Boxing Day = 41K

I thought I should write this one up for memory's sake.
Shit knows I'm chalking it up as experience!
I knew that the run from my place in the City to mum's place in Croydon would be tough, but I underestimated the amount of things that could possibly go wrong on such a long run.
I set off at around 11am into the 29degree heat, not really sure where I was meant to meet up with the freeway bike track or how long the run would take.
I packed a couple of gels, a couple of vegemite and chia burritos, my phone, my Mp3 player and two water bottles.
I managed to find the beginning of the Yarra/Koonung track, and trailed it after only 30minutes. About this time I realised that my new Mp3 player was repeating the same songs that I had already listened to over, and over again.
Hmmm, what's going on??
iTunes had turned all my Mp3's into Mp4's and so instead of 300 songs, I had only 3!
However, the insanity had only just begun to set in - as I passed through Fairfield (50 minutes in) my bum bag started to annoy the shit out of me, and so it did for the next 45 minutes as I correctively tightened it, loosened it, tightened it again, moved it, and just about threw it in the fuckin' river!~!

As my run got going again and I was hitting my stride, I came to a T-intersection: Left was the Yarra Trail and right was the Koonung Trail.
Without a clue, I thought, yep!, Yarra Trails's the one out to Croydon, where the Yarra River passes through!
The run was real pleasant for the next 20 minutes - I paced myself on this guy who was clearly only out to do a few K, and my avg. heart rate went from 135, up to 146.
I lost him, and after what had been an hour and twenty into the run I reached Fairfield Park.
I thought that this was good, but as I ran into the park I couldn't see the trail to continue on out again. However, I thought it time for some food, so as I looked at the Yarra Trail map on the info board at the park I reached into my bum back to pull out my burritos. Shit, Fuck, WHAT THE FUCK????
My phone had turned my vegemite and chia burritos into dust ....not crumbs, DUST!!
I choked on a bit of the bird food before sacrificing my first gel, for some instant energy. ....Water and on I went.
But where....
After taking paths and turning back on them to the park four or five times I decided "fuck it", I'm going to hit Manningham Rd, take it to the Eastern Freeway, and run right along beside it - even if it that means in the emergency parking lane.
BACK ON TRACK, yeah baby!!
I refound the Koonung Trail and headed for home(mum's).
From here the run was ACE, until about 26K mark when I hit some major walls.
But, to be honest I was being a bitch. It wasn't that bad, so I ate my last gel, finished a water bottle and left the other only half full.
Passing Springvale Rd was a victory and soon after I was around the back of Ringwood West in the Mullum Mullum area.
The hills were unforgiving on a body as fatigued as mine and then they took me deeper and deeper into the bush, along the creek's edge.
I was exhausted and out of water, I rubbed my eyes and it felt as if my skin just grazed off of my cheek bone and left me with a sore. I didn't know how much further I could go without water, and I didn't know how much further I had to go to get to water.
My creative mind started thinking up every possible Plan B under the sun; go down to the still mouldy creek for a drink, ask a bike rider for their precious H2O or quit now, call mum and get home! It turned out that my skin wasn't coming off, but in fact my sweat had dried solid on my face like sand and I had stopped sweating - so the rubbing was like sand paper to my skin.
Then, at the top of the hill, I smelt BBQ aromas and heard the playing sounds of children - I pushed myself up the hill to the park and found two, maybe three drink fountains.
I stopped, drank and drank, and then filled both of my bottles.
Five minutes there, and five minutes down the trail some more, and you wouldn't have known there was ever anything wrong with me. Three more K's found me on Maroohndah Hwy, Ringwood and on the last 13Km stretch.
At the end of Ringwood, I tossed up the idea of stopping in at Subway and buying some cookies to get me over the line.
One Macademia and White Chocolate, one M&M's, and one Double Choc Chip please!
Yeah that'll do it!!
As I ran down the driveway, I feared what it was going to be like to stop putting the one foot in front of the other. I pressed the doorbell at my mum's house and was in absolute agony, for the slowing up had cramped my legs from the hip down. I heard my mum "run" to the door, screaming the question "are you okay"?
"Congratulations, you made it!"

It hurt a lot more than I had expected to, but after 4hours and 20minutes I got there and I loved every step of it!
Moreover, Subway cookies are now part of my every run for food and digestion!
Cheers.

GB.