Kassel Permit Meeting1500

Well a disaster.  Things have been going really well in training, and I was really looking forward to this race.  Disaster struck about 10 days out when I was doing a track session in the rain and my achilles that I have had problems with for years flared up really bad.  The usual routine of keeping on top of the pain and managing the achilles just didn't seem to help this time around, and what is worse the right one started to get sore.  Anyway the night before the race I went for a 30 min run and they were fine in trainers, but doing a few strides I knew they just weren't right.  I had a nightmare getting my lane organised and I still felt I was ready to race well.  During the warm up they got worse and worse and then in spikes I started to stiffen up.  It didn't help that they took us out to the track and then we were delayed for a good 15 mins and in that time they just got more painful.  As a runner you hate to quit and so I took to the line with my mind on other things worrying about my legs and the pain.  I know when things are going bad when I am running and are aware of all that is going on around me, the announcer, the other runners warming up, the people in the crowd, the pain I was in, the weather!  Whatever it is not good.  When you are running well you have no real memory of what goes on, you are in the zone, completely focused on your job and quite often asked how the race went you really don't know!

The race itself was supposed to be quick.  I spoke to a couple of the guys and they were expecting a 1.54/5 through 800.  There were no pace makers but a few of the africans were going to/told to crack on.  First race out I think that would have been too quick for me, so decided to sit off a little.  I had to make that decision anyway as it was a 6 lane track with 20 odd of us.  I started in row 2, so had a wall of guys in front of me anyway.  SO the gun went and I settled in.  After 200 I was thinking about my foot and already started to struggle.  I remember listening to the woman calling out the times at the 100 m start.  It was all in German and as I am learning the language I was running around thinking about what she was saying-again not good.  As it turns out we went through 800 in about 2.02.  My race was already over and I trailed home in 3.51 in pain.  I could not get up on my toes and when the race goes and you are not in it, you try even harder, human nature I suppose but trying harder mostly makes you tighten up, thus making you even slower, a real vicious cycle.  What is more annoying is you only get a few nights that are good for racing weather wise and tonight the weather was perfect, what a waste!

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