This one didn't go too well at all I'm afraid.
The very first kilometre, just a few metres round the corner, was a steep hill - guaranteed to make you lose precious reserves of energy at a stage when you're not properly warmed up. I tried adopting the same strategy as in my recent marathon, running as smoothly as possible without exerting myself too much. But conditions here were completely different. To begin with I wasn't sufficiently trained, my last long run having been the marathon itself no less than 4 weeks earlier. A hamstring strain had prevented me from doing at least one decent long training run for the past month, so my endurance has inevitably started to diminish. But I like to look at the bright side. Hamstring strains are notoriously nasty and long-lasting, so I count myself lucky that I'm actually running races so early after the injury.
If the terrain had been any bit close to normal, I might still have run a reasonably good race. It was not to be! As if the frequent hills were not enough, it got worse. The forest paths were extremely muddy. Imagine running up a long, steep path with your feet unable to grip the slippery slush. We hopped from one slippery side to the other over the groove in the middle. At one point I tripped on a hidden root, and was lucky to stay upright and avoid tasting the mud... But a few moments later I decided it was almost as fast to walk as to "run" in those conditions. And once I slow down to walk in a race, for every little excuse after that I slow down to walk again.
It was such a relief to run on terra firma once again a few minutes later - going uphill on a normal road surface was almost like running downhill, compared to the previous mudfest. I picked up a rhythm once more, only to hit another uphill muddy patch, followed by a cobbled stretch. It was too much! If this is what they mean by cross-country running, it's certainly not my idea of fun. Give me long distance races, any time. Hills are no problem either - it's where I normally overtake most rivals. But mud is just a bloody nuisance, with a built-in high risk of getting injured.
Sorry, guys at Training 7. You've been really nice, the race is well organised, but this event is not for me. It's a pity, actually, as I had been looking forward to this race - 25 km from Wavre all the way to Brussels, just as in the fascinating third stage of the Malta Challenge marathon - for quite a few years. My insufficient state of fitness didn't help at all of course - the final slowdown to a walk at a slightly uphill stretch facing the wind, in the penultimate kilometre, was only due to the fact that I was so tired from all my previous efforts.
Never mind. The finishing time was marginally better than 5 minutes per kilometre, which is not too bad considering the many difficulties. And there are lots of opportunities to make up for today's disappointment in the coming weeks and months.
It's 8 in the evening and the sun is still shining. How I just love it when we switch to summer time!
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