Merthyr college was buzzing as I lined up... for the 4-6 500m race...
With my boy...
Then the daughter went in the slightly chaotic 1km for her age (7-9, or 7-11?). She had the opportunity to cut a lap, but being the good girl she is pushed round and did the extra (or correct amount even), when not everyone felt the urge!
Then it was the main event. Coughing had mostly stopped, felt ok and decided to attack a little from the outset. Was going well, the course was tough with a wicked climb as the all new for 2017 turning point. The predicted congestion wasn't anywhere near as bad as I expected... yes all went well!
Me, running like I was being chased for the majority of the race, genuinely better than I expected, or had any business thinking about beforehand. About mile 8... twinge in leg, didn't think much of it, probably just a misstep. Mile 11, feel a pulling in my leg, just below the knee. Press on... almost there. Then distaer, sharp pain and I pull up, trying to keep moving. But I knew this was an issue. Got going until 12 or so same again, then again in the last mile.
All those precious seconds each time, probably costing me a couple of minutes on my time. Plus all the pain and discomfort.
So how did I do, target wise I said:
Baseline:
1:58:00 (9:00 min/ml)
Achievable:
1:55:00 (8:46 min/ml)
Would be nice, but maybe beyond me this time:
1:50:00 (8:23 min/ml)
and I did:
A new PB by 5:10 and my first time under 1:50, but frustrating as I think about what could have been...
I'm also going to stop setting targets as I clearly have no idea what I'm doing.
Massive thank you to the sports masseuse in the college after the race who largely fixed my leg. Still hurts now and probably will for a few days, but she made a big positive difference, even if she described the area as... crunchy! Right leg has always been an issue!
Congrats on the PB! :)
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