Sunday, October 29, 2006
Running in Accrington
Never one to be troubled by the maxim “Once bitten, twice shy,” I failed to learn the very good lesson of the Birchwood 10k by this morning competing in the Accrington 10k. “Competing” is perhaps an over-statement, given that the man who finished just ahead of me was apparently 77 years old, but I completed the course if nothing else.
It was described in the race-guide as “undulating” compared to Birchwood’s “flat,” and this too was a slightly misleading description. If “undulating” races take in the kinds of roller-coaster dips that this one revelled in providing, then I can only assume that genuinely “hilly” races are confined to the more mountainous areas of places like Kashmir…
My previous personal best was 55:55, set at Birchwood, and it remains my gold standard, as this time I came home in 56:20. Still, I think this was a reasonable time given the terrain (and the fact that since Birchwood I have been in America surviving on their diet for three weeks!). And I got a t-shirt for my troubles this time as well, which I might wear at a future 10k to scare the competition into believing I’m an expert at these things. Their fright might last a few seconds until it becomes blatantly obvious to all that I will complete the course in about twice the time of the quickest!
I have put the photos on my photo site, and you can see them here
Rick
It was described in the race-guide as “undulating” compared to Birchwood’s “flat,” and this too was a slightly misleading description. If “undulating” races take in the kinds of roller-coaster dips that this one revelled in providing, then I can only assume that genuinely “hilly” races are confined to the more mountainous areas of places like Kashmir…
My previous personal best was 55:55, set at Birchwood, and it remains my gold standard, as this time I came home in 56:20. Still, I think this was a reasonable time given the terrain (and the fact that since Birchwood I have been in America surviving on their diet for three weeks!). And I got a t-shirt for my troubles this time as well, which I might wear at a future 10k to scare the competition into believing I’m an expert at these things. Their fright might last a few seconds until it becomes blatantly obvious to all that I will complete the course in about twice the time of the quickest!
I have put the photos on my photo site, and you can see them here
Rick
# posted by Richard Baum @ 23:17 
