Someone Needs A New Tape Measure

L's off for an early gym, so I get to walk the boys. It’s already hot and the three of us probably look like a triumvirate of old men as we wander listlessly down the street.

When we get back there's still no sign of Son, who’s been out on an all-nighter but has vowed to be home in time to do his papers. Though he's still got half an hour or so before his deadline.

It’s the final race of my four tonight, five miles around Colwick Park. I intend to run very slowly, in fact it’ll probably be dark before I finish. Well perhaps not that slowly but I quite fancy doing a 10k in Derby tomorrow. Yes I know, yet another race but I’ve wanted to do this one for a while, it’s just a shame it comes at the end of the Grand Prix fortnight.

L wants me to be slow because she can’t make it in time for the start but hopes to get there in time to see me finish, she’s running down from work. She's promised herself that if she runs to the race she can have some nice chilled wine afterwards. Ooh, chilled wine, in this heat I’ll be taking it off her and pouring it over my head.

It’s too hot again to bring the dogs, so they have to stay at home, not that they look too bothered. They both still look a bit listless. I consider asking Daughter to come and dog-sit at the race but if she held the dogs they might drag her round the course after me or worse, Doggo would drag her after me, whereas MD would probably drag her in the opposite direction after some imaginary cat, which would be a grisly scenario. The risk of being ripped in two by a couple of daft collies doesn’t bare thinking about.

Again they’ve put the start on a narrow footpath, when they have a whole field at their disposal. Don't understand that. So I start at the front and then let all the fast ones pass me. 6.40 for the first mile is still a bit quick and the 12.00 for two miles is... err, hang on, that’s wrong. There’s some seriously bad mile marking going on here. I couldn't run that fast if I sprinted a mile, stopped my watch half-way, had the rest of the day off and then sprinted the second mile the next day.

At half way, they’ve add a water station because it's hot but then tell everyone not to take any unless there are really desperate. So I feel a bit naughty when I take a cup and pour it over my head but I was really desperate and they don’t have any nice chilled wine.

The mile markers seem to have sorted themselves out by the third one but then it takes me over nine minutes to run the fourth mile, I couldn’t run that slow... if I walked, well perhaps a slightly exaggeration. Then it takes me a blinding four minutes to do the last mile, gosh now that really must have been some seriously quick sprinting and I didn’t even know I was doing it. I think someone needs to get a new tape measure.

My time is more or less the same as the five miles I ran recently at Long Eaton, which was slow but I was really knackered after that and tried hard all the way around, whereas I took this one quite steady. So I'm quite pleased really and L is there to meet me at the line, which is always a nice boost.

Now to collect the t-shirt for doing the race series. Each year the t-shirt's are different colours and I reckon we’re due green or possibly grey this year. Neither of which sets the pulse racing. In the end it’s boring white but with red trim like a retro football shirt from the seventies. It’s not brilliant but it could have been worse I suppose.

A lot of runners have cycled here, perhaps that’s what my challenge for next year should be, to cycle to all four races. Not that that would do much for my times but it’d be an interesting project.

Now for that wine.