I have come to love my Saturday morning runs with Terrigal Trotters. There’s a lot to like about a Club that consistently draws more than 100 people down to the Terrigal beachfront for a 6:00am run every Saturday morning, rain hail or shine. Saturday runs are recorded for each member and several have more than 1,000 to their credit. I’m on the Club Committee and do a few volunteer jobs around the Club so still go down to Terrigal, even if I am injured, but it’s much more fun when I am fit and running well. We have a variety of courses between 10 and 16 kilometres in length and most incorporate some killer hills and trail. They start socially, and then get more serious for those of a competitive nature in the second half. I enjoy the camaraderie and rivalry and savour the sometimes hard-fought runs back to the beach and finish.
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| Terrigal Trotters gather after a Saturday morning run |
However, for this morning’s run, I knew I would be foolhardy to get competitive, given my still tired and sore body. So I hung back early, chatting to friends and waiting for my body to warm up and see how I was moving. There were a few tough hills in the first four kilometres and I just jogged slowly up them, passing many of my fellow Trotters who tend to walk up the very steep hills. As is usually the case, the hills warmed me up quickly and by the top of the first, I was getting into a comfortable running rhythm. For the rest of the run, I concentrated on just running steadily without straining and fought off the temptation to chase some fellow runners I could see ahead, who I would usually expect to beat, and on whom I was gradually closing. I could feel the competitive juices starting to flow, but restrained myself and finished the 13.5km run comfortably tired. There were still a few niggles, but I feel like I am making progress on my plan to spend these three weeks turning myself back into a runner after three weeks of hiking.
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