Following a long day of mainly being sat on my arse, I managed to get all my stuff together and head out to Nuneaton for the Midlands Vets Track and Field Championships.
I had been selected / asked to compete in the 2,000 m race walk but as I was the only M60 (Male over sixty) athlete I was asked if I could do any of the other events. Foolishly, I said that I’d have a go at the 800m run !
My first event was the walk which went alright despite little training (I’ve been spending too much time on the bike lately). Due to a watch (or finger) malfunction, I failed to record the race on my Garmin but glancing up at the stadium clock told me that I’d completed the two k in around 14:29.
Checking Strava afterwards revealed that I’d beaten my previous time by about nine seconds (14:37.9 back in May 2022).
I did manage to pass a couple of fellow walkers but I haven’t seen the result so not sure how many points I earned for the club.
The came the eight hundred.
I did a little warmup before lining up with four more runners before the gun sounded and we were off – some more off than others.
As the others raced away, I settled into a two lap slog finishing in 3:56. I did get a mention from the race commentator who said something along the lines of “Here’s Kev Baldry, running through treacle”. How rude – but true.
Analysing the run afterwards reveals that I am no runner. After an initial surge, around the first bend, my pace plummeted giving an average pace of 7:53 per mile.
On the plus side, just by taking part and finishing, I earned a few points which helped propel Nuneaton Harriers from 3rd to 2nd overall.
The Aftermath
The day after, my legs were stiff and by Tuesday my right knee was quite swollen and painful to walk on.
It is now Wednesday and I have taped up the knee with KT tape and that makes it easier to walk on.
I have managed a couple of walks this week in preparation for the upcoming RRR.
The Results are in
Got the results from Sunday and I managed to earn ten points over my two events.
I came third in the 2k walk earning 6 points and fifth (last) in the 800m giving 4 points.