Blistering, alright – I can still barely walk.
Here I am – the goofball in the center wearing a white t-shirt.
In my last post I wrote about how I was deciding to enter the City-Bay fun run this year. Well, despite my absolute lack of current fitness, I did enter.
I’m realistic – I know I didn’t train for it so my expectations weren’t all that high.
I took the train to the city again this year and, as expected, it ran late. I don’t mind though. The train got me there by about 8 o’clock – just as the elite runners were setting off. You don’t really miss anything except some lame group warmup exercises. That sounds like too much preparation for my liking 
I jumped on the back of the pack and roughly 10 minutes later I was over the start line and running.
My legs felt good but my lack of recent running really caused me grief when I started to get blisters on both my feet. I just wasn’t used to running such distances lately.
Every step of the last 5 or 6 kms was painful and I eventually came in after 1:14:23. A whole 4 minutes slower than last year. Not bad considering I also had a bad cold. My throat and sinuses were congested and I could hardly swallow.
I also wanted to get a good finish line photo and so I made sure to look at the camera. Despite this, I looked like an absolute goofball in the photos – I don’t think I’ll buy any this year.
Screw trying to run it – next year I’m dressing up as The Phantom, the ghost who walks.
Thats an awesome picture…congrats on finishing the race
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sean Reply:
September 24th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
haha. Thanks at least you can see my face. In last year’s picture I was off to the side looking down.
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Maybe you would be quicker walking! I have never entered anything like this before and have never run so I walked!
1:18:43, mmmm, just over 4 mins slower than your “running”! And yes, I did only walk, unlike some walkers who ran some of the way I did not. 35th for my first 12k walk! I am happy with that.
Aside from everything else, congratulations on making the effort. It is good to see you get out there and do it. A little better next year maybe
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sean Reply:
September 25th, 2008 at 11:30 am
well done on your walk. Like I said, I got huge blisters on my feet by about the 6 – 7 km mark.
Believe me, it has an effect because I timed myself for each km and I was doing 5 min kms for the first half. That’s 1hr pace but then the blisters started to slow me. Hey, that’s my fault for not being accustomed to longer distances.
Also, I had a cold with lots of phlegm.
Not saying I could walk it in that time though. Well done.
It’s all relative, I don’t really care how many people beat me or I beat but I do hate watching little freak 6 year olds scream past me.
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Barry Reply:
September 25th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Hey Steve, did you find your finish line photo?
Is it good? Care to share?
Well done on participating. I’ve never but always wanted to.
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For Barry, my finish line photo is in the 9:35am to 9:40am and is number 157.
Just on the line with a white peak and black tank top.
Group M49
Ent. Num. 20008.
I have written a 4 page story on the leadup and day of the event if anyone is interested. Its a little to big to post here uninvited so will have to find some other way of distributing it if there is enough interest
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sean Reply:
September 25th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Just checked it out Steve. If you did want to purchase a copy, I can say the quality turns out a lot nicer than on the screen.
How did your group go?
If you did want somewhere to post your experience then you are welcome to do so on here if you don’t have anywhere else. I can create separate post for it.
Thanks for visiting.
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I have already put in a request to purchase a copy. I am sure it will look much better than on the web
I do not know what the results are for group M49 as they are not avaialable on the city-bay.org.au site until 6th Oct apparently.
I don’t have any external presance on the web these days so a place to post/display it would be good. Maybe you could have a quick read first to give me some feedback on its value for posting first might be good! Do you have a preffered format, doc, rtf or txt and where would you like it sent, posted?
TIA
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I read your other post about the actual race (you posted a good time, you’re faster than I am!)
I used to be a bit faster but I stopped wearing normal shoes because I was a heavy heel striker – by going to a minimal shoe, I have to run properly, and while a bit slower, it’s much easier on my old body!
This is what I wear:
http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/
Call me crazy, but no blisters, no pain at all, and I’m a sturdy fellow (200 lbs.) – you never know, maybe it’s the shoes!
-Brett
Brett Legrees last blog post..the thing that should not be.
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sean Reply:
September 25th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Yeah, it definitely was my shoes – they’ve never felt right since I’ve had them. My blisters were just behind the balls of my feet.
Those… what are those? look interesting. How are they at absorbing the shock of running? They don’t look very padded.
I’m not going to run on hard surfaces anymore – too hard on the joints. I don’t have any joint problems but I’m keen to avoid them!
I used to run barefoot on the soft sand. Much harder but easy on the joints.
Thanks for visiting again Brett. Keep up the writing. It’s great.
Sean.
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I saw those about 18 months ago on a barefoot running site. I became interested in it after reading a very good paper by an Australian sports doctor. His conclusions were that the cushioning provided by most modern shoes only changed the perceived impact on your body, so they might do more harm than good if you had poor form (which I did).
I ordered a pair of Fivefingers immediately! The barefoot running site’s owner regularly runs 100 mile races in things like that, or sandals. I thought there had to be something to it.
So in a nutshell, they have no padding at all. They just keep the glass and sand out of your feet. With proper form, you can learn to run in them and not feel any shock at all. The arch of the foot acts like a shock absorber, as I’ve learned.
I actually run on pavement with these and have no problems with my legs or feet. Bear in mind, I had to start slowly and build up strength in muscles that didn’t have any conditioning.
After a few months, though, I’ve had no problems running for an hour or so on pavement.
I agree with you wholeheartedly – do whatever you can to avoid injuries.
Thank you, Sean – I enjoy writing very much and plan to make it my trade eventually. Keep doing what you’re doing here too – it’s fresh and funny.
-Brett
Brett Legrees last blog post..the thing that should not be.
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City-Bay 2008 wrap up | Sean Bennett // Sep 29, 2008 at 9:21 pm
[...] so I already posted about my run the other day but there were a couple of things I needed to mention before I can move on. Overall, [...]
Hahah, you look very ecstatic to finally finish the race – a lady on the right seems to be giving you a look of amusement.
But yes, I know that for the City to Surf here, they take quite a few photos of people who dress up … so perhaps you should actually dress up as a ghost next year!
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sean Reply:
October 5th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
haha, yeah I was pretty happy to finish but I was a bit annoyed by how many people were around me. It’s just random really but last year I was in a bit of a gap and there wasn’t as many people around.
This year, I was weaving in and around people to get kind of near the centre when I crossed the line to try and setup my finish line photo. lol.
Have you done the City to Surf? How far is it?
I’m (almost certainly) going to dress up next year.
cheers for visiting and leaving a comment. Sean.
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