Red Moss Kip Race

My first blog entry since I completed Most Runningist Year Ever.  I have now decided that the title of this blog refers to a figurative ‘year’ rather than a literal year.  So figuratively speaking, the year of running runs on….

On day 370 of consecutive running, I ran the HBT organised Red Moss Kips.  This is the second time I have ran this race, and the second time I have blogged about it.  In fact the second ever blog entry was on this subject.  The blog has evolved somewhat since then.  

I always look so tense when I run.

I was given a last minute place in the race and was kindly given a lift there and back by our neighbour and fellow HBT runner, Mark.  Thanks Mark!  The route is 10.5km up one steep hill, another not so steep hill, then back again.  The scenery is ridiculously beautiful and the weather was fantastic.  Too hot to run really (I'm told it was 24 Celsius) but I am not going to complain about that.  The sun was low which meant on the way back it was right in our eyes and made it difficult to see, but again, not complaining, it was fantastic to be out in the hills on an evening like this.  The only downside was that I had to run a hill race!  I am seriously considering retiring from hill races.  I just do not enjoy them at all.  I don’t really enjoy the forced, power walk up the side of steep hills, but that’s nothing compared to how much I hate the descent.  I went over on my ankle really quite badly this time.  The world seemed to stop spinning, everything went into slow motion, and I was all like, “NNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!”.  I really thought it was going to be very bad and that the running streak was over.  In fact so slow was the slow motion that I remember thinking, “Well at least I managed a whole year.”  In the end nothing was twisted or broken.  I stood to one side, lost a few places, started to walk, then decided that would take too long as I was almost slap bang in the middle of the course, so started a tentative jog.  I resolved not to race, not to push an just jog back.  And so I did.  The last flat section I sped up a bit and ten when I reached the  last descent which was on tarmac, I stopped myself from going too fast again.  The truth is I was miserable pretty much the whole way around.  I just don’t enjoy hill running at all and if that’s the case then what’s the point?  I am seriously considering retiring and calling short my already short career in this type of racing.  Roads, trail, cross country, all good fun in their way.  Hills, not so much.  

This would have come in handy last year

No official results yet but I think I finished in 1:02:14 which is a nine minute improvement on last year.  I didn’t get lost, run off course, and have to double back, back uphill this year though.