Muzza's Run

The trail, part of Muzza's Run, crosses a creek
near Seymour Ponds

It was with some trepidation that I set out from Terrigal this morning in the pre-dawn darkness with a hundred other Terrigal Trotters for the 16km Muzza's Run.  It was the furthest I have run for six weeks, and I have only resumed jogging short distances this week after four weeks of no running.

Muzza's Run is named in honour of Murray "Muzza" Antony, a long-standing member of Terrigal Trotters who was tragically killed in an industrial accident three years ago.  This course, which was originally known to us as Seymour Ponds, was one of Muzza's favourites.  Muzza was about my age and a talented runner.  We always kept an eye on each other's form and enjoyed a friendly rivalry.  I was a spectator, supporting Sharon, at the 2009 Melbourne Marathon and witnessed Muzza just fail in a valiant attempt to break 3 hours as a 60 year old.  He was on track, but faded a tad in the last 10km to finish with 3:07, still an excellent time.  Just three months later, he was dead, a reminder to me, and us all, to live life to the full and not count on tomorrow.

Muzza at the 2006 Canberra Marathon

After a very cautious start this morning, I gradually gained confidence in the ability of my right arch to survive the whole distance and chose to bypass several opportunities for short-cuts around the 6km mark.  I felt like I was moving quite freely and gradually reeled in some of the people ahead of me.  In the single-track forest section, I took extra care to protect my injured foot, especially down the step sections, and avoided any obvious damage.  My lack of fitness began to tell after 10km and I just concentrated on trying to hold my form for the balance of the run.

A small strain in my right adductor muscle has been one of my "niggles" for the last couple of days, and it was a little painful today for the first kilometre and has become sore again after the run.  From memory, I have had this problem in the past and it has gone away after a few days, but I need to keep an eye on it.  My intention is to only walk or jog for tomorrow's exercise so that will give it some rest.  It will also be interesting to see how my arch injury is tomorrow.  If it's no worse, then I will probably join the Trotters' bus to Sydney next Sunday for the annual City to Surf 14km, but not with the intention of running hard....just to enjoy the crowds and camaraderie.