I didn’t have the best pre-race prep, unrestrained alcohol and dodgy curries aren’t usually recommended in the books. As expected I was suffering a little bit before I set off for the Bushy Park time trial, the early morning ride through Richmond Park perked me up a little bit though.

BPTT 240207 by Funkin

The grass doesn’t look too bad in this starting shot but by the time I arrived there, about 270 runners back, it was a quagmire and the gel trabucos were not proving themselves to be exceptional grippers. This is always going to be an occupational hazard for back of the pack runners.

I won’t include a shot of myself in this run, as it is too frightening for words. Without the rain of my BPTT debut, I soon began to overheat and I was running with my rucksac, so the overall look fell a long way from aesthetic. In the final stretch a whole load of folk from the runnersworld forum started shouting “come on warriorwoman” which was a lovely buzz and inspired a sprint finish along with a record topping max heartrate of 184.

Final result: 5km in 36:19 (no PB)
Positon: 264/269

My hip has been playing up again after this run, it started in the iliac crest as usual but has now shifted a little towards my buttock. Quite uncomfortable. I’m a little concerned that it may be triggered by my recent change of shoes, but its concerning if I really am going to be tied down to one style of shoe forever. Imagine the boredom.