Tri Challenge

One of my colleagues from work put me onto the Finch Coasters Woodland 5 Series the other day, which takes place over three Wednesday evenings in May, June and July. I’m always slightly nervous about events with small fields, for fear of coming last, but I need to rack up a few miles so I agreed to the challenge.

Typically I was late leaving the office, and didn’t really know where I was going. After several phone calls to E, I eventually found the carpark (why didn’t the organisers say it was practically on top of the hospital?), had to sprint across the carpark to pick up my number, then jog to the start – didn’t even have time to grab a watch, Sportband or iPod. And I needed the loo. Not a great start.

All of the other people looked very fit. And, as the horn sounded, they all shot off at quite a pace. Including my colleague. So much for finding a regular weekday running partner. I plodded along at the back, thinking I could have been pouring myself a nice glass of wine at home by now. Then I looked around me and thought, come to think of it, this is really nice. The Crowthorne Woods are beautiful and the terrain was made up of nice, soft pine needles. The weather was just about perfect: warm but damp.

We jogged down a long straight stretch that went gently downhill and up again, then veered off into the woodland. It got a bit sticky there, with dense mud and big puddles. After trying to dodge the wettest bits (and nearly breaking my ankle in the process) I gave up and just splashed through them. Over another track, round a big log and down a ditch into some more forest, we then came up to a whopping big hill, laced with tree roots. Not so long ago, I probably would have walked some of it- but I have made a recent discovery: hills are easier if you run them with your glutes instead of your quads. It’s taken me years of running – and quite a lot of spinning – to find that out. I overtook several stragglers on the hill and continued down into the next patch of woodland.

I must have lost my bearings then, but found myself on the long, straight stretch again. I could still see E a few runners ahead of me, which was encouraging. Into the sticky stuff again, I had to stop briefly to tie my laces, but carried on. As I rounded the corner into the wood, a blonde marshall told me there wasn’t much farther to go. Oooh, I thought – I really am getting fitter…well done me, I don’t feel like I’ve run anything like five miles…

I hadn’t. She was lying. As I found when I got to the bottom of the big shitting hill. Oh well, head down and up I went, overtaking a couple more runners. Round the loop we went again. A girl in front seemed a bit peeved about the distance. Her Garmin said we’d already done 4.8 miles and another marshall (who seemed to know what she was on about) said we had another mile to go. It took us through the muddy bit again – at which point I started to think I was going to need go to the jetwash to get all the mud off my legs. Each one of my feet felt as heavy as my head and there was no indication that my trainers and socks had ever been white.

I passed the blonde marshall and remarked that it felt like Groundhog Day. She laughed like a drain for some reason…maybe everyone else had been a bit abusive about her words of “encouragement” on the last loop. One more sweeping turn, and I reached the home straight, crossing the line a minute or two after E. I reckon the distance was more like six miles than five, and estimate that I ran it in a shade under an hour. Not bad considering I don’t really like exercising in the evening. I wasn’t quite the last to cross the line, so I’ll be back again for the other runs in the series. Next time I will remember to take another pair of shoes so I don’t have to drive home in bare feet; I wouldn’t recommend it.

So, having done that and a really lovely 8.5 mile run in Derbyshire featuring some squeaky baby goats, many sheep and a pheasant at the weekend with RedRocket, I reckon I can manage the St Albans Half Marathon in ten days’ time. That’s assuming I don’t get trollied at my cousin’s wedding the day before…