Going South

I recovered fairly quickly after the last race, in fact the two training runs after the race felt so much better than the race, maybe it was the heat effecting me or maybe I have just reached that age when I'm just going to have to accept I'm going to be a slow runner from this day forth.


The feel good factor started to disappear as the week went on and by the time I got to Thursdays interval session, I was beginning to struggle and more worryingly I was beginning to get a few niggles from my troublesome hamstring. Friday night was more running with Meredith and she is coming along quite well now, not yet on World Record Schedule, but she is increasing her distance each week and managed to survive this Fridays run not looking as red as in previous weeks, a shade lighter than post box red I would say.

Saturday was the usual hill session and I felt dreadful when I got up, really dizzy and weak. I managed to get up to the Forest and do the session, but on getting home I was still feeling rough. So I just went back to bed and stayed there for the next three hours, not getting up until 3.30, by which time my plan to go to a pub to watch the Lions game was over, judging by the result I probably would have walked out in disgust anyway.

Sunday morning a long run was planned with Barry at the Forest, but he rang about 8.30am to tell me that he could not move to far away from his bathroom so had to give the run a miss. So I sat about for about for about half an hour and then went out on the road by myself, again I felt dread full but managed to keep pushing on and I eventually covered 7 miles. Meredith also got her run in early and we decided to go into London to look at cooking pots and pans.

We had some vouchers for House of Fraser and wanted to get either Frying pans or Pyrex type stuff. Well I've never shopped for pans before only ever had them given to me, and I was shocked at the Price of them a Jamie Oliver pan £60, I thought I could by Jamie himself for that price. Raymond Blanc was even dearer, I think I was going to go for good old tefal. Eventually after walking endless laps of the Pans department we decided we could not carry both pans and dishes at the same time, the decision was to go for dishes and we elected to buy two Le creuset dishes. Now these thing weigh a ton and for the next 2 hours I was lugging this huge lump of French dish all over London, adding this to my long list of reasons why I don't like the french.

After two hours of weight training and shopping we found our way to China town to eat, my usual method of picking a restaurant in China Town is either go into one in which I have not been ill or fallen down the stairs or plan B look for the one with the most chickens hanging in the window. Now I am sensible and married I did not want to admit Plan A to Meredith and as she is vegetarian Plan B was out, so we opted for Plan c that ones got a nice name. The food was OK, but they always serve the beer in small glasses, Meredith was more impressed with her coke can which was in French(arrrrghhh reason 45 They are writing on our coke cans).

For some reason I decided to walk back to Liverpool Street we somehow ended up in Drury Lane and walked past the Happy go Lucky Funeral Parlour, which just looks a great place. I want them to sort out my funeral and have Morrissey singing last of the famous international playboys and then leave my body on the running track to be slowly eaten by the sparrows and vultures(not sure if we have vultures in Romford, well not the feathered type). We eventually got back to Liverpool Street where I had one more beer whilst we watched the last overs of the 20/20 cricket final, before catching the train home.

The Race

OK onto the Race, this took place on Wednesday 24th June at Dulwich Park, it was over the distance of 5k and organised by Dulwich runners. They did a great job of organising the race and I've never seen so many Marshall's patrolling a course well done.

After getting changed at work I walked across to London Bridge station, I always get a bit twitchy half way across London Bridge as I realise I am going out of my comfort zone and going into the Badlands of South London, but I was big and brave and stepped across the border and marched onto to the station. I was somewhat surprised that they accepted real £ s at the station for the purchase of a ticket I was expecting to have to hand over some strange South London currency or sing the theme to only fools and horses.

The train was also a surprise, firstly that they had trains and that it was not drawn by a horse or slave children kidnapped from North London. It was only a 15 minute trip deep into the Southlands and I got off at North Dulwich. The station was really depressing like one of those at the end of the line in New York which just two dark platforms either side, no advertising, no shops, no sign of anyone working on the station. I walked upstairs to the exit, I must have closed my eyes for a brief second and missed the Narniaesque gateway that passed through, because as I got out of the station it green and pleasant just like the North. there were trees everywhere and signs pointing to the Park.

I managed to find my way into the Park and down to the start area, but I now had over an hour and a quarter until the start time, so I just lay back on the grass a bit and listen to the race organiser babbling on a bit. Its amazing what irrelevant facts these guys can come up with, but it kept me amused until it was time to warm up for the race. I had a very slow walk jog around part of the course checking out the 1 and 2k markers and trying to work out how we got from the start to the 2k point.

Whilst warming up, the kids 1 mile fun run started and it was great to see so many youngsters finishing the mile course, I thought kids didn't run anymore its was all on the Wii, just shows you cant believe all you read in the papers.

As of the previous race my hamstring was still very tight and sore and after changing into my yellow vest again, I spent a food 10 minutes trying to stretch my hamstrings. My problem has been the right one, but today the left one felt just as bad. During the stretching I got into a conversation with a guy from Crystal Palace running club and it was the usual, both feel bad not expecting much etc etc. I managed to get a bit nearer to the front of the start line this time only about three rows back, my theory being that in a 5k race I'd have less chance to get past people, but there were still the usual joggers and ipod wearers in front of me.

I probably made a faster start than usual,(well it seemed fast) but already the elite boys were flying up the road, leaving us joggers behind in a cloud of dust. The field had broken up very quickly and by about 500 metres I was already running on my own, my friend Alison who had come to watch shouted out hello and I gave her a wave before trying to close up on the group in front. The first 1k felt OK, but as part of this was downhill I expected it to be so.

I was determined not to look at my watch during the race, so therefore tried to close my eyes as we went past the finishing line and the clock was there, but as we were not at a relevant part I stole a sneaky glance and saw a time which obviously meant nothing. Somewhere after the 1k mark we had doubled back and we were now approaching the 2k mark. I was still running on my own but was managing to close in on the guy ahead of me. Just after passing 2k we headed out of the park onto the dangerous roads of South London, once again it was a downhill part of the course and I was beginning to worry as we had now gone downhill twice now, there must be an uphill section to come at some point, and as it was only a 5k race that point was going to be pretty soon.

As we turned into the scenic part of village I had closed to within 5 yards of the guy in front of me , and we were then going past a pub, I must have drifted into a dream like state in which Davy's Old Wallop was 3p a pint and Cheesy chips came free because as we turned into the park the guy in front of me was now 10 yards away and getting further away, and to make it worse we were now going uphill. It was not a big uphill but it was a gradual climb and for some reason I seem to have lost any ability I had for going uphill, my stride completely goes and I just plod ever slowly upwards. My fellow competitors must have realised this as they latched onto me and all of a sudden I had about 3 guys around me, but within about 50 yards they were already getting away from me. I felt dreadful maybe I'd be at the Happy go Lucky Funeral Parlour sooner than expected, but now we were at 4k and surely I could make the last 1k without losing to many places.

Another guy goes past me and its my mate from the hamstring stretches, he told me he was feeling rough and he is going past me, I'm not having this so I decide to dig in with him and we have now reached the top of the uphill and its all downhill now. I'm trying to stretch out to the finish and I'm closing in on him. we go round the bend and the finish is in site and for a moment I think about launching a glorious Ovett like sprint finish. Then I realised even at the peak of my powers I never had a glorious sprint finish, so I just tried to stride out and catch hamstring guy, but he saw me coming and put in a burst of his own and just held me off as we crossed the line. For the second race running my watch failed to stop but I think it said 19.15,when I checked with hamstring guy he confirmed this, but also told me he was disappointed as he expected to run low 18 minutes. I was really pleased as this was my fastest 5k since reaching the old gits category.

Alison was waiting for me at the finish and told me how impressed she was as the only time she had attempted at 5k it had taken her 50 odd minutes, but this was all to do with her sister being so slow. After jogging for a bit Alison and I wandered off to the pub which we just reached before the masses arrive and we were able to grab a beer or two before I took the train back to the good old North.

When the official results came through I actually manged 19.14 so was even more pleased.

OK two weeks to the next race now, my own clubs promotion, The Newman Hilly 5, with my hatred of hills you can guess how much I'm looking forward to that one.