Last night was the hottest of the year so far topping out at 30+ centigrade, it was also the night I was taking part in the Chase Corporate Challenge.  A 5.6km run in London’s Battersea Park.

This was not a great combination, what made it worse was the total lack to training I had attempted in preparation for the event. I think that I have been out for 4 runs since last year’s event and knit June of them has been in the last 6 months.  Which makes me uniquely unprepared.

With training I have managed the course in sub 26 minutes,  this year I think it was more like 32. (The results have yet to be announced so I am yet to learn exactly how bad I did.

That may sound a harsh appraisal, I knew it was going to be hard work with my minimal ^dw non existent training and that it was going to be hot.  So I was hoping for sub 30 minutes.

What I got was one of the most brutality hard runs that I have ever attempted.  Which means that I should be pleased that I ran all the way and completed the course.  Did I mention that it was hot.  On quite a lot of the course there was no escaping the direct sunlight and the reflected heat from the tarmac paths.

I suffered.  

This annoyed me, and is reminding me that I am unfit.. I should be getting out and running more ^dw at all and my cycle miles have been way down.  Last month I cycled 300~ miles, which is about half what I have been used to..* I normally rely on my cycling fitness to give me a base to work from. I’m over weight and I can’t even do a full pull up..

This annoyance resulted in what should have been an easy cycle ride home to stretch the legs out and loosen them up after the run. Into a head down full gas cramp inducing race, which means that today I am a bundle of tight achy muscles.

However hopefully it will give me some impetus to get training and do better next year.

* A few years back I nearly cleared 800 miles in 4 weeks.. I missed that target by 2, and was so fatigued that I couldn’t be bothered to cycle around the block a few times to make up the missing distance.  But that is another matter..