... was my official time for this year's Standard Chartered Dubai 10km run. I was a little disappointed, since the new health purge that I have so far adhered to since the beginning of the year is continuing. And yet of all of the years I have run this race, this was my slowest time, and the first time that I have failed to finish in under an hour.
Perhaps it was just the hot day. Perhaps it was because I'm a year older/slower. Perhaps it was because I wasn't wearing a stopwatch, so as to be able to track my time (and adjust my pace) as I went. Oh well. I got round, and without stopping.
And then, as before, I did the 4km family run an hour later too. Jack was off like a rocket, of course, but the rest of us more or less stayed together, and made it to the finish line in a slightly less punishing 28 mins 20 secs.
What followed thereafter was arguably the hardest part. A further 2-3km walk to the restaurant we had booked for lunch. Due to various road closures in the area, there was no 'as the crow flies' route to be taken to reach Cafe Rouge. But our walk did cause us to pass a few of the marathon tail-enders, in the face of whom my own pain was suddenly put into perspective. Struggling to finish the last few hundred yards, 6 hours into their marathon experience, and with the police reopening roads all around them, it did appear like the perfect storm of bad karma.
Still, I was able to put my feet up once we got home, and later watch the still bewildering spectacle that was the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President. A testament to the craziness that was 2016. Somewhere in the world, there are people even crazier than those who run marathons...
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