12.01.2020 = Cliveden 10k
After a long steady period of run training, I was feeling ready for Cliveden this year.
Then on Thursday I pulled my left calf, and also got a severely painful cramp in it, which left me walking with a limp.
So decided not to go. I even had a late night on Saturday with a few glasses of wine.
But I woke on race day at about 6am, and really didn't like the thought of not going, after having waited two years since the last one.
There would be a good crowd from my Triathlon club, Evo
It would be a fun day out.
I'd entered the race
I'd paid for the race
I wanted my finisher t-shirt!
Sitting in the car park at 8:15am, with heavy rain pouring down (which was not forecast) I slightly regretted driving over :)
But it was fairly warm at 9 degrees, and the rain stopped in enough time for me to go and sign in and make my way to the start. One cheese bagel and a small coffee for breakfast, a gel and a sip of water 30 minutes before the race, for the record.
Wearing my new Inov-8 trail shoes - not really so new now of course, but still feeling new to me.
My plan was to do a steady pace, not too fast, just running for as long as I could before the pain got too bad. I was heel striking so as not to stretch the calf much, and I was prepared to stop after lap one.
The soft muddy surfaces were best for me, and also the climbs. Flats and downhills put the most pressure on my leg.
At the infamous Cliveden steps for the first time, I was surprised my pace wasn't bad, and my leg was holding out. I even noticed I was gaining on Stuart from Evo ahead. I watched my HR, and power walked almost it all. This is not a bad strategy as you keep some strength.
I just kept running, and the leg kept hurting, but it was OK. Maybe the paracetamol I took with breakfast was masking the pain a bit. I played cat and mouse with Richard from Evo, and eventually caught up with Stuart and overtook him. Richard took a tumble on a corner and I also overtook him.
At mile five, my late night caught up with me and I was tired. Richard passed me again going up the penultimate climb, where I could only walk. My HR jumped to 172 on the steps, and I didn't even try to catch Richard there. I took one wrong step (forefoot strike on a step) and nearly lost my calf. Remembered to heel strike for the rest of the way. But I did exactly the same time going up as lap one.
No sprint finish, just glad to get there in one piece. It's a shame I couldn't give it a proper go this year, again. I did my best and avoided both the DNS and DNF and had time to actually look around a bit during the run, which was nice. The sun even came out while we were running.
Results look like this:
121 584 Robert Shiels 10k 00:51:55 Male 102 50-59 21
Placed 121st out of 593, I think 3rd in my club. 21st in the 50-59 category. 102nd male. 51:55 is 3.5 minutes slower than last time.
[2018 results]
[103 601 Robert Shiels 10k 00:48:27 Male 91 50-59 17]
[Placed 103rd out of 601. 17th in the 50-59 category. 91st male.]
Notes: I didn't want to wear my dark prescription sunglasses, so wore one contact lens. (none in the other eye so that I can read my Garmin). These lenses are not good now, and I spent a lot of time blinking to get it to stay in place. I need a proper running/cycling solution for seeing where I am going.
I wore leggings, and two layers on top, short sleeves. It was hard to decide, I could have worn less. My hands were cold for the first mile or so though. My running cap was probably not necessary either, but I like it.
Links
Burnam Joggers Results
Strava Cliveden
Google Photos
Flickr Chris Drew
Note 24.01.2020 - I took things easy for a few days after this, then went for a short, slow run. My calf seemed OK. I did some cycling on the turbo, then another run, faster this time, yesterday. My calf is back to normal. I was convinced this had been the same injury that has usually left me in pain for 3-5 weeks. Did my Cliveden effort actually mend the calf? Was I so nervous about the race that my mind invented the pain so that I could ease off and not stress. Weird if either of those is true.
After a long steady period of run training, I was feeling ready for Cliveden this year.
Then on Thursday I pulled my left calf, and also got a severely painful cramp in it, which left me walking with a limp.
So decided not to go. I even had a late night on Saturday with a few glasses of wine.
But I woke on race day at about 6am, and really didn't like the thought of not going, after having waited two years since the last one.
There would be a good crowd from my Triathlon club, Evo
It would be a fun day out.
I'd entered the race
I'd paid for the race
I wanted my finisher t-shirt!
Sitting in the car park at 8:15am, with heavy rain pouring down (which was not forecast) I slightly regretted driving over :)
But it was fairly warm at 9 degrees, and the rain stopped in enough time for me to go and sign in and make my way to the start. One cheese bagel and a small coffee for breakfast, a gel and a sip of water 30 minutes before the race, for the record.
Wearing my new Inov-8 trail shoes - not really so new now of course, but still feeling new to me.
My plan was to do a steady pace, not too fast, just running for as long as I could before the pain got too bad. I was heel striking so as not to stretch the calf much, and I was prepared to stop after lap one.
The soft muddy surfaces were best for me, and also the climbs. Flats and downhills put the most pressure on my leg.
At the infamous Cliveden steps for the first time, I was surprised my pace wasn't bad, and my leg was holding out. I even noticed I was gaining on Stuart from Evo ahead. I watched my HR, and power walked almost it all. This is not a bad strategy as you keep some strength.
I just kept running, and the leg kept hurting, but it was OK. Maybe the paracetamol I took with breakfast was masking the pain a bit. I played cat and mouse with Richard from Evo, and eventually caught up with Stuart and overtook him. Richard took a tumble on a corner and I also overtook him.
At mile five, my late night caught up with me and I was tired. Richard passed me again going up the penultimate climb, where I could only walk. My HR jumped to 172 on the steps, and I didn't even try to catch Richard there. I took one wrong step (forefoot strike on a step) and nearly lost my calf. Remembered to heel strike for the rest of the way. But I did exactly the same time going up as lap one.
No sprint finish, just glad to get there in one piece. It's a shame I couldn't give it a proper go this year, again. I did my best and avoided both the DNS and DNF and had time to actually look around a bit during the run, which was nice. The sun even came out while we were running.
Results look like this:
121 584 Robert Shiels 10k 00:51:55 Male 102 50-59 21
Placed 121st out of 593, I think 3rd in my club. 21st in the 50-59 category. 102nd male. 51:55 is 3.5 minutes slower than last time.
[2018 results]
[103 601 Robert Shiels 10k 00:48:27 Male 91 50-59 17]
[Placed 103rd out of 601. 17th in the 50-59 category. 91st male.]
Notes: I didn't want to wear my dark prescription sunglasses, so wore one contact lens. (none in the other eye so that I can read my Garmin). These lenses are not good now, and I spent a lot of time blinking to get it to stay in place. I need a proper running/cycling solution for seeing where I am going.
I wore leggings, and two layers on top, short sleeves. It was hard to decide, I could have worn less. My hands were cold for the first mile or so though. My running cap was probably not necessary either, but I like it.
Links
Burnam Joggers Results
Strava Cliveden
Google Photos
Flickr Chris Drew
Note 24.01.2020 - I took things easy for a few days after this, then went for a short, slow run. My calf seemed OK. I did some cycling on the turbo, then another run, faster this time, yesterday. My calf is back to normal. I was convinced this had been the same injury that has usually left me in pain for 3-5 weeks. Did my Cliveden effort actually mend the calf? Was I so nervous about the race that my mind invented the pain so that I could ease off and not stress. Weird if either of those is true.
