It has been very hard to get back on track after my big race in December. I’ve been feeling a bit lethargic after the long triathlon and the well deserve rest planned for the Christmas break has been somewhat extended to my January holidays. Not that I haven’t been exercising at all, but I can’t call “training” what I’ve been doing. There is not much structure nor consistency. It is easier to have a routine when you’re working: early morning training, after work swim, lunch time run… all that is gone. I’ve been waking up later and the heat doesn’t help with lunch or afternoon runs. Tell me about getting off the hammock, where I’ve been lying down and reading, to drive to the pool for a swim session. It is hard!
Despite the laziness, I’ve managed to go for a few runs to be prepared for my January marathon. My body can tell that I’ve been on holidays and I’m predicting a slow 42.2 km this time. Anyway, regardless of my speed I needed to come up with a date and a course for the fundraising marathon number 8. It is going to be this weekend and in Canberra again. I wanted something different from the hills that I have explored in marathons 2, 4 and 6 so I decided to go south and run along the Murrumbidgee river, following the Murrumbidgee Discovery Track.
The plan is to start at Casuarina Sands, run south to Pine Island North and then come back, running just over 43km. Pine Island will also make a good “aid station” at the halfway mark as there is toilets and drinking water available there. You can access the official brochure of the Murrumbidgee corridor here, where there is a map of the region. I also created a running map following the Discovery track:
Planned route. You can check the details in the Mapmyrun link.
Yesterday I drove to Casuarina Sands for a 10 km run to check the course. I only explored the first 5 km of the track but was happy with what I saw. It is mostly a dirt track with quite a few steep but very short climbs and a few slippery descents that will require some focus but will also make the run more interesting. As a bonus, there are many spots with great views of the river and also places with direct access to the Murrumbidgee where I could refresh myself in case the day is too hot.
Fit it in one 