"222; Three little ducks!" said the man giving me my time tag at the finish line this morning. It doesn't sound an impressive placement in a race, and indeed, I was 3rd from last in the Park Run at Wimbledon Common. But I was so proud to have finished my first 5 km run since my cancer diagnosis, and I didn't walk any of it. Or crawl. I was even faster than my only other "official" 5 km timed run which was a Race For Life in Battersea Park almost 20 years ago. On that day, I remember a supporter yelling helpfully "come on, you walkers!" and I had to point out to him I was actually a runner.
Today's run was in a snowstorm and piles of mud, which, although it made things very difficult, means that hopefully in drier weather my time will improve. One unavoidable puddle reaching the top of my trainers brought to mind the old English nursery rhyme Dr. Foster: Dr. Foster Went to Gloucester, in a shower of rain; he stepped in a puddle right up to his middle.....
One thing I do like - on the web page for the results, you are classed as an athlete. At the end of the run, your time tag is matched to your unique barcode which you print out in advance by registering on the website. In this way, you can be tracked at any run you do anywhere and watch your progress.
My friend, Miranda, has various strategies to help her to get round the course, mostly involving distracting herself with poem or song lyrics. Luckily for her, she is good at remembering them; I suggested a poem (Ozymandius) then couldn't even remember who wrote it, let alone any of the words! Must try harder. Most of my distractions involved being lapped by the runners at the front who finished just as I reached the half-way mark. At one stage, I could have slipped in front and "won". But of course that sort of thing didn't cross my mind.
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