Hills are such fun, aren’t they?

But I’m getting ahead of myself!

I did my second 5km race today – and ran it in under my best time – not by much, but at 34:40 I was happy enough.

Particularly since this was by far the hilliest circuit I had ever run.

It was the Springfield Lakes 5km “Run for Fun”, at a developing community west of my Brisbane – the city where I live.

Last time I ran a race, it was in the company of tens of thousands … this time it was probably only about 500 people.

I have absolutely no idea where I came – that won’t be posted online for a week or more … but my ‘official’ time was 34:40 – I suspect it was few seconds faster than that, since I took a few seconds to pass the start line – but I’m not going to quibble

The day started as a warm, clear magic day – the sort of spring day that makes living in Brisbane such a joy.

My wife came with me today – the first time that she’s accompanied me when I’ve run – and it was real pleasure to have her there at the start, and at the finish.

I’d looked at a map of the run – but because the race was in a location half an hour from my home, I hadn’t followed the route before I actually started to run. And that’s probably a good thing

The hills weren’t ‘huge’ – but they were longish, and a challenge as the temperature rose into the mid 20s.

Fortunately, it was a bit overcast at times – which was handy, ‘cause I thought we were supposed to get a cap as part of our entry, so I hadn’t brought one. Must make a note of that for next race!

We started by running across a road bridge, and then up the first incline for the day – quite gentle, really, and rising only about 5 metres in 500m.

More challenging was the fact that the organisers didn’t have a permit to run on the road, except for the first 100 metres, and the last 100 metres. The rest had to be run on the pavement (sidewalk) – which was a bit fun at times, given the number of runners.

About 2km into the race, I came across another runner who seemed to be struggling to maintain pace … she would pull ahead of me, then slow down and I’d pass her, then she’d catch me …

In one of the ‘flat’ sections, I said hello, and made a joke about ‘the things we do for exercise’ – and she told me (in short sentences, of course ) that this was her first run – after losing 58 kilograms in two years!

I told her that put my 30kg loss to shame – but that between the two us, we’d lost more than my total current weight.

I suspect that my ‘brand new runner’ T-shirt was acting as a lifeline for her – she thought (quite correctly) that I, too, was a newbie – and so she could pace herself using me as a guide.

Which was quite useful for me, too – I had someone I could pace against as well … particularly as we hit the worst hill of the race.

At about the 3km mark, we came across a relatively steep hill – it dropped about 20 metres in 250 metres. Which was fine … except that the race circuit then involved running around a power-pole – and then retracing our steps back up the bloody footpath!

Arrgh!

I gotta say that I (and Glenda – my newly acquired running companion) didn’t exactly sprint up the hill again – but I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t stop running, either …even when the heart rate topped 165 or so.

And after we got over that hill, and started down the other side, it felt goood!

We must have hit the 4.5km point or so when Glenda sensed I wanted to up my pace a bit – and so she urged me to go on ahead …

So I promised to see her at the finish line, and stretched out a bit. A couple of minutes later, I could see the finish line – so I poured on what reserves I had left, and crossed in a personal best!

About 60 seconds later, Glenda crossed the line – and the grin she had was just fabulous!

I gotta say, she inspired me: a woman who, two years ago, probably weighed 120 kilograms (265lb) – and taking part in her first run, digging deep and putting it all on the line.

And I mentioned earlier that my wife was waiting for me at the finish – and she was proud of me – which also felt pretty good

Next up – the Race for a Cure (Cancer Fund) run on Wednesday … This could become an addiction indeed!