"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

POWER 2 Mile Virtual Race - November 15th, 2020

The blustery Autumn of 2020 continued and so did our weekly 2 mile virtual burn-up. After poor preparation for the last one I actually worked quite hard to improve my time in the days building up to the "Power" race. 2 interval sessions of 3 x 0.5 miles at race pace and a couple of recovery jogs in between, then a couple of short bike rides between work and the office and a single rest day. I'd also been a bit more disciplined with food and managed to shed 4 pounds by the Saturday morning. Sadly when I weighed in on Sunday morning, two had somehow gone back on, but at least I was closer to racing shape than a week before. I also fortified myself with a shot of coffee just before the race, to get a bit of an edge for a fast start. I've found I get my best times when I "fly and die" instead of holding back, but it's always a gamble and sometimes you can regret those optimistic starts.

The forescast was for a wild and wet weekend with gales and heavy showers and as I was getting my shoes on, a torrential downpour made me think twice about getting out and heading for Horizon 38. I gave it a couple of minutes to subside and was able to jog up there in blustery winds and light rain which my knackered old jacket could cope with. When Suswara jogged into view I shed my warmup layers and got ready to race in my windstopper-panelled baselayer, shorts, running cap and compression socks. Good winter gear for a short and ballistic run into the teeth of the stormy weather.

Our Race Prayer was an aphorism of Sri Chinmoy's from 50 years ago - inspired by that, or perhaps the coffee, or perhaps both, I hurtled off at stupid speed into a block headwind. I turned the first corner with the lap pace showing at 5.38 which was utterly mad. Even without the headwind that would have been too big an effort. As the first mile unwound beneath my feet I was desperately trying to recover from that crazy sprint. The rain was subsiding but the wind was still a challenge on 2 sides of the course and I just managed to hang on to target pace (sub-6 miling) as I came through the half way mark. From there on I usually keep on slowing and so it proved on this occasion too - as I rounded each corner I saw the pace dipping first to 6 minutes dead and then 6.01 but it stayed around that level as I came into the last few hundred metres. I had had to quicken my breathing from about 0.8 mile in, which I can't normally sustain, but I told my mind to stop doubting what I could do in the closing stages and let my body give whatever it had left in a surge for the invisible finish line. A tailwind on the final hundred metres helped me up the pace and I ended up with a very satisfyng 11.58. Not my best time of the year, or even of the series, but with that wind I was more than happy.

It had been a really massive effort, pushing my body to its limit, and the coughing fit that ensued didn't properly stop until after we'd walked to Costa, got a takeway lockdown coffee and then walked back to the Business Park. When my body reacts like that I know I've held nothing back, but I realised I shouldn't put myself through that every single Saturday. Hopefully I'll be able to match that time in better conditions without going so far into the red.

Suswara had a decent race, close to 12.30, and we were both still on track for Superhero status as we had done every race of the series.

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