Still Running (weakly). Issue 33

PAST – inspiration – “Tightening the toe-straps” was a phrase my friends and I used to invoke towards the end of races. Having watched the likes of Greg Lemond, Bernard Hinault and Sean Kelly mentally and physically preparing themselves for a bike race’s denouement by jettisoning water bottles and any other redundant paraphernalia – if not literally tightening their toe-straps in those days of cleats (shoes bolted to pedals) – we borrowed the term from the world of cycling to switch our mindset from simple pace maintenance to a more aggressive gaining of precious places and seconds.

We also used to think “gobble, gobble” when we passed someone, but that’s a different story!

So, the next time you feel good enough to “go for it” towards the end of a race, try the mental trick of tightening your toe-straps! It works!!

PRESENT – perspiration – Agnes Jebet Ngetich must have tightened her toe-straps from the off in the Valencia 10km on Sunday, running a world record of 28:46, taking 28 seconds off the mark. The Kenyan passed halfway in 14:13, equalling THAT world record too.

This performance means that she has run the distance faster than Emil Zatopek (Olympic 10,000 golds in 1948 and 1952) and over a minute faster than Paavo Nurmi (golds in 1920 and 1928).

If I were an old dinosaur of a runner, I’d be tempted to say, “I never thought I’d see the day……………”

FUTURE – suggestion – The hats, gloves and waterproof tops strewn by the side of the course at the end of the first lap of the Cirencester parkrun told their own story.

It’s cold, but not that cold.

Unless you are racing a long distance over rugged terrain, where the course’s technical difficulty will not allow you to move fast enough to keep warm, then think carefully about how much you bundle up. And unless your circulation is poor, then generally, certainly when you are racing rather than training, a t-shirt and shorts will do.

After a bracing first few minutes, the effort intrinsic in your run will provide all the warmth that you need. It certainly did for me: toes, check, fine; legs fine; core yes; hands, cold for a lap but then thawed; head, no problem.

Training or taking a race easy are different matters and then an extra layer that is easy to take off and tie round your waist, may well be a good idea.

Embrace and enjoy your winter racing. Cast care – and that thermal jacket – aside!