There certainly didn’t seem to be many signs of spring in the air this weekend – the New York half marathon was run with woolly hats and thermals in snow and sub-zero temperatures, though that didn’t slow down Wilson Kipsang, who won it in 1hr 1min 2sec – a speed most of us can only gasp in awe at.
Here in the UK it was a big weekend for half marathons too, with Fleet and Reading both taking place yesterday. I ran the latter, and was very pleased to get a PB of 1hr 31min 43sec despite the miserable conditions – it poured. Then it poured some more. Today I am feeling every muscle in my legs and my attempt to run for the tube this morning can only be described as comic.
Today’s hobbling notwithstanding, it was lovely how many people ventured out on to the streets of Reading to cheer on the runners, given the horrible weather – I’m afraid it would have put me right off as a spectator. With some 12,000 runners at least, the drenched crowd had plenty of participants to look at: all of whom were wetter and probably hurting rather more than them.
A question, though: has anyone ever seen one of those mid-race photos and thought, “Oh, that’s nice, I’ll buy that” rather than “Good God, I didn’t know I looked THAT bad, surprised someone didn’t call the St John Ambulance people …”? Or is that just me?
So how was your weekend? A very muddy parkrun, perhaps, or a pre-marathon long run? If you are doing the latter, how are you coping with the stresses and strains on your body?
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