Battle of the over 50s

A second relay race in two weeks sees me gurning for victory on the final lap

Feeling the strain!

Sometimes in life, stuff happens, and Monday Musings becomes Tuesday Musings. I went wild camping on Dartmoor with a bunch of university friends on Sunday, and only got home, drenched to the bone and ready for a bath and bed on Monday evening, after 24 hours cut off from the world. It’s quite amazing how even in this small, overpopulated country of England, you can simply walk out from a train station, on to the moor, and not see a single other person for 24 hours, and find yourself swimming in beautiful plunge pools and wandering through ancient rainforest.

However, that may be a story for next week. For now I’ll stick to running, as I competed in another 4 x 3K relay last Friday. This time I was running for Torbay Triathlon Club in a fancied over-50s team - the club chairman had been getting very excited at training on Tuesday, telling us we were a fast team and in with a great shot of winning the South Devon relays over-50s trophy. It was hardly the Olympics, but still.

I was actually the fastest in the team based on best 5K times this year, but one of our runners, Parky, has beaten me every time I’ve ever raced him (which is quite a lot of times). Our other runners were Andy, who was usually about my speed, but was coming back from injury so not on top form, and Rich, who is actually in his 60s, but who is faster than any other over-50 runner at the club.

However, after the previous Friday’s relay, my achilles had been a little painful, and then after Tuesday’s session with the club - 6 x 1km - it was really quite sore. So much so that when I took Ossian to get his hair cut the next morning, I found myself hobbling down Totnes high street like an old pirate. How was I going to race a fast 3km on Friday, when I could barely walk on Wednesday?