The Mt. Mee Classic (revised edition!)

After last year's Mt Mee Classic proving to be so good, I was a little dissapointed to learn of it's demise this year by the Dayboro to Mt Mee Marathong (still billed as the Mt Mee Classic). The 50 km of last year was a tough course and started in howling winds and icy cold conditions to escalate into typical Qld Autumn sunshine with temperatures in the 20's. I shouldn't have worried.

The Dayboro to Mt Mee Marathon was run over a course worthy of any event and judging by the number of competitors it drew, it's going to get bigger. Well organised in beautiful surroundings typical of the area, I'm sure it's been given it's place among most people's calendar who took part yesterday. I suggested to some people yesterday, with mixed reactions, the there wasn't a lot to choose between it and 6ft track. 6ft is definitely a lot rougher underfoot and has stretches of single track that aren't present on this course, but take it from me, no one's about to break any world records on this run.

Ok, I think Six Foot deserves it’s title as Australia’s toughest trail marathon, but if the Mt Mee run was all trail (about 17 km is on sealed road), it would be a close call with maybe only the extra 3 km giving it the edge.

Mt Mee Classic Marathon profile

Six Foot Track Marathon profile

I had a tough day out at Six Foot last month which, aside of the difficulty of the event, was contributed to by the five week enforced layoff leading in. I’ve trained a lot better in the last six weeks so was able to run in a much stronger fashion. Maybe the jury will remain in conference until next year when hopefully I can run both with better preparation.

In any event, I’ve recovered pretty well and will take a slow 10 km after work today after a little tester this morning. All good.

Trains, planes and automobiles

Ok, a 4x4, a bike on the footpath and my own two feet!

I finally got my arse out of bet at the time I planned to this morning and actually achieved what I set out to do!

I was in the car and on the way to Southbank by 5:00 am and was putting my shoes on by 6:00 am.

I took a pretty leisurely 10km down the foot path/velodrome (!) alongside Coronation drive to Toowong and back. Second outing in new shoes proved what I’d already discovered on the first outing – lighter, flatter shoes are better. Not racing flats, more intermediate, but what a difference a light shoe makes and the feeling of being more in contact with the ground is a revelation to me. The bonus was that I was in the right place at the right time to see a lunatic cyclist (there are many of them on route who think it’s ok to ride at training pace among the walkers/joggers/runners) get cleaned up by a ten year old kid out running with a couple of classmates.

Anyway, back to TAFE in time to shower and get to the gym for a couple of hours vocational. Unfortunately, two of the other students needed a guinea pig for a ‘beep’ test. Guess who? Not my finest hour as it were but managed to myself justice – just – before getting my revenge and putting the two culprits through some pain of their own on stationary bikes. Sadly, the one didn’t have to go too hard as her HRM wouldn’t do what we needed and the other was an 18 year old 31 minute 10km man and I couldn’t get him into any distress at all!

Decent start to the day though and will back up with another 10km this evening.

Managed to enter the Dayboro – Mt Mee run over the phone too. No mean feat as I’ve lost my credit card and couldn’t pay. No racing for me, just a good hard training run with the goal being the Glasshouse 50. All I need is a babysitter now!

Perspective

There’s nothing like reality to bring you down to earth and realise how unimportant the small things in life are.

Since my last entry I’ve bemoaned my injury and its impact on my training for 6ft track. I’ve lacked motivation for training in general and have a plethora of other problems of the kind that seem, as they do to most of us, keep on dragging me down.

Relationship problems and the kids (both here and in Wales). May not be usual for everyone but it was, I stress … was, my usual.

This was all put into perspective on Thursday evening, February 6th. I got a phone call from my father in Wales to tell me that my nephew, Craig, had died. More than that, he was killed. Slowly and imperceptibly over a period of years maybe, but just as surely as if someone had driven a blade through his heart or fired a gun to his head.

Craig suffered from depression and schizophrenia. He had spent years plagued by the demons of his condition and living in constant fear of what he may or may not be capable of during his blackest moods. He took it upon himself during what was to be the last of his darkest moments to hang himself by his belt from a fence behind the house. He was twenty six years old.

He had a history of heavy marijuana use and more recently was affected by the effects of alcohol while on medication for his diagnosed conditions. Craig was a really happy child and though he may not have had the best of things, he was no different to many. We’ll never know if his drug and alcohol use caused those conditions or if he was predisposed and they were merely enhanced by those factors.

It was a tragedy while at the same time it was a blessing. I don’t say that lightly and I don’t mean to revert to cliché. Craig had been tormented for the greater part of his teenage and all of his adult life. The greater sadness is that I, my brother (his father) and many of my family are of the belief that he is now truly at rest. I am a Buddhist by nature and believe that we will see his mark somewhere, but not too soon I hope.

My point here is not to pay attention to drug use and how bad it is for us, etc. I’m hardly in a position to comment). It’s not that we should be more aware of mental illness and the effects it can have on people and their surroundings.

It’s this (and this maybe a little clichéd):

The next time you’re thinking of a member of your family, a friend or anyone one you haven’t thought of in a long time much less spoken to or interacted with, do something about it. Call them, write to them, e-mail them or message them on Facebook – whatever your preferred mode of communication is these days.

If you’re a runner, a tri-athlete, cyclist, whatever, though it may be the world to you (as it is to me), it’s really insignificant to the rest of the world and sometimes to those that you love. Pay these people some time. You never know when you’ll no longer have the opportunity.

This weekend, I will likely run from Dayboro to Mt Mee. Basically an uphill marathon through some pretty scenic countryside. Each step of the way, I will be thinking myself privileged to there, doing what I’m doing, in the surroundings I am in.

RIP Craig Davies, November 1982 – February 2009