"Our first race"

A lot has happened since the last post.

I waited like mad for the ribs to heal and was able to re-start the training towards the end of March, and before we knew where we were, we were at the Omagh starting line on a gloriously sunny Saturday. And since Ozzie (pictured) had done some training with me, I figured I'd take him too.

Well the Omagh Fun Run - all 4 miles of it - was great. Ozzie behaved himself tolerably well, Rabea charged on ahead and finished in a perfectly respectable 42 minutes, and Ozzie and I crossed the line in just over 44 minutes.

Of course at the finish line no-one was much interested in me, and insisted on giving my medal to Ozzie - bloody cheek. Here we are after the event, with Ozzie proudly displaying his first medal.

We gave ourselves a few days off after this, before continuing the training. Unfortunately then Rabea injured himself (being most indignant that in spite of the pain, it was diagnosed as "muscle spasm" - not even a decent-sounding, latin-named injury) and was unable to train for two weeks. In the meantime Ozzie and I got in as much as we could, culminating in a run from Bangor to Donaghadee, which went rather well I thought.

Then on 15th April, came the Titanic Quarter 10k run in Belfast. Rabea was still not able to run, so Ozzie and I girded our loins and went alone. A couple of days before the event, the organisers had agreed to enter Ozzie as an independent runner with his own number, even providing him with a doggie-sized number card! Not only that but the Belfast Telegraph decided to do a little write-up on us, and Ozzie had a one hour photo shoot the day before the race.

The day of the 10k arrived and the sun was splitting the heavens. Temperatures were pretty high for April at around 18 degrees or so, and we set off at 2:00pm. Bloody Hell - it was horrendous. I knew by the time we got to the 2k mark that it was going to be a struggle, but it just got worse and worse. I guess it was mostly the heat that made it so hard, but I think the course didn't help. It was a 2-loop route - out along the Sydenham Road and back to the starting point (6k), and then out along another road and back again for the remaining 4k. I think I'd prefer a circuit any day - much more interesting and a lot less daunting. Ozzie was also a bit of a liability, partly because of having to stop for a poo or a piss, but also because I was genuinely concerned that he was over-heating, so we stopped fairly frequently (6 times) so he could have some water.

Anyway, by the time we got to the last kilometre, the wind had picked up and the sun had got a bit hazier. This had a somewhat miraculous effect on Ozzie - one minute he was lagging behind, looking like he would keel over at any moment from heatstroke; next minute he was dragging me along behind him like a limp rag. I can only assume the wind must have dramatically improved his ability to perspire (through nose and mouth), and resulted in a rapid recovery. Whatever the reason, we stormed across the line in just over 69 minutes.

Not last, but not far off it. No matter - everyone was very pleased for us, and our able supporters Naice and Rabea gave us a good welcome.

The article appeared in the paper as promised on Monday 16th, with a really nice write up and a couple of excellent photos. We also got a couple for ourselves (below). All in all, a success, but a damned uncomfortable one - I can only hope conditions for the half-marathon include a nice cold wind...!