BMAF 5K. Bronze medal consolation for below par run!

   Fabulous weather yesterday for those watching and catching photos at the British Masters' 5K Road Championships.  Not so great for the runners.  We arrived in good time. Strolled down to enquire why we had to register and it turned out that this meant picking up an age category number for the back of the vest. Why it didn't come with the race number was just another query.   As predicted with the lack of printed information the BMAF road sec. was being bombarded with questions?   Where's the start? How many laps?  Is it just one race?  Why is there only one toilet!? Felt quite sorry for him but then again he hadn't checked the local organiser had done his job.

  During the warm up it was obvious that the incline we would have to tackle 4 times in the race would be certain to add on to regular flat 5K times and the temperature was rising but at the top of the climb the first time just after the start I was immediately concerned about added tightness in the chest and restricted breathing.   I looked ahead and several runners I normally beat were already way down the road.
  All prerace intentions to run tall and relaxed went out the window.  I did make up some ground in the middle section but my normal surge over the last part of  a race just wasn't there . 


A timing near to my 2010 best of 20.20 was way gone and with the uphill finish I couldn't even nudge under 21 mins. finishing a few seconds over.   Not a total disaster but certainly a tad under par personal performance.  Some consolation though is the fact that we apparently managed 3rd place, a set of bronze medals, in the team competition. 
 Not that we think for an instant we are the 3rd best M60 in Britain. I can name at least 5 M60 squads in the north that would have beaten us.   But they didn't turn up did they?

  There was much talk of the course adding up to a minute onto times but I am more concerned about how uncomfortable I felt.   I shall certainly have to reassess the use of the preventive inhaler on hot days such as this.  

  I'm writing this on Monday evening having just run 3 miles at a pace 2 minutes slower than yesterday's race pace . Felt OK but on blowing into the peak flow metre which we asthmatics use to measure output it showed a quite low 390.   I speak to quite a few runners who have inhalers but don't always use them. I certainly will be using my preventive inhaler twice daily and taking into the reliever inhaler before running.  I always carry it just in case.

I will be surprised if the BMAF ask Horwich Council to host these championships again as so many competitors were disappointed with so many aspects of the organisation.  I am told even the presentation  left much to be desired.