It was hot hot hot for my run from Wangaratta to Milawa to Beechworth and back to Wangaratta this week. I wanted to do the other section of the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail (I did the main trail earlier this year, and I thought at the time that it would also be nice to run to Beechworth). The timing of the Melbourne to Wang train makes it feasible to stay the first night in Milawa with a reasonable run that afternoon.
When I got off the train at 3.15 in Wangaratta the heat hit me in the face. I thought, I can’t run in that! It was 33 degrees. I only took 600 mls of water for what I thought was a run of 16 kilometres. Turned out the trail distances are inconsistently described/marked to say the least. They seem to pick some arbitrary point to start measuring (it’s a secret) and don’t always use the same point. And the maps don’t agree with the trail signs. For the record I ran 20.2, 35.5 and 44.5 kilometres. I feel I must note how stupid I felt carrying a rain jacket and fleece all three days.
I was struggling with the heat from the beginning, allowing myself frequent stops but having to ration how much I drank. I ate all my lollies (not many) at my first stop. It was all very peaceful, lots of cows in the paddocks and not much other signs of life. It was certainly flat. When I got to Oxley I was absolutely delighted to find a little park with a water tap. Despite drinking enough I was still having to take walking breaks for the last 4 kilometres into Milawa. I had a nice evening in the pub. But I don’t think I rehydrated anything like sufficiently.
As soon as I started running the next day, at 7.30am, I was hot. I had hoped for a little time in cooler temps, but the sun was out and there was no wind. I took 1.6 litres of water. The first half of my run was on roads and I had prepared a little map, but it turned out the route was easy to follow. This part was pleasant with quiet scenery and again lots of cows. In my mind the run was divided into pre and past Everton, where I would join the rail trail; for some strange reason I thought the rail trail portion would be easier even though I knew it is all uphill.
In Everton I went into the general store and bought a bottle of Passiona, drinking it almost straight down. I was so hot. Then I had a few kilometres to reach the rail trail. I had a long sit at the trailhead. My day was over as far as my legs were concerned.
I ran and walked the rail trail as best I could, with frequent stops, preferably in the shade. There was no shortage of flies and they bothered me a lot more when I walked. Some of the trail was tree lined and some was totally exposed. Most of it was uphill but the grade didn’t bother me. I only saw two small groups of cyclists. I forced myself to keep going, with reducing stretches of running. When I reached Beechworth I went into the bakery and someone engaged me in conversation, telling me his son was a keen ultra runner, but when I opened my mouth to reply I had trouble getting any words out. The rest of the day I made more effort to rehydrate.
The third day felt to me like it started out cooler. I quite enjoyed the rail trail although it wasn’t all downhill. Strange, that. But once I got past Everton station I again felt cooked. I told myself I only had to get to Bowser, because I thought I could buy a snack and drink at the motel there if I was desperate but even that was 19 kilometres away. I had a lot of stops and ate my emergency muesli bar. There was a lot of debris on the trail - branches and dirt - and not a single bike. I even had a slight tailwind but it hardly seemed to help.
No comments:
Post a Comment