First Race of 2007
This weekend I took part in my first race of 2007, the "Rough 'n' Tumble 10 mile race at Milton Lilbourne, near Pewsey. If it sounds tough, let me assure you it was. I have carefully picked a number of tough races over the first few months to use as rigorous training exercises to get myself in shape for the London Marathon. The Tough Ten at Weston and the Hogweed Hilly Half Marathon are others.
More about the race later, in the meantime I'd like to share with you a nice surprise I had at the weekend. I had a call from an old lodger of mine, a German lad called Hannes who stayed with me in the summer of 2005. I really enjoyed having him stay in my house, and we often went for a pint or shared a bottle of wine together (His parents own a wine shop in Bochum). We met up for a drink on Friday night and reminisced about the summer of 2005. I had forgotten about a few things which he remembered, such as me asking him to wear an England shirt to wind up his Australian line manager (that was the summer we won the Ashes..it seems so long ago now..)
Normally I wouldn't drink on a Friday night when I have a race on the Sunday but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to meet up with him. We talked about the possibility of me going to visit him in Germany in the summer, which would be wonderful if we can arrange something mutually convenient.
On the Saturday I just relaxed and tried to flush out as many toxins as I could. In the afternoon I went to see "The Pursuit of Happiness", my first trip to the cinema this year and a wonderful experience. This is the story of Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), who takes a job as an intern at Dean Witter in the hope of gaining a lucrative career as a stockbroker so he can provide for his son. In the course of his unpaid internship he battles with homelessness, poverty and many of the vicissitudes of living in a big city.
This was a wonderful story and I would urge anyone to go and see it. Will Smith has proven again that he is a better actor than he is given credit for and has been wasted in many of his previous roles. At the end of the film there were actually people applauding in the cinema - I can't remember the last time I witnessed that.
Back home then for the usual pre-race dinner - pasta bolognaise with garlic bread - and an early night. I didn't actually sleep that well - I think I was quite nervous, not because I was anxious about getting a good time, more because I had heard reports about how tough the race is and I was starting to wonder what I had let myself in for.
In the morning I had my usual scrambled eggs on toast and a bit more coffee than I would normally allow myself. I had a surprise phone call - I was due to travel down with Terry, a friend from the gym. Unfortunately he had forgotten to post his entry form and wasn't going to be able to take part. I guess this happens to us all at some point - we all lead such busy lives that things like this are easily forgotten about. It was a shame, because I was looking forward to his company on the drive down.
So off I went by myself and found the place easily enough. There were a few faces I knew at the race HQ and everyone seemed friendly enough.
We were given a humorous speech on the start line by one of the race organisers - "those of you wearing road shoes - good luck!" and there were acknowledgments for someone celebrating his 43rd birthday that day and a man of 72 taking part. I've often said, one of the things I love about the sport is that it appeals to runners of all ages. I just hope I'm still running and enjoying races at that age.
And then off we went - someone had said to me "don't be afraid to walk in that first mile," I wasn't and I did. So did everyone as far as I could see -the first hill was so steep there was no way I was going to run up it. After that, a pattern soon established itself - mud, mud, and more mud. It was horrendously slippery almost all the way round. I haven't yet invested in some good off-road shoes and was just wearing a battered old pair of trainers. I decided at an early stage I was going to run wherever possible and walk the rest of the way. As it turned out, staying upright was the biggest challenge for me.
The second biggest challenge was the hills. I have never experienced anything like them in a race before. I had heard there is one where people go up on all fours, and that's exactly how I got up it, using all four limbs to push and pull myself up. Coming down was pretty tough as well; I had to come down sideways one foot at a time.
By the end of the race I did find my confidence improved somewhat - I found I was able to actually run through some of the muddy parts. I guess the secret of cross-country running is to do with confidence and skill. Hopefully I can improve in both areas, but I doubt I'll ever make a good cross-country runner.
Having said that, the race was tremendous fun and a very useful training exercise. As I write, two days after the race, my legs are still sore so all the wading through mud must have had some effect, especially on the lower legs. When Terry asked me if I would do that race again later that afternoon, I replied "absolutely".
So all in all a great weekend, a great race, and a great day out. Looks like my running in 2007 has got off to a good start.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, January 2007
More about the race later, in the meantime I'd like to share with you a nice surprise I had at the weekend. I had a call from an old lodger of mine, a German lad called Hannes who stayed with me in the summer of 2005. I really enjoyed having him stay in my house, and we often went for a pint or shared a bottle of wine together (His parents own a wine shop in Bochum). We met up for a drink on Friday night and reminisced about the summer of 2005. I had forgotten about a few things which he remembered, such as me asking him to wear an England shirt to wind up his Australian line manager (that was the summer we won the Ashes..it seems so long ago now..)
Normally I wouldn't drink on a Friday night when I have a race on the Sunday but I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to meet up with him. We talked about the possibility of me going to visit him in Germany in the summer, which would be wonderful if we can arrange something mutually convenient.
On the Saturday I just relaxed and tried to flush out as many toxins as I could. In the afternoon I went to see "The Pursuit of Happiness", my first trip to the cinema this year and a wonderful experience. This is the story of Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), who takes a job as an intern at Dean Witter in the hope of gaining a lucrative career as a stockbroker so he can provide for his son. In the course of his unpaid internship he battles with homelessness, poverty and many of the vicissitudes of living in a big city.
This was a wonderful story and I would urge anyone to go and see it. Will Smith has proven again that he is a better actor than he is given credit for and has been wasted in many of his previous roles. At the end of the film there were actually people applauding in the cinema - I can't remember the last time I witnessed that.
Back home then for the usual pre-race dinner - pasta bolognaise with garlic bread - and an early night. I didn't actually sleep that well - I think I was quite nervous, not because I was anxious about getting a good time, more because I had heard reports about how tough the race is and I was starting to wonder what I had let myself in for.
In the morning I had my usual scrambled eggs on toast and a bit more coffee than I would normally allow myself. I had a surprise phone call - I was due to travel down with Terry, a friend from the gym. Unfortunately he had forgotten to post his entry form and wasn't going to be able to take part. I guess this happens to us all at some point - we all lead such busy lives that things like this are easily forgotten about. It was a shame, because I was looking forward to his company on the drive down.
So off I went by myself and found the place easily enough. There were a few faces I knew at the race HQ and everyone seemed friendly enough.
We were given a humorous speech on the start line by one of the race organisers - "those of you wearing road shoes - good luck!" and there were acknowledgments for someone celebrating his 43rd birthday that day and a man of 72 taking part. I've often said, one of the things I love about the sport is that it appeals to runners of all ages. I just hope I'm still running and enjoying races at that age.
And then off we went - someone had said to me "don't be afraid to walk in that first mile," I wasn't and I did. So did everyone as far as I could see -the first hill was so steep there was no way I was going to run up it. After that, a pattern soon established itself - mud, mud, and more mud. It was horrendously slippery almost all the way round. I haven't yet invested in some good off-road shoes and was just wearing a battered old pair of trainers. I decided at an early stage I was going to run wherever possible and walk the rest of the way. As it turned out, staying upright was the biggest challenge for me.
The second biggest challenge was the hills. I have never experienced anything like them in a race before. I had heard there is one where people go up on all fours, and that's exactly how I got up it, using all four limbs to push and pull myself up. Coming down was pretty tough as well; I had to come down sideways one foot at a time.
By the end of the race I did find my confidence improved somewhat - I found I was able to actually run through some of the muddy parts. I guess the secret of cross-country running is to do with confidence and skill. Hopefully I can improve in both areas, but I doubt I'll ever make a good cross-country runner.
Having said that, the race was tremendous fun and a very useful training exercise. As I write, two days after the race, my legs are still sore so all the wading through mud must have had some effect, especially on the lower legs. When Terry asked me if I would do that race again later that afternoon, I replied "absolutely".
So all in all a great weekend, a great race, and a great day out. Looks like my running in 2007 has got off to a good start.
Copyright © Jonathan Weedon, January 2007
posted by Jon | 9:37 pm
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