The Buxworth 5 is described as "a single lap on country roads with a few testing hills...unsuitable for wheelchairs". You can almost hear the sniggers of those who write this stuff. After my recent string of good results, I knew this was going to be different. Hills and a lack of confidence. It's like another variable is thrown into the equation and the margins of error are so much smaller. I am not, it would seem, a good climber. Slightly too much gas, and I blow up, never to recover. Back off a little too much, and my competition runs away, literally.
Yet the 'sweet spot' should you describe that throat burning, heart pounding, vision blurring state of equilibrium as such, is narrow. But it's a good game. As soon as the hill starts to level out, I can feel myself accelerate, add a little more effort to that, and you leave an opponent quite effectively. Downhills, I'm ok. Not the fastest, but faster than some, but not enough to make up places and get me back in to the thick of the competition where I should be. So, last night was a mixed result for me.
Ridiculous. I was a nervous wreck last night before the gun, yet somehow, I did mange to enjoy it...eventually. So tonight I'm off out in search of hills. The sun is shining and it's almost hot out there. My hat, for I seem to have become a habitual hat user, has rapidly changed from being a thing of warmth to a thing of sweat. And my lucky (compression) socks now look somewhat more questionable in the bright sunlit light of day. On the plus side, 'James-I'm so over London' is now asking for social running experiences. Let's hope I can deliver!
