Scott2Run: Felix Sohieloop, Hoeilaart 11.2 km - Friday 6 May - 0h51:00
Back to one of my favourite races, after two absences due to a cold and then my injury. This year I'm quite sure that the distance was slightly longer - we ran a wider path in the wooded patch in Groenendaal, plus a strange detour into a carwash station on the way back to the sports centre. It may be part of the reason why I finished close to 3 minutes later than my last participation in 2009. The main reason, of course, is that I've slowed down somewhat due to not being able to run normally because of the not-completely-healed pain in my hamstring, and due to another two years of inexorable deterioration as I grow older... cheery thought...
This is one of the runs where I really run flat out, and this edition was no exception. Pity it starts so late, at 8pm. Even in the first loop it's already quite dark under the thick foliage in Groenendaal. In the second loop it's worse, and with my short eyesight and the pain in my left buttock with each step, the uneven ground at the steep uphill narrow footpath was really treacherous.
There were no incidents, however. I raced in and all-in-all finished in a decent time of exactly 51 minutes - exhausted!
Scott2Run: Huldenberg 10.7 km - Sunday 15 May - 0h49:32
I should have known, in fact I did know, that Huldenberg lies in a hilly area, and any race starting here would involve a lot of going up and down hills. But I was more concerned with achieving a good placing, and avoiding getting bogged down in a crowded start as has been happening in my recent races.
So I sprang enthusiastically into action from the start, forging a path for myself immediately up a long uphill stretch that I had once done on my mountainbike. After the first 10 minutes I had already expended too much reserves, and yet I kept up the pace. We then dropped downhill, no problem here, and back into the valley. It became clearer that this wasn't going to be the usual double loop, so popular in these areas, so the remaining 5 km were unknown to me - not a good omen. We were running along footpaths in the forest, with brooks and streams and so on, really beautiful. I should go exploring the area again.
I sensed a steep hill right round the corner, so to speak, and sure enough... there it was, going up and then curving further up... I suddenly stopped. It happens sometimes in my races. I walked uphill while others jogged past - a good few. I walked on for what must have been close to 5 minutes, until I approached the top of the hill. I had recovered my breath to be able to run, and even race, again.
I wonder what went on through the minds of those who had gone past me, a spent force trudging uphill, when this same spent force overtook them once again at the top of the hill and beyond :-) After a short while we started a sharp downhill, really fast and competitive. The injury in my hamstring was shouting out loud now, with each step, but I didn't care anymore and just kept racing.
It's a good thing, in fact, that I resumed racing in spite of having slowed down to a walk. I had run so fast in the first stage of the race, and probably also in the last bit, that it almost made up for the time lost while walking. The finishing time was a quite decent 0h49:32, and the fact that there were not so many participants in this race resulted in a high number of points for me in the Scott2Run general classification.
Now that I know the route I won't repeat the same mistake if, hopefully, I give it another try next year. My young son Gianluca likes to say, when I play badly on a computer game, that Papa is playing like a baby. At Huldenberg I made the classic mistake so common for beginners, that of starting too fast. Gianluca would be right to say that I ran like a baby.
Back to one of my favourite races, after two absences due to a cold and then my injury. This year I'm quite sure that the distance was slightly longer - we ran a wider path in the wooded patch in Groenendaal, plus a strange detour into a carwash station on the way back to the sports centre. It may be part of the reason why I finished close to 3 minutes later than my last participation in 2009. The main reason, of course, is that I've slowed down somewhat due to not being able to run normally because of the not-completely-healed pain in my hamstring, and due to another two years of inexorable deterioration as I grow older... cheery thought...
This is one of the runs where I really run flat out, and this edition was no exception. Pity it starts so late, at 8pm. Even in the first loop it's already quite dark under the thick foliage in Groenendaal. In the second loop it's worse, and with my short eyesight and the pain in my left buttock with each step, the uneven ground at the steep uphill narrow footpath was really treacherous.
There were no incidents, however. I raced in and all-in-all finished in a decent time of exactly 51 minutes - exhausted!
Scott2Run: Huldenberg 10.7 km - Sunday 15 May - 0h49:32
I should have known, in fact I did know, that Huldenberg lies in a hilly area, and any race starting here would involve a lot of going up and down hills. But I was more concerned with achieving a good placing, and avoiding getting bogged down in a crowded start as has been happening in my recent races.
So I sprang enthusiastically into action from the start, forging a path for myself immediately up a long uphill stretch that I had once done on my mountainbike. After the first 10 minutes I had already expended too much reserves, and yet I kept up the pace. We then dropped downhill, no problem here, and back into the valley. It became clearer that this wasn't going to be the usual double loop, so popular in these areas, so the remaining 5 km were unknown to me - not a good omen. We were running along footpaths in the forest, with brooks and streams and so on, really beautiful. I should go exploring the area again.
I sensed a steep hill right round the corner, so to speak, and sure enough... there it was, going up and then curving further up... I suddenly stopped. It happens sometimes in my races. I walked uphill while others jogged past - a good few. I walked on for what must have been close to 5 minutes, until I approached the top of the hill. I had recovered my breath to be able to run, and even race, again.
I wonder what went on through the minds of those who had gone past me, a spent force trudging uphill, when this same spent force overtook them once again at the top of the hill and beyond :-) After a short while we started a sharp downhill, really fast and competitive. The injury in my hamstring was shouting out loud now, with each step, but I didn't care anymore and just kept racing.
It's a good thing, in fact, that I resumed racing in spite of having slowed down to a walk. I had run so fast in the first stage of the race, and probably also in the last bit, that it almost made up for the time lost while walking. The finishing time was a quite decent 0h49:32, and the fact that there were not so many participants in this race resulted in a high number of points for me in the Scott2Run general classification.
Now that I know the route I won't repeat the same mistake if, hopefully, I give it another try next year. My young son Gianluca likes to say, when I play badly on a computer game, that Papa is playing like a baby. At Huldenberg I made the classic mistake so common for beginners, that of starting too fast. Gianluca would be right to say that I ran like a baby.
