Sunday 19 April 2009

Preparing to fail

So how's my knee?  I suppose the short answer is I don't know.  I haven't really tested it out properly.  The most running I've done in the last few weeks was a mile jog from Hitchin railway station back home (after picking Lindsay up so she could take the car to the club while I sulked at home).  I could move OK, but my knee felt like it could give way at any moment.

So I suppose I've been avoiding the club a little.  There's not much I can do there, and although it's nice to see everyone, it's a bit depressing to see everyone enjoying themselves when I can't join in.  I can understand why people drop out of circulation when something like this happens.

So, it's the Flitwick 10k in a few hours, and of course I'm not confident.  If I hadn't entered a month or two ago I certainly wouldn't be attempting it today - but since it's a Run of the Month I'd still turn up to spectate and see how many Squirrels we can gather at the same place at the same time.  But I've paid, so I'll damn well get round the course.  Even if I have to walk.  I've been the trail cyclist at Standalone in the past, so if this event is anything like that I'm still in no danger of coming last.  But am I in danger of Lindsay beating me?  Well, that's a different worry.

But some worries go away.  I went to a gym session yesterday lunchtime called Boot Camp, which I normally avoid the day before a race.  I had a really fun time at a party last night and didn't care about eating curry, drinking beer or not getting much sleep.  I'll probably wear a T-shirt under my vest, which I wouldn't normally do in this weather.  I might not bother to put contact lenses in.  I might even take my iPod and listen to The Now Show.

I'm watching the start of the Chinese Grand Prix and they're all talking about race strategy (even though they're plodding around behind a safety car - Formula 1 is a bit of a joke this season).  I can only think of two strategies for myself: 1) jog along, try not to aggravate anything, see how long I last, or 2) go as fast as I can on the assumption that it's the amount of time I spend running that causes the problem, and so when I eventually have to jog/walk I'm further round the course.  I'm a bit too risk-averse for option 2.

But hopefully it'll be nice to just be out.

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