Well. That was a busy week. Five races, one trip to Geneva and two PBs. I was going for three, largely because I thought “three PBS in a week” would be a good morning debrief opener (see, folks, what I put myself through just for you …) but it turns out that a mile race with a hangover is not necessarily a whole load of fun.
To start more or less at the beginning: on Tuesday I had my club mile race on Wimbledon common. On Wednesday I did my first ever track race – not that I don’t spend more than my fair share of hours going round in 400m loops, but this was the first time I’d actually raced on it. It was an open meeting for the Rosenheim League, and I entered the 3,000m as a non-scorer. Guaranteed PB there, then. Actually, the most entertaining part of the evening was the appearance of none other than Dwain Chambers in the 200m. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t expecting to be beaten in it, but beaten he was …
Then an interlude in Zurich, visiting the HQ of On. I’ll be writing more about this fascinating company soon, so in the interim I offer you some very pretty running shoes to look at …
Then back to London and an early start at Battersea Park on Saturday morning for a 10k race. This was the one I was really hoping for a PB in – and got one, albeit by only three seconds (39min 43sec). It was a very muggy morning, and despite the 8am start I think most runners were more than usually grateful for the water cups offered on the four laps of the park.
Then, finally, the Amba City Mile yesterday. I recommend you bookmark this event for next year, because it is really superb. Well organised, with multiple waves setting off bang on time (literally, to the starter’s pistol), a medal and goody bag – and all for free. I’ll say this for mile races: they hurt like hell, but they are also over in the blink of an eye. However, this was possibly the most frenetic race I’ve ever done, simply because logistics meant I started in the 11.20am wave, pegged it to the finish (ow), then had to pretty much keep on sprinting to get around to the start of the 11.30am wave, pick up my six year old and do it all over again in the Family wave with her. (Fortunately at a slightly more sedate pace once I caught her.)
It was her first mile race, so she was utterly over the moon to get a medal at the end of it – and, of course, a PB. Alas for me, I was a second outside mine, though personally I’m pretty sure a hangover and five races in a week equates to at least 10 seconds for a mile, right?
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