Finchley 20

It was with great trepidation that I left home this morning for the Finchley 20.  Although my calf and knee had felt much better yesterday I worried how I'd get on today and what it would mean for my training over the coming four weeks.  I wanted to run 10 miles; I'd hoped to run 15.

I did my usual warm up and straight away my calf started protesting.  Thoughts of not even starting the race filled my mind.  After warming up I stretched and Chris massaged my calf, trying to coax it into submission.

Thankfully, as soon as the race started the calf felt fine.  It niggled only a few times, as did the knee.  In the end I ran 15 miles and finished strong.  I could have gone on and done another lap to complete the 20 miles but I just felt that would be pushing my body too hard.  Instead I came away from the event a happy bunny, having covered the miles I'd hoped for, with few niggles and feeling good at the end.

The event itself was good.  There were 700 entrants, of which 502 finished: it's popular with people running the London and other spring marathons.  It started on time and the route was clearly marked and well marshalled.  Of note was the wonderfully enthusiastic lady on the corner of Westcote Rise - she was so positive, encouraging and generous of spirit.  There were several volunteers at both water stations (although some servings of water were a little small for my liking).  Facilities at the clubhouse were good - but the smell of bacon butties before the event was torture!  As I didn't complete the full 20 miles I have no idea what was in the goodie bag.  The route was reasonably flat and otherwise unremarkable.  The only downside was the weather - at times it was wet out there today.  Should I ever run another spring marathon, I'll come back to the Finchley 20.

Finally: a big thank you to Chris for being my chauffeur and masseur. :-)