Mummy, my legs hurt

Near Blackheath, NSW Distance: 6.8km Duration: 2.5 hours Today we explored Fortress Lookout and the well-hidden Dr Dark's cave. Although the kids alternated between 'I hate life' and 'bush walking is awesome', they did great on this very steep and scrubby track! Heading along Mt Hay road we parked at a small parking area signposted as Fortress Ridge. Through a locked gate and up a steep rocky fire trail was Fortress Ridge Trail proper. At the end point of this track is a breathtaking vista, with the ground covered in scratchy low heath that slopes down gently -then all of a sudden you realise you're on the edge of a sheer drop, so don't let the kids run ahead on this bit! There are magnificent views down into the Grose valley and down to your left in the picture below you can see the (smallish) Medusa falls which I believe flow into Arethusa canyon. Backtracking from the lookout, keep your eyes peeled for the nondescript side trail to D...

I had been pretty nervous going into this race - I knew I'd picked a mentally challenging one for my first road marathon. And with the combined forces of some stressful restructuring going on at work plus a few overuse injuries starting to appear after the Run Against Violence, my training had been pretty light on for the past few weeks (or should that be months?). But there were also lots of things about this one that made it easy - it was very close to home, I knew the course, it was dead flat (although that's good and bad!), and lots of friends would be there running, supporting and spectating. Mostly I was worried about the heat but luckily on the day it was a little cooler than it could have been. Still warm, but not crazy-hot. That bloody wind however!! Gusting up to 50km/hr it wasn't so much fun as the day wore on. The 'A' plan for this race (a very far fetched A plan I might add) was to aim for a 4 hour finish in order to qualify for Mt Solitary Ultra ...

Near Leura NSW Distance: 4.1km return Duration: 2 hours After a failed attempt to do this walk on my birthday in July - failed because Richie was on crutches at the time - we returned on Fathers Day to give it a crack. With the sun shining and the wind howling we set off from the very end of Mt Hay road at Leura. This track is well marked with open low scrubby heath so you can see well off into the distance to the squat, dome-shaped Mt Hay crouching ahead. With the short people in tow we took our time as usual, and there were only a few patches where the bushes were so sharp and overgrown that I had to lift Holly up and over them. Some interesting features including a rock ledge to scramble up and some short eroded rock formations that made for a great perching spot for Ty to lean into the strong wind. The climb up to Mt Hay is gradual but open with little shade in the earlier parts so probably best avoided in the heat of the day. The track rounds a bend part w...

It was a tough day at the office today at Glenbrook marathon but as always Running Wild put on a wonderful friendly event! Thank you to all my beautiful friends for your hugs and high fives and support along the course, before, during and after. The community vibe is what makes these events so special. It was a cold, cold start at Euroka clearing early in the morning, but I knew it would warm up pretty fast, so I used my itchy but practical wool arm sleeves to keep warm while I was milling around the start line with Nicole, Jaime and a bunch of other local girls and guys. I knew this course like the back of my hand considering its within spitting distance of my house, but that didn't stop it feeling like a long slow trudge at times. The initial climb up the goat track out of Euroka is always a killer but I purposely slowed right down here and kept my heart rate as manageable as possible. It was perfect weather, not as hot as last year, and the parts I had found hard la...

Near Woy Woy NSW Distance: 2.5km Duration: 45 minutes Today we explored Bouddi national park along the very easy boardwalk that begins at Putty Beach and goes for over 8km. We did a small stretch up to Gerrin Point lookout as we had been out for a family lunch earlier that day so the kids weren't up to a big day out. Unfortunately the time of day also meant we had to dodge a lot of people; this one is popular on sunny days, especially when we were there right at the start of whale season. This boardwalk is fantastic in that it hugs the coastline but is open so that you can step off and explore the amazing rock formations and get closer to the coastal views. This might be a bit hairy for smaller kids who are liable to run off a cliff but for our 7 and 9 year olds it was a good adventure. There are some sections early on with stairs, and let's be honest, nobody likes stairs. Apart from that it's mostly open coastal heath interspersed with s...

The Festival of the Feet at Georges Hall was an amazingly friendly and well organised event. 3 loops around Lake Gillawarna made up the half marathon distance.  Although everyone had commented that this was a hilly race; I'd taken this with a grain of salt - I've run UTA, there can't possibly be 'real' hills here!! However, I think the looped course and the repetitions were what made it seem hilly. The overall elevation was negligible but it was very much constant up and down.  My transport there was super easy as Richard drove and dropped me off. He continued on with the kids to his sister Debbie's house as she lives just down the road. I got picked up afterwards and got to have a yummy lunch with Richard and Debbie  afterwards. I chose to do this as my 'birthday' race, so it was quite unusual to have Richie and the kids drop me off. It was a frosty but clear morning so I stood in the sun trying to warm up and  met some lovely new RMA friends at th...

Yesterday I ran my 2nd ultra!  UTA didn't disappoint; after a brief moment of anxiety over the last minute course change, I realised it was a blessing and I'd likely be much more suited to the new course which now took in roughly the first half of the 100k course. The later start time after 9.30am threw me a little but then I realised it would totally take the pressure off for my only goal of 'not finishing in the dark' this year - I'd definitely be finishing in the dark with that start time! Plus, It was an opportunity to see Narrowneck, Tarros ladders and Nellie's glen, all of which I've been wanting to get to for a while now.  The expected all-day rain (and even possible thunderstorm forecast at one point) didn't appear... I'd thought earlier in the week that a top of 14 and rain would work to my advantage as I definitely do not do well in the heat. However although the sun was shining it wasn't nearly as hot as last year, thank good...