Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Gold Coast 2013

Saturday's race was such a small part of the marathon weekend for me. Of course it was the reason I was there but it wasn't the only highlight.

Before the race I'd had a few issues with accommodation which meant that I wasn't staying at my parent's unit with Iven, which is what usually happens. I'd ended up asking my BFF Natalie if I could crash with her and of course she let me - probably because I'm a charming, low-effort guest who has cake decorating skills. Yes, the cake decorating part was actually relevant and will definitely score me an invite back (but next time I'll be bringing my own piping bag with me, packed in amongst the Garmin and running shoes)


It wasn't only Natalie that was happy to have me. Cuddles was also happy to have me and my sweaty Mizunos share her space. I'm not totally sure why she was so obsessed with my shoes but I think she was sending the message home to my dogs on behalf of all cats that cats rule and dogs drool. I'd definitely agree with her on the drool part.


After our race we had breakfast but then Natalie had a birthday party to go to. This was where my cake decorating skills came in. I'd never iced brownies before. Never used a piping gun before either but after a failed attempt to squeeze the chocolate ganache out of a makeshift piping bag and have that plastic bag split and ganache end up all over the place, the piping gun seemed a pretty good option. 

Once she was off I was left on my lonesome with the afternoon to fill and no real plans to fill it - apart from a nap. But it turned out that I wasn't that tired and by 3:30 I was out the door for a walk. 

Natalie lives really close to the Broadwater in Labrador and it was just a lovely place to walk in the late afternoon. She also lives very close to a lot of cafes and restaurants, one being a Baskin and Robbins - mmm, ice cream. I made a mental note of that one in capitals and bold print and highlighted it. My race was over and I was thinking to hell with the lactose intolerance. 

I walked up towards the race precinct. Enjoying the views. Relishing having the time to myself with no responsibility. Feeling happy and at peace with the world. And marvelling that I actually had the energy to walk after such a good race - I wouldn't have been able to do it last year. 

I stopped every so often to take happy snaps.

Things that amuse me - all the seagulls were facing the same direction except one. Respect to that seagull not afraid to do his own thing.

Surfers Paradise in the distance.

The view looks even prettier once God starts to play with his paint box.

Done!

The next morning I snuck out of the unit to walk back up to the race precinct to cheer on the half and full marathoners. As soon as I left the building I could hear the loud speakers in the distance and wanted to be up where all the action was happening.

This is always the best part of the weekend. Seeing all the GaleForce runners giving it their best. Hanging out with people who are like family. Talking. Cheering. Clapping. Watching strangers reaching for their goal. More talking. More cheering. More clapping. Trying to take photos of the squad and ending up with pictures of the road - thank goodness for Facebook or I wouldn't have any. Marvelling at the elite runners. And at the runners who'll run a marathon carrying a tuba. Or wearing a cat suit. Or a superhero suit complete with muscles.

It's a day that brings out the best in people. Determination. Pride. Joy. Courage. Selflessness. The smiles and tears are infectious.


Natalie and I walked back to her place once a lot of the runners had made it back. Via the ice cream place. I threw caution to the wind (remember the word wind because my whole family will be remembering it for years to come) and ordered a double scoop of the most delicious and decadent flavours on the menu. Then we raced back to her place and I hopped into the car to hopefully get home before any side effects hit me.

The drive home was uneventful and apart from some disturbing noises coming from somewhere down deep, the afternoon was uneventful too. I thought I had dodged a bullet. But apparently intestinal bacteria needs extra time to ferment all that lovely lactose and the pain didn't really start for 24 hours. Some days I'm grateful that I work alone.

So Gold Coast 2013 was another roaring success. Can't wait till next year.

12 comments:

  1. I love your pictures especially the one of the seagull(s). You would be a great house guest. My husband would invite you back over and over if you baked for him.

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  2. Double scoop ice cream....yum! Your blog always makes me hungry!

    Those pictures are so gorgeous! I'm super jealous!

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  3. Boo to the lactose intolerance.
    But those pictures are amazing - I really need to live on a beach!!!

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  4. that's so cool that you've gotten to know a running group so well and have running buddies. sometimes I miss that because I tend to be more of a solitary runner (I like to get into my head) but sometimes think it would be neat to have a "runner posse"!

    hey, anytime you want to come to Canada with your cake making/decorating mad skillz, by all means... :)

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  5. What a great weekend and you walk was indeed beautiful. What a beautiful place to take a walk. I love that sign on the road.

    The ice creams sounds worth it to deal with the side effects later.

    My doctor said to me I have IBS and then left me saying: nothing to do about it, live with it. It's been 3 years that I have it now and I still am lazy to find out what triggers it. Right now it seems everything I eat because it bothers me every day and always first thing in the morning and late in the evening which is lucky because I never had troubles during a run or at work. Why am I boring you with this? Just saying I know how annoying this intolerance can be.

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  6. If you ever need a place to stay in England just let me know. As long as you pack your baking stuff...

    Love the photo with the pink sky in the background - beautiful!

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  7. Awesome weekend as always! You are close to your 10 year goal now...will you continue after that? I'm a big ice cream eater.

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  8. Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures!
    Unfortunately, at the moment I can't eat ice cream.

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  9. As Giorgio said, thanks for the pictures but .... I CAN eat ice creams!

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  10. Glad you got to relax and enjoy the Gold Coast. And ice-cream! Now, that is winning...)

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  11. Ice-crean is good, but it's toooo winter here...

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  12. How lovely to enjoy the course with the stress of the race behind you! And I like that the run itself was just a small part of the weekend for you.

    You mention the spirit and bringing out the best in people. I certainly noticed that when I watched the Hervey Bay Triathlon (which Liz competed in). It was the first time I'd seen something like that - more accustomed as I was to games-type events (short and highly competitive). It occurred to me that for the Triathlon (and running events) you are battling yourself as much as another person/team.

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