GPS or Naked Running?
Hi I’m Damien the relevant quiet runner. I joined Red Rose 2 years ago, after deciding to take up the sport again after a good 14 years away from the sport. Believe it or not I was quite a good 400 Meter Hurdler and Decathlete in my youth at national level winning quite a few awards from county championships to national finals!
However a thing called work got in the way and I stopped running, put on a few stone and ate a lot of cake….. Then children came and I thought I want to get fit again for the children if nothing else so I started running again but to the shock of everyone who knew me in my previous running days this involved miles and not metres!
I have enjoyed the last two years taking a 10k debut time of 65 minutes 2 years ago down to 43 minutes as it stands…. I have enjoyed running with the Red rose guys, John Wiseman and Ian Warton have always kept me on my toes in races, and now young Liam Hooton is one on the radar plus Philip Davidson isn’t too far in the distance!
The most enjoyable part of being part of Red Rose for me is Tuesday night club runs, a brilliant gathering lead by George and his merry men and ladies.
This week saw the Predicted 10k run, no GPS allowed not even the old fashioned stop watch allowed! We had to predict our time and then pace ourselves the closest to the time wins!
I was 3 seconds off my predicted time of 45mins finishing in 44:57, feeling great all the way round and very enjoyable without the constant looking at the watch, and no psychological barriers to overcome!
The question now remains Garmin or no Garmin? Will I be brave enough to run without it at the next race?
Quick fire:
Trial or Road: I love the trial training runs, but racing has to be road
Flat or hilly: Flat all the way for me
Cuerden Valley or Avenham Park Run: Avenham however I don’t get much chance due to managing my son’s football team on a Saturday morning!
Cake or Beer: Beer always
Short & Fast or Long & Slow: Surprisingly I enjoy the longer runs
Race Party Piece: Sprint finish!
Happy Running
Damien