After the disappointment of missing out on both the first two Asics races my ill tempered and disobedient body decided to throw in a cold for good measure which was washed down with yet another sinus infection and a liberal sprinkling of antibiotics.
Happy New year by the way!
So, seemingly clear of that I managed to drag my body around the county XC champs in Stevenage to help St Albans Striders to the team title as the 5th counter of six. I was on the last two days of antibiotics at the time and so as I have always found when on them, my powers of recovery were zero and I was subsequently treated to a good 3 days of being only just able to walk.
Recovered in time by last weekend I took to the start line of a race I have never done before, the Waddenhoe Quadmire Duathlon in Buckinghamshire. It was a great race and on a really tidy short sharp circuit. Its a classic example of where I believe Duathlon should be headed in this country and in a way it is much more in keeping with the continental style of sprint race based on a short, sharp, feature packed course. I actually felt great and went on to win and set a new course record but could really feel my left calf tightening over the final run in my spikes on the rough, frozen ground and now, a week on, I have not been able to run at all. It is healing but two days before the defence of my Wildman title in the Asics series it's all up in the air again.....
Hey ho. We take the rough with the smooth in sport and as I always say, without the troughs there are no such things as peaks. It's all relative! I hope to see some of you on Saturday in the sands of Hankley Common.