I've had a pretty easy weekend by my standards, with just the Henley Hilly 100 Audax on Saturday, followed by the Farleigh Wallop 10K on Sunday and a bit of pottering around. There's a couple of things you need to know about the Henley Hilly 100, Firstly its only 100K, Secondly it never actually goes to Henley (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and thirdly, as the name suggests its pretty hilly. For some reason though it's no longer hilly enough to gain any AAA points even though it was last year, so either the rules have been changed, or there's been some hardcore erosion going on as the routes the same. But that's not a problem, because it's a great little ride however you look at it. I took the van up Friday night after tea as "The Emma" was at work, found a nice secluded spot near the start and after a quick pint of the black stuff, settled in to listen to the rain beating on the roof. 8 hours later, the rain was still beating down on the roof and it was looking like it was going to be another wet feet day. Not to be discouraged though there was a good turn out at the start considering the conditions, and whilst the actual rain had stopped it was still pretty damp when we set of at 09:00. The route takes in some lovely little lanes through the Chilterns, although most of the road surfaces leave a lot to be desired, with numerous pot holes and plenty of loose gravel, all mixed up with plenty of good old climbing and some white knuckle descents for good measure. Luckily, despite a few light showers in the first hour, it stayed dry for the remainder of the day, although the wind did pick up for the second half, which, combined with the hills, made for some hard going at times. I think this is what is normally described as "character building" and "all part of the fun" though. All in all it was a good day out, hilly enough to give you a good workout and get the old heart rate up a bit, but not so silly as to be off putting (although anyone with any sense might think differently) and as per usual I'm glad I didn't let the little bit of rain at the start put me off. I could easily have heard the rain drumming on the roof, turned over and gone back to sleep, but look at what I'd have missed! The only other thing of note from Saturday and it's still something that I can't get my head around, is how under prepared some people are. I'll grant you it was only 100 Km, so not a big day out, and a stepping stone for a lot of riders who are looking towards longer distances, but I stopped three times to help out people who didn't have the right kit (one didn't have the route with him! and 2 mechanical problems). Whilst it might seem appealing to save a bit of weight by running lightweight components, not carrying any tools or additional puncture repair kit, or not taking any cold / wet weather kit because the suns shining, the great British roads and weather have a habit of biting you on the back side if your not careful. Personally I'd rather lug around an extra Kilo of kit, run higher spoke count wheels with tougher tyres, carry a basic tool kit, first aid kit (including a space blanket just in case), spare warm layer and have a means of knowing exactly where I am, in case, God forbid, I ever need to call the emergency services and know that I can look after myself, rather than try to cut weight to get home 2 minutes faster. The chances are I'll still be home first, because I wont be stopping every 2 minutes to fix a puncture or trying to warm up. And if your that worried about a bit of extra weight, skip a few puddings and swap that weight for a puncture repair kit! As I lay in bed Saturday night listening to the rain lash the bedroom windows and the wind billowing the curtains my heart went out to the lovely people of Hatch Warren Runners, who's flagship event, the amazing Farleigh Wallop 10K seems to be plagued by bad weather. The weekends either side always seem to be lovely, but the Sunday of the Farleigh Wallop 10K appears to be jinxed. I ran last year in what can only be described as a biblical rainstorm and this year wasn't looking much better. By the time we got lined up at the start though the rain had just about stopped and whilst still blustery it was looking like a reasonable day for running. Having not run competitively since June (and limited running of any sort) I had no real idea where my fitness levels were, or how today was going to pan out, but "in for a penny - in for a pound", I got warmed up and took my now traditional place towards the front of the pack. It's always tricky to know how far forward to start. Too far back and you get stuck behind all the slower runners and those that think they're fast but actually have no place being anywhere near the front. Too close to the front and it's easy to get carried away pace matching the really fast guys and burn yourself out within the first mile or so and as such a fine balance is required. The start drops downhill before a short sharp climb, followed by a long steady descent for about a mile and, as expected, as soon as the whistle sounded the fast guys took off like a scalded cat. I managed to gain a few places on the uphill and then fell in behind someone for the long single track descent. The pace was fast, but just about manageable and we quickly covered the first 1 1/2 miles and were into the climbing proper. The uphill pace was still way too fast to make up any real ground, but I managed to gain another couple of places along this section and was feeling reasonably good. The fast start soon started to tell though and by the time the half way marker came along I was beginning to suffer. Half way marked a turn into wind and a long slow uphill slog. Within a few seconds I was blowing hard and well into the red, there was no way I could hold the pace we had been doing and slowed slightly to try and get my breathing under control. Surprisingly I was still catching glimpses of the man in front through the trees and whilst not gaining on him, he wasn't pulling away either. By listening in to the marshals as I went past I could get a pretty good idea of how far behind the next person was too and they didn't seem to be gaining on me either, obviously although I had slowed slightly so had my closest rivals. It's good for the moral to know that everyone is suffering the same and it's not just you that's slowed down, so with the breathing now under control, and the pace slowed to something that I could probably just about hold to the end it was just a case of hanging on for another 4km. Simples! And manage to hold on I did, with occasional glimpses of the man in front and no sign of being caught from behind, it was just a case of head down, keep pushing, ignore the hurt, and go. I had no idea how I was doing for time as I'd forgotten my watch and likewise had no idea how I was placed position wise due to the limited view in front along the trail. The first real indication I had that I was actually doing alright coming after a final balls out push to the line, with a glimpse at the timing clock showing 00:45:12 as I crossed the line! Unexpected was an understatement, I ran the same course in 00:46:29 last year and didn't think I would be anywhere near that this year, let alone faster. After all the months through the summer, struggling to get over my ankle problem and wondering if I was ever even going to run again, let alone be competitive, it came as a massive surprise. To be totally honest I went out too fast at the start and paid for it in the middle section, a slightly slower start and I could possibly have picked up another place or two at the end. Starting too fast is a school boy mistake and one that I know only too well to avoid, its hard not to get carried away in the heat of the moment though and I defiantly paid for it later on. I'll happily take 45:12 though, especially as that gave me 8th overall from a field of 241 and 1st in my age category. (Results). That's not a bad mornings work, on what is a beautiful course and a credit to the Hatch Warren Runners who gave up their weekend (and stood out in the rain) to put on such a superb event. After my mornings efforts a lazy Sunday afternoon was in order, so a couple of hours on the allotment, which is starting to look very Autumnal and a bit of bike cleaning was all I really managed.
I picked the last of the cucumbers and composted the plants, thinned out the foliage on the peppers and tomato plants to let a bit more air circulate between them and hopefully keep the mildew down, planted some spring Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Kale and generally just pottered around between rain showers. Another couple of weeks and the Tomato's and Peppers will be finished and the big Autumn clean up and dig will be well under way. Maybe I'm getting old, but I really don't know where the time goes, it doesn't seem like 2 minutes ago that I sowed all these things!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|