I managed to remain dry and relatively unsullied during Sundays Cross Country race. There was a big field at Druridge Bay Country Park near Amble, hosting the second of the NE harrier league xc events. It was 2015 the last time I did this, and I recall I had a hacky cough even back then, before coughs were invented and inflation was a thing of the past and a lingering spectre of the future. The women were off first in this handicapped affair and I jogged around some of the course with the Nikon looking for a few good locations to take a few pictures, snapping as some of our lot came past. Soon it was the men and I snuck into a pack of around 450 who together made up the slow pack (the 100 others joining the medium and fast packs). I didn't bring the camera! The ground was firm with just a little yield and it was a fairly straightforward, if breezy, 3 laps. Starting near the back, I worked my way through plenty of folk before my progress stuttered a little in the 3rd lap, where I still pulled a few in, but more bodies from the medium and fast packs came blustering by. I was happy to avoid the ditch as the marshall helpfully stood and shouted exhaustively about the one main feature of the race. 'Watch the ditch'....Finished 218th out of 550 and at the line I managed to remain upright and walked with feign composure to the tent. This must have translated into a steady run, so I need to coax a little more of the old competitive spirit out of the carcass on the next one if I'm going to get near Hemy, Merrison and the likes.
I nearly drove to Manor Water for the hill race the day before, but I read only 30-odd ran; I think the rest were all doing the Skyline on Sunday, a true leg-bender. My next foray north might be the Scottish short course cross country in November. This year its in Kirkcaldy, and I hope I'm in better shape than I was at Lanark last year when I was nursing a hip injury and slacked my way round (http://runnerwanderings.blogspot.com/2021/11/lanark-short-course-xc.html ). I'm back at the weights, but only squatting with 20kg, which is the weight of the bar alone. No weights. Reminds me of how truly puny I am (as if I needed reminding).
After my self-styled 'awesome' performance at the 3 peaks, I've entered a cyclo-cross at Sunderland on Sunday. I'll try not to be last, but there may be some perverse glory in it If I do finish with da wooden spoon. I also tried to enter a national league event at South Shields, but apparently you need a 'proper' licence, which begs the question 'what have I paid British Cycling fifty quid for'? and should a question mark go before an apostrophe or afterwards? and does anyone care about grammar anymore. On the reading front I picked up Ali Smiths 'Autumn' yesterday after finishing George Martin's early novella 'Nightflyers', but soon realised that I'd read it earlier this year, and a good, evocative read it was too. On the same theme, I read 'Midshipman Bolitho' earlier, my first tentative step into the maritime historical fiction genre of Alexander Kent. It was light and enjoyable, slightly more easily digestible than Falkners 'Moonfleet'. Bought two more of his efforts at the charity book fair last week. What am I like! Still working on which next epic event I should grace with my presence....
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