This morning a leisurely kick off for the Droitwich Half
Marathon at 12 noon. It’s decidedly low key, a 350 limit and not really in Droitwich,
as it barely skirts the outside.
The race HQ is at a rather bemused golf course, where there
is no parking due to the weather. So the runners are bussed in from the town
centre. This wasn't an option with dogs, so we parked roadside. As did many
others but at least we parked well away from the race start on a side road and
didn't block the buses or the run route, as others did.
The race route itself was very rural and very dull. Highlights
were a thatched cottage, a ford that we skirted around and one country pub,
which wasn’t open. Dull though is fine, as it gave me the chance to zone out
and concentrate on my injuries or more specifically, not aggravating those
injuries.
It was also mainly flat but with two quite steep downhills, which
is odd, as I don't remember the ups, so they must have been slight or I must
really have been zoned out.
My fitness ran out, as expected, at around 5 miles but the calves
felt good, which was my main concern. The foam roller I purchased as chief
masseur, in the absence of a real live one, did its job. Who needs some dinky
sexy physioette with iron thumbs, not me...
The injured knee was sore, as expected, but nothing too
spectacular, so that was good too. The blisters though, were something
else. This was expected too. Forced into selecting long socks for calf
compression, I have yet to find any that are double skinned for blister
protection. Oh, and of course, everything else aches. As I say, general fitness
ran out at around 5 miles but I slogged round and proved a point to my body.
Afterwards the organisers have a little laugh by placing the race t-shirts
and the post run sandwiches upstairs.
