And to think I could have been freezing my toes off doing cross country in a muddy Surrey field this weekend ... Instead, I am in Barbados (sorry) having just run the 10k (Saturday night) and the half marathon (Sunday morning, 12 hours later) and I can honestly say that a) I’ve never sweated so much in my life and b) never run so slowly with such enormous effort. However, I must also add c) had such a lovely time.
Clearly the compensations of running in the Caribbean outweigh the drawbacks in the same way that a rhino outweighs a gnat, but blimey it’s hard work. The temperature, even at 5am (when the half marathon and marathon start) is only a degree or so cooler than the peak of around 30 degrees, and the humidity around 85%. Two days to acclimatise and two races in 12 hours is probably not what the textbooks on running in hot weather recommend, but ignore the textbooks, because they rarely have chapters on how to have fun. Or how to cool down afterwards in the sea (that’s me in the picture) and drink iced coconut water for rehydration.
So, now that you all hate me, feel free to share your own weekend triumphs and woes below the line. I’ll be back freezing in the UK again tomorrow, so excuse me, but I’ve got a beach to go and say goodbye to ...
