The inaugural Tassal Ten

Until recently, I was one of the those who think the words "fun" and "run" don't belong in the same sentence. Well today I completed my first 10km fun run, the inaugural Tassal Ten at beautiful Dover in Tasmania's far south. It was great fun and I'll definitely be back for more. While I walked a few (mainly uphill) sections, I was happy enough to have run most of it. For proof of actual running see photo right - that's me in the purple shirt.

It was such a great community run event, raising funds for Hobart's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit. At about the halfway point the rain came down but it didn't stop the smiles on everyone's faces. There was an excellent contingent of Huon Runners / Geeveston parkrun folk with infectious enthusiasm to share. After the adults run there was a 2km run called Annabelle's run. It is so great to see so many local kids getting out there with their family doing something both healthy and fun. And great work by the volunteers who made it happen.

Not quite the Point to Pinnacle

"Good morning and welcome to the Point to Longley!" boomed the man on the loudspeaker at the start line of the Point to Pinnacle event this morning, to a mixture of cheers, boos and laughter from the crowd. I had found out half an hour earlier from one of the friendly registration people that due to ice and snow on the last 4km of road leading to the top of kunanyi / Mt Wellington, we would be using the alternate route to the Longley Pub. It was not considered safe for all the support buses to get to the finish line.

While it looked sunny up on the mountain from Hobart, I had seen the piles of snow on Sleeping Beauty as I drove in, and as we walked closer to Fern Tree, the wind was very icy and waves of rain were passing through - so probably snowing at the top. You can see the rainbow over the mountain in one of my photos below. All along the route local residents came out to watch and cheer, some playing music (see the couple on the bagpipes at Fern Tree below!), some handing out snacks or water and others offering high fives. It was pretty incredible seeing the runners come past. There are some super fit folk out there.

Completing the Point to Pinnacle, a half-marathon length walk (for me anyway), has been on my bucket list for ages, and despite finishing the course today in 3 hours and 1 minute, I still haven't done it! Now I'll have to try again next year. You just never know what the mountain is going to throw at you.

Winter fitness challenge

This is what I saw when I went out on my little run this morning:

If you're moving to rural Tasmania and (like me) don't like gyms and prefer to exercise in the fresh air, here's some honest truth. Be prepared for the mental barrier to climb just a little bit higher. I prefer to exercise first thing in the morning before work, and at this time of year when I go out, it's dark until after 7am. I mean pitch black. There's no ambient light or street lights like you get in the city. I find it easy to go out walking or running at 5.30 or 6.00am when I'm in Sydney for work. Here, I wear a head torch that illuminates the patch of dirt road immediately in front of me, helping me to avoid puddles and potholes. Apart from the occasional hopping sounds of pademelons fleeing from my path, I could be anywhere. Sometimes forestry guys in their utes whiz by on their way to work and the occasional truck thunders past and I have to step off the road until they pass. In the daytime, walking in the forest is beautiful, in the dark it becomes just a little bit scary.

Boo hoo, I hear you say, you're just making excuses not to exercise. Fair enough. I much prefer to walk and run in the cold than (say) the humid heat in Sydney, but I won't pretend its not harder to get myself out the door here. This morning it was a pleasant 7 degrees, unlike yesterday's sub-zero temperatures and chunky frost (I stayed in bed). While it will no doubt get colder over the next couple of months, I am so happy at the passing of the winter solstice this week, as it will start to get lighter at both ends of the day. Hurray!

A few months ago, David and I decided to bite the bullet and get a personal trainer to visit once a week. It seemed like a splurge, but it's been absolutely worth it. For the first couple of sessions we were able to exercise outdoors, but since daylight saving ended our trainer comes to our home and we work out in the living room. The bonus is I can wear a t-shirt and can see my own feet! Without someone (nicely) bullying me I doubt I would ever work as hard. Another step I think I'll have to take is to vary my exercise time and go out after 4pm some days when I'm too brain dead for complex work but before it gets dark. If you have any good winter exercise strategies, please let me know. It has been a challenge, one that I'm only just starting to get on top of.