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| Caitlyn, myself and Bronwyn at start |
Adrenalin and excitement mixed with a little dread maintained a perfect stress arousal state for last night’s sleep. I’d set the alarm for 4:20am, woke up at 1:27am to check the time and then spent the next couple of hours telling myself to get back to sleep. Today’s Jetty to Jetty race was to be my daughter’s and my first half-marathon and Bronwyn’s 4th. It had been targeted early in the ‘Breakfast on the Run’ plan to be the first official trial for the BOTR crew in our considered build towards the Queenstown marathon in November.
The podium crew vigorously leapt around enticing the runners into a warm up for the run. With five minutes to start time we realised we were standing a little close to the front alongside the 1 hour 30minute pace balloon. Previous experience has taught me to be prudent about where you start from in an event, as despondency can rapidly set in as you spend the entire run being overtaken.
We made an honourable retreat to the middle of the pack.
The location of the run is beautiful. Hugging the shore of Moreton Bay, we started at Woody Point headed north to Redcliffe and onto Scarborough. Pelicans, smiling dogs frolicking on the beach, locals lined along the course offering cheerful encouragement, music and dancing were all on display. Redcliffe Parade offered a guard of honour as the race passed through the middle of the temporary market stalls overlooking the Redcliffe Jetty. It was a relatively flat course, with a couple of slight climbs coming away from the beach fronts. The deceptively comfortable pace became challenging from the mid-point turnaround at Scarborough as the strong headwinds impeded progress as we turned back the way we’d come. Fortunately we breakfast runners had trained in the Bowen Hill Antarctic onslaught only the weekend before and what Redcliffe threw at us was only a minor irritation. The body held up nicely until about kilometre fifteen, after which the thought of completing a marathon in a few months started seeming an impossible aspiration. A couple of jelly beans and some positive self-talk about the task at hand helped me maintain some forward momentum for this run at least. A sign advising of ‘only 2km to go’ was the encouragement I needed to push through some well-entrenched pain. Reaching the finish line was a sweet feeling indeed. The crew all came across the line within 15minutes of each other with the smiles of relief plastered on our faces. The event is well organised and a fantastic location for a first dalliance into a longer running distance.
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| Deluxe breakfast with avocado |
My running App advised me I had burned 1279 calories and I suspect I did an excellent job of negating this outpouring at breakfast. We joined our good friends the Downing-Ide running troop, whose entire family had completed a mix of the 21km and 10km races between them. The troop master himself scored an impressive 1hr 32minutes for the half. The family that runs together stays together!
The Point Café Bar and restaurant at the Redcliffe RSL has a pleasant outdoor dining area with views of Moreton Bay a little away from the bustle of the street front and markets. The staff kindly reassembled the outdoor gas heater and our group of 7 were comfortably assembled for a hearty recovery meal in great comfort and warmth. The meals did not disappoint on size or taste and value for money. As one would associate with an RSL, no nonsense tasty food was what we received and was fitting for the occasion (albeit over done eggs). Caitlyn and I chose the Deluxe Breakfast with Caitlyn enjoying an additional side of her breakfast favourite, avocado. The plate was overflowing with bacon (some perfectly crispy), door stop pieces of toast that even this half marathoner was unable to finish, nicely seasoned mushrooms, hash browns, roasted tomatoes, poached eggs and a very tasty pork sausage. Jon’s Eggs Benedict was reportedly delicious, while I had a little plate envy
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| Eggs Benedict |
for the Vegetarian Breakfast that Sophie and Jess enjoyed. The vegetarian plate included avocado, char grilled asparagus, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and hash browns with the seemingly signature door stop slabs of toast. Bronwyn enjoyed the Breakfast Burrito, a mixture of bacon, shallots, cream cheese, eggs, mushrooms and tomato sauce. Having spent many morning breakfasts with Caitlyn, in true team spirit, Bronwyn added avocado to her dish. Emma ordered the not so petite ‘Petite Breakfast, bacon, tomatoes and eggs. The prices were reasonable for meals that were almost too large. Napkins were tucked away with bacon left-overs for the gratification of the four-legged training partners who’d remained home.
As a test of fitness and spirit it was a stern reminder of the continued discipline required in the lead up to Queenstown.
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| Vegetarian breakfast |
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| Breakfast Burrito |
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