May 04, 2006

Descent into mystery

I'm only suffering slightly from the run last night, nothing major, just a few aches here and there. I didn't feel too bad at the end of the race, which is actually not a good thing, meaning I didn't push myself hard enough. I was conscious of not going out too quick and leaving me nothing for the end, but I overdid it a bit I think, having too much energy at the end. I think that's reflected in my official time of 45:53, which is quite a bit longer than my hope of coming in below 40 minutes. I knew I wasn't going to make that time though when I passed the 3 km marker, doing some quick maths on my time taken to that point told me that.

Still, I came in 258th out of 1089 starters, which isn't too bad I guess. It does give me something to work on over the summer though, when I carry on with my training and enter some more races. Something else that probably didn't help my time, was a surprise meeting with my old primary school headmaster at around the halfway point. I thought I recognized him, but wasn't entirely sure even when I got level and stared straight at him. I got a strange look back, but it was only after I inquisitively said his name that he confirmed he was indeed who I thought he was. We had a chat for a couple of minutes, probably not what either of us needed at that point, but he did have the energy to comment on the fact I probably didn't have a beard the last time he saw me, which is a fair assumption as I was only eleven at the time.

All being well I'll see him again next month when I complete my three week secondary school experience, which will mean I can also visit my old primary school as part of the school sports partnership. The timings have come together quite nicely really as he retires in the summer.

If anyone's interested, you can go here to have a look at the official race website. Click on the Results and Photo Gallery on the left to see exactly what it says in the title. As far as I can tell, I'm not on any of the photos though. Also, have a look at the explanation on the left of the page explaining why the awards ceremony was delayed, very funny!