. Luckily, I just made it on to the first ferry (bit of a sprint for the last couple of hundred metres), but then a toilet stop ate up most of the time advantage I'd gained.

Somewhere along the leg out to the castle, I realised I was feeling good, and started to pick people up. The further I went, the stonger I felt, which I don't think is the way it is supposed to happen :-). I missed the ferry by about a minute, but used the time to fuel and hydrate - and watch all the people I'd passed catch up. Ah well, swings and roundabouts.

The last leg up the hill is ugly, ugly, ugly - absolute mountain goat stuff - but with the possibility of a sub 4 hour finish on hand, we pushed it pretty well. As soon as we reached the top, I opened up along the road. A quick calculation indicated that a 3:45 was even possible, and sure enough, I stopped the clock at 3:44:22. I don't often yell at the end of an event, but I let out a fair old bellow as I finished this time. That ranks up there with the CC half result last month, both in terms of how good I felt at the end, and the surprise I got with the time achieved. All up, a pretty good way to start a year. I may have mentioned in previous posts that I was having some difficulty drumming up enthusiasm for 6ft, but after today, I'm having difficulty no longer. :-)

And so, to a final look back. It's been a golden year for me, and a lead balloon year for tiger angel. From a purely running point of view, the best that could be said for her is that the year is over. And yet, it was a year in which we saw her guide the training of a growing number of friends, and started to see some of the concrete results of that effort in their lives; it was a year in which we learned (again) just how much can be achieved in the face of adversity; and once again we learned just how strong tiger angel really is.

What's 2007 going to hold for us? Dunno - that's God's problem. Our confidence doesn't have to be in our capabilities, but in his rock solid compassion. Bring it on! :-)

Gnome

p.s. I just looked at my stats for the year. According to the trusty Garmin, I ran 1989.4km in 2006. You'd think that I could have managed to fit in an extra 10.6 k run some time in those 365 days, wouldn't you...