Between the lines

This is the haul from Brighton.

A long, hard week!
After Monday's race, I realised that, whilst I came 4th, I was the highest placed runner actually from the OU. So, if I could keep it up over the other two races, I could win the trophy for top OU bod!
And so to Wednesday's 5k race... I decided not to repeat Monday's mistake of setting off too fast in first place, so I just kept pace with the leaders. And of course, they set off even faster! So the first mile was a couple of seconds over 6 minutes. I slowed down a bit after that but still managed to knock over a minute off my PB which, gratifyingly, brought me under 20 minutes (19:43). 5th place. First placed T-shirt wearer. First OU runner.
Friday was the 10k. Again the leading handful went out quickly. I let them drift away after a mile but two of them were in sight all the way round. And when one of them dropped his pace in the last mile, I overtook him.
Finished in 4th, top OU, top person in a Superman T shirt, 20 or 30 seconds off my PB (wish I'd pushed a bit harder now).
And then the trophies were awarded. Top man, top woman, most improved over last year, various age categories. But, this year, no trophy for top OU runner!
Gutted!
A good tour though. Nice to know that I haven't got any slower yet.
And a good reminder of why I don't like racing. It was horrible. Especially the 5k...