Running, the numbers
At the end of October last year I ran the Amsterdam Half Marathon, with a goal time of under 1:30. It finished in the Olympic Stadium, crowds in the stands, very grandiose. On the top of the finish line, after a lap around the track, was a big clock, and as it came into sight, I saw it was on something like 1:29:52. I sprinted as best I could, but got a text shortly afterwards, congratulations, you finished in 1:30:05. Frustrating. But, close. A bit more training, and I could blast out those six seconds. I signed up for the London Winter 10k, set for February 9, and the Paris Half Marathon, March 1. Smash it.
And yes, “a bit more training” would have made sense. Instead, I went a bit mad, starting running to and from work a couple of times a week, doing sprint intervals at the weekend, and generally upping my weekly mileage from (an admittedly low) 35km to 65 and 75km in the first two weeks. Because of this, some muscle in my hip region, specifically the TFL, just packed it in and said no thanks.
Two weeks after that, I had a 10k in Fulham, with a goal time of under 40 mins. I had a week’s rest beforehand. That’s probably enough, I’m still more or less 22 years old, right? I took off at full tilt, increasing pain in the Transport for London as I went. I did keep pace until about 7.5km in, and then had to stop. So many small inclines and corners, each worse than the last. I finished it out and got the customary text, congratulations, you finished in 41:15. Damn. I’ll rest a bit, and then start to get ready for next year’s events.
My hip hurt through Christmas.
My hip hurt through January.
In late January I went to the physio and had a thumb jammed into my knotted wreck of muscles for 35 minutes or so. Then I did that again.
My hip hurt into February.
I still (foolishly) planned to run the Winter 10k, but then, two days before, it got smited by Storm Ciara. Cancelled.
My hip hurt for the rest of February. I went to the physio again. No way was I going to Paris at this point, I hadn’t booked a train, accommodation or anything. Write it off, it’s only the race fee.
About seventeen hours before the Paris half was about to start, the French government banned gatherings of over 5,000 people, and the whole thing was postponed indefinitely. You might have heard of Covid-19 by now. I’ve still not actually received an email from them, it was just in the news that the race was cancelled.
So now, my hip still hurts. But only a tiny bit, and so I’m signing up for races again. Paris is still to be rescheduled when the plague is finished, and depending on when that is, I’ll probably be fit enough to attend. Beyond that, here’s my calendar:
May 25 - London Vitality 10k. Done this a few times, have multiple shirts. Jul 19 - City Run Shoreditch 10k. From the people who brought you the Fulham race that finished off my hip. Aug 04 - Another 10k in Regent’s Park. One of these has to be under 40 minutes or I’ll just call the whole thing off. Sep 13 - Richmond Park half marathon. Haven’t signed up for this yet, kind of hanging on to see if Paris finds a date, because I suspect that would be in the autumn.
My goals remain the same. Sub 90, sub 40, sub 20. All of which I have done by GPS tracking, but damn do I want those official results.