2018 was probably not my best year with seven months wasted due to Plantar Fasciitis. The year did start and end well but injury made for a very sad BK for most of the year. There was a slight glimmer of hope  after a top 10 finish at the 6 inch trail ultra marathon ( http://www.6inchtrailmarathon.com ) and I started to believe that maybe 2019 was going to be a better year.

After 22 weeks of Elliptigo commuting to work and some good quality training towards the back end of 2018 I was ready to defend my ADU title. ( http://australiadayultra.com ) Last year I probably had the run of my life to win the 100k event and set a sub 8 hour time. I had certainly left a few minutes on the course and reckoned with a new pair of Fly 4%’er’s I would be able to collect these and maybe even nudge a sub 7:45 finish. Unfortunately (I seem to be typing that a lot lately?) this was not to be as a week out I came down with ‘man-cold’, this then morphed into ‘man-flu’ (which can kill !) and finally a throat infection and onto the antibiotics.  Needless to say after over a week off work I was in no condition to run 100k. So the ADU 2019 was added to my ever growing list of races I had entered and not started, the dreaded DNS. (Did Not Start). In my defence there was no way I was going to make the start line , even with the best Goggin’s motivational lines; and there are many !! ( https://davidgoggins.com )

So how many DNS races have there been in my career ? The first one , and the most expensive by far, was the 2015 Disney Goofy challenge. I think the entry was over $500US and unfortunately the Oil price put paid to that trip to sunny Florida when Chevron decided they’d had enough of me and I had to move to Schlumberger, for a massive pay cut ! Current Wife and many Daughters were not happy with that decision. In Disney’s defence they did refund me a few hundred dollars gift card which I never used. (Their retail site really is very, very sad; sorry Disney.)

Next in line was the Darlington half 2016 when due to a bike race shutting down the freeway we couldn’t actually get to the start line in time. I blame the guys at TRC for putting out a route that was flawed and left me and Mike the wrong side of the Reid highway unable to cross. on the bright side it was stinking hot and humid and they probably done us a favour ! Mike had actually worked out a route to the start which would have worked but for once the ‘trust in TRC‘ mantra backfired; sorry Mike.

Next was the Bunbury Marathon of 2017 when I picked up a nasty 5cm calf tear there week before after racing the WAMC Bridges 10k. With hindsight I probably should have given that race a miss so close to a marathon and this was a lesson learned. This calf tear cost me three months and was my biggest injury at that time. I blame hanging around at the finish for the age group medal I had won and then jogging back to the car. That jog back , while dehydrated and tired after running a 10k, was the reason behind the tear. Preventable for sure and a real rookie error. Funnily enough I had risked the run back and made a big effort to take it as easy as possible. The tear happened as I exited the shower somehow ? Still I could have probably avoided the injury with some forethought.

Finally the City to Surf in 2018 was another race I had entered early but due to injury couldn’t make the start line. This was to be a big race as it was the 10th in a row and also I was part of a small group of runners who had all previous nine. 25 of us had made this elusive club after running the inaugural marathon in 2009. This one hurt and it was very emotional on the morning of the race as I walked the dogs rather than compete. With hindsight I could have probably completed the course but was worried about breaking my 27 in a row sub3 streak I was (am) on. If I had my time again….

That’s it, five races all in the last 4 years, and at least I got my annual DNS out the way early this year? Overall I suppose I got to be happy with that and I’m still to experience the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish). The quandary I am now in of course is is the fear of either DNF’ing or finishing a marathon slower than sub three hours going to start to eat away at the reason why I run in the first place, , my love of running ? Is the fear of failure going to eventually outweigh the pursuit of running goals that keep you coming back to the sport. Will I start to avoid events that may result in me not performing as well as I would have liked. ? I remember once somebody said to me why do you train so hard and my response was fear, fear of slowing down; was that the wrong reason ? Surely it should be for the love of running and pace and time should be secondary. ? Probably, but on the other hand I am a competitive runner and every time I put on a race bib it really is on for young and old. there is no grey area here people, just a switch, on and off. This is why I am able to replicate times I have achieved ten years previous, even in my early fifties, good old fashioned hard work and the fear of failure. Of course there is also the love of competing and, as I have said many times , the pack may be calling but I’m still not ready to go back to it. A few more years in the sun I reckon , keeping a few young guns honest, albeit for less and less distance after the start of a race but it’s still nice to be at the pointy end, albeit briefly, and feel alive doing what I love to do with like minded people.

This was what made missing the ADU yesterday so painful, the camaraderie of the event and general atmosphere. I have a whole year to wait before I can experience that again and I’m not the most patient person in the world, that is why a DNS sucks. On the bright side I feel a lot better today and may even start running again next week so the year isn’t a right off just yet. This extended break has also given my PF time to finally fully heal and I’m confident I can start to add some pace work to my endless Kings Park trail running rehabilitation program. This is much needed with the WAMC racing catalogue about to start for 2019 and I need to get back my age group win after losing it last year due to not completing the required number of races to qualify. Will miss the February presentations for the first time in many years , got to love getting old. ( I seem to have typed that a lot lately as well?)  Not much of a positive post this one but unfortunately (there’s that word again.) sometimes running is a cruel mistress and once in a while the piper needs paying. Personally I think I’m paid in full for a few years so lets get back to writing about what I love writing about, racing and training with the BK posse…. yours in running… BK

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